mountain bike or road bike?

You will get a decent bike at that price range.

It all depends where you want to ride. Personally, unless you are commuting or intend on doing some serious road riding, I'd go with the Mountain Bike. It gives you the option of riding trails. Also, it takes greater abuse.

You can always put slicks on a Mountain Bike for road trips. (I rode my Mountain bike down the Oregon and California coast and had no problems with it at all. My wife used to commute to work each day on a Mountain bike. I sometimes still do).

Go front suspension Mountain Bike. It really smooths out the ride and keeps your front tire on the ground. Especially on trails and bumpy roads. Do not go full suspension unless that's the type of trail riding you want to do. You lose too much torque with full suspension when you do road riding. Also, at your price range, you'll be getting a heavy, poor quality bike if you get full suspension.

The 'best workout' will depend on how, where, and how often you ride. Go to a good bikeshop (I don't know Houston) and test ride some bikes. A good shop will let you have one for a half hour or more. Make sure you're comfortable on it.

At $500 US you should be getting a decent bike. $300 may be a bit shy. Spend the extra and get better components. Go to a dedicated bike shop -- not a big retailer -- and the staff should be able to set you up. Also, I think the new models come out in August or so (I could be wrong) so you can often get a better bike if you go with the prior year model.

 

I think bnb just gave you some very sound advice.

Trek's (or at least the one I got a few years ago when I did my pre-purchase research) seem to be a pretty darn good value.

 

One last thing. Make sure you're comfortable with the bike shop.

There's a lot of extreme off-road riding where I'm from, and it's not unsual to have bikes in excess of $2,000 to $3,000. I have friends who've spent $5,000 or more on their rigs. Some shops cater to these riders and don't respect the entry level buyer.

There's no need to spend more than you are proposing to get a good bike. If the shop won't respect this, go somewhere else.

Can't wait to get home. Thinking I'll go for a ride tonight.

 

$300-500 won't get you a good road bike, so that is out.

You could also try for a hybrid, though, if you just plan on it being an exercise thing and don't expect to go too much off road.

So...mountain or hybrid.

 

I got some extra rims so I could just swap out my knobbies for slicks quickly. I find myself riding the slicks more often these days, because they are so much faster (on the street).
Definetly get a mountain bike, there alot more rugged and a better all around choice.

 

Wow, thanks for the info. I like to buy things that I want to keep or that I won't enjoy thus I generally buy an upper end model in cases like this (and find there was no reason to do so).

I am in the same market for a bike and was leaning toward mountain bike. With this and the other information, I think I am going to pass on this hobby and get another dirt or street bike.

What are the major differences on a $1,000 model and a $4,000-5,000 model?

 

I recently bought a Trek 4300 mountain bike from the Bike Barn in Houston (Westheimer and Dairy Ashford) for $309.99. Trek bikes are top quality, and endorsed by Lance Armstrong. Mine is black and silver, with 24 speeds. The thing absolutely kicks ass. The only thing that I don't recommend, is taking a drink of water while riding down hill, braking hard, and then flipping the bike over.

 

What are the differences between a $80,000 car and a $200,000 car?

You pay for increments. Weight and strength. The more high end you get, the more these increments cost.

These riders are pretty hard-core. If you don't know the differences, you would, at best, be unable to appreciate the difference in ride, or more likely, would be much worse off with one of the very high end bikes. (You wouldn't know which high end bike fits your needs and riding style). They can be very specialized (not suitable for all-round riding) or very precise (with lots of fine tuning constantly required).

At $1000 you've probably got more bike than you'd ever need. Any more than $2,000 and you'd better know what you're doing.

 

Thank you, I will go check that out. I am familliar with the area but am not placing the Bike Barn. Is that over by the Pet's Mart or the Krogers?

Thank you for the biking tip as well. I have a story like that when I was riding on a MX bike. The feeling of flying over the hadle bars is not a very comforting one.

 

It's right next to Phoenicia (Mediterranean Deli) and Caspian (Persian restaurant) about a block West of Kirkwood.

As far as the biking tip goes...the last thing you need right now is a wipeout.

 

Second to last... Last would be flying a kite in the rain .

Where do you go ride? Did you ever ride in Austin?

 

That's a very good bike. It is 5 years old, and 'rode hard' as you say, but if you know this guy well, he's honest, and the bikes in good shape, and priced well, you should consider it.

Here's a link of reviews:

gary fisher 1999

Hope we haven't made this sound more complex than it really is. You're not riding the Tour de France, and you sound ready to spend more than the Walmart special -- so you're really can't go too far wrong.

Baqui's Trek sounds good too. And it's new.

I'd go for the Fisher if I trusted the vendor, and could get it for about $300 (depending on the condition). If your friend is upgrading (or you're otherwise comfortable with reason he's selling), there's nothing wrong with the bike, and it's the right size for you, you'd be getting yourself an excellent and versatile bike.

 

Make sure you clean and lubricate the drivetrain, and also adjust the derailleurs and brakes. This can do wonders for a bike that is making a lot of gear noise and has minor shifting problems.

...that is assuming your friend didn't just do this.

 

Bike Barn recently had a fire at their Kirby location and are having a huge sale this weekend...something like 40-80% off, some of the merchendise may have slight damage & is being sold "as-is" but it might be worth checking out. It's out at Bay Area Blvd & 45 though, here's a map:

http://maps.yahoo.com/py/maps.py?Py..._CpBjZ0IHOA--&csz=webster+tx+77598&country=us