

Ask HN: which bike would you recommend - helwr

something for daily routine in the central park
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dmlorenzetti
What bike to choose is a very personal thing.

There's no substitute for riding lots of bikes. Pay attention to how upright
you like to be, how far forward you like the cranks, how wide you want the
handlebars. Pay attention to whether the shifter and brake positions work well
for you. Pay attention to how stiff you like the frame to feel.

The only specific advice I would give you is, don't think too small. Right now
you just want to do a daily routine in the park, but if you get a bike that
just barely lets you do that, you might miss out on some of the other joys of
biking-- touring, day rides, grocery shopping, whatever might grab your fancy
in the future.

You might also prowl around EcoVelo (<http://www.ecovelo.info/>), an advocacy
site for sensible commuting bikes. That site should give you lots of ideas
about what, in general, other people value.

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olefoo
This is like asking "What sort of woman should I marry?", without knowing you
it's impossible to say.

~~~
helwr
what sort of woman should i marry is another good question, but i was looking
for something like this:
[http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2009/06/22/nyregion/22bi...](http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2009/06/22/nyregion/22bike.600.jpg)

i mean a speed bike for daily 1hr routine circling the park on a paved road,
within a budget of ~2k.

one caveat - i have to return home on crappy UES roads

------
kes
I love my Trek. It's a great utility bike, not flashy, and lightweight:
<http://www.trekbikes.com/ca/en/bikes/bike_path/fx/72fx/>

But if you're looking for a fixie, my friends tell me that they love their
District (also Trek):
[http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/urban/district/district...](http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/urban/district/district/)

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cullenking
What does daily routine in the central park mean? Is that a mountain bike
scenario (offroad, bumps/potholes, gravel etc), a road scenario, longer
distance where you want comfort, shorter distance where you want speed, dual
on-road off-road, around town....

Bikes can come in a 'one size fits all', but you'll be hating your bike if you
start liking one particular style of biking.

Post a couple more details and I can get you some decent advice!

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expeditious
Find a local bike shop and talk to the people there. Ideally, find one where
the owner actually works there. Talk to them and find out if they are there
because they really actually care about cycling. Ask if they ride to work. Ask
if they race. If they do really care about cycling, you can usually trust them
for the most part (in my experience). Ask them for advice.

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frankus
I have a giant seek 1 from last year and I love it. Bascally I wanted three
things in a bike: 700c wheels, a hub shifter, and hydraulic disc brakes
(probably overkill for you, but we have hills here).

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samratjp
Honestly since you have to deal with crappy roads at some point in your
journey, you are better off investing in a cheaper sport bike initially. If
you are not looking for mission critical speed, you'd be surprised how long a
cheap wal-mart sports bike can go; besides, those are far easier to replace
and cost 10% of your budget.

That said, if you are looking into a serious racing bike, by all means check
biker friendly forums or even look into a central park bikers group on
meetup.com.

