I had a nice trek mountain bike I picked up from a local shop years ago intending to go trail riding. That bicycle got destroyed during Harvey, and inthe intervening years my health has gone to crap... tons of excuses, they don't matter. I want to start riding again and doing what I was doing before... I was 100# lighter and felt 100x better.


This will be strictly for on road or paved track riding, and i know very little about that style of bike. Do yall have reccomendations on a good entry level option that a local shop may have? I don't mind spending money for a decent bike, but have no intent to be competitive.... it will be purely for the exercise.

I'm also fairly tall at 6'2, and about 320 atm... I don't know ifnthar will have much of an impact.

Thanks for any constructive input, im trying to get my life back in a better place!

I would look at a light weight hybrid like a Cannondale Quick or something of that nature.

what's your ideal budget?

I am similar in height(6'4, 250) and started riding last fall. I bought the entry level fx1 from trek. I liked it, but after about 5 months I was finding what type of riding I liked and jumped to a new bike.

my 2 cents on bikes, there are aggressive posture road bikes, and there are endurance road bikes (trek domane, canyon endurace, and a lot more than I can name). the endurance road bikes are less aggressive in body position and more enjoyable to ride over for me. the drop bars vs tee style are great for longer rides so you can move hand positions and avoid hand fatigue. my biggest issue with the fx1 was the highest gear ratio was about 3.4, and I found myself riding a lot in top gear when I got more in shape. I ended up upgrading to a trek domane. drop bars and gearing are a lot more comfortable for longer (for me at least) rides of 40+ miles and the body position is more adjustable depending on hand position, so I can ride more upright, or get low and really aggressive if I want.

Probably going to stay sub 1000$ if possible. I need something to get the exercise, but need to get some other bills going to. I could wiggle from that, but definitely in that range.

You mentioned Harvey, so I'm going to assume Houston. Here a couple options and, if you're 6'2", you're looking at a 58cm or maybe larger depending on your build:

https://houston.craigslist.org/bik/d/houston-specialized-roubaix-58cm/7295576404.html

https://houston.craigslist.org/bik/d/houston-trek-madone-52-3k-new-full/7280492088.html

https://houston.craigslist.org/bik/d/houston-2014-cannondale-supersix-evo/7294931061.html

https://houston.craigslist.org/bik/d/houston-61-inch-frame-fast-hybrid-2020/7282930624.html

I am 6'2" 220lbs and got the Trek Dual Sport Hybrid bike from Bike Barn for $500 on sale. Has been a great bike for light trails and concrete. I do worry about the hybrid tires on rougher roads but they help you go on concrete just for exercising. Modern bikes ride amazing. Good luck

I have a Salsa Journeyman and love it

Hour east( we actually got more rain, just not as dense of population), but a drive into Houston is not out of the question!

I'll look at those, would definitely move some bikes into my price range!

Finding a bike lately has been hard.

Took me a long time to find the ones we wanted, and even then we compromised to get something. The guy I bought mybike from said he had sold 80 bikes in the past 2 days. Literally he had 1 tall, and 1 medium on the rack that wasn't $4000.

It's been busy since the shutdown, but he thinks its increased recently because everyoen is getting their stimulus checks.

I agree with the gravel or endurance bike suggestion. I would also recommend not breaking the bank for your first bike. Used is a good idea as long as you know what size you need. Do some research into how to measure yourself to get an idea of what size frame you need. Different makers frames will fit people differently. If you buy new at a shop, they will typically get you into the right size, but they also sometimes have some pressure to try to get you into whatever size they have in stock. So it will help you to have a general idea of what to expect before buying, and will be critical if you decide to buy used instead (which I would encourage). The reason I say this is that I saw somebody recommend a 58cm frame above, and I will say that I am a hair under 6' tall with a longer torso and shorter legs, and I got a professional fit from Tad Hughes before buying a bike a few years ago, and he was recommending a 58 cm frame if I chose a Trek Domane, a 56cm in most other bikes, and a 54 cm for one manufacturer (I forget which one). So if you are 6'2", I would be expecting you to need at least a 58-60 cm in most frames and maybe even a 62 if you start looking at the Trek Domane.

yeah, and talking to a local shop, when the pandemic started ramping up a lot of bike manufacturers thought it was going to hurt sales, so they pushed discounts and deals to keep volume moving. then the opposite happened and demand went way up. now the same dealer told me that treks full 2021 production capacity volume was sold out 2 months in to the year.

agrams said:

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yeah, and talking to a local shop, when the pandemic started ramping up a lot of bike manufacturers thought it was going to hurt sales, so they pushed discounts and deals to keep volume moving. then the opposite happened and demand went way up. now the same dealer told me that treks full 2021 production capacity volume was sold out 2 months in to the year.

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That is going to make the cyclist haters lose their minds when all those bikes show up on the streets when they find out they can't ride them in the parks without getting a ticket for going too fast.

Salsa Journeyman sounds like a good fit for ya.


I have a Salsa Fargo and looovve it.

txags92 said:

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agrams said:

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yeah, and talking to a local shop, when the pandemic started ramping up a lot of bike manufacturers thought it was going to hurt sales, so they pushed discounts and deals to keep volume moving. then the opposite happened and demand went way up. now the same dealer told me that treks full 2021 production capacity volume was sold out 2 months in to the year.

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That is going to make the cyclist haters lose their minds when all those bikes show up on the streets when they find out they can't ride them in the parks without getting a ticket for going too fast.

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I wrote my letter to the county commissioner to ***** about the speed limit. Also fired one off to Lizzie Fletcher, after putting on my best SJW impression for full effect. No response from either yet.

is there some local city ordinance somewhere about limiting bike speeds on trails I missed?

A houston thing. They changed one of the popular trails from 15 mph when passing to 15 mph. Or 10, can't remember. Then actually had cops out on gators with radar guns giving tickets. Expensive tickets.

good lord...

agrams said:

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is there some local city ordinance somewhere about limiting bike speeds on trails I missed?

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Actually it is 10 mph at all times for about 30 miles worth of trail, including about 15 miles with almost no pedestrians on it. And the ticket is a park rules violation similar to trespassing after hours or drunk and disorderly conduct. Which means the fine is about $250 and can't be wiped out using defensive driving. Somebody did the math and said it is more than the ticket you would get for driving 60 through a school zone.

And all this came after about 25 years of the county commissioners office pointing to the trails in the park and saying cyclists don't belong on the road every time there was a public comment period for any new road project along popular cycling routes. So all the roads on the west side of town are now unfit for use by cyclists, and the county has basically kicked the cyclists off of the "bike path" they used to justify not building the roads to include room for cyclists.

Any shop advice in Houston? There are two in beaumont, but likely to have... limited inventory. I will be shopping Saturday, and if the mask mandates have calmed down, I wouldn't mind the trip( I'm 1.5 months post infection, im not a risk to catch or spread.)

I'm probably not going to be able to spend a fortune, but I would like to find something decent. Dealing with being out of any shape besides round, and some post covid less than stellar breathing has effected both my day to day life, and my ability to scuba dive om the higher level I was..... that has to change...for my own good and to not throw away a decade of training and experience...

I am not super familiar with bike shops on the east side of town, but Bay Area Cycles has a Pasadena location, and they used to be Aggie owned (I assume they still are) and several H&F folks got bikes there a few years back and seemed happy with the experience. The largest shop in town is Bike Barn and they have several locations and probably the largest inventory. Urban Bicycle Gallery usually gets pretty good reviews too, but I have never dealt with them.

Where are you? Bicycle world in Waco has a lot of bikes.

Beaumont area.

I can go over towards Katy if necessary, I have a told tag and domt mind traveling

Gotcha, I'm right down the street from Urban Bicycle Gallery, can go check out what they have if you have an idea of what you're looking for. Bike Barn, also mentioned above, is a good place to look. No idea if these various bike shops are keeping their online inventory up to date.

I struck out in beaumont, one has nothing but s/xs frames in stock,hearing Houston isn't much better. Looks like used, or a phone call.campaign may be my best bet!

there are stores up in the metroplex (bicycles Inc) which had a ton of trek in stock. I know that is a long way from you, but maybe you can call and see if they would ship one to you if you know what you want to buy. The store I went to in Hurst probably had a dozen size/models of the trek domane, and probably 100+ bikes on the racks.

I will call around! I wouldn't mind taking a drive while I'm on vacation anyway.

Opinions on the specialized diverge? I found a 61, which should fit well, in stock, within a reasonable driving distance.

Ag_of_08 said:

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Opinions on the specialized diverge? I found a 61, which should fit well, in stock, within a reasonable driving distance.

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I don't have any direct experience with the Diverge, but specialized makes good bikes and their Roubaix line pioneered the endurance bike segment. Alot of that technology has made its way over to the gravel bikes that are popular now. The only thing I would avoid is the EVO Diverge since it has a flat bar. Unless your are riding alot more dirt and not planning to do any significantly long rides, I would avoid a flat bar bike. The road bar gives you more hand positions and makes it easier to avoid cyclist's palsy.

agree. when I wanted flat bar the comp was high on the list. but all depends on your riding types. longer rides are great to have drop bar for variable hand positions.

Also found a salsa vaya grx in stock at another shop.

So the diverge at 61 was too tall in college station, im stopped in cypress this AM to go look at a trek checkpoint ALR5 this morning they have in clear lake( cypress was a midway point, and this area struck me as a pretty good neighborhood so I stopped here to sleep lol)


Only thing I'm worried about...I'm over the weight limit on most of these.

checkpioint is a little more aggressive in posture than the domane (their endurance road/race bike) but i believe it also allows larger tires (45mm) whereas the domane only allows 35/38.

find a local shop you can try different saddles from. My local shop allows 30 days to return if you don't like.