Caught the bug...now need some advice...

stampz

Morning all,

I am hoping you can help me.

I am a complete novice who has recently been given a bike and can feel myself getting addicted

Currently I ride a pretty old GT Frame mountain bike with some Manitou front forks…but obviously this is far from ideal on the road…..the cycle scheme is coming back round at work and I am looking for a bike that can “do it all”….from my commute (9 miles each way all road), to riding around a park with the kids or canal tow paths, when looking online for this kind of bike I came across Cyclocross, and I really like the idea.

I have also considered "hybrid" bikes, but like the idea of drop handlebars…and the looks of the cyclocross bikes. I am thinking of getting the Boardman CX Comp from Halfords…however, Halfords is not my preference (I have heard some horror stories)..and I would much rather go to a local shop, I live in Warwickshire just FYI.

I am looking to spend £600 (or under)…this is my top budget, would like to spend less if possible.

As I say at the moment I am looking at the CX Comp but am looking for general advice...

Is cyclocross the way to go
Should I look at hybrids
Are flat bars worse than drop bars
Is £600 too much for my first "proper" bike
Basically I need help :-)

If people could give me some help and guidance...maybe reccomend some models that might be suitable for my needs I would be REALLY grateful, I am feeling a little overwhelmed with all my options at the moment :?

esa2

Im looking at hybrids myself as the mountain bike I got when I started in march isnt great on road. I cant really help you regards cyclocross but what I will say regards your budget is if you buy cheap you buy twice. Myself and my wife got cheap mountain bikes in march. Didnt want to spend alot incase we didnt stick at it but like yourself weve got the bug. Shes already replaced her 3month old Apollo with a Specializedand Im looking at replacing my Carrera with a Specialized Crosstrail Disc hybrid. Wouldve had it on tuesday actually but the local shop had sold out so now Im looking at 22nd august for them to get more of the new 2015 models in. So basically no, your budget isnt too much. You can still get something more than decent for a bit less but dont go too low as you will wish youd got something better

cookeeemonster

£600 is not too much for your first 'proper' bike, especially as you already have a mountain bike as your first proper bike

Cyclocross definately seems to be the best option for you...especially as you're leaning towards one anyway. Truthfully any of those bike types you mentioned would be fine...even the road bike can do canal tow paths with the proper tyres.

An upright hybrid might be the best for a pootle around the park...but bearing in mind probably 99% of your total riding will be elsewhere I'd say cx is the best for you. If you find almost all of your riding is on the road rather than rough canal path then I'd switch to proper road tyres - you will notice a big difference to knobbly cx ones (if thats what your cx bike comes with)

Boardmans have a very good reputation (unlike halfords) but I dont know enough about other cx's at that price point to give alternatives - try the cyclocross section in the 'road' part of the forum

tangled_metal

I got the crosstrail disc bike. not bad but wish I'd got a CX bike instead. Trouble is you end up paying a lot more to get a good CX bike I reckon. The hybrids sell more I think so there is better kit on them at the lower price points. I was looking at all sorts of bikes and the best deal on a CX was £700+ for an old model (unlikely to have my size XXL) reduced from about £1000. IMHO to get a decent CX you need close to £1000 to get TIagra at least. My £430 crosstrail sport disc was originally £700 but you can get good discounts from big retailers like Evans and Wheelbase in Staveley at about this time of year (perhaps in a month or two). It only has Acera 9 speed gears but they work well and the hydraulic disc brakes work well too. A good buy but I still think i should have got a more expensive CX bike for the greater speed you get from it. Took me a long time to get used to the flat bars too. I'm an old road bike rider at heart but family needs means I need a tougher (and slower) bike so I can tow child trailers, commute (car is with child and the mother) carry child on child seat and for touring holidays and trips. Live on edge of canal so towpaths were giving my road bike a hammering (plus very dodgy country roads). In fact i needed the new bike because the roads had trashed my headset (quil verion) on my road bike. The towpath was not even an issue but the roads were!!

juanerasmoe

stampz wrote:

Are flat bars worse than drop bars

I remember an recent article in Cycling+ in which they looked into this. If I remember weel, the conclusion was that the diference is minimal. But I do get why people prefer drop bars over flat bars. They just look better IMHO. At the end it is a matter of choice; just buy what you really want or you'll end up buying twice.

Londonscottish

stampz wrote:

Are flat bars worse than drop bars?

It depends on what feels right for you.

As a teenage I grew up on drops in the 70's and 80's. Flat bars on MTB were a massive revelation to me in the late 80's and early 90's and I love them as much now as I did then. Especially for criss-crossing London as I do these days.

I had a re-union with drops on a borrowed road bike the other day on rolling Wiltshire lanes. And they were still definitely not for me.

Tons of my mates love them, though.

It's what feels right to you.

esa2

Best thing about drops is turning them round upside down

Londonscottish

esa2 wrote:

Best thing about drops is turning them round upside down

Ha ha! Yes :-)

Londonscottish

I have £600 CTW voucher at the moment and am trying hard to spend less than £750 TBH

As I've already got 2 MTB's I've been looking at hybrids. The bike I'd really like is a Trek 7.5 FX. Mainly because it's uber-comfortable. The carbon front forks and rubber isolator in the rear drop outs means you can run hard, skinny tyres without losing your teeth on London roads. At the same time it's got fast steering and decent (v) brakes. Better than the cheap discs I tried out on a Hoy the other day, anyway. Of course the real sweetsopt for commuting is the 7.5 Disc but then your adding another £150 or whatever.

Anyway, my advice is DON'T try the 7.5 FX. I have and it's bugging me.

Londonscottish

esa2 wrote:

I'm looking at replacing my Carrera with a Specialized Crosstrail Disc hybrid.

That's a good shout - will have a look at one of those - closer to my £600 budget

Kieran_Burns

CX.

I did the flatbar thing and hit the limits of the bike on my on road / off road commute very quickly. Got myself a CX bike (Tricross sport) and never looked back

As a do it all bike it's hard to beat. Now have a Felt F65X as well which has been upgraded with a complete 105 groupset as my main commute and light trail / road distance bike

Londonscottish

Someone on another thread suggested this.

Going to have a look at the weekend.

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/jam ... P#features

mr_eddy

This is on offer and has everything you want and in budget (drop bars / wide tyre clearance / guard and rack mounts / disc brakes) plus it looks the bomb!:

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/fuj ... e-ec055667

esa2

Just an update from me to say the Crosstrail Discs were going to take longer to come in stock than expected but I struck lucky with my local shop getting a pre release 2015 Crosstrail Sport Disc