New cheap starter bike for the wife - £100 max

mjw123

Hi,

I do quite a bit of road riding but use a Trek 4700 when out with the kids, i'd like my wife to join us but not even sure she'd stick at it.

For that reason i'm just after something cheap and cheerful for basic stuff ie canal paths, old railway lines etc.

Is this sort of thing total junk or ok for just a very basic bike ?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Activ-Raleigh-F ... m_sbs_sg_1

Even on ebay £100 doesn't get you a huge amount, basically pretty old 'branded' bikes.

I reckon we could get £65 back for this in a year if she wants to upgrade or just get rid.

Thanks in advance,
Mike.

Levi_501

You will be better off buying a s/h bike for that money.

But make sure you get the right colour!

supersonic

it's about as good as you are going to get for that money.

70\ʹspenguin

Check out this guy on ebay. http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Steves-Bikes-U ... 4340.l2563 Does second hand Mtbs.

Or similar ofc.

rhext

I'm as tempted as the next man to turn my noses up at these things, and I'd tend to recommend second-hand or spend a bit more.

However, when I reflect on the actual content of my garage, there are about 12 bikes in there, of which approximately half are exactly this sort of thing - procured at various stages and by various means for the use of my kids.

They're heavy, not particularly sophisticated, certainly not likely to last long if you're using them a lot. And they tend to require a good thorough check-over before first use and then some fairly regular intervention. But for the youngsters they've been pretty adequate for messing around and for the odd few 5 to 10 mile family bike-rides. If you're thinking 'she'll ride it once or twice and then it'll gather dust, but I can't tell her she can't have a bike', why not? If you're thinking 'she may get the bug, but I don't mind buying her another one when she does and when I get fed up of having to re-align the gears and trying to stop the brakes from rubbing (neither of which bother the kids much but which would drive me mad)' then why not?

Ian43

Just got a Giant rock for my daughter for £100 from ebay 17" frame its a nice bike and in mint condition, so there are bargains to be had.

mjw123

OK i'll maybe try a bit longer with an ebay / gumtree bargain - thanks for the advice

The Rookie

I'd go second hand, it will be a better bike and if you sell it on you'll loose less!

rockmonkeysc

They may not have a great reputation but Apollo are ok at this price range. I bought an Apollo for £120 for commuting & did nearly 8000 miles on it with no more maintenance than a squirt of oil on the chain once a fortnight. It was heavy and had crap brakes & gears but it worked reliably until after four years the rear hub collapsed.
If she doesn't get on with it you won't loose much money, if she does you can sell it and get a better bike.

oodboo

Spend a bit more you tight wad. Unless you're trying to put her off riding with you buy getting her a BSO. Double your budget and find a secondhand bargain. That way you should be able to get something reasonably light that works reasonably well that she's more likely to enjoy riding.

My missus used to be happy with some piece of cr@p she had for years. I tried it, it weighed a ton and the brakes and gears never worked properly. She used to try to ride with my but never really enjoyed it much. I then bought her a decent bike and now she enjoys going out on it.

The Rookie

I built my wifes first MTB, brand new frame, forks, saddle and headset, LX rear mech, STI shifters (3x8sp) and Deore V brakes, STX wheels and a truvative crankset with XT front mech, total cost was £50 (bought a donor bike for £56, sold what I didn't need for £90).