£400 to spend today on my new bike :) - advice needed please

peco

I will be reserving my bike today in halfords as i will be collecting my C2W voucher next week to go and pick it up.

My use of the bike will be the following -

Cycle to station (just a few miles there and back each day)
4-5 times per week will do exercise on it, guessing 30-60mins cycling each time
Just going down to the shops etc

Still very unsure whether to get a hybrid or a road bike. I do suffer from back pain (herniated my disc 4 years ago) so i think maybe the position of a road bike could cause me some trouble.

I have been looking at the following bikes

VooDoo Marasa Hybrid Bike 2011/2012

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... 65534#tab2

Carrera Gryphon Hybrid Bike 2011/2012

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165534

Trek - 7.2 FX - 2012

http://www.onyourbike.com/product/9342- ... X-2012.php

OR if the road bikes seem ok when i try them out

Carrera TDF Road Bike 2011/2012

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165710

Does anyone have any preferences?

Anything i should specifically be looking for to tell me one is better than the other??

thanks

supersonic

Are you sure your voucher is redeemable at Halfords?

peco

supersonic wrote:

Are you sure your voucher is redeemable at Halfords?

Halfords and onyourbike

The only bikes in my price range at OYB is the Trek 7.2

oxoman wrote:

Looked at the specs on all bikes.
IMHO i would steer away from the road bike because of your back.
The voodoo is slightly better spec than the Gryphon, but personally i would go for the Trek as i've always found them to well built / reliable and light compared with other bikes. At the end of the day you need to try all the bikes available to see if they suit your posture and the type of riding you intend doing etc. Either way whichever bike you get it use it and enjoy. Carrera Subway is worth looking at as well.

i see that the voodoo is slightly heavier, will this make much of a difference, i wont be carrying it much, im just wondering in terms of performance

yes i think after a while of being in the bent over position i would probably start to feel sort sort of ache.

i will also take a look at the subway, thanks for the advice

Do you think its a viable option to perhaps go for a cheaper bike such as the subway and spend the rest upgrading parts?

Would that be a better use of my budget?

supersonic

Not usually, as the parts can be expensive. The voodoo looks rather heavy, the Gryphon seems a better bet.

peco

supersonic wrote:

Not usually, as the parts can be expensive. The voodoo looks rather heavy, the Gryphon seems a better bet.

Yes the gryphon is lighter and at the shop it looked more streamline and road worthy

it looked pretty low and something like the crosspath had much higher handlebar which is what i want

unfortuneatly no one in there had a clue what they were talking about

i couldnt try out any bikes..the bloke said i would probably be a 21 inch frame.

DrLex

peco wrote:

[...]

My use of the bike will be the following -

Cycle to station (just a few miles there and back each day)
[...]

Since it sounds like you'll be leaving your lovely, shiny new bicycle at the station during the day, make sure you budget for a decent U lock - e.g. £60 Kryptonite & a cable for the front wheel.

peco

yes you guys are right, it will be locked up at the bike racks by my station for a good 10 hours a day :roll:

ill be sure to get a kryptonite lock

Im going to head down to www.onyourbike.com today to try out the trek 7.2

hopefully the guys in there will have a little more experience and i will actually be able to sit down and try out a bike, as i said, the guy in halfords just looked at me and said i was probably suited to a 21 inch frame.

Ive narrowed it down to a hybrid i know that for sure, im not going to get a road bike, its not very practical for running errands and stuff and i would like to go through some parks etc.

Also they look much more expensive and it just sitting there for 10 hours a day is a recipe for disaster

godders1

What do you think would happen if you rode a road bike through a park? :?

For you a hybrid sounds like a good choice, you seem to have some wonky assumptions about road bikes though! With flat pedals and 25-28mm tyres a road bike is pretty much as hardy and as practical as any other type of bike for your stated purpose.

peco

Godders1 wrote:

What do you think would happen if you rode a road bike through a park? :?

For you a hybrid sounds like a good choice, you seem to have some wonky assumptions about road bikes though! With flat pedals and 25-28mm tyres a road bike is pretty much as hardy and as practical as any other type of bike for your stated purpose.

well im guessing it wouldnt break anything but it certainly would be uncomfortable.

I had a great day at www.onyourbike.com London store today.

a millions times better than the service i received at halfords.

I have decided to go with the trek 7.2. Purely from the service i received, the girl who helped me (Anya) was very helpful, got to test drive a trek 7.5 as they didnt have a 7.2 in store but it was the same dimensions

gone with the 22.5 inch frame and swapped over the handlebar stem to make it a tiny bit more upright

will be picking it up in a few weeks time )