Hello, I'm a 6'4" man trying to find a bike. I absolutely adore the ones that look like cruisers, but the area around me (North Atlanta) is super hilly and it needs gears.
I'd be using it to get around to both work and exercise, but my friend who was into biking a few years ago tells me a mountain bike is necessary for the large hills around here. I've been looking primarily at hybrids or geared cruisers, as I'm not interested in taking rough mountain bike trails.
I've found the Trek FX 1 and the Giant Escape 3 to be in my price range and seem to be pretty good, maybe going up one level to get disc brakes. There's also the Electra Townie and sixthreezero EVRYjourney. Which one of these would the best, or is there one in a similar price range that could be better?
Lastly, I've been looking around for used bikes and a lot of other brands, and they're generally recommended for 6'2" or 6'0" and under. Would it be too uncomfortable to ride it or would it be fine? The Townie itself is recommended for 6'3" and under.
by Wild-Shiny-Ampharos
3 Comments
The trek and giant are great bikes, available in your size and would be great for efficient riding. You can possibly find them used in your size in a larger city like Atlanta. You can find other XL used bikes as well.
The cruiser bikes are going to be more difficult to use on hills and it doesn’t sound like they fit you.
Not sure why your friend is pushing you towards mountain bikes as the hybrids will be great at hills and will typically weight less.
Check out the Play It Again on Roswell Road near Chastain Park. They occasionally have some great finds on used bikes. If you’re willing to drive around, it might be worth checking the Decatur and Alpharetta locations too.
Otherwise, Trek FX 1 and the Giant Escape 3 are both fine bikes, I think you’ll be happy on Silver Comet, Beltline, and around town. I think you’ll like having more versatile gears compared to the latter two options. I do recommend the disc brakes, especially if you will be in the vicinity of the typical clueless Atlanta driver. Helps to have a little extra stopping power.
I’d recommend you go try them both in person to make sure you get the sizing right. You’re probably going to be sized as XL, but I tend to size down. I’m a L/58cm on most charts and take the M/L, M, or 56cm on most bikes.
Atlanta Cycling sells Treks. Outback Bikes in ~~Midtown~~ L5P sells Giants, but I think Big Peach does too and there is one in Brookhaven. Not aware of a store that sells both.
The Townie has 26″ wheels. You’d look better on a Loft. REI is having a sale. The CTY 1.1 is similar to the FX and Escape, but it costs less and comes with disc brakes. REI bikes are as good as any, but generally have lower resale value than the specifically-bikes brands
https://www.rei.com/product/197842/co-op-cycles-cty-11-bike?color=AUTUMN