We paid $400 each for our Trek hybrids about five years back. They were worth it. If you're mostly in town, I recommend slicks--the mountain bike tires have entirely too much traction.

Okay, so House, which I am not allowed to watch, and what else? I take it GG is on right now? Is there anything else?

Thanks!

Trek's got some city-hybrids for around the same range.

I have one of these for my daily ride to the office. I also needed to ride upright when I bought it, and it has served me well.

I don't know if you are are planning to commute on the bike, Nutty, but if you are then should plan on investing in that price range, for reliability and safety. At today's gas prices it will pay itself off in no time.

Electra does have fenders, and comes with a chain guard, which I like. I can also get a basket. More to the point, fewer than 50 gears, which was what was freaking me out about most of the bikes at the store I was at.

(I walked in to this Bike-o-Rama store and was like, "I want a simple bike." The dude showed me a kids' 1-speed bike, and then a pair of $800 European touring bikes, and I was like, Honey, you are not understanding what I mean by "simple." The other guy at the annex store, he got it.)

I think Trekbikes does have some similar, although the hybrids don't (at a glance) look like they're really suited to sitting upright in the same way. The comfort bikes and cruisers are closer, but I'd need to "try them on" to be sure. And you're right, the prices are comparable.

I take public transit to commute, these days, but I'd be happy to run errands/groceries on a bike rather than a car, except in January. Conveniently, there is a bike path not 100 yards from my house, that stretches all the way out to my mother's town in one direction and toward Theo's house in the other. Can you tell I live in Massachusetts?

The other thing I liked about the Electra (but not in a "that is what sold me" way, just a dorky way) is that they have that thing from tricycles of old, where if you backpedal, it acts as a coaster brake. I try to do that every time I am on a bike, and it never works on these newfangled contraptions.

Competing with House are the premiere of My Name is Earl, which I think will be funny, and the possibly silly second episode of Supernatural, which reruns on Sunday anyway. So, yeah. I'm watching House.

Thanks, Zenkitty.

I completely forgot that I have a class starting tonight, so no House or Bones for me. But I suppose I should get used to it, because the class is going to be every Tuesday evening for about 9 months, and while I have a VCR, it is eeevil and so setting it to tape is pretty darn close to pointless.

Gears are your friends. No, seriously. They're very helpful.

I haven't been on a bike with coaster brakes for years, but I'll say that having both front and rear brakes is a good option for safety reasons. And you can usually buy and install a kickstand if the bike doesn't come with one...