Hello John you have made my day! I am sorry but this is going to be a detailed and pretty long response.
The first, step is actually deciding rather you want to be a Mountain Biker (me) or a Road Biker? Mountain biking is riding on mountain trails and wooded areas with heavy roots and rocks and off-terrain adventure. Road Bikers are mostly on the road and paved roads but speed is everything and the acceleration you get from a Road Bike speed is otherworldly. I never got into road biking, however. Cause I never had a road bike. I was more into Mountain biking going off terrain brings a whole new level of anticipation. The thrill you get is hard to explain in words. Riding through the forest is bliss for me.
But everyone is different so I strongly recommend you go to your local bike shop and ride both a mountain bike and road bike and better yet rent a mountain bike (MTB) or a Road bike (RB). You will find your rhythm and fall in love with either one.
Personally, I have two brands that I use personally.
1. Specialized: This is easily one of the most famous bike brands in the world! I have the Specialized Sirrus V 2019 and a custom-modified Specialized Hotrock 1997. The Sirrus is a hybrid bike and this is great for people who haven't decided rather they want to be a Road Biker or a Mountain Biker. My Hotrock is a mountain bike I modified into a Gravel bike which is a fancy way of saying half mountain half road bike.
2. Trek: This brand is easily in the top 3 in the world! I have the Trek Marlin 8 and it was a lot of work I had to put in to upgrade the crankset, handle grips, pedals, and shifter. But in the end, it is wonderful! It handles the off-terrain like no other and I can zip past through the woods at pretty insane speeds and the stability is unmatched. Personally my first and favorite bike so far.
Here is a brand I am looking at very closely.
Canyon bikes: Canyon is my dream! I want to get my hands on a full-suspension bike the MTB I have is a Trek hardtail meaning no rear suspension. Canyon is world famous even MTB world cup winners ride them so you can bet this is top-of-the-world stuff. One day maybe I can ride one of these beauties. The downside is you have to pretty much assemble this yourself. I have all the tools and Bike repair stand so I can do it but for some people not comfortable building a bike I don't recommend this one sadly.
All the brands mentioned are pretty good ones and well known and make the easy top three. But here are the top brands that I didn't mention and these brands below are the top of the top as well.
1. Cannondale: This is a world famous brand as well. If you choose the Road bike route hands down Cannondale is the stuff!
2. Giant: Another probably almost number one in the world! Literally hands some hands on some big-name brands I have mentioned above. Giant has good road and mountain and entry-level. Pretty good bike to start with.
3. Santa Cruz: This is Rolls Royce on the bike road. If you want to have the most expensive Ducati level bicycle Santa Cruz is it! Both legendary Road and Mountain bikes! But, I think it is more famous for the MTB.
4. Ibris: Another super expensive brand that makes amazing mountain bikes!
5. Yeti: Another MTB legend!
I strongly recommend you start with Specialized, Cannondale, and Giant these three brands have almost all kinds of bikes for all kinds of riders. I have listed some below for you that have good parts and good bikes:
MTB:
Specialized:https://www.specialized.com/us/en/rockhopper-275/p/199591?color=319889-199591 *great entry-level MTB!
Cannondale: https://www.cannondale.com/en-us/bikes/mountain/trail-bikes/trail/trail-71
*more affordable but less gears but still good starter MTB.
Giant: https://www.giant-bicycles.com/us/talon-1-2022 *awesome MTB with top shelf parts! However most expensive.
Road:
Specialized: https://www.specialized.com/us/en/allez/p/199476?color=322262-199476 *road bikes are going to be very expensive!
Cannondale:https://www.cannondale.com/en-us/bikes/road/endurance/synapse/synapse-tiagra *top-stuff has amazing parts and will have to warn you most expensive option.
Giant: https://www.giant-bicycles.com/us/contend-3-2022 * best option for a road bike and most affordable! Still expensive. See why I choose mountain bike now. Lucky I love MTB.
Active: (this is what I was talking about the middle of the road Hybrid bikes)
Specialized: https://www.specialized.com/us/en/sirrus-20-step-through/p/216885?color=356241-216885 *this is the best bike to start with! Affordable and easy to start! I strongly recommend this one has really good parts and well balanced!
Cannondale: https://www.cannondale.com/en-us/bikes/active/fitness/quick-cx/quick-cx-3 * almost an MTB but the tires are meant for light gravel and roads. Not bad but I still go with the Specialized.
Giant: https://www.giant-bicycles.com/us/roam-3-disc-2021 * nice hybrid with gravel tires so you can go lightly off road. Pretty good deal here.
I hope this helps John and sorry for overwhemling you. I truly love bikes and I can go for days but I will stop here. I hope this helped and I look forward to your bike journey! Let me know if you have any questions! Last tip whatever you do never buy a bike with microShift parts it sucks! Trust me I brought one for a family member and it is loud as a freight train when the gears shift. 🚴🏻
