Looking at a couple of bikes

My wife and I are going to buy a couple of bikes. We are looking at a
couple of hybrids. We don't plan on doing a lot of off roading, but
want something comfortable. Yesterday we looked at and rode 2 Giant
Cypress bikes which ran $320 each. We liked them, but went to another
shop and looked at and rode 2 Del Sol 6.1 LXI 6.1s. We actually liked
the ride of these bikes a little better. These have aluminum frames,
whereas the Giant's had Chrome Moly. Aside from that the bikes were
very similar as far as we could tell. The Del Sols were $340 each, but
the guy is right up the street from us, and they come with 3 tune ups.

I'm looking for some suggestions of other bikes we may want to look at,
as well as any reasons I may want to stay away from either of these
bikes I already looked at.

wrote:
My wife and I are going to buy a couple of bikes. We are looking at a
couple of hybrids. We don't plan on doing a lot of off roading, but
want something comfortable. Yesterday we looked at and rode 2 Giant
Cypress bikes which ran $320 each. We liked them, but went to another
shop and looked at and rode 2 Del Sol 6.1 LXI 6.1s. We actually liked
the ride of these bikes a little better. These have aluminum frames,
whereas the Giant's had Chrome Moly. Aside from that the bikes were
very similar as far as we could tell. The Del Sols were $340 each, but
the guy is right up the street from us, and they come with 3 tune ups.

I'm looking for some suggestions of other bikes we may want to look at,
as well as any reasons I may want to stay away from either of these
bikes I already looked at.

If the Del Sol feels nice and the dealer's a skip and a jump away, it's
a no-brainer.

Frame composition at that price point should matter little. At the $300
level, both cromo and alu are usually a bit overbuilt and the ride
quality is often due to whatever tires are chosen and their air
pressure.

I don't see the point in front and seat suspension for such bikes, but
it seems they all come with it. If you can live with the extra few
pounds and the slightly ponderous feel in exchange for some
squishiness, then by all means, go for it.

If you plan on going a little faster and longer, a fully rigid hybrid
with 700c wheels might fit the bill better. A Marin Larkspur, not that
it's better than any other brand really, has the basic shape of a
slightly go-faster hybrid.

Stick with what the local shop has to offer if they're that
conveniently close.

Have fun!

On 25 Jul 2006 05:15:45 -0700, wrote:

My wife and I are going to buy a couple of bikes. We are looking at a
couple of hybrids. We don't plan on doing a lot of off roading, but
want something comfortable. Yesterday we looked at and rode 2 Giant
Cypress bikes which ran $320 each. We liked them, but went to another
shop and looked at and rode 2 Del Sol 6.1 LXI 6.1s. We actually liked
the ride of these bikes a little better. These have aluminum frames,
whereas the Giant's had Chrome Moly. Aside from that the bikes were
very similar as far as we could tell. The Del Sols were $340 each, but
the guy is right up the street from us, and they come with 3 tune ups.

I'm looking for some suggestions of other bikes we may want to look at,
as well as any reasons I may want to stay away from either of these
bikes I already looked at.

I like my Trek 7100 hybrid. It's the lowest of the line but I commute
with it three or four days a week (30 miles roundtrip). I park it on
the streets of NYC during the day; without the theft worry I'd
probably get the 7300. I've replaced the tires with better ones with
less chance of a flat; I hate those in the winter. I don't know the
others you mentioned but in that price range they're all decent. I say
whatever is most comfortable.

On 25 Jul 2006 05:15:45 -0700, wrote:

I'm looking for some suggestions of other bikes we may want to look at,
as well as any reasons I may want to stay away from either of these
bikes I already looked at.

Don't get fixated on buying matching bikes for you and your wife. Too
often the man decides which bike he wants and then, by default, buys
the women's model of the same bike for his wife.

If she'd rather have a different bike for something as seemingly
inconsequential as colour, let her get that bike. It may make the
difference between her riding it and its sitting in the garage.

Go for matching shirts or socks, if you must, but do take the time to
determine which bike she likes best and which bike best fits her.
--
zk

wrote:
My wife and I are going to buy a couple of bikes. We are looking at a
couple of hybrids. We don't plan on doing a lot of off roading, but
want something comfortable.
.....
I'm looking for some suggestions of other bikes we may want to look at,
as well as any reasons I may want to stay away from either of these
bikes I already looked at.

If you know that "normal" bikes aren't comfortable for you to ride, then
don't buy any more of them.

The most pain-free way to ride is a recumbent bicycle. The Sun EZ-1 and
Cycle Genius Starling are two of the lowest-priced possible choices, at
around $600 each.

If you want to stick with an upright-style bike, then test-ride the RANS
Fusion and/or the Cruz. They're around $800-$900 each, but they are a
LOT more comfortable than a "normal" bike will be.

I advise you not to buy any "comfort" or "beach cruiser" bikes; for
various reasons they simply aren't good choices (usually heavy, usually
poor pedalling efficiency, usually still use a [bad] upright bicycle
saddle).
~

On 2006-07-25, wrote:
My wife and I are going to buy a couple of bikes. We are looking at a
couple of hybrids. We don't plan on doing a lot of off roading, but
want something comfortable. Yesterday we looked at and rode 2 Giant
Cypress bikes which ran $320 each. We liked them, but went to another
shop and looked at and rode 2 Del Sol 6.1 LXI 6.1s. We actually liked
the ride of these bikes a little better. These have aluminum frames,
whereas the Giant's had Chrome Moly. Aside from that the bikes were
very similar as far as we could tell. The Del Sols were $340 each, but
the guy is right up the street from us, and they come with 3 tune ups.

I'm looking for some suggestions of other bikes we may want to look at,
as well as any reasons I may want to stay away from either of these
bikes I already looked at.


I have a Cypress SX from two years ago. This is a little different bike
than you describe. At this point, it has 12,000 gravel/dirt ridden miles
on it. My only complaint is the cheap Xero hubs/wheelset that came on
this bike. The seals are nowhere near as good as the Shimano hubs I now
have on it. The Xero hubs needed repacking every 1500 miles. I was lazy
this year and didn't open these Shimano hub till 2500 and they were
still clean. Still, I got 8000 miles out of the Xeros. My Cypress has no
suspension and is Aluminum (not sure about rear triangle). As for the
newer models I've seen, I'd shy away from them because they're all disc
brakes. I'm not sure about the newer Cypress, but I'd also stay away
from something that has less than 36 spokes.