I ride a hybrid when the weather's nice. DH has a road bike. My mom had a cruiser that was really nice (and cute!), but wasn't using it so she recently sold it. I would suggest that you check out some bicycle shops in your area, just to get a feel for what's available. You don't need to spend thousands of dollars (although you certainly could) to get a decent bike, but you might want to look at bikes that are going to be a bit nicer and hold up better than that Huffy from Walmart. (Too, the assembly job you're likely to get at Walmart may be half-arsed at best. I'm not trying to be snarky about Walmart by saying that, but read this many times when I was doing online research when we were shopping for bikes.) You can see what's available at a specialized bicycle shop, learn what fits you best and what is going to be most comfortable for you over the long haul, but you aren't obligated to buy from the shop of course. DH figured out what he wanted and then diligently checked Craig's List until he found just what he wanted, being sold by a young firefighter who was upgrading to a new bicycle.

Have fun!

look at bikes that are going to be a bit nicer and hold up better than that Huffy from Walmart

YES! Please talk to a real bike store. Those Dept store bikes are penny-wise and pound foolish. We have tried to help relatives with their $129 cheapies, when they think they got such a great deal. These bikes can never be adjusted to get a good ride, and then they do not want to spend any more because they just blew $129, and then we can't get them to go biking with us. Oops, sorry a bit of a rant there.

Can you rent bikes nearby, to try out the different types?

-Lena

AJ: being sold by a young firefighter who was upgrading to a new bicycle

Why am I having a flashback of "I ⥠Huckabees" ? :-)

-Lena

I have a beach cruiser -- I love it!! We have a place at the beach with a long boardwalk/bike path so my husband and I each got cruisers this summer. I got a really cute yellow bike with a basket on front. I love all the crazy colors - the pink one is adorable. We ride them all the time - to the beach, to the grocery store, If you get one, make sure to get a basket for the front - you will really use it. I think the cruisers are great if it's flat where you will be riding. The seats are very large and comfortable and I like that the handlebars are higher, so you aren't always leaning over. We got ours at a local hardware store, but for a cruiser, I wouldn't hesitate buying from Walmart. I always bought my kids' bikes there and they lasted forever! Cruisers are so simple, with no gears or hand brakes, I think the Walmart one would be fine.

As has been said above, I think you really need to know where you will be riding. I ride a hybrid and only wish I would have bought an even better one! It all depends on where you want to ride. If you are going to ride a mile around the neighborhood, the Walmart bike would probably be okay. If you are always going to ride flat, it might be okay as well. We usually ride from 10 - 20 miles at a time, which isn't a lot, and even though we ride on a trail which is supposed to be flat - it isn't always - and even riding flat, it is nice to change gears sometimes.
Personally, I would think that if you are going to ride more than a mile or two at a time, get thee to a bike shop, talk to people who know, test ride them -- and most of all enjoy!! I can't wait for our snow to melt so I can take my bike down off the garage ceiling!!

The nice thing about having a bike with gears, though, is it's more flexibile: you're not limited to flat terrain. If you want to take your cruiser on a trip, or if you really love biking and you want to start venturing out of your neighborhood, and encounter hillier terrain, then a cruiser won't be nearly as much fun as a bike with gears. Even just a slight change of grade can mean work on a single speed bike. But if you can change gear to handle the incline, you will have a lot more fun. More fun = more exercise.

The hand brakes give you better speed control & safer stopping than pedal brakes, actually.

Try Craigslist to see if anyone is selling a hybrid (upright bike, lots of useful gears) for cheap.

I see the Walmart cruiser has a steel frame. It must weigh a ton, which is no fun to ride for very long. A good hybrid would be lighter and more resilient on trails or bumpy boardwalks. A good bike shop will make sure you get a good fit too. Just looking at that cruiser makes my knees hurt.

Thank you all for your insightful responses! Here I thought it was as easy as going to Walmart and wheeling out my new bike lol. You ladies brought up things I never even thought of! (Which is also the reason I posted, I love the wisdom here!)

I am off to google where a bike shop might be around here!!

Biking is so fun - take your time - I wish I would have gotten an aluminum frame - (at least I think that is what it was) --- about $60 more than I paid and about 3 - 4 pounds lighter, which makes a difference.
What I have found about bike shops is that the people who work there are enthusiasts!! They know what they are talking about and genuinely want to help you. Good luck!

My DH and I bought Electra Townies this fall ... easy to ride, very comfortable seats and handle bars, and coaster brakes. They were spendy but we love them.

Be a bit careful with Craigslist though. Sometimes the incredibly cheap bikes are a steal, in the literal sense. Expect to pay a good/fair price for a good bike.

I can't wait for our snow to melt...

What? No studded tires? We bike all winter here!

-Lena

Here is a link that might be useful: Ice Bike!

DH and I invested in good quality mountain bikes from a shop. Can't recall exactly, but price was a few hundred per bike. That was a chunk of change back then but those bikes are still with us, still in great shape, we still ride them and they're 15 years old. If you can afford to spend a little more you'll probably get a lot more longevity and mileage and they take you pretty cool places ;).

Talking about biking,I wonder how Caroline (Trailrunner) is doing on her bike trip.I bet she's really loving it.I know that she trained a long time for this trip. She told me that they will be home in May.

I have always wanted a bike, but my little streets are so hilly. And you can't see what's over the hill and I'm afraid my head would end up hanging off my neck.

Biking is such fun, it truly is.

Has anyone ever biked Mackinaw Island in the UP of Michigan? When I lived up north my husband and I use to go there and rent bikes and ride, such fun.

.....Jane

Talking about biking, I wonder how Caroline (Trailrunner) is doing on her bike trip.

Check out her trip in this thread:
Checking in

Good bike shops also sometimes have nice bikes that people have traded in when they upgrade. The staff goes over them to make sure everything works properly, and sell them for a very reduced price. So you might not get the exact color you want - you could always have it painted at an auto body shop (or bust out the spray paint) if it meant that much to you.

Also, you can call the local police department and ask if they have a bike auction. Many jurisdictions auction off stolen bikes that were never reclaimed by their owners, with the money going to a police charity (like college scholarships for children of officers killed or disabled in the line of duty). A triathlete I know got a $1k+ racing bike for under $100 at a police auction... he was about the only one who knew what it was and snatched it up. All it needed was new tires from sitting in storage for months.

I miss riding a bike, but my balance is shot. There are stabilizer wheels for adult bikes but I think they'd just look too goofy. My PT says adult trikes tend to be tippy.

JM, get a recumbent trike.

natal, I've road-tested a few recumbent trikes for someone who custom-built things like that for people with disabilities - we were having a special three-wheeled wheelchair built for DH to take me on his long runs and road races when he was still doing those. While I was having the chair adjusted I tooled around the parking lot and surrounding side streets on a few of the maker's trikes (stock models and prototypes) to give him my opinion. The whole concept didn't work for me, and having my head on about the same level as a truck/SUV bumper... VERY scary!

Blog on Google maps bike routes

Direct link

I own a sexy Marin brand bike. I love it. I wish I felt safe riding where I live but I don't. We have Victorian era horse drawn/ carriage width roads that have too many twists and turns which prevent cars from being able to see bike riders.

I can drive my bike to safe places to ride and used to do it lots! That said, once the old car the $$$ rack fit on was traded in, I was back to zero.

I am not fit enough to ride up a very steep hill for 1/2 mile on a narrow highway where cars drive 45. I would be having to peddle back and forth instead of straight up. The professional bikers scare me so I have no business riding my bike on this road.

I need to outfit my newest car and get my bike tuned up. I have seriously been thinking about it because I do like riding my bike and I need the exercise.

lenam, thanks so much for pointing out Google bike routes. That's great news. Another good site is Map My Ride There you can look to see if anyone has mapped out a good ride in your area or you can map your own. It shows distance and elevation.

golddust, I rented a Marin bike last summer on our California bike vacation and really liked it. Nice brand.

One thing about hills: you do build up the strength to handle them fairly quickly. We live in a hilly area, and now I enjoy hills. Good workout going up, loads of fun coasting down. Now we think flat terrain is boring! So don't let hills intimidate you. Just use the biggest back gear & that small front gear & take your time. BTW, I'm no skinny cyclist (ahem), so if I can do hills, you guys can.

I recently took up biking again after almost 40 years. I was used to the old style bike - no hand brakes or gears. I tried one of the new fangled bikes, I couldn't touch the ground while sitting on the seat, so would have to give a small hop to dismount. I felt like I was a wreck waiting to happen. Lol! And even with the butt bike & legs like wet noodles (after 10 miles), I knew that riding was something that I wanted to keep doing. I happened across a used recumbant bike & gave it a try. I LOVE the recumbant. I only ride on bike trails, but now no butt bike or jelly legs.:) It's the best!