Hello and welcome to living in the Lehigh Valley, where our your health and wellness.

I'm your host, Brittany Sweeney.

Most of us remember our first bi and how exciting it was to jump on and ride carefree through the neighborhood.

Well, if you're one of the many who hope to relive those moments joy with all the healthy side be that come with it, well, you're Our own Grover Silcox is here to get us started Grover, always great to see you.

Great t I rode my bike to the station.

I love it.

You're getting a kick start on y here.

And I can remember my very first It was the Huffy secret.

Surpris I was so excited and had so many great memories.

Oh, I don't blame you.

Absolutel I mean, there's.

It's so exhilarating, you know, to to ride a bike.

Plus the health benefits, Right?

I mean, it's a low impact exerci You can pedal at your own pace.

It improves posture and coordina and balance all good things, especially for the older folks.

And it's a anaerobic exercise.

So good for cardiovascular burns fat and helps prevent heart attack, stroke and high blood pressure.

Of course, all good things.

And it's an exercise that you do even feel like you're exercising Exactly.

This part.

It's so much And, you know, it gets you into the great outdo either by yourself or with other So there's a social aspect.

But if it's been a while since you ridden a bike, you might be wondering where to What kind of bike should I buy?

You know, what do I need to know Technology has changed since many of us were kids.

That includes bicycle technology There are a lot more models, fea and options today than ever befo So I asked a seasoned cyclist and long time bike shop owner for some help to get started and get riding the bicycle.

Your ticket to the great outdoor and just the pure joy of riding.

It's a great activity that you c really your whole entire life from the time you're three years to the time you're nine years ol You can ride a bike and it's fun It's always enjoyable.

John Ronca should know he and his wife Lisa, opened Cutter's bike shop in Bethlehem 14 years ago.

In that time, everyone from expe cyclists to folks just starting out have come to s their biking experiences.

Or, as is often the case for advice on how to ge you're looking to buy your first and you don't know where to star The biggest thing is to find your experience.

What are you looking for?

Are you looking to get out around the neighborhood and just cruise around with the the kids?

Or are you interested in some fi Are you looking to commute to work back and forth to work, or are you looking to get off ro and do some mountain biking?

How you use a bike should determine how you choose If your goal is to to get fitnes to get out on the trail, to lose some weight, to build up some cardio, and that we would steer you towa like a hybrid style bike, like a fitness flat bar bike to get you out.

And that would be your overall g But goals can change.

You can get a little more seriou You might want to change into mo a drop bar bike and get out on t instead of the trails.

John breaks down the type of bik by feature and function.

A road bike you're getting out.

It's made mainly for asphalt.

So you'll have little narrower t You'll have smoother tires.

A lot of times you'll have drop bars on the bikes, which are the the handlebars.

That bike is just meant to go ou Puts the miles on, get in shape.

This is what we call a gravel bi Then there's the gravel bike.

The gravel bike is is similar to a road bike, but now they've widened the fork and widened the rear of the fram So now you could fit a wider tire on a knobby or tire.

So now it allows you, if you're not comfortable of being on the roads, that you go off road with your road bike and you could ride roads that aren't normally traveled by going to work to and from work.

And it seems to be taking off.

Okay.

So here's another popular bike t This is your your full suspensio mountain bike.

Mountain bikes are geared to bei road.

They're made to handle rocks, ro They're made to also be somewhat so they can climb and go uphill.

But they're also made to be a li durable so they can go downhill.

You'll find like front suspensio rear suspension, and a majority will have disc brakes on to give you adequate stopping for when you're going d A neat feature on the mountain b today is your dropper post.

It allows the seat to get out of So when you're going over rocks it allows you to maneuver around and control the bike a little ea But as soon as you get to the bo of the downhill, you need to go Boom, The seat pops up.

Now, your hybrids could be eithe a kind of bike where you're just cruise around the neighborhood.

The first thing on your hybrid b you have the 700 C wheels, which is the diameter of the whe and it'll have, like, smoother t and a little bit in our tire.

And then there's a second hybrid which is one that's more geared like your rail trails or greenwa that have a little bit of knobs the tires.

The hybrid is really a bike that that can do a lot more than majority of the bike bikes like cars are going electric.

Recently you see a rise in popularity wit a lot more popular than the grav Interesting thing about e-bikes is we're getting a lot more peop back on bikes that normally wouldn't ride bike Many adults started on BMX bikes BMX bikes are great bikes.

I think that's where we all kind started riding their neat their little bikes that you know can get into to doing some jobs We got these neat pump tracks in now and they can go to the skate So BMX bikes, I believe, are so in getting kids out there and getting riding today.

These are among the most popular types of bikes on the market.

There are also lots of accessori including, of course, that a hel like this would be a good fit.

That would be a good.

Yeah, because helmets are so important especially with dealing with a l injuries and the helmets today are built with what they call mitts inside So there's actually an added pro inside the helmet.

So if you do experience a fall, won't stay planted to your head.

It'll actually rotate a little b So it'll help divert some of the when you're you're hitting the g Choosing a comfortable seat is key to comfort.

The seat is important to leg ext what we call.

So there's a certain extension o you don't want to overextend and you don't want to be under e because that can cause knee issu knee pain.

So you want to make sure that se properly adjusted to that to the right height to make it the most comfortable.

You might also consider purchasi a repair kit, added light or ref If you go to a reputable bike sh or seasoned cyclist, they'll make sure you get the ri bike, which is critical.

After you get your bike, you'll want to maintain it.

It's very important to get your to know when we sell a bike to p we often tell people that that, every year you want to bring it you want to have it tuned up, make sure the the bolts are all Make sure everything's shifting especially the brakes.

It's very important for the safe the reliability and the how long the bike will actually last, whe you're experienced or new to cyc If you live in or near the Lehig you have lots of places to ride.

Lehigh Valley, I think is a great cycling area.

We have the velodrome.

We have about 6 to 7 legal mount bike trail systems.

We have several rail trail syste We have what we call pump tracks in the area.

We have BMX tire tracks in the a We have skateparks, great gravel a lot of good cycling happening here in Lehigh Valley and a lot of great opportunities to get outdoors, breathe in the get the blood pumping, improve your health and go the d Buying a bike is a serious investment for most of us.

John recommends getting advice e at a reputable bike shop or from experienced cyclist.

You might even know the costs of a bike vary from $300 all the way to, as John puts it, the limit.

Depending on the make model and you need to achieve your riding Most importantly, you want a bik that's comfortable and fun to ri that'll keep you on the road, th or ever your heart desires.

Grover Based on what we just hea it sounds like purchasing a bike It shouldn't be an impulse buy.

Absolutely not.

And there is one more important and that is to make sure that you've evaluated your healt and physical ability to ride, especially if you're on the olde You know, you want to make sure that you're not exacerbating existing problems with joints, ankles, knees, things like that and other health problems.

So always good to check with your physician.

Yeah, definitely a good idea.

But once you have that clean bill of health, you can get out there and enjoy Absolutely.

Just so good for mental, emotional and physical health.

What?

Making me want to pull that bike and the weather is nice now, so it's a good idea to do it.

All right, Grover, some great in Thank you so much for joining us And that'll do it for this editi of Living in the Lehigh Valley.

I'm Brittany Sweeney, hoping you stay happy and health