First (decent) bike?

Tallos

Hey guys, sorry to be one of those new people who asks the age old question of 'which one first', but I'm afraid I need to, as I've not been able to find an answer yet.

I'm moving to Portishead, which is a fairly quiet and scenic area, it's 2 miles from work and 10 miles from Bristol (where I hope to go most weekends when the weather's nice), so going from other threads I've read I'm probably best off with a hybrid? I'm approx 65kg and planning to put a bit of weight back on, but I doubt I'll go past 75kg, I'm 5' 10", I'm looking to spend £200-300 and I'm not bothered by getting a second hand bike. Sooo basically if someone would be so kind as to point me in the right direction, it'd be very much appreciated.

The Rookie

For the 2 miles to work, just about anything will do, my neighbour used to commute that far on a 20kg downhill bike with 8" of travel.

As for going to Bristol, that now falls into the grey area between the convenience of a Hybrid and the quicker ride of a road bike (allow some licence but you get the drift), either will do the job just fine as long as the Hybrid is a more road orientated one and not a mountain bike on flat slicks style.

You also want to consider security, how much to carry and how stealable will it appear, so it depends where you intend parking it up.

budget?

The fit5 from decathlon would be a good one to consider.

Tallos

Haha it sounds like your neighbour has the right idea for short distances, that's essentially what I currently have (though it's now 12 years old and in need of some tlc) and I used to use it for a 2 mile steep hill commute, not ideal but it was fine.

Sorry I completely forgot the security point, I've got a heavy duty motorbike chain for at home, at work it'll be inside a locked building, but I'll need something for when I go to Bristol in future.

Like I said previously, I was hoping to spend £300 tops, but getting a second hand/refurbed/older model doesn't bother me, this is my gateway bike as it were. The Fit 5 looks pretty good, can you recommend any sites that are likely to sell a cheaper version? Ie old model, refurbed etc.

Many thanks.

The Rookie

The Fit5 is Decathlons own brand, you won't find it new anywhere else, it's a relatively new model as well so I doubt you'll find a used one, although logging an eBay search is always an option.

Tallos

No luck with eBay, it's a bit more than I planned to spend, but unless a better option comes up I'll probably just wait a little longer and get that one. Is there anything particularly weak on there, that has an ideal upgrade?

Thanks again.

Initialised

There's probably a good Local Bike Shop or bike recycling scheme in Bristol that should be able to get you a decent 2nd hand Hybrid for £300 and chances are it'll be as good or better than you can get new for that kind of money.

Tallos

In all honesty I've more than had my fill of bias opinions from shop owners/workers, I've felt the sting of being screwed over more than once, so I'm not willing to go to a random shop and rely on the person selling me a bike to do anything other than -sell- me a bike. However, if anyone knows of a trustworthy place I'd be more than happy to take a look, failing that I'll just bite the bullet and pay full whack. Thanks nonetheless though.

wandsworth

As a 'gateway' bike, you could do worse than a Boardman hybrid. A Boardman Hybrid Comp was my gateway bike - I did about 1500 commuting and weekend miles on it and still have it, though I now have two road bikes as well … The Boardmans are decent bikes, would be fine for your Bristol trips and you can pick up second-hand ones well within your budget. Here's some on eBay.

The Rookie

I agree that a used Boardman Hybrid is a good bet, also the underrated a (hence cheap used) Carrera Gryphon which is what I use as my commuter, although to be fair it is built from a bare frame so isn't really a Gryphon (and at 9.5kg is rather lighter than the norm!)

Tallos

Thanks for the info guys, Boardman is much more readily available, though I'm not sure about getting one second hand, I'll look into it further in a few months, when I actually have to make a choice.