So here is my thing. I have muscular dystrophy, it affects mostly my upper body, upper arms, upper back, shoulders... I have not exercised in many years, and not since I was diagnosed had I thought about it because working out muscles can do me more damage than good. But a meeting with a physical therapist yesterday told me I could ride a bike for exercise and it would be good. So I come to you for help, advice and input please!I will be doing mostly riding around our flat city. Some off road trails for scenery change, nothing gnarly as I am not looking to compete, just get exercise and have fun. I will be most likely moving to Santa Cruz for college in a year so I know there is plenty of hills etc out there that I will take into account with my current purchase, as I dont want to be upgrading anytime soon.I want to get something that will last a while, with some good components. I dont think I want to spend more than $500, that seems like a lot to me even lol.I went to a few shops around here today and test rode some treks, specialized and cannondales. The specialized hardrock sport was the cheaper one $379 and was a decent ride, I really liked the cannondale at the $499 mark, but that was a bit high I thought.Any tips for a total noob that wants to get exercise, have fun, some off road stuff, will go on some hills but not for racing, and wants something comfortable and nice to ride that will last?
i dont know anything about bikes, but i would say your best bet would be to visit a few stores around town and get their collective opinion. 500 sounds like a good limit though.best of luck.