Bike buying advice.
Gauss
Posts: 3
Good day. I'm 22, a new member and I am looking for help in the search for a new bike. My knowledge is quite limited but I am not a complete ignoramus. I'll give the facts as I have them and hope for your guidance on the matter.
I'm at uni and will be moving to a nicer place that happens to be much further form campus than I've been living so far. As a student money is the main player in my life, and being as I have none of it I've decided to sell my shed of a car and commit to the bike entirely so that I may reap the financial rewards in the long term.
I've had the same GT bmx for the last half decade as it copes with moderate distances, any terrain and is a tank that cannot be killed, which is what my budget (or lack thereof) eternally dictates. But now the increase in distance means I need something to really stretch my legs on and clock up the miles, but that will have a similar toughness and reliable simplicity.
I will be commuting approximately 10k to uni every weekday morning, then home again in the evening, coupled with whatever recreational riding I can fit in at the weekend. The journey is basically a succession of substantial climbs and descents with a few flat sections thrown in for temporary relief. The terrain is a mixture of gravel and road that varies form good to poor. The route is subject to all the normal British weather conditions and is partly unlit at night. On weekends I'm more likely to head for countryside trails and some light mtb riding.
My only initial preferences are disc brakes to look after me in winter, light weight for carting it around campus/up steps/over fences and no suspension (not a fan of bouncing around, I like to feel the earth beneath me). An added luxury would be black paint and as plain a look as possible (simplicity + black = timeless beauty).
My budget is likely to be a humble £500, but I will be trying to save extra cash to reach a more substantial figure of £750. I'll also be content to upgrade the components as the subsequent months pass.
I look forward to hearing your ideas and thank you in advance.
Gauss.
I'm at uni and will be moving to a nicer place that happens to be much further form campus than I've been living so far. As a student money is the main player in my life, and being as I have none of it I've decided to sell my shed of a car and commit to the bike entirely so that I may reap the financial rewards in the long term.
I've had the same GT bmx for the last half decade as it copes with moderate distances, any terrain and is a tank that cannot be killed, which is what my budget (or lack thereof) eternally dictates. But now the increase in distance means I need something to really stretch my legs on and clock up the miles, but that will have a similar toughness and reliable simplicity.
I will be commuting approximately 10k to uni every weekday morning, then home again in the evening, coupled with whatever recreational riding I can fit in at the weekend. The journey is basically a succession of substantial climbs and descents with a few flat sections thrown in for temporary relief. The terrain is a mixture of gravel and road that varies form good to poor. The route is subject to all the normal British weather conditions and is partly unlit at night. On weekends I'm more likely to head for countryside trails and some light mtb riding.
My only initial preferences are disc brakes to look after me in winter, light weight for carting it around campus/up steps/over fences and no suspension (not a fan of bouncing around, I like to feel the earth beneath me). An added luxury would be black paint and as plain a look as possible (simplicity + black = timeless beauty).
My budget is likely to be a humble £500, but I will be trying to save extra cash to reach a more substantial figure of £750. I'll also be content to upgrade the components as the subsequent months pass.
I look forward to hearing your ideas and thank you in advance.
Gauss.
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Comments
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Disc brakes are great in mud, they don't get clogged up and stay working. Everywhere else though, and they lose the weight vs performance test. They are just dead weight in the dry, when even wimpy road brakes are enough to throw you over the handle bars, and while rim brakes are less effective in the wet, they still work, so no real point in having discs if your not worried about mud. If you are planning on riding in lots of mud, then get discs.
If I were you, I'd forget about the commute and instead get a bike for the weekend, and then ride it to college. A change of tyres will see anything short of a full-sus MTB perfectly up to the job of a commute. The bike may not be ideal, but you compromise the commute for the fun at the weekend.
You say you want to do trails and off-roading at the weekends, so I would have to go with a hard-tail mountain bike for that. It will be perfectly at home on the gravel of your commute, but will shine at the weekends.
Now...as per forum rules, if that weekend off-roading is only really going to be on fairly undemanding trails, then you would be an ideal candidate for one of those dirty cyclocross bikes. That too will cope with your gravelly commute and be ideal on trails and bridalpaths that don't require a mountain bike.
That way you could avoid the gravel altogether and take a fully-road route to uni and fit nice thin slick tyres for the week, and wider knobblier tyres at the weekend.
You might even be able to get one with discs if you really want.0 -
Specialized Hardrock Pro/Trek FX 7.3 Hybrid/Specialized Enduro/Specialized Tri-Cross Sport
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I had a Muirwoods for all of 4 DAYS before it was stolen :x
It was a very nice bike while I had it though- Genesis Croix de Fer
- Dolan Tuono0 -
So the idea is I should put the fun-time ahead of the commute as the loss of super-efficiency in riding from A to B is less detrimental than the limit a road orientated bike would have on riding trails on the weekend...I like that, the opposite of my natural instinct. I knew there was a reason for coming here!
I've just looked at 'dirty cyclocross' bikes and have to say I'm not convinced. I do like the idea of drop handlebars on a strong bike but it's not enough to convince me a 'cyclocross' is a valid wallet-botherer.
That's a nice Marin, I've always liked Marin's so it could be a contender. Good price too. I think I need to go to some decent shops and get measured up etc and sit on a few steeds.
Thanks chaps.0
