Wanting to get back into biking... but about to give up

Blue Dragon

Hi, I'm new : )

I'd like to apologize in advance. Firstly 'cause this will be a long post and so I'd like so say sorry for any headaches caused. Secondly 'cause I'm dyslexic so my spelling and word use might not be brillient.

I'm also Anthropophobic, the fear of people. So I'm sorry if I ever seem... funny. I really don't mean to be but these kinds of things can be hard for me.

I think my situation must be hard to answer 'cause I've been trying to get one for two months now with no luck. It's taken nearly that long to get the courage to come here and ask. Although I've been hovering around for a while.

I'm hoping all you clever bikie people can help me here, 'cause I think I'm about to give up before I've started.

I had a bike as a kid and as a teenager. Just a standard kids bike, nothing special. But I was never off the thing! Then someone set fire to my mam's garage and everything in it got burnt. My poor bike was left litrally melted to the floor. Since then I haven't had another one. I'm twenty four now so it's been a few years.
But I'd love to get another one, a MTB, and get myself out exploring further.

A bike would would help me carry shopping back home and to take poorly pets the the vets on the back of it, but what I really want to do is get out further on the tracks. I'm very lucky to have the C2C route going off in either direction just up the road from me! I love to go walking along there with my camera, see what I can find. But with me also having M.E. and needing to get back home for five for my afternoon sleep it's getting very frustrating that I can't get out further. I want to be able to visit all the great places that I know I have round here. I'm lucky to live in an aria where there's countryside as far as you can see... I want to be able to go there. To visit the wildlife parks and woods.

But here's my situation. Because of my phobia and 'cause of my M.E. I can't work. So I have to live off benefits. I just can't afford the money other people can for a bike.

I have a hundred quid in 'real' money. It was a present. I had the great idea to get a new bike with it. I looked up the bikes on Amazon and Argos and chose the one I wanted... then I learnt that what I was planning on doing was really stupid and all I would be doing is waisting what little money I had on a bike that was only going to break on me.

I read about what I should be buying and it turns out you have to be some sort of millionaire to afford a decent bike... spending numbers that I can't even read : /

But, then I was told that some cheaper bikes are good bikes as long as you can afford a bit more. So I looked on the online Kays catalogue to see their bikes 'cause I have three hundred quid in 'virtual' money there, thinking that this was a better idea. But no, I learnt that it was in fact just as stupid.

I was recomended finding a second hand bike. But after a month I've gotten nowhere with that. I was told to look out for bikes like the GIANT Boulder and the GT Avalanche. And to look out for good carrera ones. The problems with all of them so far have been either they're too far away, they're too big for me or they're too expencive.

One of the biggest problems is me. I'm a proper little short a**e and only about five foot, if that. All the seond hand bikes are too big for me in frame sizes.

I'm at a loss, and to be honest the excitment of getting a new bike is starting to turn into a headache and a dissapointment that I can't get one just 'cause I haven't got that sort of money. And I don't want it to be that way. I'd love to have a bike.

I do have a bike shop just up the road from me but they won't let me pay in bits so I can't afford even a half decent bike. And I've read that Halfords is next to usless.

I would need a MTB that could handle some rough ground. Round here there are some paths that are all rocky with bits of brick and rubble sticking out and sometimes you can't avoid them. Also there's tree roots etc to get over. So a bike that could handle being bounced around and knocked about a bit. I'm not after a fast bike. But I do want suspension. I don't want to end up with no backside after six to eight hours riding, but most importantly I don't want any poorly pets having to edure any extra bouncing around either.
It doesn't have to be a serious off-roader, but does have to be solid and not afraid of some rough and tumble. Doesn't have to be super fast, but does need to have some sort of give via suspension.

I used to think, 'cause that's what I was told, that the most important part of a bike was it's frame. If you had a good, solid frame then everything else could be build up around it. I had the idea that if I got a cheap bike, one out of Kays, then as long as it had a good, solid frame then I could just change the crappy cheap parts. But that's not what people seem to think these days. Is it not possable? If I got a cheaper bike but with a proper frame could I not just change the bits that were no good? Like the tires, breaks and fork.
Do cheap bikes have cheap frames as well as cheap parts? In which case where the hell is the three hundred quid going to???

If that's no good then what else could I try? Second hand is going nowhere and to be honest I'm not sure what it is, exactly, I'm supposed to be looking for.
Bikes shops are no good 'cause I can't pay them in bits so can't afford anything that's worth anything.
Buying a bike out of Kays and just makeing it better seems to be as stupid an idea as my other ideas.

I'm at a total loss : (

I understand that my situation must be hard to fix, but does anyone have an idea?

Thank you muchly in advance : )

Chunkers1980

6-8 hours of riding yet you are unable to work?

I do have simpathy for mental disorders, but living on benfits means you should only ever have enough cash to buy food and accomodation with very few luxuries.

Second hand is your only option.

oodboo

Are there any grants avaiable to you? I was going to suggest the family fund but that's for under 18s.

thistle_

A friend of mine got a bike for £10 from a jumble sale and uses it to get to work and back. If it breaks after 6 months or someone nicks it she's happy to get another one for £10.

If you have biggish mountain bike tyres and don't pump them up too hard you'll get a fair bit of cushioning over bumps. Skinny tyred road bikes can handle a surprising amount of rough stuff before breaking, it's just doesn't make for comfortable riding. Just slow down a bit and ride around the big bumps as best as you can.
Suspension is great, but if you're using the bike every day it could need a lot of looking after to make sure it still works - my old bike has suspension forks but I gave up maintaining them and now they don't bounce at all.

Sometimes a thin narrow saddle is more comfortable than a big fat padded one but you won't know until you try it out. If you fancy a new one you can always save up and get one later.

Is there one of those charities near you that takes old bikes, repairs them and sells them on quite cheaply?

You should be able to find a small second hand bike if you look hard enough and wait for one to come up. I would have thought being small there is less demand for bikes in your size which should balance things out a bit.

warpcow

As oddboo and MBNW say, check out grants, charities and see if there's a 'cycle re-cycle' type place nearby, if you haven't already. No idea if it's near enough for you (or if it's any good), but there's this one in Newcastle: http://www.recyke-y-bike.org/buy/

Tbh though, pretty much any bike sounds like it would be good for you, if just to give you a bit more freedom. Really do avoid catalogue bikes and cheap suspension though, despite seeming cheap they're overpriced for what they are and won't last, and any claimed suspension will be worse than useless. Do you have an absolute budget, does it have to be available on some kind of finance?

Good luck, and ignore Chunkers.

Emphursis

Halfords do have some good bikes, the Voodoo and Carrera lineups are pretty good, and affordable with a bit of saving.

Don't discount second hand bikes, although it might be a good idea to have someone check over them first.

Blue Dragon

Thank you to warpcow, thistle (MBNW) and oodboo. I'm glad I'm not a lost cause.

I do actually have recycle places near enough to me. I've been on the Recyke-y-bike website a few times. But to be honest it's a new thing to me and I'm not sure how far I could go. I mean, could I ask them to make me up a bike? Or do they just do up ones they way they want them and sell them like that? It would be good if I could just get a 'frankinstiene's Monster' bike made for me : ) I suppose that way I could be sure it was the right thing. But I don't want to ask if it's a cheaky thing to be asking, you know? The bikes I've seen them selling are all too big. Same problem. Shame : (

I don't know of any grants I could ask for. I did look but with no luck.

I will avoid catalogue bikes if they're really no good. Thank you for the heads up.

Big tires sounds good. And I've actaully always been used to them. I don't like thin hard tires, can't ever get my balance. But chucky fat things feel better and I can ride much better with them. I'd prefer them anyway : )

It was recomended that I only look for hardtail bikes, not full suss ones. Is that right?

You know what, as stupid as it sounds, I never thought about things like car boot sales. I never go to them 'cause they're too busy for me usually and I have panic attacks. But I could try, been years since I have. There's sometimes some near to me and if I had someone with me. I could think about it... just don't know if I could do it. Go to one.

Thank you for your kind help peoples : )

Would it be worth looking more into recycled bikes as well? I've always been a bit cautious is all, not knowing if they can be trusted. Are they OK to go to?

oodboo

That recyke-y-bike place is not far from where I work. If I get the chance I'll call in next Tuesday to see what I think of the place, been meaning to take a look in there for a while now.

cooldad

warpcow wrote:

Good luck, and ignore Chunkers.

I agree on the good luck, but not with the ignore chunkers.

24.
Able to shop, ride for 8 hours, look after pets, take them to the vet etc.
And one of the mega posters here is dyslexic. Doesn't stop him.
There are plenty of occupations that have minimal interraction with people.

warpcow

Except the OP didn't ask how he could get into the job market with the various issues he has, and tbh I can't be bothered sifting through someone's posts to try and make some layman's diagnosis of what might be actual physical and mental problems. I stupidly thought that someone who appears to be getting put off cycling might want some encouragement and not random prejudice, which might not be how Chunkers' comments were intended, but it's how they looked to me. Simple as that.

cooldad

Fair enough. Ignore Chunkers.

Chunkers1980

I'd like to know where I've prejudiced someone. I just said it's clearly not entirely physical. If you live on benefits, then subsistence living is what you can expect. And buy second hand (meaning £100 new bike is pointless) - some good points raised after, where is best to look, grants ect.

But if you can ride a bike, then you can be a paper boy no?

The Rookie

Back on topic....

A good used bike would suite you, however you need to be wary of getting a lemon, hence recycling centre shops or possibly try a local shop and see what they have as trade ins.

Bigchris

Buy a stolen....woops:)

In all fairness I have respect for people on top rate benefits with genuine conditions, but when drug addicts are rolling with 9 ton a month...they're taking the pees. it does nothing but support them further in there drug fantasies and so on. You can only blame the government.

As for a bike, id personally try and save it sounds like the only option to be honest if you want a half decent bike. Or *hiding behind anything possible* buy a stolen if you have the means.

supersonic

Chunkers1980 wrote:

I'd like to know where I've prejudiced someone. I just said it's clearly not entirely physical. If you live on benefits, then subsistence living is what you can expect. And buy second hand (meaning £100 new bike is pointless) - some good points raised after, where is best to look, grants ect.

But if you can ride a bike, then you can be a paper boy no?

The guy has M.E. which can be absolutely devastating. I know first hand - I have it too. It can be very hard to hold down any job as one day you can be fine, the next in bed all day.

For a hundred quid the basic Rockrider 5.0 or something second hand. try and avoid any suspension.

paul.skibum

I had a £200 raleigh as my first mtb - rigid, rack mounts, fatish tyres and fitted with stuff that lasted - I guess the equivalent these days would be things like Diamond Back Response, Giant Revel for around 250-300.

Above budget but I guess second hand would work. Check gumtree, ebay etc etc even freecycle

paul.skibum

Quick look on ebay and there are a good few small size second hand bikes that look fit for purpose at sensible prices - most are collection only so find one in your neck of the woods.

cooldad

Ebay is the way - my first MTB bike when I arrived back was £20 and apart from being at various times, 24, single speed, 16 speed, rigid and FS, it's still going, if something of a Frankenbike now.

Darkstalker420

Hi mate don't be put off before you even get started. My girlfriend has similar issues with going out/large groups of people etc. She also suffers from Acute Pancreatitis (sp?). We have found that cycling is great for reducing the anxiety of being out/around people. And the exercise seems to help with the Pancreas attacks (though she does still get them regular though ).

As mentioned £100 won't really get you much in MTB's these days so as mentioned i would be looking for second hand bikes really maybe something without suspension for now (money spent on better frame/wheels etc). You could always add some big tyres and run them softer until you save up for some forks if you wish. Carreras (Halfords) are ok i was going to get one myself so if you come across one cheap that fits get stuck in .

NO stolen's though mate as Karma has a way of getting revenge . And you will spend cash adding fancy parts then some chav will nick it from you LMAO!

Good luck bud.

Thanks.

Woody80

Bigchris wrote:

Buy a stolen....woops:)
Or *hiding behind anything possible* buy a stolen if you have the means.

Seriously?! I will hunt you down for condoning that! With a stick at that......
Should never be suggested even in jest. I lay awake at night waiting for the feckers to come back. The last thing we need is encouraging the circle of events.
(I'm sure you're joking but even so)

mitomaniac

Another idea if you use Facebook look on the local selling groups on there, I have seen some bargains on our local sites even a gt avalanche for £60 !!

Milko_

Don't know if that helps, but in my first year at uni I bought new Rockrider 5.1 (150 £)
and a friend got Rockrider 5.0 (100 £) after two months my 5.1 which had a fork turned into 5.0 because
the fork stopped working completely, I have to say I was jumping of every curb on my way.

Same year three other friends and my brother got second hand bikes from local car-boot sales, some were rigid, other hardtails, some mtb other road but all in the range of 30-50 £. We had lots of fun on the cycle paths!
One of them was notably good for the price Carrera TDF Ltd Road Bike for 60 quid! Which new is around 300?

Anyway, my point is start from there /or ebay/gumtree but the try-before-buy is a little trickier there/ get something half decent and cheap! You want to have fun on the weekends, right? Not compete at DH championships, right?
Along the way a better bike with manageable price tag will pop up from somewhere.

Good luck!

paul.skibum

What's wrong with this http://www.decathlon.co.uk/rockrider-50-mens-id_8202062.html

Yippeekiyay

If you're only 5ft tall I doubt the Rockrider 5.0 will fit you. The smallest size the RR 5.0 comes in is a Small.
The Rockrider 5.1 comes in XS but it is £50 more. Their size chart says XS(145-155cm) S(155-165cm).
If you're buying on ebay then make sure it's in good condition. My friend bought a bike on ebay and the brakes were all rusty and covered in oil amongst other faults.
As suggested recyle centre is a good place to look as their bikes are usually serviced first.
Good luck with your search.