Question by just_an_average_country_gal: What kind of a bike should I buy?
I know, a pretty general question and it seems to be asked a lot on here... but what's one more? I know nothing about bikes except for the fact that I know I like to ride them--as far as brand names and what kinds of things I need on a bike is beyond me...anyhow, here's some information about my riding habits, maybe you can lead me in the right direction to find me a good bike 
I ride close to 15 miles a day--about 2 miles on a dirt road, 2 miles through the woods and the rest on a nice flat paved bike trail. I hardly ever actually "mountain bike", but I'm not opposed to the idea of getting involved. I basically ride bike to get around ($ 3.00 for gas is outrageous) in addition to just riding to keep in shape. I've had the same cheap "Wal-Mart special" bike for the last 9 years and it's literally falling apart. I don't need the best bike out there, I just want one that will work for what I need it for. Any suggestions? Please include a price range, I am on a budget -- $ 300-400
Best answer:
Answer by bikerpjb
Oh, shoot! I thought you meant a REAL bike!
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Please read other answers to this question at the very bottom of this page, below you will find a video and related articles that will try to answer the question, if you have a proper answer please post it at the bottom.
How to care for your paving. Don't give grass a chance to take over
If you have grass growing on your paving the chances are that you have been negligent regarding the care of your paving. Every item we buy today needs some maintenance, this includes paving. Grass not only spoils the look of the paving but it can also destroy your paving in a short space of time.
In most cases but not all, a simple medium to soft spray from a garden hose and a house broom can be all that is needed to maintain the new rich luster that your bricks had when they were first laid. But, as I said earlier, it is not always the owner's non-care that degrades the paving, it could also be bad workmanship.
The Master builders association and those paving companies that are registered with the Master builders association have a strict method of installing paving. This is no guarantee that things can still not go wrong, but it does give peace of mind knowing that the company is still going to be around to repair anything that might have gone wrong. Price is always a factor but long term satisfaction can always trump price.
Richard Arthur has been in the paving industry and sales for most of his 38 year working life and suggests that you should test your salesman to see if he has your project at heart. Most salespeople are only focused on their commission from your job but seasoned salesmen think of the referrals that a good installation always brings. A real professional will want to spend some time with you to ensure that your purchase is not only exactly what you would like, but is the right product for the job as well.
Do a little research of your own concerning the different brick types either online or at your local brick yard, suggest a brick type as a possible selection to the salesman and see if he/she runs only with that selection or if they offer something different. They should then give reasons why your selection is or is not the right selection for your needs and offer alternatives which they feel could be better for the job. You will soon get the feeling whether the salesman is there for just your order, or if they are being professional and will turn your order into an investment.
Now obviously is always better if you are on hand to watch the way the contractor is going about doing your paving, but often we buy a house and the paving is already done. I suggest that now that you know a bit about paving, that one of the areas that you take a look at before purchasing that new house is the paving. If you can identify the fact that the paving is busy disintegrating you could get a nice discount on the property as you can point out that the paving will have to be redone. Paving today is not a cheap installation and you could be looking at R20000 or more for renewing the paving. So, take paving a bit more serious and you could be having your next holiday on the money that your paving knowledge has just saved you.
For more information on the correct installation procedure go to our website, http://aztecpaving.webs.com
Richard Arthur has been in sales and paving for most of his 38 year career and has a motto,"paving should be an investment and not a costly expense," your choice.
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You might check into something along the lines of a comfort series mountain bike. It is a more upright riding position as opposed to the more aggressive positioning of the true mountain bike. Unfortunately they usually come stock with an adjustable stem which is not supposed to be used for offroad riding (the through the woods thing, especially aggressive off roading). You may check into the sedona line by Giant. The base model is about $ 320 and they go up (better shock & components as the price goes up. The Specialized equivalent is the expedition line, and Trek's version is the navigator. All will run in about your price range.
I would go for a mountain bike, such as the specialized rockhopper or hardrock series, or any other mountain bike inside your price range would do. I would however, change the tires to a hybrid mountain/ slick tire, since you will be off roading, but the majority of your ride is on road. Any trek, giant, cannondale, specialized, etc. bike in your price range would be good for you if you can ride your route on a wal-mart bike. Again, main upgrade is a semi slick tire and if you want, fenders.
i would go with mongoose moto-x electric/pedal. half the work and it has full suspension. at shopko lowist price in my town.
Oh wow! How easy is that? Your description of the bike's trail plus its price range makes it very easy.
The best clue is that it has a mixed job to do. In Europe, that's called a mixtie. Here we call it a Hybrid.
There's a problem. The kind of hybrid you need is over there (except for one). In the U.S., bike makers are on a mission to bring road cycling back to us through the high speed road-ish hybrid, blatent copies of the 05 Specialized Cirrus. Specialized is the first company to ever speed up the hybrid all the way to competitive levels, thus opening a new market. Sales of Mountain bikes sort of tapered off, yet there was plenty of room for a road bike with the comfort of a cruiser at no cost to speed.
None of these will take the tire that is optimal to the job you described.
The 700c version of Kenda Kross Plus is slippery on gravel.
However, the 26" version of Kenda Kross Plus is very secure, extremly cushioned, and very fast on gravel. It is also fast on pavement.
The "Plus" version always has a brilliant yellow sticker, while inferior versions do not. "Plus" is the fast one that also has flat protection and lighter weight for speed up hills.
Diamondback (Raleigh) makes an entry level "hybridized" XC racer. XC is the road-ish mountain bike, still on 26" wheels. The wheels are more narrow and the gearing is higher to provide speedy performance on a variety of surfaces.
The tires you need will fit, along with several similar options, of course.
SO, what we're looking for is the 26" XC, sloping frame mountain bike cousin to the Diamondback Edgewood/Winwood hybrid bike--or the Raleigh that came off the exact same assembly line.
We're also looking for 26" XC narrow wheels and a 28-38-48 crankset for road-ish gearing and ever so much more flexability for going through the country, through town, to work, or riding with the road bike club on a weekend tour or vacation.
#1 recommended:
Diamondback Wildwood Deluxe is the nicest of these, with some very high performance and the right components (XC rims and road-ish gearing).
This is a 24 speed bike, Shimano powered bike. The 8 speed rear drive is an advantage because there's no severe drop down to "grandma" gear that cases 21 speed bikes (7 speed rear) to throw the chain off at random. It also features shifters that were once considered very high end, and of course they're very good. It is also one of the few quality 24 speed bikes in your price range.
#2 recommended:
Raleigh Venture 4.0 is a similar, but slightly lesser product to Wildwood Deluxe.
What do these need?
They come with Kenda Komfort Plus tires that I have not personally tested on gravel. If you like them, keep them. Otherwise, switch to Kenda Kross Plus (yellow label goes on "drive side" of bike).
They need the ecomony brake pads switched to Kool Stop brand MTB pads, because all economy pads eat rims.
They need EPIC (white lightening brand) chain lube put all over the chain, deraileur, shifters. . .well, whatever moves that shouldn't get dirt. EPIC seals out dirt and it also goes inside components. Oils attract dirt and regular wax lubes don't help your chain at all. EPIC will keep the bike running well despit the gravel dust.
Don't put EPIC into hubs, bottom bracket, or headset because it can remove the grease. However, ordinary automotive axle grease can be smeared (pushed) into the seams of hubs, bottom bracket, and headset one time when the bike is new and gravel dirt will never get in.
Both of these better models come with XC rims that are specific for high speeds on pavement and gravel roads. At this price range, all wheels are machine made and will require a "Set" which is an extensive wheel truing, in one month of riding (same as anything in your price range). After the set, the wheels should be maintenance free. The bike store sometimes does the first truing for free.
You'll need the usual under-seat flat pac, like the Bell Stow Away from Wal-Mart, extra tube (from the bike store), a few allen wrenches (99 cents, Wal-Mart), that Bell red triangle rear blinkie (Wal-Mart), a Serfas or Cateye LED headlight, an "under the water bottle" MTB air pump (from the bike store) and a couple of aluminum water bottle cages (from the bike store).
You'll also need a speedometer. The Schwinn branded speedometer from Wal-Mart is waterproof and up to the job. Why? The odometer feature is crucial to keep your bike running right because you've got to change the chain every 1000 miles of gravel or 2000 miles of pavement, otherwise the gears all get eaten up and shifting doesn't work any more. This is normal for the vast majority of bikes. These particular bikes take a Shimano HG50 ($ 11) or HG70 ($ 14) chain at 1000 mile to 2000 mile increments. The installation tool costs about $ 4 and the job is very easy because directions are included with the chain.
To tell for sure when its time to change, check the chain at random with a ruler to make sure that 24 links fit exactly and precisely to 12 inches and not one bit further, because 1/8 over the mark means it is time to buy new cassette and crankset. Inspection and odometer for a timely chain renewal will keep your bike healthy for many, many years.
#also available at a rock bottom price range:
listed because you might want to avoid them. . .or not
Diamondback Wildwood is a 26" XC mountain hybrid that fits the bill, but the cheaper gears make it slightly heavy. It has a 21 speed drivetrain and no lack of speed on flat ground. However, the huge gap in the Mega 7 rear drive makes for slower hills as does the extra weight of this less expensive model.
Wildwood Citi is cheapest made version. It is steel. Take a magnet with you. It won't stick to the frame of the better model.
These may be too heavy for road touring because the extra weight is taxing on hills.
The Wildwood Deluxe and the Venture 4.0 bikes are a hybridized XC racer, which is a road bike that looks as much as possible like a mountain bike, with the end result of being very fast on both road and gravel, and very secure on gravel.
This type of bike should never have a MTB slick tire. That would slow it down and make it unable to stop on wet pavement.
While the tires recommended and the tires included are already faster than a MTB slick--these bikes can fit authentic road tires because of the XC wheels.
The Panaracer Pasela Tourgaurd Folding at 26" x 1.25 is an authentic road touring tire, with the typical uphill speed boost expected in a road bike tire. The Pasela and other "about an inch wide" 26 inch road bike tires do require the specialty smaller, lighter inner tubes.
Changeover to a road tire isn't required to ride with the road touring club on the weekends, but it is a blessing if there are many hills. Keep this in mind for your next bike tour (vacation with hundreds of others, all on bike).
That last bit was to let you know about the very flexable nature of this bike and that you can use it for a variety of jobs with good results.
Now, onto the sizing:
This, being hybridized, should be expected to show a lot of seatpost. Standover height will not be an accurate measure of proper bike frame size, and would get you something that is way too large, with sky high handlebars and a very slow speed.
That's right. A fitting will not work at all.
Sizing methods don't apply to hybridized bikes.
Test drives will work really well. The test drive is vital to insure that you get a bike that pleases you.
Whichever bike is both the most comfortable and the fastest is the right size. That's the only way to tell with a hybrid. Buy the one that is the most fun. Of course, extra fun is the point of today's hybrid.
I read all these answers and skimmed the really long one. You described trails that would be good for a cyclocross bicycle. This is not a hybrid because it's more aerodynamic and lighter than hybrid. Cyclocross biking outdates mountain biking, and is common in Europe.
Do some searching online. I just bought a LeMond Poprad '05. It's smooth and comfortable. It looks like a road bike and I even put roadie wheels on it to replace the thinner knobbies that came with it. The guy at the bike shop told me how to do it.
Generally, it's steel frame with aluminum forks. $ 300-$ 400 might get you a decent mountain bike, but your choices are limited.
Hello! OK for the distance that you have said you wont need a pricey bike at all. If you like a comfort ride and are not after speed.
Check out Giant range over here in australia we have sedona ax,cx. or a Giant Ellwood, Cypress. I would recomend these. The key is to test ride the bike and make sure you are comfortable!! or your ride will be unpleasent. The bikes I have recomended over here they go for a range of $ 299.95 to $ 499.95
They might be cheaper over their being an U.S.A owned company. Make sure that when you stand over the top tube in the centre of the tube that there is a minumum of 1inch or a maximum of 2inch's between the tube and your crouch.(pardon the pun). this will give you a good correct size of the bike!! I hope this has helped!!
I think a good hybrid or comfort bike would be right for you. You want one that can handle dirt or pavement either one, so that sounds like a hybrid/comfort, one that does both kinds of surface pretty well. The Giants and Raleighs were good suggestions. I personally own a Jamis Explorer 1 that I got for about 275.00. Regardless, get one from a bike shop and not Walmart. It will last longer, and you will have the benefit of the fit and set up expertise of the bike shop.
Anything u like....