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I would like to get into biking. Haven’t ridden since I was a kid. Back then everyone had a one speed bike. The 10 speed English racer was the bike you dreamed of getting. I never had one.

I’m in my early 70’s and live in W. Massachusetts, very hilly terrain. Up until a couple years ago I did a lot of inline distance skating (K2’s w/90mm wheels). Usual loop 13m longest trip 26m. My legs are strong and I think I would enjoy biking.

I’m finding the world of bike choices a bit confusing. Sport/hybrid, road bike, touring, fitness etc. Will be riding almost exclusively on back country roads and as I mentioned, I live in a very hilly area. Would like to work up to riding a 50 miler eventually. I am 5’8”, 145 Lbs. 32” inseam, if that helps.

I did some research and have come up with what I think I need, but am not really sure.

-Sport/hybrid
-aluminum frame
-Flat handle bar
-Triple chainring
-9 speed rear cassette
-Fully hydraulic discs brakes (because of the hills)
-rapid fire shifters
-700c tires
? carbon fork

Would like to find a used bike for around $500 for my first bike to see how I like it. Hoping someone could tell me if I’m on the right track with my choices and maybe recommend a few used models I could look for that would work for me.

Thanks in advance for any help,

Nick

Bicycles Stack Exchange prohibits recommending products, but we can offer principles to use when shopping.

The key to choosing the right bicycle is matching the bike to the kind of riding you want to do. I apologize for the length of the post - this is a complicated topic.

Generally speaking, you can narrow your search to just a few bikes by:

• Identifying the type of riding you want to do


• Match a bike type to your need


• Select a brand of bike


• Filter for bike type and your price range

Matching a bike to your need

Starting with the beginning of the decision making process - you may have already thought all this out but I want to be thorough.

Bicycles are designed for different kind of riding styles. Bikes are like shoes; there is a different shoe for every activity.

Looking at one bike maker's website offers examples:

• 
  Mountain
  
  
  • Cross Country
  
  
  • Trail
  
  
  • Cross Country/Downhill
  
  


• 
  Road
  
  
  • Performance
  
  
  • Gravel
  
  
  • Cyclocross
  
  
  • Triathlon
  
  


• 
  Active
  
  
  • Fitness
  
  
  • Transportation
  
  
  • Comfort
  
  

What's the difference?

The different types of bikes are designed for a type of activity, most of the names are pretty descriptive. What's different about each type are things like:

• Frame geometry: this will determine how the bike rides, handles, and the seating position


• Tire size: generally narrow tires are faster and less comfortable, wider tires are slower and offer more comfort and/or more traction for off-road


• Appropriate drive train / gearing for the task


• Appropriate brakes for the task


• Wheels to match the application

In the original post the type of bike mentioned is "sport/hybrid". This style of bike indicates that the bike

• Will be used on streets or paths


• The rider prefers a more upright seating position


• Tires in the medium-wide to wide range for greater comfort


• Focusing more on comfort than speed

If these qualities match the kind of riding you have in mind then you have selected the right bike type.

The original post mentions some specific parts. My thought is that some of the parts are "must have" (meet a riding need) and other parts are "nice to have"

• Triple chain ring: this feels like a must have given the hills described


• 9 speed cassette: if you found a great deal on a used bike with a 7 speed cassette would walk away? 21 speeds will give you plenty of gear choices.


• hydraulic disk brakes: nice to have. Any quality brake system will get you stopped on hills.


• 700C tires: for the riding style described the tire width seems more important than the wheel diameter. Do you want 40mm wide tires? Wider or thinner? If you find a great deal on a used bike with 26 inch tires is that a deal breaker?


• Carbon fork: seems like a nice to have

Selecting a brand

Major bike makers are very competitive with each other in each type of bike and at each price point. Every now and then one maker introduces something that gives it an edge over another maker. Usually, it's only a perceived edge and not a measurable edge.

All that to say - in a given category and price point bikes are very similar.

The one large exception are bikes sold in department stores. Department store bikes are built to hit a very low price point and large compromises are made in quality of materials and workmanship to achieve a low retail price.

One way of narrowing your brand choice would be to look at parts availability and support.

Used Bikes

The original post indicates a desire to purchase a used bike.

Evaluating the condition of a used bike is easier than evaluating a car but it still takes some bike knowledge to do a good job of evaluation. Here is a link to a previous question on buying used bikes with some helpful answers.

Even if you are looking for a used bike, drop by your local bike shop. A good shop is interested in helping people learn about bikes. They should be happy to answer questions and let you test ride a few bikes. The test rides are critical to verifying that you are looking at the right type of bike.

Hydraulic disc brakes - yes. These are now available on Shimano's lower end Altus, Acera and Alivio groupsets so there no reason to not have them.

A 3x9 drivetrain will give you the low ratios you need to tackle hilly country. A 2x10 or 2x11 drivetrain will also work if the cassette has large enough small sprockets.

If you are riding on roads, you will benefit from a more road oriented flat-bar hybrid. That means: rigid forks (as opposed to suspension forks, which on inexpensive bikes mostly add weight), slightly higher gearing (it's easier to ride on tarmac than dirt) narrower tires approx 30-40mm, 700c/ETRTO 622 wheels, slightly more leant-forward riding position.

You could also consider a drop bar road bike. The major benefit is more hand positions on the bars which help comfort on longer rides. 'Gravel', 'adventure' or 'endurance' bikes have lower gearing, wider tires and more upright riding positions that would suit hilly backroads riding.