alaska1986
New Member
Hello
Looking for some suggestions on a hybrid bike to fit our needs below. Really looking for a top 5 type consensus list from experts based on our budget and application that i can start to narrow down
I read some previous posts but they didnt quite fit my application so i posted this to make sure i get the best advice
Application
Live in Anchorage Alaska.
We bike in summer only mainly for fitness and as a byproduct of that sightseeing and commuting. We may work our way up to a 20 mile bike ride on the highway (girdwood to indian). We plan to take bike maintenance classes in town but would like something low maintenance
We will probably ride 80% on paved trails in Anchorage and maybe 20% on natural surfaces when we go hiking or
camping. No single track, loose dirt, gravel, rocks at this point. Its a short season so on average id say we bike 2x a week.
I am 5'6 170 lbs, my wife 5'0 132 pounds. We are ok with second hand but obviously limited by selection in Anchorage.
Backstory
Ok we are noobs to the biking world so hopefully you go easy on us. We got some cheap bikes and started biking and found we enjoy it.
Short story we bought cheap 7 speed Schwinn Discover Men + Women bikes and quickly found out those are not suited for 22mile roundtrip
coastal trail ride on pavement.
We are looking for an upgrade but dont necessarily need an upgrade to the Taj Mahal if you know what i mean.
I have read a bit on the basics of bikes and generally know what to expect for the price.
(brake type, wheel size, gearing, component quality handlebar config, frame material, suspension)
Budget/Buying
I have seen bikes commonly into the over $1,000 range. Based on my brief search i feel confident we can get something well under $1000USD but the choices are overwhelming and Id like some help. Our riding style isnt anything extraordinary so i just cant see spending $1k. I see us biking at most 2x a week.
We are ok with second hand but obviously limited by selection in Anchorage so to save money we often have to get creative. Any advice on websites for buying would be great.
We have about 5 bike shops in town including Trek and REI. Other stores carry some popular brands to. We also have this placed called Off the Chain
that is a bike collective that will teach you or help you to things yourself. We dont mind DIY as long we have someone there by our side vs learning
from youtube videos or we can just pay someone but dont want that to end up being cost prohibitive for our budget and sacrificing bike quality.
Any advice relating to fitting the bikes would be great too, my wife found the last bike seat uncomfortable on the long ride.
I understand that buying online opens up a lot of options compared to local retailers so we dont mind going that route and having
someone assemble it in town, we aren't much the DIY type when it comes to that though.
Looking for some suggestions on a hybrid bike to fit our needs below. Really looking for a top 5 type consensus list from experts based on our budget and application that i can start to narrow down
I read some previous posts but they didnt quite fit my application so i posted this to make sure i get the best advice
Application
Live in Anchorage Alaska.
We bike in summer only mainly for fitness and as a byproduct of that sightseeing and commuting. We may work our way up to a 20 mile bike ride on the highway (girdwood to indian). We plan to take bike maintenance classes in town but would like something low maintenance
We will probably ride 80% on paved trails in Anchorage and maybe 20% on natural surfaces when we go hiking or
camping. No single track, loose dirt, gravel, rocks at this point. Its a short season so on average id say we bike 2x a week.
I am 5'6 170 lbs, my wife 5'0 132 pounds. We are ok with second hand but obviously limited by selection in Anchorage.
Backstory
Ok we are noobs to the biking world so hopefully you go easy on us. We got some cheap bikes and started biking and found we enjoy it.
Short story we bought cheap 7 speed Schwinn Discover Men + Women bikes and quickly found out those are not suited for 22mile roundtrip
coastal trail ride on pavement.
We are looking for an upgrade but dont necessarily need an upgrade to the Taj Mahal if you know what i mean.
I have read a bit on the basics of bikes and generally know what to expect for the price.
(brake type, wheel size, gearing, component quality handlebar config, frame material, suspension)
Budget/Buying
I have seen bikes commonly into the over $1,000 range. Based on my brief search i feel confident we can get something well under $1000USD but the choices are overwhelming and Id like some help. Our riding style isnt anything extraordinary so i just cant see spending $1k. I see us biking at most 2x a week.
We are ok with second hand but obviously limited by selection in Anchorage so to save money we often have to get creative. Any advice on websites for buying would be great.
We have about 5 bike shops in town including Trek and REI. Other stores carry some popular brands to. We also have this placed called Off the Chain
that is a bike collective that will teach you or help you to things yourself. We dont mind DIY as long we have someone there by our side vs learning
from youtube videos or we can just pay someone but dont want that to end up being cost prohibitive for our budget and sacrificing bike quality.
Any advice relating to fitting the bikes would be great too, my wife found the last bike seat uncomfortable on the long ride.
I understand that buying online opens up a lot of options compared to local retailers so we dont mind going that route and having
someone assemble it in town, we aren't much the DIY type when it comes to that though.