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Man, I really love biking. I don't even do it that often but just thinking about sitting on a bike and biking. Damn, that's da shiet right there. I'm the kinda guy that likes adventuring/exploring/traveling around so biking is perfect for me. Even though I also run Cross Country, biking is just so much convenient and fun. Unfortunately I don't bike around too often, as I don't have a bike.
So, as I need to buy a bike, I need to start off with what type of bike. My friend advises that I don't buy a road bike, because, as he says, I'm too big of a noob to get one. He also says it won't be any use to me because I won't be using it for long-distances. Even though I might not, I do want to start biking seriously and who knows, I might need it for college (depending where I go). My friends also says that a road bike won't be useful because I'll end up breaking it (I thinnk he's referring to the rims) if I bring it off-road.
Even though I'd choose a road-bike over a mountain-bike simply because they're so much better looking, I need more convincing in order to ween myself off road-bikes.
Also, any ideas on an affordable yet sturdy bikes? I'd prefer prices ranging $100-$200.
  
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Do you want to bike for leisure or to get into a fun new activity?
I used to BMX and I found it to be one of my favorite extracurricular activities.
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Fun new activity less intense than BMX but more intense just just for leisure.
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Used bikes are often dependable and affordable. You could try looking around craigslist in your area. Mountain bikes are good for riding around casually, and they can go offroad. Go for one without suspension though. Suspension makes offroading worlds more comfortable, but it drives the cost up. For most people, mountain bikes work great, the reason for a road bike is usually speed (or price, depending).
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Maybe you should try a cyclo-cross bike. You can take them off road if you just ride gravel roads or non technical terrain. Plus they look like roadbikes and are faster than a mountainbike. The last part makes it fun since you can ride longer distances and get more varied scenery compared to an mtb.
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Unless you actually plan to ride off road, get a road bike. It is more efficient because of your riding position and almost invariably lighter.
If you want to spend $100-200, I would recommend finding a used Raleigh road bike if you can, or a used Schwinn, Cannondale, Bianchi etc. road bike. Those four names made some extremely durable bikes.
A lot of modern road rims are also suitable for cyclocross (different from BMC, it's like cross country bicycling), but older ones are not likely able to handle off road riding. You could specifically buy cyclocross rims, they start pretty cheap (I think you can get some for $20.00 each from Ambrosio), but like I said, if you plan to ride only on roads, get a road bike with normal road wheels.
An older road bike will have downtube friction shifters, but the indexed shifters on mountain bikes in that price range suck so badly I'd say that's actually an advantage, you just have to spend 15 minutes learning how to use them.
If you plan on being serious at all, make sure your bike fits, or else you'll never even be able to get into the "activity." Ride it before you buy it. You can adjust some parts of fit, but obviously some you can't.
My bike cost $6000, but you can definitely get a reliable, comfortable road bike in the range you're looking for.
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United States17042 Posts
100-200 is going to be pretty hard, although i suppose it depends on what kind of bike you're looking for.
As the poster above me said, the bike fit is more important than anything else. A used road bike should be the best, although i would put in that it depends where you live. If you live in a more rural area, where the roads don't really lead anywhere, the bike won't let you go to very many places. if you live in the city however, it should be perfect.
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I love cycling. It's like an all-purpose thing. You exercise. It's transportation. It's good for the environment. You don't look like an idiot. You can do it anytime. You can even do it in any weather if you're daring enough. It's cheaper and a LOT more safe than street racing cars. You can do it without a license. You can do it in any country. You can bring it with you.
My best friend found an old worn out bike thrown away and he spent about $30 to fix it up (with some help, so that might add $) and re-paint / re-finish it, and now he has a pretty good bike to use.
If you're gonna be on the road a lot, get a road bike. I find mountain bikes are really fun but tire you a lot more quickly than a road bike.
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I used to compete in mtb races and didnt think road bikes would be fun until i tried. Now I rarely tuch my old mtbs. A rather expensive hobby tho.
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EPT
