Help buying a new bike..

warwick wolf

Hi,

need some advice please, my old Halfords hybrid has just died and I need to buy a new one..!

I've been looking at a Raleigh Pioneer 2 and was quite happy with my choice until i visited a couple of differant bikes shops and both assistants said to leave Raleigh well alone, they said compontents were often cheap alternatives of poor quality that wouldn't last very long....

I'm not massivley into cyclying but would like a decent bike around the £300 mark....

Should I go for this Raleigh..

thanks for any help in advance

WW

supersonic

I'd look at the Revolution Courier Race:

http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/product ... brid-bikes

Some good, solid parts, reasonably light and always does well in reviews.

warwick wolf

thanks mate that does look like a nice bike...

any thoughts on Raleigh in general and this bike inparticular??

Has Raleigh become a dirty word, I'm not a hardcore cyclist just need some helpful advice before I part with my hard earned....

WW

supersonic

A lot of Raleighs have become rather heavy and underspecced yes. Though sometimes you can find deals on higher end models.

Gizmo_

Frankly for £300 I'd be looking for a better-quality secondhand bike for £250 plus a good service at the local bike shop.

warwick wolf

So its not looking good for the Raleigh, would anyone care to have a look at the spec onit and tell me which bits are poor! I'd rather buy a new bike not really into secondhand if I can avoid it.

cheers

WW

supersonic

Have you got a link to the exact model you are looking at?

warwick wolf

here u go.!

http://www.raleigh.co.uk/PRODUCTTYPE/Pr ... 15&pg=7531

supersonic

First off weight - 16kg, even with that kit is catstrophically heavy!

Also:

- threaded headset rather than the lighter and more reliable Aheadset type.
- nasty adjustable stem.
- 14-28 Freewheel, rather than cassette, so weaker and less range.
- suspesnion fork is not needed, weighs a lot and is undamped.
- suspension seatpost: as above

The Courier is far better! Lighter, better specced, and even when you add guards etc will still be cheaper and lighter!

team47b

I would recommend saving up a bit more, try to get closer to that £500 barrier then come back and listen to the advice given here.

Disclaimer: if anything I have said or implied is considered rude by you it is because I am a rude person

warwick wolf

Ok Thanks everybody its starting to sink in... however b4 I go on, some body else has mentioned the gear set thingy which I believe is overcome by upgrading to the Pioneer 3..

http://www.raleigh.co.uk/PRODUCTTYPE/Pr ... 15&pg=7532

which I can get for £315...

I understand the weight issue, but I'm not a small lad and a couple of KG either way shouldn't make that much differance???? I'd like to use the bike off road at the weekend , nothing more than canal towpath that sort of thing so suspension might be a good thing I thought ! ???

The shop are ordering it in for me to try ( no committment ) so I might just see how it feels, at the moment I can't go any higher than £315 max

thanks very much for comments so far, please remember I'm a complete novice and not up to speed with all the jargon and spec details...

I'm hoping to get a bit fitter and lose for a few lbs, and then when funds allow maybe upgrade to a better bike.

So last thoughts on the 3 please.

cheers

WW

supersonic

It's stilla heap lol. Weight wise I am 99% sure you will feel the difference on the bike. The suspension is really poor, heavy, undamped, which can be more of a hinderance than a benefit off road. No idea why manufacturers still fit quill stems to bikes - well I suppose you get height adjust, but the system is not the best.

If you want to go offroad, consider an MTB such as:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-Schwinn-M ... 2318826e06

Around 13kg, great components, versatile, and with a change of tyres good for what you want. Miles better than the Raleigh!

warwick wolf

Well what a differance a day makes, went to test run the raleigh p3, only to find the lad had ordered an unloaded urban 3, completely differant bike, wrong frame size to boot..........!!

So manager steps in and suggests this bike instead..

http://www.discountcyclesdirect.co.uk/p ... s_id=12919

hes going to upgrade the tyres £36 / (£24online) each puncture proof set, pannier rack, bettter than the raleigh one, mudguards and call it £300 all in...

how does this stack up against the raleigh?

I forgot to mention the stand, dual denisty hand grips and suspension seat post but am hoping he'll throw those in as well !!

good deal / better bike? What da think?

supersonic

It has some nice parts... but again a totally useless fork, and I don't like to see those headsets on these bikes. But decent drivetrain and alloy finishing parts are good at this money.

If it fits, I'd probably go for it, but ask about if they have any lighter rigid forks.

London_Falcon

I got my 2011 Specialized Cirrus Sport for £350 in August last year, just after the 2012 models cam out. Very please with it.

Still available, at the same price, here:-

http://www.leisurewheels.co.uk/products ... &vid=29600