Maybe get back into biking?

Get your bike from a bike shop not Walmart. That way you get a good bike and one that fits as opposed to a department store one size fits all.
It sounds as if you will need a mountain bike. road bike tire don't like gravel roads. If you are limited on funds go to a bike shop find the type, size and kind of bike you want and then look for a good used one.

Yeah, I am definitely not getting one from Walmart:P Thanks for the advice. I figured I would need more of a mountain. Any suggestions on brands? Whats good, what to avoid?

Perhaps a Cross or Fitness bike would fit the bill as well - a bike shop should be able to show you all the types.

Best bang for the buck would probably be a used chrome moly (steel) rigid frame and fork mountain bike or hybrid. Most of my experience is with Trek 700 (hybrid) and 800 (mountain/trail) series bikes from the 1990s though I have owned a Giant Yukon (similar to the 800 series) from the same era and a newer aluminum Giant Boulder. All have been excellent bikes for mixed riding. These and similar bikes from other companies are available inexpensively and are solid and dependible. Some lower quality bikes were made from HiTen or other lesser steel, try to stick with chrome-moly which was quite popular back then and still is. Most of the time chrome moly frames are clearly marked on the seat tube of the frames' main triangle.

The important thing is to find a bike that really fits you. There are some good fit guides online but a trip to a local bike shop is a good way for a beginner to get a good idea of size. Bike shops often sell used bikes if you don't feel confident on the open market. Once you find a decent bike to work with, you should get it serviced and adjusted if you aren't prepared to do it yourself. You might end up replacing some cables, brake pads, etc. so figure that into the price you pay. Used bikes from a bike shop should already be serviced and ready to ride. The first thing you are likely to replace are the tires. Most mountain bikes come with knobby tires that are fine for off road but less than ideal for pavement or mixed riding. Hybrid tires have better road qualities and come in tread designs for various conditions. For mixed riding a slightly wider tire with a moderate amount of tread will serve you well. I like the Bontrager H4 eco for mixed riding on a MTB or the H2 eco (less aggressive tread) for primarily paved riding with occassional gravel or turf. Many companies put out similar tires and your bike store can help you pick one that is appropriate.

A good mountain bike or hybrid will serve you well. I put many miles on my Trek 820 Mountain Trail and 830 Antelope before selling them and buying my current Trek 700 Cross Trail (a hybrid). I still have the Giant Yukon as well and have ridden it in several group rides. Like you, I live in a rural area and ride a variety of terrain so I don't own a pure road bike. My wife still rides a hybridized Trek 820. Someday you might want to upgrade but that first old reliable bike will make a great foul weather, winter, Plan B bike.

It's going to be difficult to find a bad bike at any bike shop. As suggest above, visit a few bike shops, and see what strikes your fancy, fits, and is in budget. Test ride the bike, and if it feels good riding and meets the aforementioned criteria, buy it. It really doesn't matter what the frame material is.

Before you buy anything consult a local cycling club. They can let you know of good deals on used equipment, and also advise on which cycling stores are good, bad, and oh my God don't go there stores.

Remember that the purchase price is merely a down payment - I have spent many thousands of dollars on upgrades, equipment, pedals, bindings, helmet, clothing, accessories, etc etc etc and you will too.

This is important: Figure out how far you are going to go with this. If you are going to take it seriously then you may want to spend the extra money and buy a serious bike at first. I wish I had bought a carbon fiber frame as I look back. Now I will have to buy a better bike in the near future and try to sell my old one.

This is actually a good time to buy a bike. The 2011 models are on clearance just about everywhere you go. My local stores are all clearing out to make room for 2012 models.

As far as I can see the new year has not brought out any huge advances in technology so you aren't losing anything by getting a 2011 model.

Serious bike? What makes a bike serious, the price?

Do not discount "entry level" bikes. You can be a serious rider on an affordable used / new bicycle. I recommend finding an affordable bike that you can grow with before blowing your budget on a race machine . Taken care of, bikes hold value pretty well - and who says that you can't have more than 1. I have 4, 2 are road bikes.

I bought a NOS Fuji finest from eBay years ago. It has an aluminum frame, steel fork and sora 8 speed components - 10,000+ miles later its still my steed for about 50% of my riding. I even used it in a race (triathlon) and got in the top 10% for my age group. Its the bike I use for commuting, foul weather, winter and long distance riding.

I save my nicer road bike for spirited group rides in good conditions. This way I have the performance when I want/need it, but do not wear out those more expensive parts when riding alone or commuting.

maydog said:

Serious bike? What makes a bike serious, the price?
Do not discount "entry level" bikes. You can be a serious rider on an affordable used / new bicycle. I recommend finding an affordable bike that you can grow with before blowing your budget on a race machine . Taken care of, bikes hold value pretty well - and who says that you can't have more than 1. I have 4, 2 are road bikes.
I bought a NOS Fuji finest from eBay years ago. It has an aluminum frame, steel fork and sora 8 speed components - 10,000+ miles later its still my steed for about 50% of my riding. I even used it in a race (triathlon) and got in the top 10% for my age group. Its the bike I use for commuting, foul weather, winter and long distance riding.
I save my nicer road bike for spirited group rides in good conditions. This way I have the performance when I want/need it, but do not wear out those more expensive parts when riding alone or commuting.

Well if you have a "casual" bike and a "nicer" bike then you are way ahead of me! I wish I had consulted a club before I bought my aluminum frame entry level bike. I would have gone a few hundred dollars more and bought something that fits in better with my goals, which would have been a carbon fiber, or maybe even titanium frame bike.

By casual, are you again implying that an "entry level" (hate that term by the way) bike can't be used for serious riding? My, as you call, casual bike takes loads more abuse and miles than my other road bikes. Its ridden hard and fast through severe conditions. Try and call a rider "casual" without them being insulted by it.

I am curious what your goals are that are not being met by your bike.

maydog said:

By casual, are you again implying that an "entry level" (hate that term by the way) bike can't be used for serious riding? My, as you call, casual bike takes loads more abuse and miles than my other road bikes. Its ridden hard and fast through severe conditions. Try and call a rider "casual" without them being insulted by it.
I am curious what your goals are that are not being met by your bike.

I don't know how we got here. There is always at least one on a forum who will hijack a thread and take it somewhere it wasn't intended to go. Are you "that guy" ?? I did not use the word casual in my post, it came from you. I said then and I will repeat now, I wish I had spent the extra few hundred to get a carbon fiber frame. I particularly noticed the drawbacks of an aluminum frame in the descents at 6 Gap this year. It's a little stiff. Bone jarring is an expression that comes to mind I suppose I could fix this by buying wider wheels, or any number of other fixes. It could have been fixed earlier by buying a higher quality bike. I was not sure of my level of commitment to cycling at that point. My advice to you, Elliot, is to consider how far you are going. As it has been said, bicycles do hold their value. Especially higher quality bikes.

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by EOrlandoRider [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

I don't know how we got here. There is always at least one on a forum who will hijack a thread and take it somewhere it wasn't intended to go. Are you "that guy" ??

I did not use the word casual in my post, it came from you.

I said then and I will repeat now, I wish I had spent the extra few hundred to get a carbon fiber frame. I particularly noticed the drawbacks of an aluminum frame in the descents at 6 Gap this year. It's a little stiff. Bone jarring is an expression that comes to mind

I suppose I could fix this by buying wider wheels, or any number of other fixes. It could have been fixed earlier by buying a higher quality bike. I was not sure of my level of commitment to cycling at that point.

My advice to you, Elliot, is to consider how far you are going. As it has been said, bicycles do hold their value. Especially higher quality bikes.

A given frame material has no inherent ride quality. Frame material is only one of many factors that affect ride quality, and it is not the most influential factor, not at all. Much more important are bike geometry, design, QC, fit, tire pressure, and how a given person interprets and gets on with what they feel from a bike. You had a bike that you didn't get on with during some descents. That's about all you can say about that bike. Carbon fiber bikes are not magic bullets to anything. They can ride like jackhammers or noodles. They can track true through corners, be slow to turn, be nervous, and they can speed wobble, just like any other bike.

The OP is better off not worrying about frame material. Likewise it's certainly not necessary for the OP to know "how far" he's going to go with cycling because frankly, he may not know. I'd say a lot of folks don't know where they're going with cycling when they start. I'd even wager that the vast majority don't know. Instead, the OP should focus on finding a bike that fits well, rides well, tickles his aesthetic buttons, and fits in his budget. To get to that point, he should visit a few or a lot of LBS and test ride bikes.

FWIW, with the exception of a very few bikes, bikes do not hold their value well at all. Thinking that you'll recover a huge of chunk of money by selling your bike later is the wrong thing to think when buying a bike. You'll just be setting yourself up for disappointment.

alienator said:

Quote:Originally Posted by EOrlandoRider [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

I don't know how we got here. There is always at least one on a forum who will hijack a thread and take it somewhere it wasn't intended to go. Are you "that guy" ??

I did not use the word casual in my post, it came from you.

I said then and I will repeat now, I wish I had spent the extra few hundred to get a carbon fiber frame. I particularly noticed the drawbacks of an aluminum frame in the descents at 6 Gap this year. It's a little stiff. Bone jarring is an expression that comes to mind

I suppose I could fix this by buying wider wheels, or any number of other fixes. It could have been fixed earlier by buying a higher quality bike. I was not sure of my level of commitment to cycling at that point.

My advice to you, Elliot, is to consider how far you are going. As it has been said, bicycles do hold their value. Especially higher quality bikes.

A given frame material has no inherent ride quality. Frame material is only one of many factors that affect ride quality, and it is not the most influential factor, not at all. Much more important are bike geometry, design, QC, fit, tire pressure, and how a given person interprets and gets on with what they feel from a bike. You had a bike that you didn't get on with during some descents. That's about all you can say about that bike. Carbon fiber bikes are not magic bullets to anything. They can ride like jackhammers or noodles. They can track true through corners, be slow to turn, be nervous, and they can speed wobble, just like any other bike.
The OP is better off not worrying about frame material. Likewise it's certainly not necessary for the OP to know "how far" he's going to go with cycling because frankly, he may not know. I'd say a lot of folks don't know where they're going with cycling when they start. I'd even wager that the vast majority don't know. Instead, the OP should focus on finding a bike that fits well, rides well, tickles his aesthetic buttons, and fits in his budget. To get to that point, he should visit a few or a lot of LBS and test ride bikes.
FWIW, with the exception of a very few bikes, bikes do not hold their value well at all. Thinking that you'll recover a huge of chunk of money by selling your bike later is the wrong thing to think when buying a bike. You'll just be setting yourself up for disappointment.

Well sir, I have to disagree with just about everything you said. Sorry about that, no disrespect meant. In my limited experience, carbon forks are definitely softer than aluminum, at least in the 5 or so carbon bikes I have tested. I would assume that someone going to a reputable and respectable bike shop, which he can determine by asking a local cycling club, that they will not leave a shop with a bike that doesn't fit properly. Don't you? That is the point I wish to stress. Well I do tend to agree with your last sentence. I recant what I said. Bikes are probably like cars, they lose half their value (or nearly so) when you take them out of the shop (or off the lot so to speak).

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by EOrlandoRider [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

Well sir, I have to disagree with just about everything you said.

Sorry about that, no disrespect meant.

In my limited experience, carbon forks are definitely softer than aluminum, at least in the 5 or so carbon bikes I have tested.

I would assume that someone going to a reputable and respectable bike shop, which he can determine by asking a local cycling club, that they will not leave a shop with a bike that doesn't fit properly. Don't you? That is the point I wish to stress.

Well I do tend to agree with your last sentence. I recant what I said. Bikes are probably like cars, they lose half their value (or nearly so) when you take them out of the shop (or off the lot so to speak).

Oh, you're not disagreeing with me. Your just disagreeing with the science and engineering. Good luck with that: tens and hundreds of years of validation of scientific and engineering principles vs the experience of one person and his 5 bike test rides. And your sample of aluminum forks was what, one? Lest we forget ride is not just in the forks, it's in the frame, the tires, the air pressure, the wheels, the pavement, the rider's state of being that day, and many factors that cause bias in human response to outside stimuli.

No, there are a lot of reasons why someone could leave any bike shop, including a reputable one, on a bike that doesn't fit properly. Besides, it's worth repeating that fit is perhaps the most important component of comfort and optimal performance on a bike. A person doesn't even have to go to a local bike club. A phone book can work, and so can going to a bike shop. It doesn't take a lot of interaction with the staff at an LBS to get a feel for the quality of service to expect.

I guess I've found "that guy" over here too ...

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by EOrlandoRider [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

I guess I've found "that guy" over here too ...

No, I'm not hijacking anything, but you're giving out bad facts. Your opinion is one thing, but theres no factual basis for your ideas about frame materials. Bad facts don't help the OP.

Forum threads often orbit around an idea. This is part of that orbit.

I am a former piano tuner/technician.

They don't make piano strings out of aluminum, because steel is needed, for elasticity and strength.
Steel core strings are found in pianos, always, and in electric guitars. Because steel is elastic.
Aluminum is not. Being "elastic", the material is like a rubber band instead of a dead bone.

That's anecdotal, but it is a "hint" of the difference between the feel, say of a old line steel frame,
and a thick cross-section, aluminum frame. I miss my old steel road bike. Its small gauge tubing
did absorb the jitters and shocks.

Horses for courses. Bamboo frames are still made, and have a rep for a sweet, and "springy" ride, right?
Bamboo, for instance, is a sort of "old line" form of "carbon fiber", is this not self evident?
Who has never seen a cane stand? It's quite a sight of natural material in tune with the stresses of life.

It's sort of funny; they don't make fishing poles out of aluminum, but they do make them from natural cane,
and from fiberglass and resin (for many decades now), and also from carbon fiber.

But we do not catch many fish with aluminum poles

unless the aluminum poles are made into bike frames and marketed to the poor fish, us.

PS: I do like aluminum. I ride an aluminum frame Trek, and my next bike will be aluminum, too.
It does not rust, and it is good for may other reasons, and it lasts well (Alvaro's aluminum Canondale
road bike, has over 15K of commuting miles on it, and it looks and rides like new, still. I saw it yesterday).

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by alienator [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]
The OP is better off not worrying about frame material. Likewise it's certainly not necessary for the OP to know "how far" he's going to go with cycling because frankly, he may not know. I'd say a lot of folks don't know where they're going with cycling when they start. I'd even wager that the vast majority don't know. Instead, the OP should focus on finding a bike that fits well, rides well, tickles his aesthetic buttons, and fits in his budget. To get to that point, he should visit a few or a lot of LBS and test ride bikes.

This is good advice. Not just the OP but to responders too. All to often folks post threads about getting into cycling and buying a bike and the response becomes about where we are and what the OP should do to get there.

Agree with the bike shop route. My only additional advise is to plan on spending several hours at the shop. I found that riding a bike around the parking lot once or twice was not only inadequate - it was misleading. A couple of bikes that felt good after 3 minutes felt pretty bad after 20 or 30 minutes.

I spent at least 20 minutes on each bike in my price range that I was serious about. I came back to the shop, adjusted the seats, flipped the stem, adjusted the derailleurs, and went back out. I put about 20 miles on 3 bikes (1 of them the bike I was currently riding as a control) one afternoon.

After that time I felt like I understood how the bike would feel when I got it on the road for 2 hours. Buying a new toy and getting to know it at home after the purchase is fun. With a bike, if you've made a bad buy, its just painful - literally.

Also - make sure that the bike shop will take the bike back if you hate it. Even if they will only allow you store credit. You don't want to make a mistake and get stuck if you can avoid it. A bike that you hate will sit in your garage up against a wall. A bike that you love will spend time under your [censored], where it belongs.

Enjoy the hunt and let us know what you decide.

And to your point Daver I have no idea where I am going with this - round and round in circles mostly. Just having fun is all 😉

I do not recommend the bamboo bike if you are planning to bunny jump a park bench...[IMG]/img/vbsmilies/smilies/rolleyes.gif[/IMG]

Totally agree with the other posts here - find a real bike shop (i.e. not one that sells primarily hockey equipment or camping gear). Bikes should be their one and only thing. Read reviews of the shops and ask people who go there what they think. A good bike shop cares about getting you a good ride within you budget and won't BS you. It should have it's own shop with knowledgeable mechanics who take some pride in their work, and plenty of parts and accessories. Most likely they host rides and have some interest in promoting cycling in the community. If you're lucky you'll have a number of such shops within a reasonable distance and can then narrow down which one speaks your language and has the gear you like at a decent price.