Newbie Question About Claud Butler Levante 07

ShortyCycler

Hi

Firstly let me say that having read loads of posts on here i'm definately more informed than i was on bikes, so a big big thankyou to all the people who have put stuff on the forums.

Anyway being a Newbie it's fair to say i have a ton of questions, so i guess i'll get cracking and hope someone out there can help me.

1) Well as the title says im curious about the Claud Butler levante 07 and whether its worth the £300 my local bike shop is asking for it? that includes a helmet, D lock etc..got them to match halfords £50 worth of gear for any bike over £200. So anyone own one? I'm going to use it mainly to commute the 3 miles to work and be great to know if it's up to the task. Can it take the odd bump up and down of a few curbs? I've no intention of treating it like a moutain bike and chucking it around just want to know if it can take the odd bump here and there.

2) Having decided to go down the Hybrid route and gone away from buying a mountain bike and tagging a decent set of slick tyres on it...wanted something light and quick and didn't think an MTB would cut it having read stuff off the forums...if the levante is't the answer any suggestions on what is for between £200 and £300. I know this question has been asked a million times already. I've surfed the net till i could drop from evans cycles to chain reaction to checking out my local bike stores including leisure lakes cheltenham and found a few i like and in the right price range including a rather nice scott sportster P6 at my local leisure lakes.

Anyway here's a few i've been looking at

Scott sportster p6 £250
Claud Butler levante £300
GT Zum 4.0 2007 £239
Ridgeback Cyclone 2008 £279
Specialised Sirrus 2007 £299

Lastly to add to the fun and games of hunting down a decent bike it certainly dosen't help being a short ass (5 ft 3ins tall). Not many if any stock stuff i can sit on without being seriously on tip toes with the saddle all the way down. So its gotta be a small framed bike for me

Anyway really appreciate any help anyone can give.

Thanks

Phil

delcol

i know a few people on here rate the sirrus.

i not to sure on the claude i know one of my mates at work has a cb i think its an oddysey the original one he bought had to be sent back as they had crossthreaded the bb when the bike was built, he waited around 7 months before they sent him a replacement this was due to cb not making this particular frame untill a certain time of the year or this is what they told him,.
he eventually got his new bike the same mod and guess what a few years later he takes it in for a service and the bb is cross threaded from the factory,. so when it gives up he will need to get a new bike,..
i aint dissing cb but it seems strange that 2 of the same bike can suffer from the same thing like this out of the factory...

i would go try a few of the above mentioned bikes out most shops have demo bikes or will let you try it on thier car park,.

see which one feels the most comfortable for you..

i would say if your commute is on paved surface then go for 700c wheels.

ShortyCycler

Thanks for the info Delcol much appreciated.

Going by what you've said and what i've read about Claud butler bikes specifically the levante being a bit fragile i think i'm going to give it a miss. It's a good price for the bike but i do want something that isn't going to fall apart on me or at least be able to take the odd bump here and there.

I've read about the sirrus on here and checked it out around the net and it definately has a good write up. I''ll see if one of my local bike shops has one i can look at and hopefully try out. Am actually off to check out a Ridgeback Genesis Day 01 2007 today as i really like the look of it. It's a bit more than i'd care to spend but thats always the way...you start at one price and usually end up buying something £100 - £150 more

What do people think of the Genesis? good bike? worth the £300 odd quid?

Along with the Genesis also going to check out a Felt bike. Never even heard of the make till i started searching for bikes on the net but they seem to make some really good looking bikes. I'm looking at the Felt QX65 which is just under the £300 quid mark.

Anyone own a Felt bike on here? this is the QX65.. good specs?

http://www.evanscycles.com/product.jsp?style=87308

TheBoyBilly

My mate has a (2006) Levante and loves it. He commutes every day and hasn't had any problems with it whatsoever. But it's up against some decent enough stuff in your list.