My husband recently got into biking and so I have too. We were super excited when we brought brand new <BRAND_REDACTED> bikes from <STORE_REDACTED> at the beginning of the year! After a few rides, he quickly realized the bikes we bought were hot garbage.

I’ve never had a particularly good bike, so having to pump for every cycle of the wheel felt normal to me. Which is why I hated biking. He didn’t give up though and found a cool used bike shop, Second Wind Bicycles, that gave us a ton of info.

Numerous bike types exist

I know that sounds incredibly simple, but I only knew about mountain bikes and cruisers. There are hybrids, gravel bikes, road bikes. There are different sized bike frames in different styles. So many options and configs! This is the first time I’ve ever seen a suspension system you can turn on and off.

Since this was the first time I’d heard of bike sizes outside of a big box store, I got to ride multiple types and sizes. A geared cruiser is a totally different ride from a hybrid bike and riding with a small frame is less comfortable than with a large one, but I get the applications.

Prices really do vary

The brand new <BRAND_REDACTED> bikes we bought earlier were ~$130 each. Going into it this time, it didn’t take long to realize those prices were cheap for a reason. The used bikes we bought were a little more expensive at ~$180 each, but they are much higher quality. We researched the models and they could have easily gone for three-four times the price brand new.

Walking through the garage sale and looking up the models gave us a range for how much good bikes go for ($300-$800). Compared to some of the high-end bikes (we saw several that retailed new for over $6500!), this was a great low-middle range. These bikes are for those nice days that only happen a few times a month where being outside feels good, so they don’t need to be high tech.

Bike technology has made huge advancements

How much a bike frame weighs really makes a difference. The bikes I had growing up were typically <BRAND_REDACTED> like the bad ones we bought. They’re very heavy. These new ones are noticably lighter and easier to handle and maneuver. So much so that it took a while to feel which gears to use.

Speaking of which, bike gears are crazy smooth now! It’s nothing fancy (I don’t think), just a 3x7 speed shifter. Now when we’re riding and the slope changes, the transition to a lower gear doesn’t make the chain skip. Then shifting back up is just as uneventful.

Then the type of tire let me feel the pavement in a new way. Having a suspension is uncomfortable because it feels bouncy even though it’s an obviously smoother ride. Even the way the seat sits in the frame is more comfortable than I’ve ever experienced.

Coming out of decades of riding bad bikes to these has changed the way I feel about bike riding. I thought you had to work for every cycle of the wheel, sit in an awkward position, and generally struggle to ride a bike.

After being on this one, I see why people genuinely enjoy bike riding. This is only the beginning of the journey.