HELP! Which bike??

Vinbo

Hello all,

I require your help and expertise in choosing my first bike.

I need this primarily for road rides, including a few off road around some trails in Kent. I'll be using this bike to train and compete with in the event; Coast 2 Coast Scotland, taking part in Sept 15. :shock:

I am a total novice, having only trained on the watt bike and rpm classes, but I need to get out on the roads pronto.

I am a female, 5'6'' and am so confused with which bike to choose.

Do I go for a CX or Hybrid? Male or Women specific? MTB's are out of the question, although I should probably mention by budget is on the lower end of the scale....
Either brand new or second hand great deal.

Any advice will be much appreciated!

Happy riding.

Vee

arlowood

Some idea of what budget you have to spend would be useful.

Also it would be useful to know what the profile of the C2C Scotland is. How much is on tarmac or decent cycle tracks and how much is likely to involve some mud plugging.

You might end up considering one of the current rash of road bikes fitted with disk brakes. If you choose carefully you will probably be able to fit some 28mm or bigger tyres. Plenty of CX bikes too that would fit the bill. Personally I would avoid a hybrid as they give you limited scope for hand positions and on a longish ride you might benefit from a drop bar set up where you can vary your riding position more.

Let us know how much you want to spend and the info will probably follow fairly quickly. The caveat always is that there is no substitute for having a mosey round several bike shops and sitting on/ test riding a range of bikes within your budget to see what grabs you.

lakesluddite

CX or Hybrid? Cyclo-cross definitely for the reason given by arlowood - the variation of hand positions on drop bars is pretty much essential for a long haul.

Also, and I'm prepared to be shot down in flames by those more knowledgable, but some Disc brake equipped road bikes will allow easy mudguard fitting, whereas CX tend not to, if that is an issue for you.

Vinbo

Thanks both for your replies.

My budget is £600.

arlowood

OK - here are a few suggestions that meet your budget. No idea of what size you are but hopefully there will be something in there that suits or at least points you in the right direction.

First is a Dolan CX bike from Paul Milnes. This is an online shop but they are a genuine cycle shop based in Bradford so if you live anywhere near you could easily pop along and review in person. I have bought 2 frames from them in the past 18 months and I can't fault them.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Dolan-Multi-C ... 643e65cfb3

Next another CX bike - this time the Boardman CX Comp

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/r ... -bike-2014

Despite the stick that Halfords generally takes on this site, the Boardman is a good entry level bike and will do what's needed.

Next is a standard road bike from Giant. Great reputation and their bikes generally come out very well in reviews.

http://www.westbrookcycles.co.uk/giant- ... 15-p258513

Now for the more mass market UK brands - Firstly Planet X - well respected and good value suppliers

http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBPXRT58AL ... -road-bike

and secondly Ribble - again plenty of happy customers out there and their alloy Sportive would be a good choice

http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sed/road- ... =conf_SERW


I'm sure there are loads of other options out there but at least you now have a starting point.

Personally I wouldn't be too dogmatic about going for a "woman specific" offering. I'm sure if you select the size correctly then any normal road bike can be set up to work for your physiology.

leedsmjh

+1 for CX bike if you want to do roads and some off-road
I'm also 5'6" and female, some of my bikes are labelled women specific and some not. The difference in road bike geometries is usually a longer head-tube and shorter top tube and sometimes with more slope for better stand-over for womens models. Most "sportive geometry" road bikes are similar.
For reference in road bikes I ride a 50-51cm sized bike with a tallish (12-14cm) headtube.
One thing to watch with sizing is that CX bikes may have taller standover than the equivalent sized road bike because the toptube is often horizontal rather than sloped. I'm contemplating a new CX bike myself at the moment and would probably get a 48cm bike (if I can find one I like with a tall enough head tube for me but that's a different story)

Buying women's specific will save you having to swap out the saddle and maybe handlebars, but there aren't many CX bikes configured that way
There's this (almost) in in your price range:
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/pin ... 1#features

Sloping top tube which is good for standover and a tall headtube which is what you usually find on women specific bike. Sensible gearing for a beginner. Evans will order in any bike for you to try out. I've got an older Pinnacle Expede CX and it's a good bike, aside from having horrible cantilever brakes.

coulddobetter

My advice would be to check with event organiser.

Dippydog3

Only a little bit out of your budget.
Nice relaxed geometry.
Takes mudguards if you want them.
Takes quick road tyres or 32mm tyres for tracks.
Not a racy CX bike, but will go pretty well anywhere one will if you fit the right tyres.
Comes in 49cm and 52cm.
Disc brakes which are awesome.

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/spe ... e-ec070561

coulddobetter

Boardman cx bike 15% off til Wednesday. I have a couple of Boardman bikes , both excellent . Don't be put off by those who decry Halfords.