Confused newbie

pessimal

Hi all,

I've just started cycling again after 15+ years in a car.

i'm trying to lose some weight (am 5'7", 17 stone) and get a bit fitter, so i've been doing a nice 12 mile loop around my home, but my bike proving to be a pain. Its an old grisley mega 10, which is too big, has a crank that creaks, and a duff rear wheel.

i've been looking at getting a new bike to replace it, but i'm not sure as to whats best to buy.

all my cycling is either on road/pavement, or on cycle routes, that vary from rough tarmac to lose gravel. I dont fancy a proper road bike, and i get the feeling that a full on mountain bike is overkill. I've been reccomended to look at hybrids, buti'm started to get a bit lost with all the different types.

http://www.cyclecentreuk.co.uk/m13b0s16 ... -3-DS-2013

this seems to get a good review, but other than a fork with shorter travel and more road worthy tyres, whats the difference? The voodoo hoodoo seems to get great reviews and the fork locks out, but would that trek really be that much different?

sorry if this all sounds like a confused idiot babbling, but thats because i am.

Can anyone suggest a decent bike for me to start out on?

Many thanks

Greer_

Decathlon Rockrider or a Voodoo Hoodu are the most recommended for your budget.

Greer_

viewtopic.php?f=20005&t=12875967

pessimal

but why would an all out mountain bike suit me better than a hybrid when i'm not jumping over tree trunks and stones?

BigLee1

cos they`re more fun and comfortable

JayKay3000

That bike looks ok that you posted.

Hybrids keep the mountain bike relax position, while offering a harder gear set better suited to road use.

Hybrids generally get split into the suspension and non-suspension variety, the suss version being more orientated to light rough tracks and the fixed variety aimed at someone who wants road capability without the road bike stance.

I've owned a Trek 7.3 for a year and a half and have used it on rough gravel paths, as a commuter bike, on 70 mile fully loaded rides and (touch wood) have not had a puncture yet. It rolls similar to a road bike, but is easier to navigate through town. Fit a cheap set of mudguards and u'll be set for riding in most conditions.

The suspension variety will simply have a little more give to the front end so that small bumps and pothole vibrations don't get sent through you, but I've yet to bend the wheels on my more road orientated version over slightly rough terrain and through thick mud.

A proper mountain bike with front only suspension or a full suspension bike will be overkill unless you really want to ride trails and navigate rock gardens.

If you get a hybrid bike with front suspension you want a lockout because you'll loose a lot of power through suspension squish. Stand on the pedals and watch the front end bounce as the energy gets transferred to the shock rather than through the frame to the wheels.

Hope this helps a bit.

Greer_

JayKay3000 wrote:

That bike looks ok that you posted.

You can get a bike for that spec for £2-300 less. It's worthwhile getting the equivalent priced rockrider for the better fork etc. Having suspension will also take strain off the rest of the bike e.g. the front wheel, when curbs are hit, or on bumpy paths/road. It can be locked out for more efficient pedalling but comfort would be more of a concern.

pessimal

yeah, that makes it a bit clearer for me.

i didnt realise they had longer gears than an MTB, that could be usefull if i decide to bike home from work occasionally!

i was also looking at a couple of others, i have the feeling that the trek i linked to in my first post is the best bike, but if anyone could offer an opinion on these 2 i'd appreciate it

http://www.cyclecentreuk.co.uk/m13b0s167p12653/CUBE-LTD-CLS-Pro-2013

http://www.cyclecentreuk.co.uk/m13b0s167p12463/GIANT-Roam-2-Disc-2013

i like the look of the cube, but i think the lack of a decent fork hobbles it quite badly.

in the end i think it may be a straight fight between the giant roam 2, and the trek.

anyone push me in one direction or the other

thanks

Greer_

Why are you looking at less specced more expensive 'Mountain bikes' when there are better out there?

Here's a bike £200 less with far better spec - http://www.decathlon.co.uk/rockrider-53 ... 06682.html

And here's a bike for £20 less with an extremely better spec - http://www.decathlon.co.uk/81-2012-id_8168918.html

And again - http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165499 with a great review http://www.bikeradar.com/mtb/gear/categ ... o-12-46194

Moif

I've spent weeks researching a bike in this range and I can confirm that the Rockrider is the best you'll get for that cash. Or, do as I did, wait and watch and buy a decent second hand bike. It's worth the wait.

pessimal

sorry guys, but i really dont want a full on mountain bike, for the stuff i want to do, it just wont be right.

i could be doing a 20 odd mile commute home on the friday, and then doing 15 miles on various cycle paths the next day. what i wont be doing is going to trail centre's and dropping it off boulder's and tree trunks.

If i bought a mountain bike, its gonna be too low geared for me, and i'm gonna have to spend money taking the tyres off and putting more road orientated ones on.

and yes i know i could get more online, but i'd rather support one of my local bike shops.

so going from that little rantet, could someone give me any advice on the following bikes.

http://www.cyclecentreuk.co.uk/m13b0s16 ... -3-DS-2013

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-gb/bik ... 330/49862/

http://www.specialized.com/gb/gb/bikes/ ... lsportdisc

many thanks

alfablue

For your use, forget any with suspension, rubbish, heavy, unnecessary.

Also, are you really best getting a hybrid? Many do then regret not getting a road bike (which will be faster).

A cyclocross bike might be worth considering, ideal for commuting, they take racks, larger tyres (comfort) and mudguards too.

For example this one. (I just suggest this because it is at one of the shops you linked to, but there are many alternatives ranging from £450 ish upwards.

pessimal

you mean more like this?

http://www.cyclecentreuk.co.uk/m13b0s16 ... -3-FX-2013

to be honest, thats roughly how i have my current mountain bike setup (its on schwelb marathon plus 26x1.75) and i find it a bit rough on the cycle tracks, hence i fancied a bit of suspension to smooth things out a bit.

Greer_

pessimal wrote:

sorry guys, but i really dont want a full on mountain bike, for the stuff i want to do, it just wont be right.

i could be doing a 20 odd mile commute home on the friday, and then doing 15 miles on various cycle paths the next day. what i wont be doing is going to trail centre's and dropping it off boulder's and tree trunks.

If i bought a mountain bike, its gonna be too low geared for me, and i'm gonna have to spend money taking the tyres off and putting more road orientated ones on.

and yes i know i could get more online, but i'd rather support one of my local bike shops.

so going from that little rantet, could someone give me any advice on the following bikes.

http://www.cyclecentreuk.co.uk/m13b0s16 ... -3-DS-2013

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-gb/bik ... 330/49862/

http://www.specialized.com/gb/gb/bikes/ ... lsportdisc

many thanks

You're linking to mountain bikes though, not hybrids???

alfablue

pessimal wrote:

you mean more like this?

http://www.cyclecentreuk.co.uk/m13b0s16 ... -3-FX-2013

to be honest, thats roughly how i have my current mountain bike setup (its on schwelb marathon plus 26x1.75) and i find it a bit rough on the cycle tracks, hence i fancied a bit of suspension to smooth things out a bit.

No cheap suspension (or probably no suspension at any price) will iron out small scale bumps on unmade paths. Suspension forks are not magic carpets! I regularly ride such paths on all of my road bikes, I would never dream of needing suspension (I have a £1.5k Ti hardtail mtb at my disposal). Indeed, when I did use my mtb for commuting, including unmade paths, I fitted rigid forks (Kona Project 2) and 1.0 tyres. That replaced Rockshox SID SL forks, so no cheap forks, but they just reduced the bikes efficiency on road / path.

Its al lot to do with riding style, position, and geometry. Are you putting too much weight through your arms / over the front of the bike?

I have ridden all over the world on all sorts of rough terrain on a tourer (tough road bike, rigid forks) without problems.

Honestly, you do not need an mtb (or even a hybrid) for this use, and suspension will ruin your bike because it wont work as you imagine and it will suck the budget away from other components.

Why no post in the road bike section? Thats where you really belong.

bartimaeus

Islabikes Beinn 29... it's not a mountain bike, but it will do for gentle off-road. Cheap suspension is a waste of time - so either get a mountain bike like the Hoodoo or a rigid like this one.

chez_m356

Greer_ wrote:

pessimal wrote:

sorry guys, but i really dont want a full on mountain bike, for the stuff i want to do, it just wont be right.

i could be doing a 20 odd mile commute home on the friday, and then doing 15 miles on various cycle paths the next day. what i wont be doing is going to trail centre's and dropping it off boulder's and tree trunks.

If i bought a mountain bike, its gonna be too low geared for me, and i'm gonna have to spend money taking the tyres off and putting more road orientated ones on.

and yes i know i could get more online, but i'd rather support one of my local bike shops.

so going from that little rantet, could someone give me any advice on the following bikes.

http://www.cyclecentreuk.co.uk/m13b0s16 ... -3-DS-2013

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-gb/bik ... 330/49862/

http://www.specialized.com/gb/gb/bikes/ ... lsportdisc

many thanks

You're linking to mountain bikes though, not hybrids???

no he isn't they are hybrids, for what you want anything like that would be fine, my mrs has the womens version of the crosstrail, it works fine

spankwilder

Roam or Crosstrail - both 9spd, same ratios, Roams have a fairly upright position from knowledge, bad saddle (you may get on with it) sealed cables along the down tube (less maintenance) solid wheels (avoid the base model-budget wheels). Not had a go on a crosstrail, so cannot really comment think they are the equiv of the roam xr (longer lower) but you would need to check geometries. At the same price points the giant usually come out top spec wise. I would go for a suspension fork if the bike is not used 100% on road - depends how much of a weight weenie you are.

alfablue

Hybrid suspension forks offer no benefit IMHO. Only negatives. People have been brainwashed that suspension "is a good thing". Back in the early 90's suspension forks were even a novelty on mtbs! We did fine on our rigid bikes.

pessimal

the local shops getting me a trek 8.3ds in for me to try on my usual biking routes.

The Northern Monkey

Boardman Hybrid Comp

Down to £459 when added to the basket.
23.6lb.
Bargain.
Would be surprised if it can be beaten.

pessimal

without trying to start an argument!

why a rigid ?

am i missing how bike suspension works (take the bumps out, smooths thing a bit for the rider) or

if i do get something like that boardman, it looks like it could be worse when i go off track than my current bike.

whilst i aint biking through quagmires, i want a little grip on mud, dirt and gravel, and without changing what that bike comes with i doubt it would grip as well as my schwalbe marathon's.

to be honest, that boardman looks more like a road bike than something thats going to be as happy on tarmac as it is on a rough cycle track.

i'm confused!

The Northern Monkey

Mainly because cheap suspension is just that, cheap.
Its usually poorly damped, over sprung, sometimes hardly move anyway and very very very heavy.

What sort of rough track are we talking?
I see guys on single speed, rigid forked hardtails on the trails round here (although they are usually the bearded type and probably teach geography).

The Northern Monkey

Another example: the 50 miles I'm doing is across road, canal toe path and forestry road.

I'm riding a 100mm travel, reasonable spec'd mountain bike. Whereas one of my colleagues is riding a lightweight rigid hybrid.
I'm a MTB'er, he is predominantly a roadie.

I can guarantee that he will be quicker than me on all surfaces...

pessimal

Fair enough.

From what I understand halfords don't really do test rides, so could you suggest something from http://www.cyclecentreuk.co.uk/ which would be a good choice around the £500 mark.

Thanks

chez_m356

The Northern Monkey wrote:

Mainly because cheap suspension is just that, cheap.
Its usually poorly damped, over sprung, sometimes hardly move anyway and very very very heavy.

What sort of rough track are we talking?

pessimal wrote:

i could be doing a 20 odd mile commute home on the friday, and then doing 15 miles on various cycle paths the next day. what i wont be doing is going to trail centre's and dropping it off boulder's and tree trunks.

to the op, whats your idea of a cycle path, something like these ?

pessimal

more like the second than i'd like to admit.

think of a rougher version of it, loose gravel, few embedded stones, few steep hills to get up / down, few areas where the recent floods have eroded the surface away,

alfablue

Just to illustrate what you can do on a road bike, yesterday I did a 40km ride on the road but which included about 1km on paths like this:

I was on my carbon road bike:

Whilst this is obviously not ideal, it is perfectly doable, and I wouldn't want to take a slower bike on the remaining 39km on tarmac.

This bike (a Dawes Audax) is my ideal fast commuter, it is steel and has springy steel rigid forks and slightly larger volume tryes, it has mudguards and mounts for a rear rack, it copes really well with mixed terrain. I linked to some Audax type bikes in your price range in my previous posts.

I also have a hybrid, a cheap Kona Smoke, rigid steel kona project 2 forks, fatter tyres, and fitted with a chainguard so I can wear regular clothes when going out in the city at night. I use it for supermarket runs, riding round the city, pubs, restaurant trips, etc. This also copes really well on one of my regular journeys that involves rocky bridlepaths. It is significantly heavier and slower than the audax bike.


I would recommend you get an audax or cyclocross bike for your commute. You will enjoy the speed advantage on the road, and this is significant on longer rides.

Failing that a hybrid would be the next choice, but may newbies buy hybrids only to sell them on when they realise the benefits of road bikes.

Note, hybrids come in two main styles; lighter road bikes with flat bars and 700c wheels, or heavier ones based on mtb frames and 26" wheels, some of which also have suspension forks (not good enough to be worth the weight, and which will "bob" and sap your strength when climbing hills, unless they lockout). Some also have suspension seatposts (also unnecessary and heavy). If you get a hybrid, the "road" type will cope fine with your intended terrain, and will be much faster and more efficient. Of the mtb style, obviously no suspension is better than one with suspension.

Think outside the box, learn from other's experience.

chez_m356

alfablue wrote:

Note, hybrids come in two main styles; lighter road bikes with flat bars and 700c wheels, or heavier ones based on mtb frames and 26" wheels, some of which also have suspension forks

i wouldn't say this has 26'' wheels http://www.evanscycles.com/products/spe ... e-ec041315

alfablue

chez_m356 wrote:

alfablue wrote:

Note, hybrids come in two main styles; lighter road bikes with flat bars and 700c wheels, or heavier ones based on mtb frames and 26" wheels, some of which also have suspension forks

i wouldn't say this has 26'' wheels http://www.evanscycles.com/products/spe ... e-ec041315

some do some don't, I was generalising for simplicity; point remains some are based on mtbs, some roadbikes. My hybrid (Kona Smoke is also an exception, being onan old school style steel mtb frame but running 700c wheels). There are pros and cons of each wheel size, but I don't believe that is the main issue.

chez_m356

alfablue wrote:

chez_m356 wrote:

alfablue wrote:

Note, hybrids come in two main styles; lighter road bikes with flat bars and 700c wheels, or heavier ones based on mtb frames and 26" wheels, some of which also have suspension forks

i wouldn't say this has 26'' wheels http://www.evanscycles.com/products/spe ... e-ec041315

some do some don't, I was generalising for simplicity; point remains some are based on mtbs, some roadbikes. My hybrid (Kona Smoke is also an exception, being onan old school style steel mtb frame but running 700c wheels). There are pros and cons of each wheel size, but I don't believe that is the main issue.

correct, the main issue was, were the bikes he linked to good enough for him to ride to and from work and the odd jaunt on a cycle path.