Looking for decent bike sub £200 if possible

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Comments

  • MichaelW
    MichaelW Posts: 2,164
    Revolution courier is a nice basic bike, more quality than frills. Does it have enough gears for your route.
    You need to budget for:
    Lights, Helmet, Lock, luggage, mudguards, decent waterproofs, repair kit.
    You really should invest in the best tyres you can find, eg Schwalbe Marathon Plus. Riding on cheap tyres will establish your reputation for coming in late and cycling as an unreliable means of transport and neither is necessary.
    How much is the bus fair over a 5-year time period? That is the cost you have to beat.
  • HokkaHokka
    HokkaHokka Posts: 46
    Thanks MichaelW!
    I hadn't even considered the tyres or waterproofs!
    The tyres that come with the bike are "Innova IA-2403, 700 x 32, W/Kevlar Puncture Protection"
    Are these likely to be unrelaible?
    HH
  • mountaincookie
    mountaincookie Posts: 292
    Personally I can't say I've heard of those tyres, on a bike of this price I personally wouldn't trust them if I couldn't afford a puncture...if puncturing wasn't too big a deal I would wear them out then get scwhalbe marathons. Keep them pumped up hard to prevent puncturing. Remember that puncture not only cost you time and effort, new inner tubes (replace after 2 punctures imo) are not cheap!!
  • bennett_346
    bennett_346 Posts: 5,029
    mountaincookie wrote:
    Personally I can't say I've heard of those tyres, on a bike of this price I personally wouldn't trust them if I couldn't afford a puncture...if puncturing wasn't too big a deal I would wear them out then get scwhalbe marathons. Keep them pumped up hard to prevent puncturing. Remember that puncture not only cost you time and effort, new inner tubes (replace after 2 punctures imo) are not cheap!!
    Biggest load of rubbish i've ever heard.
  • mountaincookie
    mountaincookie Posts: 292
    bennett_346 wrote:
    mountaincookie wrote:
    Personally I can't say I've heard of those tyres, on a bike of this price I personally wouldn't trust them if I couldn't afford a puncture...if puncturing wasn't too big a deal I would wear them out then get scwhalbe marathons. Keep them pumped up hard to prevent puncturing. Remember that puncture not only cost you time and effort, new inner tubes (replace after 2 punctures imo) are not cheap!!
    Biggest load of rubbish i've ever heard.

    If you disagree that is fine, I am not an expert, but I would appreciate it if you explained why what I've written is a load of rubbish... :?: Your reply to my statement that £200 bikes are poor quality...it's my experience and therefore my opinion.

    Hokkahokka I am sorry if my comments are not helpful, they are posted with the best intentions. As I have said, sub £200 bikes will have poor quality components which will wear out and cause problems. Tbh I am sure others would agree with me that it is false economy. The courier looks to perfect for your needs. As for my comments per tyres - I stand by what I've already said. Try the tyres. If you get a couple punctures from no immediatly obvious cause (like riding over glass) then yes, you'd probably be best to change them for better tyres - the marathons are favoured in general. Keep them pumped up hard, it'll help prevent punctures.

    Good luck
  • supersonic
    supersonic Posts: 82,708
    Often cheaper tyres are better than more expensive ones for shrugging off punctures, for the simple reason they often have more meat in them! And harder rubber. These also have kevlar reinforcement. Of course these are not the only requirements of a good tyre, but way to early to be saying they are poor.

    Many sub £200 bikes are poor, many more are workable. Some are actually quite good, but all bikes require looking after. The Courier is the best of the bunch, a well thought out machine which has spread the budget wisely.
    GT ZASKAR CARBON TEAM

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  • team47b
    team47b Posts: 6,425
    As The Edinburgh bicycle co-operative's bike was my suggestion, I hope it turns out to be as good value as it sounds, don't forget to post your findings after a week of commuting.

    Oh, and start looking for that expensive road bike now :D
    my isetta is a 300cc bike
  • mountaincookie
    mountaincookie Posts: 292
    supersonic wrote:
    Often cheaper tyres are better than more expensive ones for shrugging off punctures, for the simple reason they often have more meat in them! And harder rubber. These also have kevlar reinforcement. Of course these are not the only requirements of a good tyre, but way to early to be saying they are poor.
    Well, I've learnt something new today! I won't be so quick to condemn cheap tyres in the future :wink:
    supersonic wrote:
    Many sub £200 bikes are poor, many more are workable. Some are actually quite good, but all bikes require looking after.
    What I should have said - apologies

    Thanks supersonic for correcting my comments...
  • meanredspider
    meanredspider Posts: 12,337
    As I've said above, this isn't a sub-£200 bike but a £300+ discounted bike - there's quite some difference. Given, too, that it's no-frills (unlike the "full suspension" BSOs that Tesco sell for £70), it's likely that it's pretty well put together.

    Try the tyres and see how they are. I'm suspecting that they'll be fine but, if you run into lots of punctures (more than one a month over a period of a few months is excessive), look for some new tyres - but be aware that they are likely to cost you £30-£50 a pair for a good, puncture-resistant, branded tyre.
    ROAD < Scott Foil HMX Di2, Volagi Liscio Di2, Jamis Renegade Elite Di2, Cube Reaction Race > ROUGH
  • HokkaHokka
    HokkaHokka Posts: 46
    Thanks everyone for your input and invaluable advice.
    @team47b I really appreciate the "heads up" - thanks a lot.
    Watch this space for a full report once I begin my commute!
    HH

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