Decent bike for new cyclist?

Rubicon22

Hey guys,
Back in the uk for uni after being abroad for about 8 years, had a mtb back home but it was in bad shape so I haven't cycled for the past year or so.

Looking for a bike, I have been for the last month or so. Don't really have enough for a new bike so I'm looking to get a decent used bike for not more than 70 pounds.

I would ride this bike to and from campus daily (1 mile in each direction).

I would also use it to get to rowing training and back (2 miles each way) about 4 days a week.

Currently looking at this bike on ebay mainly because the seller has agreed to drop it and the price is fairly low.

What do you think of this bike, for cycling on roads for periods of about 10-15 mins at a time, 2-4 times a day?

I think I am in love with this bike, as I love how road bikes look, but that doesn't seem very feasible as its in the next town, and it says min leg 33" and I've yet to measure my inside leg.
I have also never ridden a road bike so that also counts against the bike (although I do love it )
I would appreciate any advice you can give me
Thanks

jeremyrundle

You say "decent bike" then say you have £70 :!:

I wish you luck, one of my brakes cost £70, ebay is best, though for that I wouldn't expect much.

Marcus_C

Don't listen to jeremy, you can get a surprisingly good bike for that money if you know what not to buy. For a start, at that price steer clear of anything with suspension, it's just something else to go wrong and is not needed on roads.

As far as that bike goes, it looks pretty serviceable although it looks to be set up rather wierdly, I wouldn't pay £70 for it but you could do far worse, considering it comes with the lock as well.

As for the road bike, that just strikes me as wierd, a road bike with grip shifters, but if it takes your fancy I imagine it works well enough...
I'd take the seller's inside leg guesses with a pinch of salt, the fram doesn't look that big.

Just make sure, when you pick a bike up, that it's as described, and it's a good idea to know the rough cost of any parts you think may need replacing (really rusty chain etc.)

unixnerd

Where are you based? A lot of towns have centres where old bikes are recycled by volunteers into something worth riding. You can also feel fairly safe that anything you get from one of these places is roadworthy. They're normally pretty cheap.

Rubicon22

Thanks for the quick replies, I am in Birmingham, not sure if there is a bike centre here but I will look into it.

Tthanks for the tip on no full suspension, I came across that myself when I was researching and am only looking at hard-tail mountain bikes.

I will probably steer clear of the road bike, as I don't know if I could ride a bike with such thin tires :oops: , maybe in a year or two , but the mtb is tempting as it also comes with a D-bar lock.
I wouldn't be willing to go past 30-40 though, as the seller doesn't give much info on the bike, but my upper limit is 70.

Just wondering how good probike bikes are in general as I haven't heard of them much.

Also, how much would a bike shop charge, roughly for re-tuning and adjusting gears and brakes?

Thanks again

unixnerd

See http://birminghambikefoundry.org/what-we-do.html

They do courses in maintenance too, much better to learn the simple tasks of looking after a bike than a pay a bike shop :-) It's not hard and a few simple tools will do the job.

Blue Meanie

You should consider going fixed? Potentially much cheapness and low maintanence.

Marcus_C

If it's in the condition he's described you could, say, offer him £35 to end the auction early or just bid up to about £40. As for adjusting gears and brakes a shop shouldn't charge much but it is really easy to do it yourself, if you're unsure, give this site a visit and you'll save yourself probably about a tenner instantly. http://bicycletutor.com/

The Rookie

That Probike is worth about £35-40 tops (I got a similar townsend off ebay for £5.50).

With ebay the key is patience, I found a decent GT on ebay as a donor for my wifes bike for £46, but for every bargain there are 200 you don't want or aren't worth having.

Gumtree is also worth a try, but be careful!

Simon

loveaduck

The Birmingham bicycle foundry also sells bike cheap and come with a guarantee (plus they are really nice people)

http://birminghambikefoundry.org/bikes.html

I'm sure they could do you a deal. open from wens onwards. There is also Sprocket Cycles on Alison Street next to friends of the earth

http://sprocketcycles.wordpress.com/

Rubicon22

Thanks for all the replies guys, you've been a big help

I have looked at the Birmingham bike foundry, and will keep an eye on it as well call up sprocket cycles

I have bid a max 27 on the probike, probably won't go past that, my main reason for choosing th bike is that I can get it easily as most other ones on ebay are too far for me to to and pick up. I did look at gumtree as The Beginner mentioned, but quite a few of the bikes in my price range looked quite dodgy so I ignored them.

Sent a message to the seller asking about the specs and this is his reply:

Hi, its fair to say this is not a high spec bike, I paid £40 for it and that is where my expectations are. The gear changers front and back are Shimano and have the letters SIS on them and the brakes say APSE. I have noticed the brake adjusters are alittle rusty but they all work fine. This bike should be used as a run about realy. I hope this helps

Guess it should be fine for me and my short daily trips.
What exactly is the brake adjuster though, as if its rusty I might have to replace them?

EKE_38BPM

I would assume the brake adjusters are the brake cable adjustment bolt (see section 5 on this page) and if it has a bit of surface rust, I wouldn't worry about it too much. I wouldn't replace that one part, I'd probably buy another brake caliper, but it would probably be fine

Shimano SIS stuff is the very bottom of the range, but it will do the job you ask of it.
For the trips you describe, a £40 runabout sounds perfect.

As the rider of a roadbike, I would lean towards the Sprint Vitesse (or is that Vitesse Sprint?). At the very least, it take less effort to ride a road bike than a MTB. Use your energy for doing stuff when you get to your destination, not on getting to your destination.

DO NOT BUY A DUAL SUSPENSION BIKE!!!!!!!!!!!

Rubicon22

Thanks again for the reply

The auction ended and I managed to snag the bike for 25

Not too bad I think, as it seems to tick all the boxes for me.
I also liek the fact that it has a D-Lock, as everyone I have spoken to says they are essential as cable locks can be snapped easily.

I will update you guys once the bike is delivered.

loveaduck

if you need help fixing or maintaining your bike. try the cycle foundry opens on wens onwards. Cheap (dirt cheap) and helpful normal people.