I'm sure this has been asked before....

Lord_V

Hi,

I'm after some advice on choosing my first bike.... not my first ever bike, but my first in about 20 years....

My bike knowledge is approximately 0, maybe .5 on a good day. I'm after a bike that will handle a 20 mile daily commute (10 miles each way) and the odd summer ride with the Mrs. I'm not the smallest of chaps at 6'3 and 18 stone (114 kg in roman catholic).

I have a budget of about £350 - but I'm happy to spend about £400 for something significantly better.

I have done some reading, and I'm pretty sure that something in the hybrid category will be more up my street, all of my commute will be on roads, but it will also need to be able to handle the odd gravel path. I am drawn to the more road biased hybrids though.

I have been looking at the Carrera Subway: http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165534

or the Carrera Gryphon:
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165534

with some more road biased tires on both of these perhaps? (any suggestions?)

The base Specialized Sirrus:

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/spe ... e-ec030741

I also like the look of these:

http://www.chargebikes.com/bicycle-collection/grater-1

http://www.chargebikes.com/bicycle-collection/plug-2

But I have a feeling that there maybe a 'hipster' premium on them... but then again they could be well worth the money... I have no idea.

Thanks in advance.

katiebob

I have the gryphon and changed the tyres very quickly as I was averaging a puncture a week.

Love it, but after a year of pretty solid commuting I want a road bike. :-)

Lord_V

I definitely don't want anything too heavy, I have borrowed a mates old all steel Mountain bike.... I nearly died at the first significant hill....

What tires did you end up getting?

Vladimir2007

I think you've got some great choices in your post.

I think many people will agree that you should stay away from disc brakes at such a (no offence meant) low price point. Disc brakes are expensive components and you've got to wonder where they had to scrimp to get the whole bike down to £300ish. Not to mention - that the cheapest disc bakes are just that, the cheapest disc brakes - and as such won't exactly be good.

V brakes, on the other hand, work very well when maintained. On the road - probably very similar in performance to disc brakes, and at a fraction of the cost - you get very good V brakes for your money. So your bike is more likely to have a set of decent V brakes, even at £300, rather than the cheapest possible disc brakes.

This is a completely biased piece of advice - but I would stay well away from Halfords.

Everything else - is a matter of personal choice really, you can change a handlebar (well, to an extent), you can change the casette if you want a road-type cluster for much tighter spacing between gears, etc, etc.

Above all - learn how to maintain your bike, specifically:

1. Learn how to degrease your chain*, chainrings and sprockets and do so once a month (set a reminder)
2. Learn how to maintain your brakes (be they V brakes or disc brakes) and know when to replace the pads
3. Clean the braking surfaces (for V brakes this just requires a wipe down of the rims with some vinegar)

In general, learn how to maintain your bike, there are youtube videos out there for basically everything. The suggestions I listed above - you only need rather basic tools for.

Hope this helps

Vlad

*there are lots of ways of doing this, read around and pick your favourite. I like to make sure my chains have a quick release link (KMC chains, for example), take the chain off, put it in a bottle with some white spirit, shake it around and the chain comes out good as new.

markhewitt1978

I was in a similar position to you in mid-2012 (except the commuting part, I just wanted to get cycling) and I bought a Trek FX 7.1 on recommendation from a friend, was very happy with it, but only to a point where I wanted to go faster on the road - so when it got smashed by a car I bought a road bike and haven't looked back; still take it on gravel paths from time to time.

Lord_V

Vladimir2007 wrote:

I think you've got some great choices in your post.

I think many people will agree that you should stay away from disc brakes at such a (no offence meant) low price point. Disc brakes are expensive components and you've got to wonder where they had to scrimp to get the whole bike down to £300ish. Not to mention - that the cheapest disc bakes are just that, the cheapest disc brakes - and as such won't exactly be good.

V brakes, on the other hand, work very well when maintained. On the road - probably very similar in performance to disc brakes, and at a fraction of the cost - you get very good V brakes for your money. So your bike is more likely to have a set of decent V brakes, even at £300, rather than the cheapest possible disc brakes.

This is a completely biased piece of advice - but I would stay well away from Halfords.

Everything else - is a matter of personal choice really, you can change a handlebar (well, to an extent), you can change the casette if you want a road-type cluster for much tighter spacing between gears, etc, etc.

Above all - learn how to maintain your bike, specifically:

1. Learn how to degrease your chain*, chainrings and sprockets and do so once a month (set a reminder)
2. Learn how to maintain your brakes (be they V brakes or disc brakes) and know when to replace the pads
3. Clean the braking surfaces (for V brakes this just requires a wipe down of the rims with some vinegar)

In general, learn how to maintain your bike, there are youtube videos out there for basically everything. The suggestions I listed above - you only need rather basic tools for.

Hope this helps

Vlad

*there are lots of ways of doing this, read around and pick your favourite. I like to make sure my chains have a quick release link (KMC chains, for example), take the chain off, put it in a bottle with some white spirit, shake it around and the chain comes out good as new.

Thanks for the advice!

markhewitt1978 - what road bike did you end up with?

Also - are those charge bikes decent value for money?

slowbike

My wife has a Sirrus - I nicked it for a couple of weeks of commuting duties last December when the conditions were too bad for my road bike - same sort of distance ~20 miles round trip - it was fine as a bike - just the frame was too small, but then it wasn't my bike!
Only "problem" I had with it was the lack of options for grip - I like the drop bars of the CX I bought as a commuter with the same versatility as the hybrid.
My wife has that and a road bike - the Sirrus gets a lot of use as a do-it-all bike - at equally home on the road, cyclepaths & trails ... just change the tyres for slicks when summer comes...

markhewitt1978

Lord_V wrote:

markhewitt1978 - what road bike did you end up with?

A Scott CR1 Pro - although I think that's beyond your budget just now.

The usual advice when people ask about hybrids is to consider road bikes too - as quite likely you'll end up wanting one.

Lord_V

What would be an ok road bike in my price range? Or would I look to spending £500 plus?

Vladimir2007

Lord_V wrote:

What would be an ok road bike in my price range? Or would I look to spending £500 plus?

How hilly is it where you are? Would you prefer to go to the LBS to try the bike out before you buy? I'd certainly recommend it.

Vladimir2007

I'm sure someone wil come along and correct me before too long, BUT - I rate V brakes much more highly than those clincher brakes that you get on road bikes.

Not to mention that during bad/wet weather, wider tyres definitely help with how stable the bike is on the road. Road bikes can have the limitation of only accepting thin tyres, some only take 23mm or 25mm comfortably.

This is what I might choose if you want to stick to a budget: http://www.evanscycles.com/products/jam ... 3#features but purely because it is a serviceable bike, which has mudguards (again, needed in bad weather, otherwise you're getting water/diesel into your gluteal cleft) and a pannier rack, which you may make use of if you're doing 10 miles and don't want to arrive with a sweat soaked back.

Drawback for that bike is the screw-on 7 speed freewheel (in case you don't know, there is a difference between freewheel and casette, and anything 7-speed will be the older screw-on freewheel system, despite being called "casette" on retailer websites.

EDIT:
If you could increase the budget a bit, I would happily ride this: http://www.evanscycles.com/products/kon ... 2#features it's got an 8speed casette on the back (not a freewheel), the brakes are decent and it's got more gears than you could ever use! Note, however that for your £400 you're getting a naked bike, no mudguards (£30), no pannier rack (£35) - which if you want, you can add later, otherwise you're looking at a £470 total, and that's before lights and a couple of good locks.

Lord_V

Not massively hilly, mainly long steady 1:10s... with the odd 1:5. (central/Northern Hampshire)

I would definitely prefer to try before I buy...

Lord_V

Vladimir2007 wrote:

I'm sure someone wil come along and correct me before too long, BUT - I rate V brakes much more highly than those clincher brakes that you get on road bikes.

Not to mention that during bad/wet weather, wider tyres definitely help with how stable the bike is on the road. Road bikes can have the limitation of only accepting thin tyres, some only take 23mm or 25mm comfortably.

This is what I would choose in your situation: http://www.evanscycles.com/products/jam ... 3#features but purely because it has mudguards (again, needed in bad weather, otherwise you're getting water/diesel into your gluteal cleft) and a pannier rack, which you may make use of if you're doing 10 miles and don't want to arrive with a sweat soaked back.

Drawback for that bike is the screw-on 7 speed freewheel (in case you don't know, there is a difference between freewheel and casette, and anything 7-speed will be the older screw-on freewheel system, despite being called "casette" on retailer websites.

Looks good - definitely a contender.

Thanks for taking the time to help out!

Lord_V

The Kona looks even better! Though I may have to wait and see what my bonus is like this year....

Vladimir2007

check out my previous message, I have edited it.

If you want to try before you buy, Evans are quite good for that, they'll happily order a bike in for you, and you pay a refundable 1p charge to ride a bike around and decide if it is for you. They'll also do 0% finance.

I'm in no way affiliated to evans, by the way! But I will say that their prices are on the high side, so for the service you get - you have to pay over the odds. OTOH, there's nothing worse than buying a bike online, finding that it doesn't fit and going through the rigmarole of returning it.

Also, note that the Kona that I linked to comes in a huge 61cm option, which will probably suit you down to the ground in terms of fit

Lord_V

I may have to take a trip to Reading then...

I'm a little suspicious of bike shops, whenever I have been in with friends etc they always seem to flog what they want to get rid of instead of what the person is actually after...

Are there any brands I should definitely avoid?

Vladimir2007

Lord_V wrote:

I may have to take a trip to Reading then...

I'm a little suspicious of bike shops, whenever I have been in with friends etc they always seem to flog what they want to get rid of instead of what the person is actually after...

Are there any brands I should definitely avoid?

Have you got a reputable local bike shop (LBS)? They are very variable, but when they're good, they are GOOD.

Something like Evans - well it's a huge company and the service is decent enough, and generally more consistent from store to store. They also do the finance thing, which means you can spend a little more, spend around £500 in total and you're looking at £40-odd monthly payment. Depending on your outlook, this may or may not sound like a good thing...

Buying a bike - well look up some guides online, there's plenty of articles on bike blogs, but it's a bit like buying a car, you have to play hardball, and any extras offered, well tell the person you're dealing with to shut up and listen to what you want for a change. If you don't like who you're dealing with, walk away, speak to a different salesperson, etc. It's good to go in with a list of what you want, e.g. bike with v brakes, 35mm tyres, casette rear (8 cogs at the back minimum), some mudguards (e.g. SKS), a lock (e.g. kryptonite new york - but keep in mind that you can get a kryptonite much cheaper on amazon, usually) and some lights (cateye are good).

I got a lot of advice from this site: http://www.londoncyclist.co.uk/5-access ... -purchase/

In terms of brands to avoid, tbh I don't think there are any to avoid as such. Just remember that if it seems too good to be true, it probably is, but on the other hand you can get some good discounts on last year's models. Especially if they have odd sizes left in stock which they cannot shift, which - with your height, is more than likely. You'll notice that some brands will be generally charging over the odds for their bikes, i.e. similar components, similar frame, £100 price difference, etc.

Lord_V

Good question - not really sure. Somewhere around Basingstoke or Newbury would be counted as local I guess!

Cant wait to get cycling now!

Vladimir2007

Also, don't hesitate to give any shop a ring before going down and asking what sizes they have in stock, tell them your height, etc - and what pries, etc. With evans, for example, you can order 2,3 bikes to arrive at the shop on a predetermined day and you go down and ride them, pick your favourite, etc.

Not sure 100% how it works, but give them a ring and find out.

Lord_V

Any views on this:
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/pin ... e-ec044185

Seems to be a fair amount of bike for the money....

Vladimir2007

Lord_V wrote:

Any views on this:
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/pin ... e-ec044185

Seems to be a fair amount of bike for the money....

I'd be inclined to agree that it's good value for money. The question is - how well will it fit you?

Only one way to find out. According to the website, the large frame - which is the only one they have in stock is suitable for riders up to 185cm tall. Does that fit your "parameters"?

Lord_V

I'm 190cm... so not quite... maybe. I would have to try it out.

Even the 2014 model is only £350 though....
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/pin ... e-ec054675

Vladimir2007

Lord_V wrote:

I'm 190cm... so not quite... maybe. I would have to try it out.

Even the 2014 model is only £350 though....
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/pin ... e-ec054675

Again, I'm sure someone will come along and correct me, but 5cm in height is neither here nor there, I'm willing to bet that it'll still fit, there's most likely the adjustment in the seatpost for it.

The issue might be that the reach is too short for you, which can be sorted out with a longer stem. But the problem there is that stems cost money (idk, about £20 for a chep, decent one - maybe)

At the same time, not many people can tell you what your PERFECT reach is right off the bat. There is simply an optimal range that fits most people of a certain height and the precise reach that is most comfortable depends largely on the individual (some of us have short/long arms for our height). I've seen plenty of threads where people have spent serious amounts of money on bikes that technically fit them on paper, but the reach wasn't right for them, and they had to spend money on stems, trying different lengths in reach.

Lord_V

I will just have to go in and see I guess!

Lord_V

Firstly - Holy thread resurrection Batman!

Well in the last year a ton has changed - I have changed jobs (twice) and I am now living in the South West on the Somerset/Devon border.

An office move put the kibosh on the original bike commuting plan. I bought a Viking SS/Fixie for £180 that has done stirling service around Basingstoke as a pub special/run around. Still going strong although I upgraded a couple of bits,

Since the move I am now working only 8 miles from the office cycling commuting is back on the cards. So I went and bought one of these off Ebay:

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/ral ... e-ec028445

Got it for £140 so a bit of a bargain considering it looks like its barely been used.