[ebag4]

Question for you bike gurus out there.  I am considering purchasing a bike.  It has been a few years since I rode, in fact, it had been so long that I decided to sell my Schwinn Paramount 424 aluminum road bike last year rather than let it simply hang in the garage and rot.   

I have decided to take up riding again; I have a 12 year old son that I will be riding with.  My goal is to loose some weight I have put on over the last number of years.  I don’t race but I don’t want a slow sluggish bike either.  I am considering hybrid bikes mainly because they appear to be similar to a road bike but with more upright seating.  One of the models I am considering is a Trek 7.3 FX.  Another model I am looking at is the Specialized Sirius (sp?).  Are these models decent units in their genre?  I am trying to stay in the $500. range, in fact I will probably be selling my beloved Hornshoppe Horns to finance the purchase. 

Any comments or recommendations are appreciated.

Thanks,
Ed

[mcullinan]

Ed,
I have a Specialized Roubaix which is a great bike though a little over your budget. Specialized makes great bikes imo. Check out Giant, also look at the bike review sites online. They have come a long way though, since my 1980 Bianchi, 50 lb 10 speed, and Im sure you will get a good one.
GL
Mike

[Thelonious Monk]

any vintage trek will kick ass.

[drphoto]

ebag, if you live in the Louisville area....go see Bob @ Clarksville Schwinn. He'll steer you in the right direction. Low key, low pressure guy. You could always get a road bike and put on a more upright stem. Don't be tempted by flat mt.bike type bars. They are not comfortable on the road. Traditional road bars give more positions. You can ride w/ your hands on top, grip the brake hoods when climbing and drop down when you want to motor. W/ flat bars you're stuck w/ one compromised position.

[PhilNYC]

Trek and Specialized are certainly two respected names in bikes, so as long as the fit is good and you feel comfortable on them, you probably can't go wrong with them for casual riding.  Most bikes in the same price class use the same Shimano components, so you're really going to be judging the bike on fit and comfort.

[fiveoclockfriday]

Whoa, twilight zone...I too own a (beloved) pair of Horns. I also just bought a bike, a Trek multitrack 7300. I don't know how that compares to the model you're looking at, but it was about $420 at an awesome local bike shop. I've had it about 3 weeks and I love it so far, I've ridden about 5 days a week since. I ride a mix of some roads and some more path-like trails (not totally unpaved, but not cement paved, hard to describe). The hybrid style seems like a good fit, on the trails people with true road bikes seem a little unstable on some passages, and on roads obviously something like a true mountain bike would be cumbersome.

[ebag4]

Wow, thank for all the responses guys.  There seems to be a common theme regarding finding a good bike shop and work with them on fit, etc..  I saw this recurring theme on some of the bike sites as well.

drphoto, yes, I work in Louisville but live in southern Indiana.  I was at Clarksville Schwinn today picking up a part for my sons bike and spoke with Suzie (Bob's wife I believe) concerning my options.  I bought my sons BMX bike (last Christmas) from them and their service was excellent.

Thanks again,
Ed

[PhishPhan]

Fit is more important than anything. If it doesn't fit you don't buy it.

My advice to you is to spend a little more and get a decent road bike. IF you're really serious about getting into biking and losing some weight you'll find that as you progress as a cyclist you'll quickly grow tired of the hybrid and yearn for a decent road bike.

Just my $0.02

There's a great forum over at roadbikereview.com. This is probably the most active forum I know of. There are tons of people there who were in your position not too long ago that who could really help you in your quest for a new ride.