Tips on buying a new bicycle

[crazysafari]

Hi, I am new to cycling and wanted to buy my first mountain bike. Hoping to do atleast a couple of hours on weekends.

I did some initial research on the forum, and somewhat confused as to how much should I spend. I noticed some cheap bikes in KMart/BigW - Huffy, Dunlop, Cyclops etc. for about $120...has anyone tried them ? Is there any reason why one should not go for these ? I also looked at specialist biking stores, esp Trek series starting at $400... Since I am from overseas, I do not want to spend too much money initially, but didn't want to invest in a crap bike either. Atleast I should enjoy the ride.... Can anyone please advise ? If I were to go for a bike around $500, how much can i expect if i sell it after 2 years ?

[Bnej]

Don't buy a department store bike. These are heavy, poorly made, have shoddy components and are often poorly assembled. They are often only available in one adult size which will be too small or too big. The only people who should buy these are people who just aren't going to ride much.

Buy a good name brand like Trek, Giant, GT, Specialized etc. from a good local bike shop and you will be off to a much better start.

The bike you should get depends on what sort of riding you want to do. Sounds like the money you want to spend should either go to a hybrid bike for road use, or an entry level mountain bike.

The $399 Trek 3700, or the 3900 is a good place to start. If you're not doing hard off road then the $425 Giant Boulder is also decent. Make sure you get a bike that is a good size for you, a good bike shop will help you with this.

Resale value will be significantly less than the original price, but you could probably get a couple of hundred for a 2 year old entry level bike as long as it's in good condition.