How do I shop for a bike?

[gem]

What a fun gift! Totally agree that going to a good bike shop for a consultation is the best way to find the right fit. I think you asked about other gear too....When bought my first road bike I also had to buy tons of accoutrements: shorts and jersey, helmet, gloves, water bottles, tire pump, and the whole shoe clip thing. Maybe you could pick out some accessories for him to unwrap as the surprise?

I hope he has fun and gets into it! What you said about him throwing himself into a hobby is sooooo like my Dh. Do we call it drive ... Or obsession?

[rufflesanddots]

What a fun gift! Totally agree that going to a good bike shop for a consultation is the best way to find the right fit. I think you asked about other gear too....When bought my first road bike I also had to buy tons of accoutrements: shorts and jersey, helmet, gloves, water bottles, tire pump, and the whole shoe clip thing. Maybe you could pick out some accessories for him to unwrap as the surprise?

I hope he has fun and gets into it! What you said about him throwing himself into a hobby is sooooo like my Dh. Do we call it drive ... Or obsession?

Depends on whether I like the hobby. 😉

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[SoonerTexan]

Not so much. He dabbles in going on runs but honestly it sucks when we have to run essentially in traffic...and he hates tracks so I know he's in the market for an exercise endeavor that allows him to be outside. I figure if he gets super into it between now and when residency starts, that's at least a good start for the money.

Maybe consider a trainer then? You have pretty good weather in your area, but it will probably still be pretty hard (or unsafe and miserable) to ride in the dead of winter. That and it gives him a way to ride when things get really busy.

DH was really really into it in college--he actually restarted the cycling team at OU at got really competitive in the race circuit. He still did a lot in med school (though kids took away a lot of time) but he didn't ride it once during intern year...so a trainer might be nice. I still use the trainer sometimes--it's convenient.

I asked him what he would recommend and he has no idea what is "good" on the market right now...but he "escalated" into something ridiculous pretty quickly. He built the last 2 bikes he owned. I bet you/he would be pretty happy with an entry level trek and it would give you some spare money to buy some of the accessories that will inevitably come along. I bet he would like a bike computer--you can get a decent one for under $50

[civilspouse]

DH and I both got entry level Treks for our first road bikes. We went to local bike shops and did short test rides to figure out which ones felt the best. We really enjoyed long rides together in the days before kids, intern year, etc. Hopefully we will get back to it soon. It would be fun to have him unwrap the accessories like a computer (little thing that mounts on the handlebars and tells you how far you've gone, how fast you're going, etc), shorts, jersey, bike pump, etc. Maybe you could find a jersey with some kind of special meaning, like one of his schools or something. We also have a trainer and that is nice to get some additional use out of the bikes in the winter. Have fun with the surprise.