I am looking for a good all around bicycle. Not from Walmart or Kmart?

Question

I am looking for mostly street riding. Around town, 10 miles to next town, work my way up to more distance. But comfortable. I have an old neck injury.

Answer 1

Perhraps a mountain bike (not with all the suspension though) - which gives the option of putting on skinny tyres for longer distance rides & adding racks,fenders etc for commuting purposes.

Answer 2

You would be best off with a hybrid bike.  It's a cross between a mountain bike and a road bike.  It's designed as basically a commuter bike, with comfort in mind rather than high speed.

Your'e already on the right track by not buying Wal-Mart garbage.  Head up to the local bike shop, they will set you up with something and let you test it before you buy it.  Brand names to look for are Trek, Specialized, or KHS.  There are obiviously other good makes too, but those are the most widely available and have proven themselves in terms of quality and performance.  You can't go wrong with them.  Price wise you are probably starting in the $500 range, and it goes up from there, depending on your budget.

And have fun riding!

PS heres a link to a nice Trek hybrid:  

http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/200...

(trek is calling their hybrids "bike path" bikes now, same thing :)

Answer 3

I would look for a road bike with the handlebars at least as high as the seat, or even higher.  A road bike will offer more performance due to lighter wheels and tires than a hybrid.  Road bike will be overall lighter in weight.  That said, it may not be easy to find a handlebar setup like the one I am describing.  Be aware taller handlebar stems are available.  Be firm on this point with dealer.  If the bike does not fit your needs, consider it a deal breaker.  On all my bikes, handlebars are at the same height as seat due to back problems.

Answer 4

Congratulations on not wanting a bike from Walmart or Kmart!

Myself personally, I have an adversion to either mountain bikes or hybrids for street riding or riding any distance over 5 miles.  Sorry, but the lightest weight hybrid I found was 24 pounds and at that it was several thousand dollars, most at any reasonable price are much heavier.  Where it comes to "comfort" or  mountain bikes?  I feel they're just too heavy.  Clumsy too.  

As far as bike trails go?  Well, judging from your avatar, you're female--so am I, and the simple biological fact is we normally weigh less than most of our male counterparts, meaning we're also putting less weight on our bikes, so my light-weight (16 lb) road bike glides along just fine pretty much any limestone bike trail--most dirt trails too!  Now, if you're planning on riding on gravel trails along the railroad tracks, well, that probably wouldn't work well with a road bike, but otherwise, I've never had any problems riding my road bike, regardless of the terrain--my "curb jumping" habits hasn't hurt my wheelset yet either!  

For comfort?  Well, to ride in a more upright position, you just swap the handlebar stem for a longer one that's positioned at a 45 degree angle, or even positioned upright--and you can buy easily adjustable ones as well.  They cost less than $20, although if you buy too long a stem, your cables may be too short, necessitating having to swap them out as well which will add to the cost.  (My husband did this on his bike, and it did eliminate the neck problems he was also experiencing.)    

If you don't mind the extra weight, you can also buy a saddle with springs and a gel seat, which would add some additional comfort for cruising around town--although for long distance rides, extra cushioning actually ends up resulting in improper compression of your leg and butt muscles and is counter effective.  

But everyone's different, so I recommend going to a reputable bike shop to discuss what you're looking for with the people who work there.  They're in a better position to  answer your questions and provide assistance in finding a bike that fits your particular needs and riding style.  Test ride as many as possible.  You'll know when you find the bike that's right for you.

Best of luck!

Answer 5

what about a crusier