New to cycling - Any ideas on Bikes?

sjbarrick
sjbarrick Posts: 3
edited April 2008 in Commuting chat
Hi there,
I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice, as I have no idea what I am doing at all. I'm looking for a Hybrid Bike to get me to work every for about £400, I went into bikehut who suggested either a boardman or a merida. Speeder T2 Anyway after scanning the web some I realise the Bikehut will only do certain makes, so I wondered if anyone know of anything better for the price? Or in fact who are considered to be the best makers of these bikes?

I am female if that makes a difference (although I have been told I would be ok on Mans bike)

Any advice wouldl be greatly received, thanks Sue

Comments

  • secretsam
    secretsam Posts: 5,120
    Spesh sirrus, job done, love mine. Women's version available as well.
    It's just a hill. Get over it.
  • elcani
    elcani Posts: 280
    Hi Sue

    My girlfriend has just ordered a Trek 7.3 FX WSD, which costs £350 (plus she got a 43% discount through Evans Cycles Ride2Work scheme).

    It hasn't arrived yet so we've no first hand experience, but it seems like a good value machine.

    Good luck!
  • andylaw79
    andylaw79 Posts: 28
    ElCani wrote:
    Hi Sue

    My girlfriend has just ordered a Trek 7.3 FX WSD, which costs £350 (plus she got a 43% discount through Evans Cycles Ride2Work scheme).

    It hasn't arrived yet so we've no first hand experience, but it seems like a good value machine.

    Good luck!

    Got a 7.3FX for my commute and haven't got any complaints about it, fairly well speced bike and quick too!
  • BentMikey
    BentMikey Posts: 4,895
    More importantly, what kind of riding are you planning to do? Road, cycle paths, off road or packed paths, etc.? Also what sort of distance daily? If the commute is all on road, and longer distance, I would go for a road bike. If shorter, or taking in packed trails/off road, I'd choose a completely different bike.

    Beyond this, I'd go to lots of different shops and do lots of test riding of bikes. You have to be comfortable and like the bike to enjoy many thousands of hours riding it!
  • sjbarrick
    sjbarrick Posts: 3
    thanks all, this is a great start.

    Its mainly road/cycle paths and approx 10 miles each way.

    Great tips about test riding, I didn't evn know you could do that!
  • psychle
    psychle Posts: 83
    Girlfriend's first bike...
    http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/ebwPNLqrymode.a4p?f%5FProductID=9458&f%5FSupersetQRY=C109&f%5FSortOrderID=1&f%5Fbct=c003155c002908
    Good all purpose starter, including the essential mudguards, just a tad heavy. If your riding on the flat the weight isn't a big issue but if you have some big hills it'll help you get very fit. :lol:

    On the other hand, if you're not going off road at all I'd be more inclined to recommend this...
    http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/ebwPNLqrymode.a4p?f%5FProductID=9446&f%5FFullProductVersion=1&f%5FSupersetQRY=C109&f%5FSortOrderID=1&f%5Fbct=c003155c002908
    Lighter and with drop bars. Just add mudguards and a rack. You could probably also get slightly wider tyres for better comfort and which are less puncture-prone.

    Be careful of the difference between mens and womens bikes. It's not about the presence or absence of a top tube (the horizontal-ish frame tube between the saddle and the handlebars). It's about the relative postion of the handlebars, saddle and pedals to suit the differences between male and female body proportions ie distance between shoulders, hips, knees and ankles.

    "Like a pig towing a cart-load of sausages - I draw my own conclusions"
  • il_principe
    il_principe Posts: 9,155
    Just don't buy it from Halfords.

    Also why the hell do all these hybrids all seem to come with triples? Surely there's naff all need for them. I went to Evans (i know I know) with a colleague (to advise) last week. Amazingly the Halfords guy mirrored my advice to get a singlespeed (for a London commute for a fit 29 year old!) but colleague was drawn to the hybrids and they all had triples... WHY, we're in London not the bloody alps ffs!
  • GrantyBoy
    GrantyBoy Posts: 166
    Sue

    Best advice is go to a few various local bike shops and check out what they stock. Like buying a car different shops will sell different makes.
    Test ride all the different ones you like and catch your eye so you can find out what it is you like in a bike. That way you can narrow down a short list and maybe bag a bargin of the internet.

    Personally I'd say you can't really go wrong with a bike from one of the big name, Specialized, Trek or Marin. I know Specialized do a good range for women called D4W (designed for women). I would look at the Specialized Vita. This is a hybrid bike which has most of the speed of a road bike but the comfort of a mountain bike. I ride a Specialized Sirus (guys version) for my daily commute.
  • cee
    cee Posts: 4,553
    jashburnham wrote:
    Just don't buy it from Halfords.

    Also why the hell do all these hybrids all seem to come with triples? Surely there's naff all need for them. I went to Evans (i know I know) with a colleague (to advise) last week. Amazingly the Halfords guy mirrored my advice to get a singlespeed (for a London commute for a fit 29 year old!) but colleague was drawn to the hybrids and they all had triples... WHY, we're in London not the bloody alps ffs!

    I thought it was because they are "Hybrids"? :shock:

    A bike that has skinny tires for a commute, but has a mountain bike shape, so you could ride it through some nice woodland paths if you wanted? A bit of a jack of all trades, master of none?

    Also, I reckon that a good few people in Edinburgh use the granny ring at times (I'm thinking of the Mound, or from the New Town to the Old town, or Up Leith Walk from bottom to top), especially when (as with the OP) many first time buyers are tempted by the hybrids. A relatively new cyclist trying to get up the Mound on a fixie would never get back on the bike! It would be carnage :D

    Anyway, as others have said, try as many as you can, then get the one thats most comfy. :lol:
    Whenever I see an adult on a bicycle, I believe in the future of the human race.

    H.G. Wells.
  • Shadowduck
    Shadowduck Posts: 845
    jashburnham wrote:
    Also why the hell do all these hybrids all seem to come with triples? Surely there's naff all need for them. I went to Evans (i know I know) with a colleague (to advise) last week. Amazingly the Halfords guy mirrored my advice to get a singlespeed (for a London commute for a fit 29 year old!) but colleague was drawn to the hybrids and they all had triples... WHY, we're in London not the bloody alps ffs!
    Because Mr or Mrs Uninformed sees a bike with 24 gears and thinks it's better than the one with 16 or 18 gears. It's all about shifting product and not getting sued - if something helps with the former without increasing the likelihood of the latter, that's what happens.

    @Sue - I don't really have much to add to the good advice you've already received, other than to add my weight to the opinion you should include drop-barred road bikes for consideration. A lot of people (myself included) "graduate" from a hybrid to a road bike pretty quickly, and end up with a hybrid sat at the back of the garage!
    Even if the voices aren't real, they have some very good ideas.
  • DavidTQ
    DavidTQ Posts: 943
    Shadowduck wrote:
    jashburnham wrote:
    Also why the hell do all these hybrids all seem to come with triples? Surely there's naff all need for them. I went to Evans (i know I know) with a colleague (to advise) last week. Amazingly the Halfords guy mirrored my advice to get a singlespeed (for a London commute for a fit 29 year old!) but colleague was drawn to the hybrids and they all had triples... WHY, we're in London not the bloody alps ffs!
    Because Mr or Mrs Uninformed sees a bike with 24 gears and thinks it's better than the one with 16 or 18 gears. It's all about shifting product and not getting sued - if something helps with the former without increasing the likelihood of the latter, that's what happens.

    @Sue - I don't really have much to add to the good advice you've already received, other than to add my weight to the opinion you should include drop-barred road bikes for consideration. A lot of people (myself included) "graduate" from a hybrid to a road bike pretty quickly, and end up with a hybrid sat at the back of the garage!

    My hybrid is hanging in the cellar suspended from the rafters, untouched since I got the road bike :D

    Although living in a town built on seven hills I do very much appreciate the triple on my road bike.
  • Shadowduck
    Shadowduck Posts: 845
    DavidTQ wrote:
    Although living in a town built on seven hills I do very much appreciate the triple on my road bike.
    No denying triples have their uses, but I do think their inclusion on most hybrids is more to do with marketing than utility. For what it's worth, my hybrid (Revolution Courier Race) has a single chainring - there's always exceptions.
    Even if the voices aren't real, they have some very good ideas.
  • Brian224
    Brian224 Posts: 209
    What about a touring bike?

    I like my Dawes Horizon for commuting, chunky tyres like a hybrid but plenty of hand postions for comfort, full mudguards, and who is going to steal it?

    Having said that, on a 25 mile round trip over a 525 ft hill my singlespeed is only 10 minutes more each way and far more fun.
    To answer all the questions I might be willing to answer, 24 miles round trip, 3-5 days a week in a helmet, balance in a car, overweight, over 40 and over Bluebell Hill.
  • DavidTQ
    DavidTQ Posts: 943
    Brian224 wrote:
    What about a touring bike?

    I like my Dawes Horizon for commuting, chunky tyres like a hybrid but plenty of hand postions for comfort, full mudguards, and who is going to steal it?

    Having said that, on a 25 mile round trip over a 525 ft hill my singlespeed is only 10 minutes more each way and far more fun.

    Just out of curiosity is that the height of the hill or the length of the climb? Quick look on multimap one of the climbs on my commute is 1950ft long (if my maths is right- 650 yards according to multimap, its 3 feet to a yard isnt it?) and a nasty gradient at times but all up hill! then I get a 600ft slight climb followed by another 300ft really vicious climb about 200ft steep downhill followed by 400ft vicious climb... and thats the final furlong of my commute... How do I find out gradients and climb heights? Ive often wandered how my hills compare to others :D.
  • il_principe
    il_principe Posts: 9,155
    Yep I bought a hybrid, it got nicked, I bought a road bike and never looked back. Wouldn't use a hybrid now if you paid me - had a go on a mates Spesh "Globe" the other day and it felt so alien I nearly fell off... perhaps they need a Triple because they weigh about a ton?
  • Brian224
    Brian224 Posts: 209
    DavidTQ wrote:

    Just out of curiosity is that the height of the hill or the length of the climb? Quick look on multimap one of the climbs on my commute is 1950ft long (if my maths is right- 650 yards according to multimap, its 3 feet to a yard isnt it?) and a nasty gradient at times but all up hill! then I get a 600ft slight climb followed by another 300ft really vicious climb about 200ft steep downhill followed by 400ft vicious climb... and thats the final furlong of my commute... How do I find out gradients and climb heights? Ive often wandered how my hills compare to others :D.

    Thats the height, which makes it about 1 in 10 on average, although a lot steeper in parts. I did once do a route profile on my Garmin. If there is a way of posting profiles (as pdf images?) it might make an interesting thread, or an I just sad?

    Brian
    To answer all the questions I might be willing to answer, 24 miles round trip, 3-5 days a week in a helmet, balance in a car, overweight, over 40 and over Bluebell Hill.
  • secretsam
    secretsam Posts: 5,120
    DavidTQ wrote:
    Although living in a town built on seven hills I do very much appreciate the triple on my road bike.

    Bristol?
    It's just a hill. Get over it.
  • DavidTQ
    DavidTQ Posts: 943
    SecretSam wrote:
    DavidTQ wrote:
    Although living in a town built on seven hills I do very much appreciate the triple on my road bike.

    Bristol?

    No Torquay :D, finally got some figures for my hills today courtesy of bikely and some internet calculators :D

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