She wants a new bike - £200 budget

chrisdf

Ok so shes needs to replace her Apollo full sus (I was not with her when this was brought). she got fed up with it and dumped it on the cyclepath last week (bearing in mind his is same bike i dived in the canal to retrieve in November after she and bike went in (funniest thing i've eve seen))

I know the budget does not really allow for much but whats the best solution for 200 quid (maybe could push it to 250)

there seem to be a reasonable selectoin on the evans site

don't need it for any manic downhilling, just rides on bridlepaths and for falling into canals

thoughts/ideas are most welcome

Mrs Toast

Is it a case that she's going to be riding bridleways and cycle paths exclusively, or are you hoping she'll get the bug, and that you'll be able to tempt her into more off-road riding? As it stands, it sounds like for her current riding requirements that she doesn't need any suspension, just a solid frame and a good set of off-road tyres. Unnecessary suspension is just going to make a bike heavier, particularly in that price range.

If she is planning on riding any rougher stuff, it might be worth looking at a hardtail, although the forks are normally very heavy in the lower price brackets - if she's a light lass, she'd also probably want a women's specific fork as (in my experience) the low-end standard spring forks tend to be very stiff, and don't move at all if you're under a certain weight.

Although if she's got a fondness for canals, you might want to consider a narrow boat!