Bycycles for beginning riders

great idea!

your local bike shop is usually your best bet; they'll work with you to ensure you get the best fit (safest to your body), and work with you through the inevitable learning curve. May need to pay for a 'professional fitting' and it's money very well spent. knees are best when they're working and not hurting.

Please wear a helmet, even if it's funny looking - mine's saved my life, and could yours too. I've got pictures of my head damage, even with the helmet, if you're not convinced! Lycra is optional

being honest as possible with how you want to use your bike; to the grocery store, for 3 mile or 30 mile spins for coffee, it all changes the type of bike that's best.

Better quality will save you grief. rims that are smooth so they don't pop tires every 10 miles, gears that actually stay in gear, you know the trade-offs.

 

Age? Ridden before?

 

This topic (older guys returning to bicycling) has a whole section on the bike forums at http://www.bikeforums.net
Well worth spending some time over there.

 

Bikes are like a Lotus the lighter the better

I'm 45 and I ride 2 hours a day twice a week and thats taken 15# off me in 1 month

If its hot I'd suggest a camelback

Also they sell regular looking shorts w a crotch pad, you really want that pad.

You should also get a padded seat w a hole in the center, it will make your riding much less painful

You want the seatpost as high as it can go to make the best torque

I'd suggest a good pair of bike shoes, mine are for off roading w velcro

The bike shoes are better than sneakers bcus velcro means no laces to get stuck in the gears, and since they have much stiffer soles than sneakers you get more torque= more speed= more fun

 

We went to a large bicycle dealer in the DFW area and ended up buying Specialized - great bikes, not incredibly high priced - for rides like you describe we use this: http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bc/SBCExperience.jsp?eid=125 (men's and women's version); my road bike is a Specialized Dolce; John's is a Roubaix (http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bc/SBCBkSection.jsp?ssid=09ROAD) and mountain bikes are the Hardrock and Rockhopper. We changed seats out on the bikes and replaced with gel seats.

Here's their website, it has lots of good information available: http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bc/home.jsp?minisite=10029&language=US

Rides are lots of fun and most of them are for a very good cause - a local one is for an animal rescue - most rides have an easy 5 mile route with other routes up to 100 miles.

For your "hilly" environment perhaps either the Crossroads or Hardrock may work best depending on your situation??

Enjoy

(fyi, age is similar + a couple)

Carol

 

These problems are best addressed by having the bike properly fitted to the rider. If you've got a great fit the need for a super soft saddle is negated. You do not want the seatpost as high as it can go. You want it to be positioned so that there is a certain angle in your knee and hip joints in the downstroke to prevent injuries, just cranking the seat post up as high as it will go can be asking for some trouble later on. However neither of these issues should be a huge factor if the OP is planning on doing rides of 5 miles or less.