First Bike (Commuter, Road, or Hybrid?)

[Kronos]

Solve the problem with geometry and get a proper fitment. Unless you really have a physical issue that limits your ability to bend your back. It's not really much of an excuse. It will take maybe the first month to get used to a road bike, or if you want an upright bike buy a proper mountain bike... no in between bikes.

[P!N20]

Anyhow... considering I have a sum total of 1 post per day I highly doubt I'm annoying anyone here.

No that's not true, you're definitely annoying me and I dare say everybody else that frequents this forum.

[Kronos]

Anyhow... considering I have a sum total of 1 post per day I highly doubt I'm annoying anyone here.

No that's not true, you're definitely annoying me and I dare say everybody else that frequents this forum.

I don't need to come here as a 300lb gorilla I don't have anything to say about that other than the usual. If you don't like me oh well... Who's the one being judgmental here? I'm not a dancing monkey nor am I here to entertain you. If you don't like something don't make a song and dance of it... look over it and move on. It always amazes me the small and petty stuff that entertains the minds of some people.

[P!N20]

^ All good, mate. Just didn't want you to think you weren't annoying people.

Love, fixie kook.

[Top_Bhoy]

Don't ride a hybrid... They're an old mans bike... Not much good at anything. At your price point of $300 to $500 you'd be better off looking for a second hand CAAD or a Giant TCR in your frame size if you're interested in road bikes, or something of decent brand in a hardtail mountain bike if you want something to ride in the dirt. Don't use 99bikes either, they're not a real bike store.

I don't believe the above advice to be particularly helpful. It would be different if the OP stated they mostly did 30km+ trips or done hills/off-road/gravel paths...but they don't so a hybrid is perfectly suited to do what the OP wants e.g.

It'll mostly be for getting around town and maybe a monthly trip or two.

.

[fat and old]

You want o ride around town a bit, with the odd longer trip? Look around till you see a bike that makes you want to ride it. Doesn’t matter what type it is; if you want to ride that bike you will. Then work backwards from there. Cost, quality, size and so on. Maybe that one’s too exxy....find a similar looking cheaper version. Get the right size. Enjoy your riding

Nothing wrong with the chain store cycle shops....99, superstore etc. They’re probably the best place to look at your stage. Why slam 7k on the table at monsuier sur la plaque’s for something you may decide was a bad idea in 6 months? Fancier the shop the more disappointed you’ll be. Nothing wrong with second hand either. Plenty people here to steer you right.

[10speedsemiracer]

Hi! looking for some advice for my first bike. Have never ridden one before but want to start.

My budget is around $400-$500, and I've more or less settle on either a Commuter, road or hybrid. But I don't know what kind of specs I should be looking at and whether I need to look at certain frames due to my weight (115kg/183cm), or what kind of brands are reliable at this kind of price range. It'll mostly be for getting around town and maybe a monthly trip or two.

I have a 99bikes store fairly close to my house, and a couple of them look pretty good, but I can't seem to find any reviews for these kind of cheaper bikes

http://www.99bikes.com.au/bike17-apollo ... lue-chrome
http://www.99bikes.com.au/radius-vista- ... ack-silver
http://www.99bikes.com.au/apollo-exceed ... slate-blue

So had your post in the back of my mind, and saw this on Gtree :



Is like a Kona Dew which is a strong road/hybrid but with disc brakes (mechanical I think, not hydraulic. Still fine).

https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/melbour ... 1169652212

Strong bikes these, this frame is approximately your size. May even be able to do a bit on the $s.

(Edit : linkages)

[Kronos]

Don't ride a hybrid... They're an old mans bike... Not much good at anything. At your price point of $300 to $500 you'd be better off looking for a second hand CAAD or a Giant TCR in your frame size if you're interested in road bikes, or something of decent brand in a hardtail mountain bike if you want something to ride in the dirt. Don't use 99bikes either, they're not a real bike store.

I don't believe the above advice to be particularly helpful. It would be different if the OP stated they mostly did 30km+ trips or done hills/off-road/gravel paths...but they don't so a hybrid is perfectly suited to do what the OP wants e.g.

It'll mostly be for getting around town and maybe a monthly trip or two.

.

Perhaps not, but I like to steer people towards something that they are going to enjoy. On the other end of the spectrum I may have said buy an off road bike such as a proper hardtail mountain bike but you won't get a decent one unless you lift that budget to over $1k. There's no short or long way around that fact.

As you can well tell I'm not a particular fan of hybrid bikes, inevitably you end up with a $600 second hand hybrid bike thats hard to sell to someone else and you may well lose money on that. If you buy a decent brand bike any old ally or in my case steel road or touring bike you will have something interesting someone might be interested in in 6monhs time.

I fail to see the point investing $600 in a bike then deciding you actually want a proper mountain bike or road bike in 6months time. That may not have come out exactly the way it was read in my head, in fact things in text rarely do. The point was I would invest in a decent second hand bike of one type either a proper mountain bike or a road bike. Not 6 of one half a dozen of the other unless you're into cyclocross of course.

[DavidS]

Hi! looking for some advice for my first bike. Have never ridden one before but want to start.

My budget is around $400-$500, and I've more or less settle on either a Commuter, road or hybrid. But I don't know what kind of specs I should be looking at and whether I need to look at certain frames due to my weight (115kg/183cm), or what kind of brands are reliable at this kind of price range. It'll mostly be for getting around town and maybe a monthly trip or two.

I have a 99bikes store fairly close to my house, and a couple of them look pretty good, but I can't seem to find any reviews for these kind of cheaper bikes

http://www.99bikes.com.au/bike17-apollo ... lue-chrome
http://www.99bikes.com.au/radius-vista- ... ack-silver
http://www.99bikes.com.au/apollo-exceed ... slate-blue

So had your post in the back of my mind, and saw this on Gtree :



Is like a Kona Dew which is a strong road/hybrid but with disc brakes (mechanical I think, not hydraulic. Still fine).

https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/melbour ... 1169652212

Strong bikes these, this frame is approximately your size. May even be able to do a bit on the $s.

(Edit : linkages)

That looks like a good first bike although I'd replace the saddle, looks awful.

DS

[Kronos]

That looks something closer to what I would consider a good bike. Saddles really aren't that expensive to replace either. I had a somewhat similar mountain bike back when I was a teenager, it served many good hours worth of riding for me and even did some off road stuff.

[find_bruce]

At your weight I would ignore anyone who suggests a road bike - you are unlikely to have the lower back flexibility to be comfortable on one and a road bike is unlikely to be designed to carry your weight. There are exceptions such as Trek whose road bikes are designed for a total weight (bike & rider) of a max 125kg, but they are going to be out of your price range.

I would be looking for a hybrid & with your budget, 2nd hand will present better value. The Kona Dew David linked to looks like an excellent choice - tough frame, disc brakes, no suspension & room for bigger tyres if you find you're getting pinch flats or breaking spokes.

[Zippy7]

Hi! looking for some advice for my first bike. Have never ridden one before but want to start.

My budget is around $400-$500, and I've more or less settle on either a Commuter, road or hybrid. But I don't know what kind of specs I should be looking at and whether I need to look at certain frames due to my weight (115kg/183cm), or what kind of brands are reliable at this kind of price range. It'll mostly be for getting around town and maybe a monthly trip or two.

Looks like you've already got lots of views. Here is my 2 cents worth.

As someone who started riding at 120kgs, I'd say +1 to avoiding a race bike.

As you say, you've never ridden before. I reckon the first bike should be something like a flat bar road bike.
It gives you a nice upright position, it's stable and should be comfortable.
If you can get a second hand disc version, then great.

The reason for a disc brake bike is because the wheels will be built stronger than a rim brake wheel.
I've broken a few spokes on a rim brake bike, but not one on a disc brake bike.
I've lost a few kgs since starting, but had both a flat bar and a road bike at the time and only broken spokes on the rim brake roadie (which has now been replaced by a disc brake roadie)

If you enjoy riding your flat bar, you might get the bug and then look to upgrade - hence the suggestions of buying used, but some well meaning advice about jumping straight to a roadie might mean that you get a bike that is not that comfortable for you, and you may not enjoy the riding at the beginning.

One other thing to note - the warranty on a bike is pretty much only for the original purchaser. It's not like a car - it is not valid for the second hand buyer. That's why you should expect a much bigger depreciation on a bike.

Good Luck