<p>I need a new bike - my last one was from Costco and it was stolen from my driveway. I would like to get a slightly nicer one and of course take better care of it. My plan is to ride it on short errands around town (maybe 5 miles or so each trip) and also bike with my son (age 9) in local parks and the C&O canal (we live in the DC area). Perhaps I will ride it to the metro on occasion. I need something that can accommodate a basket for errands. My last bike was I think called a hybrid. Is that what I should get? Any suggestions on brands, etc? Does this type of bike rule out long road trips? Budget - $500. Thank you for any and all suggestions!</p>
<p>Sorry about your bike. Did you know you can test ride bikes at bike shops? I suggest you go to a local bike shop, or REI, tell them what you just told us, and see what they recommend. If possible, don’t go to a shop that caters mostly to racers. You want a shop with some old guys who can help you find an appropriate bike for the C&O Canal and errands.</p>
<p>City Bikes might be a good place to start:
[City</a> Bikes - Full Service Bike Stores serving Washington DC, Maryland, Virginia - Hundreds of Bikes in stock Specialized Cannondale Jamis Moots Yeti](<a href=“http://citybikes.com/]City”>http://citybikes.com/)</p>
<p>(Disclaimer: I have never been there. I just found them by Googling.)</p>
<p>Yes, by all means go to a bike shop to get properly fitted, but there are online options, too.</p>
<p>Avoid department store bikes. Typically overpriced for what you get. And many bike shops have prices that are competitive with discounters like Costco. Plus, the personal service that you’ll get from a good bike shop is worth the higher cost (free tune-ups, for example). The only department store bike I’d trust is Iron Horse, a quality brand that often can be had for a significant discount ($300 or less) at Dick’s Sporting Goods or the Sports Authority.</p>
<p>In metro D.C. I believe you have a Performance Biycle store, a small franchise based in the southeast. I dealt with them online. Good prices.</p>
<p>Another good online option is ‘bikesdirect.com.’ They seem to have many satisfied customers. They feature a brand called Motobecane at great prices and free shipping. The original Motobecane was a grand manufacturer of bikes in France. The USA operation just licenses the name and is not directly related to the old French operation.</p>
<p>Type of bike? You may not be happy with a true Mountain bike because they are not made for comfortable riding on paved paths. Incidentally, few bikes sold in department stores are true MTBs. Most are hybrids and wannabe MTBs, which would break apart on all but the most modest of rocky or woody trails. My own bike is a wannabe MTB that I’ve made into a comfort bike [urban slick tires, extra large seat, slightly elevated handle bar].</p>
<p>Good luck and happy trails.</p>
<p>Note: bikesdirect.com is a gray marketer who buys unsold inventory from other retailers. Be aware they may not be able to provide aftermarket service. </p>
<p>I think your best option is a local bike shop close to your home. They will be able to provide the inevitable service for you, and may be happy to include the service in your price if you ask them. You will need to buy a good lock.</p>
<p>You can modify an off-the-shelf bike to better suit your needs. Handlebars can be moved up or down, can be changed for a different shape or a narrower/wider profile. The seat can be swapped out for one that it anatomically appropriate. You can put wider tires on a road bike, which makes it more comfortable for trails while still keeping it lighter in weight. </p>
<p>I have two bikes (we own a bike business, and yes, we sell over the internet, but I still think you should go to your local shop). One is a full-on lightweight road bike with no options; the other is modified for city driving. It has flat handlebars, a Terry women’s seat, fenders (it rains here), a basket (a cheap plastic one, held on with zip ties), and wider road tires. It weighs about ten pounds more than the other bike. Both bikes use the same frame from the same supplier; it’s all about how they are set up. You have choices. (And riding the two bikes is a completely different experience, too. They feel different. I feel different. On the lightweight bike, I pretend I’m Lance (but female, pudgy, and older) and race myself up hills; on the heavier bike, I carry a baguette in the basket and pretend I’m French ;-)</p>
<p>You will want to be fitted correctly for the bike. That takes observation. A correctly fitted bike will surprise you with how comfortable it is and how much fun it is to ride.</p>
<p>While you can find an adequate bike for your needs at $500, you will find you have many more options and significantly better choices if you increase your budget to $750 or so–and the bike will suit your needs longer when you discover you really enjoy cycling and want to do more than short trips. (And no, your $500 bike will probably not stand up to long-distance touring; it will most likely have an aluminum frame, and aluminum is more brittle than a steel frame.)</p>
<p>DMD is right-- don’t go online. Online shopping for bikes is for people who know what they want. You need to try bikes, you need to get your new bike adjusted for you, you might want to swap out saddle and pedals. You need to talk to a human being who loves bikes, so go to a bike store.</p>
<p>I love long distance bike touring, and have, for example, ridden across the US. I don’t agree with dmd about aluminum being unsatisfactory for bike touring. Aluminum bikes are adequately strong for touring, and I frequently see tourists on aluminum bikes. My main touring bike is steel now, but I have toured on aluminum bikes with no problem. If you were to try long distance touring on an aluminum bike, the frame would be fine; your problem would most likely be the wheels, not because of the frame, but because inexpensive wheels aren’t strong enough for bike touring and frequently fail. But that’s way in the future. For now, you want an inexpensive bike for tootling around town. So go to a bike shop and have them help you.</p>
<p>You’re going to discover that once you have your bike, you’re not done. You need a helmet of course if you don’t already have one, and a lock. You need a patch kit, tire levers and a pump, and you need to learn to use them. Like dmd, I’m a big fan of fenders, so I recommend you get them installed. And then you need a basket, perhaps one of those great wicker front baskets. But when you have your bike all set up, it’ll be great! You’re going to have so much fun. I’ver heard many great reports about riding on the C&O, and even doing overnights and longer on it.</p>
<p>I like the advice from both Dmd and Fang. And I need to correct a typo. I meant to say $400 for a discounted Iron Horse, which you may also find at a good bike shop.</p>
<p>Visit more than one nearby bike shop. The highly recommended and reputed ‘family friendly’ shop near me was a bit brusque when I was a first-timer. I got the distinct impression that the owner didn’t “approve” of my bike (didn’t buy it from his shop). The other local shop I discovered was much more customer-friendly and didn’t make any judgements about the “prestige” or lack thereof, of my bicycle. If you’re going to be a frequent rider, good service is quite important.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the fantastically useful replies! Citybikes has a good website and it seems like they have a lot of choices. I will try that one and perhaps Performance Bikes which is a bit closer to where I live.</p>
<p>The best for you, journey, would be a good local bike shop, local meaning within 5 or 10 miles. If you have a friend who is a bike commuter or a randonneur, ask them for suggestions.</p>
<p>As far as baskets, on my 300 dollar hybrid which I adore, I installed a rear rack, and then attached two Wald folding baskets to it. these are great because they fold up when you don’t need them, but btween them and the rack itself, I can haul quite a bit of groceries home.</p>
<p>Journey919; apparently Ithe Iron Horse bicycles company recently filed for bankruptcy and went out of business. My bad. Sorry.</p>
<p>Garland: what’s a Wald basket and where are they available?</p>
<p>I have offered up my 1970 Schwinn Continental to each of my college bound children, but not one would touch it.</p>
<p>I think if I left that thing in the driveway overnight, it would still be there in the morning. All original too…</p>
<p>Wald is a brand name. They make a lot of bike accessories, esp. baskets. I bought mine on line, and I can’t remember the source, but googling I found it listed several places. Here’s an example:</p>
<p>[Wald</a> #582 BL Folding Rear Bicycle Basket on Sale](<a href=“http://www.cyclesportandfitness.com/wald-582bl-folding-rear-bicycle-basket.htm]Wald”>http://www.cyclesportandfitness.com/wald-582bl-folding-rear-bicycle-basket.htm)</p>
<p>I bought two and attached them to the sides of a rack.</p>
<p>Garland, I just Googled ‘wald basket.’</p>
<p>At first glance the items pictured seemed like run-of-the-mill wire baskets. But a look deeper into their inventory revealed some very sharp-looking products. Thanks for the tip.</p>
<p>You’re welcome. I like the fact that the ones I have fold up flat so easily. They seem well made, too.</p>
<p>We have a place in town that builds bikes from new and recycled (esp. frames) parts. We took our two 1982 Trek road bikes in and got some minimal amount of credit toward one of their rebuilt bikes. Our son put the credit towards a great commuter bike and he absolutely loves it. He is a grad student in Boston and uses it to get to his office, buy groceries and for long rides on the weekends. (He was totally bummed this winter when there were a couple of weeks when he actually had to ride the bus.) The guys who built it for him are total bike nuts and really love what they do. The bike is great for DS because, in addition to being built with components that would have cost a fortune if he’d bought a brand new bike, the bike is not really “pretty” so he doesn’t worry so much about it being stolen. Perhaps you have a place like this in your town.</p>
<p>Cardinal Fang: Interesting that an aluminum bike works for you. Both DD and DH–who have both ridden across the country, one on steel, one on carbon–say they’ve seen too much broken aluminum to be able to recommend it. </p>
<p>My basket cost me $6.99 at a discount store. I put a basket support on the bike and then used zipties to attach it. I know too many people who have had stuff removed from their bike… My in-town commuter doesn’t have the good stuff (except for the seat).</p>
<p>I have been very happy with my Trek 7100 hybrid. It’s comfortable and rides easy. I would definitely go to a local bike shop and let them fit you to a bike. I truly believe that makes a difference. Good luck!</p>
<p>dmd-- Frames break. Steel frames break (especially if ridden by my son-- no, he’s not a daredevil he’s just a klutz), aluminum frames break, and carbon fiber frames are the breakiest of all. But for journey919’s purposes, either a steel or an aluminum frame would be fine.</p>
<p>I had, and rode almost daily, an '84 Cannondale aluminum bike. After about twenty years, a cable guide which was pop-riveted to the frame fell off-- the bike was still completely rideable and safe, but I couldn’t shift. Cannondale gave me a new frame for free.</p>
<p>I still have two (aluminum) Kleins from the 80s. They have been supplanted in my affections, but the frames are still perfectly fine.</p>
<p>You don’t see a lot of tourists on carbon fiber bikes, especially tourists who are camping.</p>
<p>journey919 – my son repairs and sells used bikes in the DC area (mostly beater bikes to his fellow students, so not the best bikes), but he is very familiar with DC bike shops and what works in DC. He says his first choice would be the Bike Rack – in Logan Circle. He also recommends Rollin Cycles --also Logan Circle, who he says has a really friendly and knowledgable staff, but may not have the kind of bike you need. Also Papillion Bikes out in Arlington (he likes them a lot) He recommends a European City Bike, says fenders and racks are a must. For getting around the city (and he goes everywhere on his bike, does not have a car) he uses a touring cycle with rack and fenders. He says he would not buy a bike from City Bike (he called them S****y Bike) but then said that City Bike would have the kind of bike you need, not the best price and not the best service, but they have a wide range of bikes so you could check it out to help figure out what works for you. He says he has heard bad things about Performance Bike, but has never dealt with them himself. If you are outside the city, he can recommend some other shops</p>
<p>I also would dis-recommend Performance Bikes, which is a national chain.</p>
<p>I love European city bikes. Fenders rule, and chain protectors are fantastic, so you don’t have to worry about pant cuffs getting into the chain. Like this (sadly no longer available from this retailer at this sale price):</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.napastyle.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=1985[/url]”>http://www.napastyle.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=1985</a></p>