Help! SOS

[thorljo]

Hi everyone,

I have no idea about bicycles in general and the more research into choosing a bike for my needs, the harder the choice is.

Other than a couple of overseas riding tours (nothing to extraordinarily hard), I haven't rode any bikes for around 7-8 years. I'm looking to buy myself a bike to use once a week/fortnight on predominately bike track/road surfaces (with the very rare need for going across grass and dirt). With the research I have done, I've come to the conclusion that I want/need a hybrid bike (I think?) with flat handle bars. Anything other than the type of bike (and handlebars), I have no clue about (gears/brakes/chains/tyre size/etc.). Being a first bike, I dont want to spend a load of money on it and, in 2 years time, realise that I want to buy a ridgy-didgy road bike. Before researching, I thought that 250-300 would be more than enough to buy a new, reliable, no-thrills bike for my needs. However, atm, I'm worried that this isn't the case. At max. I'm probably looking at spending 400 (is this even possible for the bike I'm describing?). Now, I had a really bad experience as a teenager where my peddle completely snapped off my bike (!! BAN ME NOW FOR SWEARING !! big w/target bike) and reliability in a bike is pretty high for me. At 110kg (fatty ) and 6'1 I need something that will support my physique.

What I have been looking at (that falls in my price range):
http://www.this link is broken/Totem-Cross
https://www.reidcycles.com.au/reid-urban-x0.html
http://www.amartsports.com.au/Product/F ... om=3080102

Are these bikes above suitable for what I've described I'm looking for?

Thank you in advance for your help.

[tez001]

$400 will get you a low entry bike to use, which appears will be adequate for you.
Have a look at this Polygon bike as well, $400 and without front shocks.

https://www.bicyclesonline.com.au/2017- ... -city-bike

I don't think there is anything wrong with those ones you have linked, however ditch the suspension fork, it just adds weight - and suspension forks on bikes at the lower end are ordinary.

[TCAT]

What made you come to the conclusion that you need a hybrid bike?
If you are going to be riding mostly on roads and bike paths why not consider an endurance type road bike?

I rode hybrid bikes for many years before purchasing a road bike. At first I disliked riding it and was considering selling it and going back to hybrids. However after several weeks of riding it and interchanging rides between the two I did come to prefer it over the hybrid. Now I have a touring bike and a road bike and I ride the road for all but wet weather riding. It is so much easier & quicker.

A negative for the road bike is that they are generally more expensive. Your budget may not stretch that far for your first purchase. Hope I haven't thrown a spanner in the works.

PS. As tez001 says, give suspension a miss on cheaper bikes.

[rockpaper]

i had a hybrid and then got a road bike. I've done some mountain biking, too

I did not enjoy the hybrid after that. It didn't seem to do anything well. Maybe look at a mountain bike in the $400 to $600 range?

I have heard good things about polygon bikes, although not ridden them myself.

[bgorton]

Good advice to drop the suspension fork. Not great quality or performance at this price point and a regular fork will give you much better handling. Keep going along the hybrid path. Road bikes are great but you are looking for a general purpose bike and the hybrid will make the introduction to cycling easy and safe.

The Polygon looks good. An alternative is to look for a good quality second hand Mountain Bike, though personally I'd go with the hybrid based on your criteria.

If you find you enjoy cycling you'll find your way to a road bike soon enough.

[RobertL]

The other thing that I'd suggest is to stick to the big name brands at the big name shops and see if you can find an older new model (i.e. 2016 or even 2015) at a big discount. Usually, models don't change much from year to year, so you can save a lot that way. You may not be able to find something suitable in the right size, but it's worth a bit of online searching.

[rockpaper]

Using bike exchange to find some hybrid and mountain bikes in the $400-$600 range, sorted by cheapest to most expensive, on some of the bigger brands. This is for Australia not any particular state

hybrid bikes
https://www.bikeexchange.com.au/s/hybri ... y=cheapest

and mountain bikes
https://www.bikeexchange.com.au/s/mount ... y=cheapest

[thorljo]

Thanks everyone!