Quote:
Originally Posted by Medusa
I'd prefer to spend around $300 or less but would be willing to go to $500 for something amazing!
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I think that Incubus is giving good advice when he mentioned contacting your local bike shop.
Call and ask them what they can tell you about bicycles that would fit for you in regards to your weight. To be honest with you, I don't know any information on that, but the last thing you want to do is spend a lot of money b/c you
think that you need a specific frame due to your "plus size", only to find out that it is not necessary. All it will then bring you is a heavier bike...a heavier bike means having to work harder to get it where you want to go! Who wants to do that unless necessary?!
Consider a hybrid. This is a bicycle whose tires are between the skinny tires of the road bikes and the thick tires of the mountain bikes. You will have the comfort of being seated upright and will have the ability to be able to ride on the road or hard packed trails.
Although I am a Cannondale guy, I concur that Trek would be good to look at b/c they have a number of women specific frames. However, finding a woman specific frame I think is more important than any specific brand. If your body type is similar to most women's (shorter torso, longer legs), making this choice is a good one.
The additional benefit to buying from a bike shop is that they will "fit" the bike to you. Meaning, they will make sure that number one, you purchase the correct size frame, and number two, they will set up the seat, handlebars, etc., to the right position for you. People don't realize how important this is. A bike fitting correctly will make all the difference in the world with how far you are comfortable riding. That in itself is worth $100. A bike that doesn't fit someone correctly will stay in the garage.
If you have problems in the future, you can bring your bike in and they will do simple stuff for free, too. They will also give you lots of advice and stuff b/c all they want to do is talk all things bike!
Last thing, I personally like to use bike shops that are independently owned, and not chain stores. With an independent bike shop you can be more certain that they REALLY know what they are doing when I talk about the above. Also, ask them if they know of any places to get a used bike.
Good Luck!