Which Pinnacle?

kennywilde

Hi I'm a newbie here but just after a bit of advice on which commuter to get. Ill be commuting to work, 10 mile trip and abit of extra riding.
I'm doing the ride to work scheme from Evans and have my eye on the Pinnacle range. Evans staff always point me to them saying they have the best components for the money, is that true? I know its there own brand so probably pushing em!??

My two choices are http://www.evanscycles.com/products/pin ... e-ec044189

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/pin ... e-ec044191

£100 difference and alot of the same components i notice, is it worth getting the more expensive Neon 4

Ive tried researching the parts but Im no bike engineer and I'm none the wiser, hence why i'm here

Thanks in advance

Phixion

Personally I'd look at either the Charge Grater (8 gears) / Charge Scourer

Or the Kona Dew Deluxe 2012: http://www.evanscycles.com/products/kon ... e-ec034478

Because the Kona is the 2012 model it's reduced and has far better components than any of the Pinnacles you listed.

kennywilde

Thanks. I did print kona deluxe off and i like that its got disc brakes.
I was also looking at other reduced bikes
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/fuj ... e-ec041918
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/fuj ... e-ec044614

Again I was unsure and because i cant see these in the flesh hard to choose.

Whats the pro/cons of 8 gears?
Cheers

Phixion

No as wide a gear ratio as a double or triple I guess.

I'm thinking of getting the Grater... I'm wondering whether the 8 gears is enough for fitness riding.

The Kona Dew Deluxe has hydraulic disc brakes too, better than mechanical disc brakes.

kennywilde

Cheers. I'm not sure if I'm fit enough for 8 gears! Guessing its quite hard alot of the time? I've a hilly commute!

Initialised

Four replies in and no one's said get a bike with drop bars yet?

Something like this maybe:
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/spe ... e-ec040963, this: http://www.evanscycles.com/products/jam ... 7#features or this
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/spe ... 4#features

I've dropped a stone since getting a bike with drop bars (had a rigid hybridised MTB before, felt I'd reach it's limits rather than mine). Road bikes are much better suited to fitness riding if that is your intention. I bought from Evans and was pushed toward their brands, was nearly sold on the Pinnacle Arkose Three ( http://www.evanscycles.com/products/pin ... e-ec039563 ) but the cross geometry didn't seem far enough toward the road end of the spectrum.

kennywilde

Hi Initialised, think i'll go with a hybrid first and maybe try a road bike later, plus I not be doing loads of riding outside of my commute.

Thanks for the input though

daddy0

kennywilde wrote:

Hi Initialised, think i'll go with a hybrid first and maybe try a road bike later, plus I not be doing loads of riding outside of my commute.

Thanks for the input though

You're going to make the same mistake that (almost) everyone in your position makes. I made it too. Get a road bike!

I bought my wife a Pinnacle Neon (2 I think) for Xmas. Got it in the sale for about £350 I think. Its a pretty decent bike for that money, light enough at about 10Kgs. Swapped the wheels for some Mavics with slick tyres on which made it a lot better though. I put the old wheels and tyres on my hybrid and they do feel very slow.

I asked the wife what sort of bike she wanted and said "Are you sure you don't want a road bike? I'll spend more on a road bike because I know you'll use it more" exactly 9342 times... And she always replied "No, I just want a normal bike"?????!

She used it to commute her 24 mile round trip twice and then asked "how easy would it be to get drop bars on my bike?"

Another friend told me he was thinking about getting a bike as he'd seen me getting fitter and slimmer and wanted in. I kept on at him for weeks about getting a bike with drop bars and he resisted thinking that he wanted to ride on footpaths and a road bike wouldn't be able to do that. I suggested CX bikes which got him thinking. Eventually I found him a second hand Specialized Allez in his size through a friend for £280 and told him to buy it. A week later he said "I was riding my bike the other day and I realised how nice it is to ride. You were right about the road bike thing". 8)

I bought a hybrid first just to commute on. It was good at first, lost a few lbs, got a bit fitter. However, as I got into riding I eventually gave in and bought a £1k carbon road bike - best thing I've bought in years. After getting the road bike I wanted to ride it more and more as its so much more fun, faster, easier to ride and more comfortable than the hybrid is.

If you know someone who has a road bike or maybe a LBS nearby that might lend you one for a day or two to try out you should at least give it a go.

supersonic

I wish people would not say- 'get drops/a road bike, you won't go back, they are quicker/faster/get you fitter'. For the most it simply is not true. Sure, put reasons forward, but they need explaining better.

The reason is that hybrids are a poor name, and they vary immensely. If you get the one that suits your own needs, maybe a bit of customising, then they can do your tasks to your specification. This is why my flat bar zaskar is faster than any drop bar bike I have ever ridden, yet handles better too.

kennywilde

Daddy0- I tried a friends road bike the other week, just up the street, didnt like it, struggled doing the gears to. Will give another friends a go before i buy just to make sure. I go to the gym also and run. Dont think ill ever do long rides

supersonic- I dont mind recommendations either and advise hence why I'm here but people do stray

Thanks guys keep em coming

Smithy53

supersonic wrote:

I wish people would not say- 'get drops/a road bike, you won't go back, they are quicker/faster/get you fitter'. For the most it simply is not true. Sure, put reasons forward, but they need explaining better.

The reason is that hybrids are a poor name, and they vary immensely. If you get the one that suits your own needs, maybe a bit of customising, then they can do your tasks to your specification. This is why my flat bar zaskar is faster than any drop bar bike I have ever ridden, yet handles better too.

If you want a bike to get you fitter then get a mountain bike, I got mine out this afternoon (put the knobbly tyres back on it) and it got my legs and lungs going far quicker than when I'm on my hybrid.

ariba

Initialised wrote:

Four replies in and no one's said get a bike with drop bars yet?

Something like this maybe:
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/spe ... e-ec040963, this: http://www.evanscycles.com/products/jam ... 7#features or this
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/spe ... 4#features

I've dropped a stone since getting a bike with drop bars (had a rigid hybridised MTB before, felt I'd reach it's limits rather than mine). Road bikes are much better suited to fitness riding if that is your intention. I bought from Evans and was pushed toward their brands, was nearly sold on the Pinnacle Arkose Three ( http://www.evanscycles.com/products/pin ... e-ec039563 ) but the cross geometry didn't seem far enough toward the road end of the spectrum.

I went for the Arkose 3 last year on the bike to work scheme. It comes in at £1000. My review is on the Evan's site, so i won't repeat it here. It's a good commuter - you can put guards and a carrier on it. The 105/Tiagra mix is good also for this price. The only things I would change at the start are the tyres (knobbly Kendas ). Also using your LCC/BC/CTC discount knocks 10% off so with the remaining £100 the mudguards/carrier/spd pedals all slip under the magic £1000 mark also.

As Initialised said, it's not right at the road end of the spectrum - but that's what the road bikes are for!

kennywilde

I went for the Arkose 3 last year on the bike to work scheme. It comes in at £1000. My review is on the Evan's site, so i won't repeat it here. It's a good commuter - you can put guards and a carrier on it. The 105/Tiagra mix is good also for this price. The only things I would change at the start are the tyres (knobbly Kendas ). Also using your LCC/BC/CTC discount knocks 10% off so with the remaining £100 the mudguards/carrier/spd pedals all slip under the magic £1000 mark also.

As Initialised said, it's not right at the road end of the spectrum - but that's what the road bikes are for! [/quote]


My budget is £600 tops. Going to try someones drop bar out in the next few days hopefully. Cheers

kennywilde

Turns out I dont know how to quote!

Can you fit drop bars to a hybrid if i did decide to change in the future?

Initialised

Evans do 30 days no quible returns so give drops a try, if you don't like it swap back, easier than changing the bars, levers, shifters etc...

kennywilde

Initialised wrote:

Evans do 30 days no quible returns so give drops a try, if you don't like it swap back, easier than changing the bars, levers, shifters etc...

Interesting. Will ask em about it

kennywilde

If you want a bike to get you fitter then get a mountain bike, I got mine out this afternoon (put the knobbly tyres back on it) and it got my legs and lungs going far quicker than when I'm on my hybrid.[/quote]


I have a MTB with front suspension that hasn't got a lock out and live on a massive hill. Plus Nottingham is hilly anyway. Ouef!!

prawny

£600?

This one http://www.evanscycles.com/products/pin ... e-ec044200

kennywilde

prawny wrote:

£600?

This one http://www.evanscycles.com/products/pin ... e-ec044200

They have this beast in store. I glanced over it because it was a big beast i think