Advice: Difference between £250 and £350 bikes?

mikey2424

Hi

I've just sold my car and am going to start cycling to work.

I've been looking at various bikes with a maximum budget for the bike of £350.

I'd of course like to spend less.

I don't have a clue about bikes so some advice will be much appreciated. Of course, when I get into cycling a bit more I hope to be back offering others advice on the back of my experiences.

The first bike recommended to me in a shop was the Specialized Sirrus 2011 at £350.

At the time that was over the budget I'd set myself but was advised to not spend any less than that on a bike I'd be using daily.

Was that sound advice?

Will I notice a huge difference if I saved a bit of cash and went for the Giant Escape 4 at £235?

http://www.jejamescycles.co.uk/giant-es ... 58926.html

Are there other bikes around the £250 mark that can go against the Sirrus?

Thanks

Headhuunter

At that price bracket it may be worth cconsidering 2nd hand - have a look at gumtree and ebay...

one_knee

Have a look at Haflords, they have some good hybrids in your price range. I've just got a Carrera Gryphon using the discount code NUSJUL11. Great bike but the customer service was pants so I would build it your self or pay for your LBS to build it for you.

mikey2424

Cheers for the reply. I've been trawling through eBay and just joined GumTree but can't much at the moment. Most things are pick up only so you only have your immediate area to go at. There's a Boardman Comp Hybrid 2010 at £240 - decent machine?

Should I be worried about it only having 18 gears and does that seem odd for a £500 bike?

Manufacturer Boardman
Type Hybrid / Town
Gender/Age Men
Production years 2010
RRP £499.99


Colours Black
Frame type Rigid
Frame material Aluminium
Frame description Lightweight fully double butted aluminium
Gears 18
Wheel Size 700 c

BRAKING
Brakeset Avid BB5 mechanical disc brakes, 160mm rotors
DRIVE
Bottom Bracket Truvativ PowerSpline
Cassette (Rear Cogs) SRAM PG950 11-32T
Chain Shimano HG-73
Crank Truvativ Touro compact 50x36T
Pedals Alloy body, steel cage, toe clips & straps
GEARING
Derailleur Front Shimano R440
Derailleur Rear SRAM X5
Gears 18
Shifter(s) SRAM X5 9 speed
GENERAL
Bar Ends Ritchey Comp
Handlebar Ritchey Flat OS 31.8mm
Headset Semi integrated cartridge bearing
Headset Spacers Full carbon 4x5mm, 1x10mm
Rigid Forks Lightweight aluminium
Saddle cboardman, Cro-Mo rails
Seat Post Ritchey 27.2mm
Stem Ritchey OS 31.8mm
Weight 23.8 lbs
WHEELS
Hubs Sealed bearings
Rims Lightweight disc specific
Spokes Stainless steel double butted black
Tyres (Front & Back) Maxxis Detonator 700x28c (these are included in sale, bike is fitted with Michelin City tyres as per photos)
Wheel Size 700 c

optimisticbiker

mikey2424 wrote:

Cheers for the reply. I've been trawling through eBay and just joined GumTree but can't much at the moment. Most things are pick up only so you only have your immediate area to go at. There's a Boardman Comp Hybrid 2010 at £240 - decent machine?

Should I be worried about it only having 18 gears and does that seem odd for a £500 bike?

Boardman's are quite well thought of (reviews) and that would do well as a first bike if its the right size for you. Size is important, you need to try a few to be sure you have the right fit. 18 gears just means that its got a 9-speed cassette on the back and a double (or in this case a compact) chainset on the front.

walkingbootweather

Agreed - A used bike at this price level would be the way to go. A Boardman in decent condition would be a great first bike. 18 speed is plenty.

If you are buying new remember the total cost includes fixed element (transport, packing, marketing, labour etc.) which are similar for many bikes, then the variable element which covers the quality of components used. At the cheaper end of the spectrum therefore the fixed cost is a higher proportion of the total cost but spending a bit more is likely to result is worthwhile quality improvements.

The Rookie

This is an excellent value first commuter bike.......
http://www.cycleschemedirect.co.uk/cata ... m='Halcyon Yukon 8 Speed Nexus Town & Towpath Bike' (copy and paste the software doesn't like the speech marks)
Being hub brake and gears its minimal maintenance and long lasting kit.

Don't get hung up on the number of gears, its a fairly meaningless selling feature, my commuter is 9 speed, and until I changed the ratios to a closer range set I only used 7 of them.

Simon