Semi newbie seeking recommendations

great_badir

Hi all - I'm new to the board and am like a little boy lost.

I'm after some bike recommendations please, if the board is happy to oblige. I am not new to cycling, but new to "proper" bikes - I've spent the last 5+ years riding crappy old Apollos and cheap Raleighs, but as my employer has recently signed up with the Cyclescheme and a planned new car purchase no longer needs to happen, I have the means to get my first decent bike.

I've spent the last week or so researching and reading through various posts on here, but I'm still daunted by the sheer choice available, so I thought it best to tell you knowledgable lot what I need and then you can recommend some options for me...

I want:
A hybrid - mostly for commuting on roads, but there will be some light off-roading on established tracks and the odd steep (tarmaced) hill. No racing, mountain biking or epic treks;
18 speed minimum - my daily commute takes in various road surfaces and gradients, so a good spread of gears is essential:
Something on which I can do most servicing and maintenance myself without too much difficulty.

After those requirements, I'm pretty much open to anything. The makes I can easily get from local shops - Trek, Giant, Kona, Cannondale, Marin, Specialized, Orbea, Dawes and Mongoose (however I'm aware of the high amount of negativity surrounding this make). In terms of budget, I don't want to say "money is no object", but given I have my previous new car fund available I can stretch quite far. I suppose the maximum I want to look at RRP wise is £800, so £500-600ish under the scheme.

Also, sorry to be greedy, but what's the general consensus with sub £80 maintenance stands? I'm looking at options from Topeak and Raleigh at the moment.

Thanks all for your time and help.

HamishD

You don't want a hybrid. Really, you don't. Trust me. Awful things. Combine the worst bits of both MTBs and road bikes and voila! A hybrid.

If you insist on doing a bit of off-roading, go the cyclocross route (more clearance for mud and chunkier tyres than a full on roadie). One of these for example: http://www.evanscycles.com/products/spe ... e-ec020083

Or one of these, maybe: http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Kona_ ... 360047423/

Can't help on the stand front I'm afraid. Would have thought a maintenance stand is a maintenance stand . . . .

great_badir

Thanks HamishD - I must admit yours is the first REALLY negative comment I've seen about hybrids, but interesting to hear the other side of the coin nonetheless and makes me wonder if I should widen the field a bit. Thanks for those two. Unfortunately I hate drop handlebars! I've never got on with them despite several goes.

Like you I thought a maintenance stand was a maintenance stand, but when I saw Halfords cheapo £9.99 stand in action (or not as the case was - more time was spent stopping the thing from falling over than doing any work on the bike), as well as some £60-odd stands that don't seem to fit most bikes, there is very definitely a difference.

davis

Hello, and welcome

What sort of distance will you be riding? If it's more than e.g. 10-15 miles you may want to consider something with drop bars so you can change hand positions, as keeping your hands in the same position for a long time can start to hurt. It's different for different folks though.


As always, the most important things are:

Does the bike fit you well (try lots of makes, +1 size and -1 size until you start to get a feel for what you want) Make notes of the size bikes and their geometries.
Find a local shop where they're interested and give a service you're happy with. Make sure you get test rides.

Those two bits of advice are, in my opinion, the two most useful things to start with.


As for spending around 800 quid on one of those makes, I seriously think you'd struggle to buy a bad bike; you can get a thoroughly decent bike for 500 quid RRP. I'd seriously consider looking at a Cyclocross (CX or cross) bike too, and a road bike, unless those "established tracks" are dirt or earth.

Do you need pannier mounts? Do you want mudguard mounts?

I suspect you'll find that 800 quid on cyclescheme will cost you /slightly/ less than your quoted figures, but that's not a bad guess.

You'll probably need to start by doing your own whittling down of the list. Pick perhaps 3 local bike shops that you like, and come away with e.g. 6 bikes that are shortlisted. Then come back with the list that you've produced, and see where you get to.

As for the maintenance stands, I've never used one I'm afraid. I suspect the moment I do use one I'll have to buy one because bending over the bike makes my back hurt at the moment.

Edit: Oh, I've got a Specialized Sirrus hybrid. it's perfectly ok, and does everything I'd need, but I far prefer being on the road bike now.

-spider-

I agree with HamishD. I've got a hybrid and it is the worst of both worlds. Decide what is more important road or MTB and go with that.

My hybrid (Giant) is in the shed, unused and I prefer a 25 year old Peugeot to that.

great_badir

Thanks davis. Taking your questions in turn...

Distance - commute is about 3 miles each way and completely on roads and one tarmaced cycle path.

I roughly know the size that fits me best and is most comfortable and most of the bikes I've looked at so far all fit. I've also asked in a couple of the local shops and had a few test rides, but because I've previously only known cheap and heavy bikes from Halfords or Argos, every single one I've tested has been a hundred times better - of the half dozen or so I've tested recently, none of them really had any distinguishable negatives during the test run, which is why I've come on here.

The established bike tracks are generally dirt, stones and scalpings, but not what most would call proper off-road - we're not talking foot deep potholes or massive ponds of stagnant muddy water at the bottom of a valley or anything.

Pannier mounts - probably not. Mudguard mounts probably yes, but not an essential.

£800 is the absolute maximum - I'm guessing that in the end it'll be in the £600-700 range as that's what most of the ones I've been looking at have weighed in at.

But it's the whittling down that's the problem - like I said, I've liked everything I've tested, but obviously from a test it's difficult to tell what the long-term ownership will be like.

It's a cliche, but I do feel like a kid in a sweet shop and pockets bulging with change at the moment!

HamishD

great_badir wrote:

Thanks HamishD - I must admit yours is the first REALLY negative comment I've seen about hybrids, but interesting to hear the other side of the coin nonetheless and makes me wonder if I should widen the field a bit. Thanks for those two. Unfortunately I hate drop handlebars! I've never got on with them despite several goes.

Like you I thought a maintenance stand was a maintenance stand, but when I saw Halfords cheapo £9.99 stand in action (or not as the case was - more time was spent stopping the thing from falling over than doing any work on the bike), as well as some £60-odd stands that don't seem to fit most bikes, there is very definitely a difference.

I may have been exaggerating slightly ! :P W hat I meant I think is that people tend to plump for Hybrid bikes out of either fear or ignorance (I know I did a while back) and there are much better bikes out there to suit your purpose. As people have said, go and check out your LBS and test ride some.

I also don't understand how you can not get on with Drop Bars. Most people spend 90% of the time riding on the hoods anyway . . .

Good luck on your hunt for a stand by the way!

t0pc4t

I love my hybrid. I don't want to be ruining my trek road bike on a miserable wet commute furring up the components and wearing components out.

Nor do I wish to push my mountain bike round my 24 mile commute

What I do want is a nice strudy frame, thick armoured tyres, road gears and flat bars for smashing over the cycle paths and a hybrid is perfect for that.

great_badir

HamishD wrote:

I also don't understand how you can not get on with Drop Bars. Most people spend 90% of the time riding on the hoods anyway . . .

They just don't feel comfortable to me. I spent years in my teens with racing bikes and I never felt comfortable. Never figured out what it was until I got a mountain bike and immediately I realised it was the drop bars that was the problem.

I know - I'm strange.

t0pc4t

btw my cube was about £499 last year

davis

great_badir wrote:

Distance - commute is about 3 miles each way and completely on roads and one tarmaced cycle path.

I probably wouldn't spend 500 GBP on a bike for 6 miles a day, unless you're going to be riding it at the weekends too.

Runoutofgears

davis wrote:

great_badir wrote:

Distance - commute is about 3 miles each way and completely on roads and one tarmaced cycle path.

I probably wouldn't spend 500 GBP on a bike for 6 miles a day, unless you're going to be riding it at the weekends too.

Good point davis, thing is like so many others I got the bug and my hybrid now has permanent residence in the shed whilst the bikes I now use have drop bars

great_badir

davis wrote:

I probably wouldn't spend 500 GBP on a bike for 6 miles a day, unless you're going to be riding it at the weekends too.

That's just my commuting distance. I'll will indeed be riding at weekends, which is where the light off-roading comes in.

MonkeyMonster

Blimey charlie - some of the vitriol from anti-hybridists...

I don't like drop bars either and with bar ends you can easily create different hand positions if you want to do a long ride.

Try em out. Cannon's are fairly stiff given their frame structure and what I ride.

I have rims that if I want, will allow me swap out my 1inch spez pro's for 2.1 fat knobblies and go mtbing/offroading.

That said my steed is an mtb frame with larger chainring and small(ish) rear cassette with 26inch wheels - not a true (700c) hybrid - by the great Sheldon's opinion.

outofbreath2

HamishD wrote:

[people tend to plump for Hybrid bikes out of either fear or ignorance !

We're you behind me in the shop that day or something! :shock: But I tend to agree. Following the decision to do a few more sportives with OH this year I bought my first road bike just this weekend and I must admit the scales have fallen from my eyes.

However, my commute (when I get round to it) is a bit road, a bit common(land), some deepish gravel and sand, so I need my hybrid, which I like lots, clipless moments and all.

I can't wait to get out at the weekends now though...

As for the stand, I bought for hubby's birthday from Chain Reaction Cycles for £55ish.
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=10231
this one. Once you figure out which way the bike goes it's quite good.

Stevo_666

t0pc4t wrote:

I love my hybrid. I don't want to be ruining my trek road bike on a miserable wet commute furring up the components and wearing components out.

Nor do I wish to push my mountain bike round my 24 mile commute

What I do want is a nice strudy frame, thick armoured tyres, road gears and flat bars for smashing over the cycle paths and a hybrid is perfect for that.

Well put that man.

What the hybrid bashers seem to miss is that hybrids are designed for commuting. I certainly didn't choose mine out of ignorance and I'm still happy with it. People who buy nice road bikes and use them for commuting are not using them for what they're designed for.

If you want to do a commute like yours, a hybrid is a good choice. Check out the Boardman range if you can bring yourself to buy from Halfords.

tomb353

3 miles should be doable in work clothes, why not get yourself a dutch style town bike and if you want to offroad at the weekends get a cheap mountain bike too? (you could manage both for £800ish.

I think you overestimate the number of gears you'd need, a 5 speed hub would probably do (and be maintenance free). Get one with a chain case and fitted mudguards and you could commute in a suit if you want to. Over 3 miles if you get a bike that doesn't soil your clothes you will be at your desk quicker than someone on a road bike.

fnegroni

Nothing wrong with a hybrid.

Mine is a proper one: originally an MTB, the front suspension siezed up and it's now a bombproof fork, I use slick 1.5" tyres most of the year but can easily swap for up to 2.3" Freeride tyres for the winter ice/snow riding + occasional trip to the local single tracks. It has full mudguards, and a heavy duty rack, and can easily take fully loaded pannier bags plus a small child on a child seat connected to the seat tube and some abuse on fire roads all at the same time without any issues.

The brakes are V-brakes which perform rather well and the flat bar gives excellent control in tight corners.

The frame allows low standover for single track riding yet allows me to commute at speeds around 17 mph av. over 25 miles of potholed tarmac daily without too much effort.

It is nowhere near my race bike in terms of speeds I can achieve over any distance (my commute on my racer is at around 20+mph), nor as lightweight as a lightweight road tourer would be, but it can take me anywhere I want to go.

A proper hybrid is, IMHO, the cheapest way to get a machine that can take you anywhere.

Sniggering at hybrids is silly, since 'every' bike is a compromise of some sort anyway.

What matters is that the bike you choose fits you, does what you want most, and makes you happy.

But for someone who has only started now to explore the world on two wheels, it is best to keep options open and go for something that will give a better idea of what next.
In which case it is paramount to get something that lends itself to many uses.

Eau Rouge

great_badir wrote:

davis wrote:

I probably wouldn't spend 500 GBP on a bike for 6 miles a day, unless you're going to be riding it at the weekends too.

That's just my commuting distance. I'll will indeed be riding at weekends, which is where the light off-roading comes in.

Then forget the commute and buy a bike for the weekend rides. You can commute on anything, especially over that distance. Have a look at the usual suspect's bikes for that light off-roading and one of them will look better than the rest to you. It might be the one with the brand name you don't even know you prefer right now. That's the one to buy.
A "better" bike you don't actually like is a bike you won't ride as often.

If you've tried drop bars and don't like them....yeah, you're still wrong

Aguila

Not going to put my 2p worth in on the bike, sounds like either hybrid or CX will do you. As for the workstand, I have this:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/LifeL ... 360009217/

It works very well and has helped me to do the lions share of maintainance myself. I also bought the lifeline toolkit which is also good value and works well. Also worth getting yourself a maintenanace book or watching some vids on tinterweb. There's a website called cycletutor which I find helpful.

http://bicycletutor.com/

great_badir

Thanks for all the useful comments so far guys, it's much appreciated.

I'm actually already pretty good with all the basic servicing and maintenance and a good portion of intermediate stuff. I've got a decent abbreviated servicing book, but what I still need to get is a more expansive servicing manual and also a few more tools, which I plan to get as part of my C2W package.

I'm going round some of the shops local to my work tomorrow lunchtime with a workmate who's much more of a bike expert than I am, so he'll be able to guide me to the kind of thing I want and then it just comes down to how it feels and, yes, how it looks.

Only thing I'm not looking forward to is the wait for the voucher to go through - a few people have been waiting for over 3 weeks now and, even though it's been agreed, still no sign of the confirmation. Worrying for me because a few things are looking like they'll need replacing on my crappy Apollo sooner rather than later, which I was hoping to avoid as I seem to be spending a tenner a time every couple of weeks on it at the moment :x

supersonic

You don't want a hybrid. Really, you don't. Trust me. Awful things. Combine the worst bits of both MTBs and road bikes and voila! A hybrid.

I disagree. There are many types of bike that fall into the hybrid range - and often a rider can get a bike that suits them perfectly.

As has been mentioned some people do not like drop bars, the width of the bars, or the style of shifting and braking. Me for one. I much prefer off roading with wider bars for more control, and larger tyres than you get on a CX, and it is no slouch on the road either.

But it is what you prefer in the end.

What type of offroading will it be exactly? Even consider an MTB. For example:

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... 29915#dtab

24.5lbs is hardly heavy, and will be very good for those weekend offroad rides. And at only 6 miles on road, will hardly lose you any time.

great_badir

supersonic wrote:

What type of offroading will it be exactly? Even consider an MTB. For example:

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... 29915#dtab

24.5lbs is hardly heavy, and will be very good for those weekend offroad rides. And at only 6 miles on road, will hardly lose you any time.

The off-roading I'll be doing is basically around Bristol, Bath and surrounding villages - those familiar with the area are probably aware that there are several tracks of varying qualities and surfaces, but none of them are what you would call impassable, or even tricky for that matter. But most of the ones I'll be doing would be very uncomfortable and probably not very safe done on a road bike, but neither do they call for a MTB.

Given my Apollo weighs a chuffing ton, weight is not really an issue for me - it's likely that everything I'll be looking at will be significantly lighter, indeed the ones I've test ridden so far have been.

Purely in terms of looks and value for money, I must admit I am leaning towards Specialized at the moment, but a few people have (independently) told me that the newer models seem to be quite problematic. I really like Cannondale as well, but I'm put off them by the premium for the name alone.

robocolley

I have a Tricross for my commute (mix of road and canal towpath) and I find it perfect for the job. Comfortable enough on the towpath and fast enough on the road. I got a hybrid to keep at my girlfriends last year as I thought it would be better for when we went out riding together (she has a hybrid too) but I find I'm doing more rides on my own and I really miss the drop bars.

great_badir

Right, interesting. So I've just got back from scouting a few shops and I think I've narrowed it down to two - the Cannondale Bad Boy Disc 26 and the Dahon Matrix (both 2010 models). Price-wise there's not much in it and they're both real lookers (I keep my bike in the garage at home and in a secure office basement at work, so thievery magnetism is not really an issue). The Bad Boy is lighter and faster, but the Matrix does have the bonus of being a folding bike that doesn't look like a folding bike - perfect for the boot of my Peugeot 307, which isn't quite large enough to comfortably fit a bike without some degree of faffing. And, apart from anything else, I'm not bothered about racing and don't have a requirement for speedy traffic avoidance (my commute is all on quiet residential back roads). Ride-wise they're both fine and I can't detect all that much of a difference on the a short test (didn't get either of them up to speed or on a road).

Given I was dead against folding bikes as an option, the tables have turned. One more place to look in tomorrow, but at the moment it is down to those two - anyone have any long-term experience with either one?

great_badir

So after today's LBS visit I've changed my mind again - I think the new Cube Nature is THE one.

Much as I liked the Dahon, further net research got me worried about very common problems with the frame weakening after a couple of years. Yeah, Dahon offer a lifetime warranty on their frames, but I don't really fancy the hassle of boxing it up and paying £50-odd postage every time it needs a new frame. I've also been put off the Cannondale by the premium on the name - after today I've seen far too many bikes with MUCH better spec for £50-100 less.

When taking everything into account, the Cube is the best one so far. Any opinions of the 2010 model?