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My current bike, a real mongrel from many other bike bits, is now knackered and I need a new one but I'm way out of touch with modern bikes and their names.
I'm looking for something that will take a little roughish terrain but I really don't want 120 gears and great knobbly tyres. I also don't want to take out a mortgage - I reckon I could stretch to £100 (if I have to).
Anyone bought something along these lines that they're pleased with?
______________________________________________________________ Tony
Life is what happens while you´re making plans.
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For roughish terrain but without the big knobbly tyres you will need a "hybrid"
These are a cross between a mountain & road bike, basically a mountain bike frame but with road tyres. Reckon you need to double your budget for a decent one though, unless you buy second hand.
Look out for makes such as Dawes, Trek, Scott, Saracen, Ridgeback, Raleigh.
The perceived wisdom among velocipedists is that you really need to spend £200 to get anything worth riding home.
The problem is in the parts you can't see, notably the gears and crank assemblies. The really cheap bikes just aren't worth the money, especially if you want to use them on roughish terrain.
I'd suggest you talk to an independent cycle retailer who will be more concerned with customer satisfaction (and no comebacks) than simply making a quick sale.
The Claud Butler range is worth looking at. You need what's called a hybrid, which will be good on the road but rugged enough to take a few gravel tracks and the occasional pothole.
In my opinion if you spend only £100 you may well live to regret it.
Have you considered getting a second hand bike? If you spend your £100 carefully you could easily get hold of a fairly new bike that cost £300 only a couple of years ago.
There's a lot of information on
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website that you might find interesting, even if many of the prices frighten you a bit. They do deal in high quality bikes as well as the more reputable entry level models.
Hope this helps.
Edit - as usual someone gets in first while I'm still typing, but I see Trevor and I agree on the amount you will need to spend.
I broke both wrists a few years ago and have two collapsing vertebrae in my lower back, so I had to do a lot of research to get a bike I can ride in comfort.
Mrs Zeb and I finally bought Trek Navigators in Belgium, as the ones on sale there are built on the "Dutch chassis" but all the bits are freely available worldwide. Cycle Heaven do Dutch bikes, which is partly why I included the link in case Tony wants that style of ride.
£200 is about the minimum I think, and realistically another £50 would make a lot of difference to the quality. The problem is that a £69 "bike" actually looks like a bike, and you could be fooled until you ride it home. Halfway there you will already be wishing you had spent a bit more!!
Did you know Sheldon Brown has died by the way? He was younger than me too!
Tony - feel free to ask more questions if you like. I picked up quite a lot of knowledge during the time I was looking for a bike I could live with, and will help if I can.
Cheers
P.S. I agree with Richard, and Edinburgh Bikes is a very reliable and reputable company. Don't buy through mail order though unless you have the opportunilty to ride an identical model first!!!
I made the mistake of buying a £69 bike a few years ago - made in China out of recycled bean cans - could never get the gears or brakes to work reliably. Then bought a £350 Raleigh hybrid - amazing difference to the ride. Just seemed so much smoother with good quality gears and bearings.
Both my wife and I now have a Dawes Discovery 601 costing £599 before adding on the extra's May seem like a lot of money but they are great bikes and should now last us many years. Recently fitted some puncture resistant tyres with kevlar linings - no more punctures so far
trevor
______________________________________________________________ Smile - Be happy
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May seem like a lot of money but they are great bikes and should now last us many years. Recently fitted some puncture resistant tyres with kevlar linings - no more punctures so far
trevor
Hi Trevor
As our local friendly bikeshop owner said, "If you buy a really cheap bike that is not a pleasure to ride - you won't ride it very often."
Have you tried
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?
The same bikeshop owner has an inner tube hanging in the shop with 38 thorns in it. The rider was unaware of any of those 38 punctures which the Slime had sealed, but ran over some glass which slashed the tyre and was more than the Slime could handle.
He complained that the Slime was no good - until he was shown the 38 thorns!!!
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