Newbie!

ajvdberg

Hi all,

Am a complete Newbie here - please excuse me if this is a stupid question, but am completely new to all of this! I wanted to start using a bike casually for commuting etc. I have read up about this and as far as I can see a Hybrid bike would be my best option.

I have been looking at bikes, then today while in Halford's someone brought in a carrera vulcan bike but it had smaller tyres on, almost like a road bike. I then looked around for this particular bike in the store and when I found it saw it is a mountain bike with fat tyres on it.
Can you please advise if 1) this would be a good bike and 2) if it is worth looking into getting the wheels changed out?

Thank you in advance!
AJ

joelsim

You probably need to tell us about your usage, how far is the commute etc etc

The more people know, the better they can advise.

I'm a noob too, and people are very helpful on here.

walkingbootweather

Hello ajvdberg and welcome,

As joelsim says, the more info you can give the better the recommendation is likely to be. I suspect the majority on here will not recommend Halfords - some of their higher range bikes are OK, but their sales and technical service don't have a great reputation.

Many here will also steer you away from hybrids but until we know what you intend to use it for we ought not judge.

Similar questions have been asked before so spend a little while browsing past posts and you may pick up something useful.

ajvdberg

Thanks for the replies guys.

The journey to work will be around 14/15 miles each way. I also want to use it to cycle to my parents house each weekend which is around 13 miles each way. Mainly using it on the roads, not really into off roading which is why I figured a hybrid bike would be best.

What's the reason you said about not getting a hybrid bike? If not hybrid what would you recommend?

Also I was looking at halfords because I could possibly use the cycle2work scheme but don't know if there are other schemes available?

Thanks guys!
AJ

walkingbootweather

That is a pretty decent distance and could mean a couple of hours per day in the saddle, so you want to get this right. You haven't mentioned budget, terrain, traffic or if you meed to carry anything.

Personally I favour steel frames that can take a rack and proper mudguards and drop handlebars for longer distances.

Many schemes allow you to use independent bike shops that generally are able to provide greater levels of expertise and service than Halfords. If you know what you want, then the Internet can provide savings (but if you knew what you wanted I guess you wouldn't be posting here).

The Boardman range at Halfords is well regarded.

Jason82

I have a boardman cx which is pretty good because I can go on or off road down the canal with it to work. But I only ride 18 miles a day to work and this bike can easily handle it.

joelsim

I have a Boardman Hybrid Pro which eats my 26 miles per day.

The Rookie

For that distance you want to steer clear of a mountain bike, you don't really want to lug an extra 1-1.5Kg of suspension fork everywhere when you don't need it!

A Hybrid or a proper road bike are what you need, and by Hybrid I mean a road biased one with narrow slick tyres, not an 'urban MTB' style one, depending on your budget but the Carrera Gryphon (Hybrid) or Virtuoso (road bike with dropped bars) would be about the cheapest that are worth getting (new).

Simon

ajvdberg

Thanks for the replies guys. Sorry have not really said anything about a budget - will probably be looking at up to £500.
I have to stress that it will really only be an occasional cycle to work as I am an engineer and it doesn't happen very often where I don't need my car.

The main bit I will be using it for will be cycling from my house in Rainham, Kent to my parents in Minster on the Isle of Sheppey. I have used the Bike Hub app to select a route - please see image below;

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forcutty

I'd suggest a road bike TBH
There a lot quicker than mtbs and hybrids arn't really built for much over 10 miles as they start getting uncomfortable.IMO
Boardman range is great but out of budget
So i'd suggest either secondhand or this.
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_272647_langId_-1_categoryId_165710#dtab