Beginner Bike question

[Guest]

I've seen some of you cycling fans discussing various bikes on here before, and I suspect I know I'm going to be told it isn't really possible... but hear me out anyway.

Due to a now long running shoulder injury (caused by stupidly flinging myself at a catch in the cricket nets) I'm looking for ways of exercising that have less continuous movement of the shoulders ( I know there will be some movement obviously, but not as much as jogging/running hopefully, am I kidding myself?)

So I thought about riding as a good way to keep fit without being stuck on a treadmill/exercise bike.

I have a 15 year old mountain bike, that weighs nearly a ton and cost me £110 when I bought it, so you can take a stab at the quality of it.

From what you've said I don't imagine I can get much for £2-300, but would anyone have a suggestion?

I don't really even want to go this high, but our local shops cheapest model is this at £500-



http://www.kingscycles.co.uk/proddetail.asp?prod=SBCAllez16Red

What would you suggest I could get for £500 and is this suitable for basic riding round the roads (of Somerset) including regular journeys of less than 2 miles to town/cricket gorund.

Can someone help me out, or even point me at a good beginers article?

[hobbes]

Beginner Bike question

It depends whether you want something that purely for road riding, or something a little more rugged and manouverable.
For speed, a drop-bar is essential. For a more commuting style of riding, flat bars are best.
The OTF Peloton will disagree completely and tell you to get something dropped and italian.

Personally, I prefer hybrid bikes to proper road bikes as unless you're doing 20 or 30 miles, they're more comfortable to ride.

The ever popular Edinburgh Bicycle are a good place to start.

I have (and love) a 2003 Marin Muirwoods, but I wouldn't want to do more than 20 miles on it at a go and it's relatively heavy as it's designed for street riding.
The new ones don't seem to have as good frame geometry though.
Apparently the new Boardman's have excellent components, although they're sold out of Bike Hut (halfords) so you'd need to go to your local bike shop and pay to get it set up by someone who isn't a complete idiot.

[hobbes]

Beginner Bike question

Oh and a good tip, is see if you can find last year's models. They'll be almost exactly the same but you can often save a big chunk on them once the new models are out.

[Incandenza]

Beginner Bike question

barndoorio wrote:

I don't really even want to go this high, but our local shops cheapest model is this at £500-

Perhaps things are different over there, but it sounds like they're trying to sucker you.

[Brandenburger Toro]

Beginner Bike question

That's the list price for an entry-level Spesh,yeah. They make very good vfm bikes at that end of the market. The Boardmans, mentioned above, are excellent too. And the Edinburgh co-op may be worth a go. But yeah, that's what you're looking to pay at the road-bike entry-level. Italiam bikes are obviously The Shit, but you'll pay a fair bit more to get started.

I'd totally recommend drop bars - but do get fitted, and make sure they aren't aggravating your shoulder. The faster you go, the more enjoyment you'll get out of it, and the easier you'll find it to get out on the bike, simple as that. It makes sense to ride a hybrid in the city if you don't like bunny-hopping potholes, as the traffic can restrict your ability to go around them, but it doesn't sound like that'll be a huge consideration for you.

[hobbes]

Beginner Bike question

The faster you go, the more enjoyment you'll get out of it, and the easier you'll find it to get out on the bike, simple as that

I wouldn't agree with that at all. It's not all about speed. I derive a lot more pleasure going off around town or the London Parks exploring, than I do head down tooling along.
Different strokes and all that.

[Brandenburger Toro]

Beginner Bike question

Whatever, Grandad.

[Guest]

Beginner Bike question

Well, I've been and had a look at the local shop who seem to sell Giant and Trek (I think) bikes, as well as their lowest price one at £330 the basic models seemed to go up to £750 and the fancier ones over £2k. Blimey. My hopes of £300 being the top end look daft as the gears on the cheapo one looked weak and awkward to me.

So... I have a quandry really, I'd need to be confident in not getting bored of riding, but I don't know that I can be that confident for £500.

I'd definitely have a mixture of needs, plenty of riding for less than 20 minutes when popping to shop, cricket ground, office, train station etc. But also the main point would be trying to go out for at least an hour reguarly to get the fitness in.

I don't expect anyone to answer my issues easily, just musing. Maybe I should just get my mountain bike serviced and go out on that for a while, but I get the feeling it'd be distinctly less enjoyable on a slow old heavy beast.

[hobbes]

Beginner Bike question

Whatever, Grandad.

Well some of us live where people have only 5 digits on each hand and there are things called traffic lights.
But you need electricity for them, or as you country folk call it "magic."

To draw a comparison, some of us like to make the beast with two backs by hammering away at top speed like an energiser bunny with epilepsy, all bluster and fury, paying scant attention to anything but the finish line. While others of us like to bring a bit of finess and quality to procedings, taking our time and enjoying the entirity of the tryst, eyes and mind open to the wonder of new experiences.

[Guest]

Beginner Bike question

O.k. so after being alarmed at the cost of bikes, I've read reviews of Halfords bikes, the Boardman and Carrera bikes seem to actually get good reviews. Which suprised me as Halfords I thought would be not up to much.

BUT... what do OTFers think of Halfords? The cheapest one there is this -

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_71 2163_langId_-1_categoryId_165710

Which is £259 at the moment in the sale and to my eyes is very similair to bikes double it's cost... what am I missing?

[Levin]

Beginner Bike question

The Carrera bikes have a good reputation for their price.

It only has 16 speed as opposed to the 18 and 20 in the specs.

And I'm a little surprised that it has 700x25c wheels.

But that doesn't look like a bad bike, but I'm no expert.

[The Purple Cow]

Beginner Bike question

Actually that's a very decent bike for that price, though the description is a bit skimpy on the component details.

But if it was me with a 300 budget, I would look for a decent second hand bike.

[Guest]

Beginner Bike question

As it was a sunny day and I parked near the bike shop to drop my daughter at nursery, I popped in again today and had a test of 4 different bikes.

I tried one road bike and was really uncomfortable in the back, I wasn't expecting that level of discomfort, I have had back trouble in the past, and while I know the comfort today was going to be part of getting used to it I'm not sure I want to find out much more.

So I then tried various Hybrid bikes and I'm thinking that they're much more suited to my needs, going into and out of town on sub 3 mile rides as well as regular rides of an hour or so for fitness.

Started off on a couple of £300-350 Raleigh and Trek bikes and then moved up to a £550 Trek bike
http://www.bicyclechain.co.uk/productdetails.asp?productid=08181

The difference was marked, the suspension, gear change and ease of pedalling was delightful on the most expensive model. Really enjoyed it. Now what to do.... am thinking perhaps I should get my mountain bike roadworthy and try using that for a few weeks or a month or two to see if I get bored and then splash out on a shiny new one if I'm still into it.

Did love that Trek bike though, had to come home without going to other shops as I'd have been in danger of buying a new one if I'd stayed out much longer.

[JtS]

Beginner Bike question

Do you work for a company? If so do they do bike scheme, or may they consider it?

The company pays for a voucher which you give to the bike shop, then you pay it off over 12 months (or whatever, I paid my over 6 months), the beauty of it is that the company can reclaim VAT (assuming they can) so you save that. Also, the deduction is from your gross pay, so you save the tax and NI, your company also save the NI.

You can get a bike for about half price.

[hobbes]

Beginner Bike question

For a mere £50 more you can get this beauty right now.

[hobbes]

Beginner Bike question

Or the 2008 version from Winstanley for £459.

[meregreen]

Beginner Bike question

JtS wrote:

Do you work for a company? If so do they do bike scheme, or may they consider it?

The company pays for a voucher which you give to the bike shop, then you pay it off over 12 months (or whatever, I paid my over 6 months), the beauty of it is that the company can reclaim VAT (assuming they can) so you save that. Also, the deduction is from your gross pay, so you save the tax and NI, your company also save the NI.

You can get a bike for about half price.

I'd recommend looking into this. After asking on here for advice about bikes, I subsequently discovered my employer operated such a scheme. It's temporarily dormant but will return in the next couple of weeks, after which I can save 40% on a bike and all accessories.

It brings an unaffordable bike within my price range and I have to say I really like the look of that Bianchi.

[hobbes]

Beginner Bike question

Well meregreen, for a mere £40month on that scheme, you could be the proud owner (temporarily as it'd be nicked in seconds) of this piece of art.

[Guest]

Beginner Bike question

Alas, for some reason my (very large) employer doesn't do this scheme, much to the chagrin of many cycling enthusiasts.

Am wondering whether my wifes work does it and we can somehow use that for me...

[Uncle Ethan]

Beginner Bike question

I have Trek 7.3FX. It's great for fitness riding. I ride up to about 30km or so with no discomfort. It handles hills well, especially when on the bike rack on the back of my car, and can go plenty fast enough for me, thank you very much.

My rule of thumb was don't buy a dropbar unless you have a really strong back and can wear lycra.

I'd look like 10lbs of shit in a 5lb bag in lycra, so I went hybrid.

[The Purple Cow]

Beginner Bike question

Being a fully paid up Cinellista, I am duty-bound to mention the 'Cinelli Hoy Hoy Rats'.

Arguably the stupidest name of any bike ever, but it's a lovely bike for the money.



The 'Racing Rats' is even nicer, but a bit more expensive.

My rule of thumb was don't buy a dropbar unless you have a really strong back and can wear lycra.

I can't ride my beloved racing bike for more than an hour at a time these days, the cramp in my neck is unbearable after an hour due to the extreme riding position. Whereas I can ride my mountain bike or Amsterdam city bike all day long without problems.

I've got a handlebar stem with the shortest throw possible, but it hasn't really helped.

[Brandenburger Toro]

Beginner Bike question

Tish and fipsy, what a ridiculous attitude.

Did Brian O'Driscoll leave the pitch in the first minutes of a Lions test because he hurt his neck?

Would Michael Schumacher say "hang on, I'm not getting in that car, I've hurt me neck?"

You ought to be ashamed of yourself, and rightly so.

[hobbes]

Beginner Bike question

Not one of these, TPC?

[rick derris]

Beginner Bike question

sorry just seen this.

i bought an allez 3 years ago, it was the 2006 model. end of season i got it in a sale for 399, so yea 500 is about right.

excellent bike, do get it measured etc though.

BUT - what are you using it for? I got mine as it was an entry level bike for racing (i was starting triathlon) and i did really well on it. I upgraded for a full carbon specialized tarmac pro (which looks just like the model in the picture)

don't forget you will not be able to ride it on a lot of cycle paths etc as they are too gravely. Its really for roads only

If it is just going around town, the sort of thing purple cow recommended is good. the Edinburgh bike co op is excellent

[Incandenza]

Beginner Bike question

Does anyone use some panniers that they really like? I'm looking to get some so I can ride to work (currently when I ride, I take the bus in the morning, and only ride home in the evening).