wgoff194

I just turned 33 and haven't been on a bike since 98. I'm looking for opinion on 4 bikes that I have been looking at. I will be using the bike on pavement and on occasional bike trails with some friends that are enthusiasts. I'm 6'5" so I'm looking at 29ers.

The following are what's I've narrowed them down to:

Hyper Explorer 29 - $199 - FS, Front Disk - In store
Walmart Mobile

Genesis GS29 -$149 - HT, V brakes - In store
Walmart Mobile

Huffy Phalanx - $199 - HT, Front and Rear Disk - Online only
Walmart Mobile

Mongoose Stat - $209 - HT, Front and Rear Disk - Online only
Walmart Mobile

Thanks for the help.

Wanderer

Yu would be better served, going someplace like Performance Bicycle, and letting them know how much you can spend............... Or, even Bikes Direct on the net.

If you aren't in a hurry, you might find a MUCH better used bike on Craigslist for that money.

10 Wheels

Get one that Fits and you will ride it much.

cplager

Just to add to what's been said above:

Consider buying used (works best if you have a friend who knows about bikes)

(Cheap) Front suspension is not effective and really robs energy.

fietsbob

Have a proper Bike shop do a safety check the box store bikes are typically, poorly assembled ..

no one gets hired to do it right. so you have to do that yourself.

trestlehed

Anything under $200 is gonna be a total piece of crap.
Do yourself a favor and buy a bike from a REAL Bike Shop.
Those big box stores mostly cater to people buying cheap bikes for their kids. As in - "Disposable bike".
Remember... You get what you pay for.

downtube42

I'm sorry, but none of those bikes are going to fit you. I don't know about your inseam vs torso length, but at 6'5" you're going to be so outside the norms on both that even a large dept store bike won't fit. Used is the way to go; Craigslist or a local co-op even better. Google bike fit, there is plenty of online help. On low end bikes, go with rigid and v brakes.

Northwestrider

I tend to agree. I know your on a budget, but as someone else said, if the bike fits , you'll ride it often, in other words if it doesn't fit, you likely won't.
You may get lucky on Craigslist, but at least consider a trip to your LBS and tell them what you are after. IMO you'll be money ahead. Good luck.

VegasTriker

At the very least go to an LBS and find what frame size fits you in either a mountain bike or road bike. Then if you do go the Craigslist route you can ask the seller to measure the frame size before you bother to go to see it. That eliminate those bikes that would be too small for you (i.e., almost everything). There's a lot of crap on CL and many sellers are simply clueless about bikes too. I came across a "titanium frame" MTB recently listed on my local CL. The problem is that I own one and know that the company never made titanium frames. I contacted the seller about the misrepresentation and received a reply. Trouble is that it is still listed on CL with the incorrect description.

You can find a few older bikes that still have lots of miles to go within what you can spend.
BTW, once you get beyond kid's bikes wheel size has little to do with getting a bike that fits. It is all about finding a frame that is sized proportional to your height. It could be equipped with a 26" wheel, a 700C wheel or 29" wheel.

GravelMN

Look for a used chrome-moly steel bike from the 1990s. Many local bike shops or bike co-ops will have them and if you stick with a name brand like Trek, Specialized, Fuji, Giant, or even the better Schwinns you will end up with a bike far better than anything you'll get at a big box store. The hybrids from that era were basically just mountain bikes with 700c wheels. They make great all-rounders.

Astrozombie

Ehh, you don't really need suspension or disc brakes ( as they say it's just dead weight on a low end bike) I would sooner take my chance with a Vilano from Amazon
Amazon.com : Performance Hybrid Bike / Commuter Road Bike Shimano 21 Speed 700c Bicycle : Hybrid Bike Men : Sports & Outdoors

spdracr39

I wouldn't waste one cent on those bikes. Even if you were to buy one and enjoy riding it you would have to buy another in the short term. Save more money and buy a quality bike you can enjoy that will last.

BeginnerCycling

To the OP, you mention that you might ride some trails -- what kind of trails? While almost any bike can be fine on gravel rail trails, if you may be riding rocky and rooty singletrack mountain bike trails, you would want something more capable of that. I agree with the others that I would avoid all of those Walmart bikes -- firstly for fit reasons, and next because they are not good bikes. While there are ways to find decent bikes at decent prices, those Walmart bikes just look fancy but won't be a good deal in the long run.

Floyd

Think about what is being said ...the fit of the bike is important or you will not enjoy it. You say you are on a budget and in this case cheaper is not always cheaper cause you will have to spend more in keeping the cheap one running where the better quality 'used' will not need maintainance which will put money in your pocket. Just another viewpoint.

fietsbob

$200 budget worked better 40 years ago , inflation made its buying power weaken a lot..

NormanF

Double your bike budget to around $500 and you can get a high quality bike that will serve you well for years.

Think of a bike like your car. You need reliable transportation and sorry to disabuse you but it can't be done for $200.

At that price point, your only choices are to go vintage or a couple of years used.