Bike puchase advise for beginner

Balleruk

Hello Everyone - first post.

I'm looking for a hybrid bike to commute into work into (about 5 miles). I really like the Carerra Gryphon v-spec but am concerned how much grip 700cc x 28 tyres will give me? I've only ever ridden mountain bikes and with winter closing in, don't want to buy something too close to a roadbike tyre wise. My budget is about £300 absolute maximum.

I'm not concerned with disk brakes, it just needs to be light, comfortable and quite grippy in the wet incase I make a hash of a turning!

Others I am considering are:

Carrera Crossfire
Ridgeback Motion
Claud Butler Explorer (700 x 35 tyres)
Trek 7100
GT Transeo (700 x 35 tyres)
[Any other suggestions!]

My main and only realy concern is will a 700 x 27 tyre be OK? I would like to start road riding on weekends and eventually start riding for 30,40,50 miles at a time, so I want to get closer to road bike than mountain bike. Budget isn't great, as I also need to buy mudguards, helmet, good lock, high vis waterproof jacket, trosers etc.

I've secured the Gryphon for £246 and don't really want to spend much more if you think this will be suitable.

Thanks everyone.
Thanks everyone.

biondino

Slick tyres give the best grip in the dry. Treaded tyres give the worst grip on tarmac in both the dry and the wet. Slick tyres are fine in the wet on tarmac as they cut through water and don't aquaplane. You can reduce the tyre pressure a bit if you like in the rain for more contact with the road surface. All tyres skid on wet metalwork and wet road paint.

You don't need a 35mm tyre unless you are really bothered by the bumps in the road - it'll weigh you down significantly on longer rides. 27 or 28 is plenty.

sc999cs

biondino wrote:

Slick tyres give the best grip in the dry. Treaded tyres give the worst grip on tarmac in both the dry and the wet. Slick tyres are fine in the wet on tarmac as they cut through water and don't aquaplane. You can reduce the tyre pressure a bit if you like in the rain for more contact with the road surface. All tyres skid on wet metalwork and wet road paint.

You don't need a 35mm tyre unless you are really bothered by the bumps in the road - it'll weigh you down significantly on longer rides. 27 or 28 is plenty.

Agreed.

RufusA

As others have said unless cycling over bad surfaces (loose gravel/sand, grass etc,) thin tyres work well.

I've been running 700x25c tyres on a daily commuter in all weathers and the only time I've had problems are when we had compacted snow under a layer of fresh melting stuff.

My current tyres (Schwalbe Marathon Plus) seem much more grippy in the wet than the original Specialized Armadillo's the bike was supplied with.

700x28c will be fine, so long as the rubber compound they are made of is okay!

Rufus.

Balleruk

Perfect, thanks everyone, the Gryphon it is then!

Obviously, a cheap bike will no doubt come with very cheap three, and were the first thing I was going to upgrade anyway. Can anyone recommend a good, puncture resistant tyre for the coming winter season?

Also, when I look at three on the Internet, are they usually sold in pairs or individually!?

Thanks again everyone!

sc999cs

Schwalbe Marathon are very good tyres, but I'm sure other posters will tell you their favourites as well.

Tyres are usually sold individually.