Is this bike alright

gav1983

Hi wondering if anyone could tell me about this bike. I do a lot of cardio, and im just looking for something reliable, with smooth gear changes etc, that will last, had a barracuda sharpfin which lasted me years, but been looking at this one here http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2015-Viking-T ... n-_ldSsGiQ

dstev55

If the spec listing is correct then your lowest gear would be a 45-23. Good luck getting up any sort of hill with that!

For a bike of that weight you want at least a 34-28 bottom gear, unless you are super fit. In fact a lot of high end bikes have gears as low as this.

dstev55

Also, is that your max budget and do you definitely want flat bars rather than drop bars?

herzog

For 250 quid, you're better off getting an entry level road bike 2nd hand.

trek_dan

Or a Carrera from Halfords for the sake of £40 extra

Matthewfalle

dstev55 wrote:

If the spec listing is correct then your lowest gear would be a 45-23. Good luck getting up any sort of hill with that!

For a bike of that weight you want at least a 34-28 bottom gear, unless you are super fit. In fact a lot of high end bikes have gears as low as this.

Tosh - that gearing is fine unless you're heading into major hills.

Overall though, it's just a cheap flat commuter bike - it'll do the job but won't set your pants on fire.

JeffBrown

if that is not your max budget, you should get a better bike then the one you posted. Like others have said, that thing will have a crazy hard time going up any hill. I would say your best bet is to go to an actual bike shop, tell them what your top dollar is, and have them give you a list of bikes that would be good for that price point, and then try out those bikes.

Moonbiker

Weird gearing what were they thinking?

Could understand 42 inner but 45 is kind of odd/extreme....

Your old bike was a triple likr this one?

http://www.bikes2udirect.com/B4546.html

gav1983

Cheers for the replies. Bike i've been using is the one above, barracuda, but done so many miles on it, thought it was time for a new bike of similar type.Im a bodybuilder, I do a ton of cardio, and do a lot of interval hill sprints, so i want it to be difficult, but not suspension, thick tyre difficult, which is just unpleasant. As long as the bikes durable, the gears are reliable it should do. Ive always preferred the flat bars, over drop downs

oxoman

Overpriced overweight BSO, nearly got one myself and my youngest son glad I didn't. I ended up with a Dawes Giro 300 for less than that, weighed nowhere as heavy. Look at decent second hand or decathlon or halfords basic road bikes Merlin cycles also do reasonable priced bikes. Baracuda, Saracen and Viking are all overweight bike shaped objects that tend to put new cyclists off riding, they used to be good and they trade on their previous good names.

germcevoy

£300 can go along way on Decathlon.

Mad_Malx

Matthewfalle wrote:

Tosh - that gearing is fine unless you're heading into major hills.

Unless you really know what gears you need (compare with your current bike) ignore this. For 95% of riders it is a very high lowest gear. Your hill sprints will be on foot.

Decathalon always come out as the best budget bikes in these threads. Second hand can give fantastic bargains, but since you are asking for advice here then maybe it's not wise unless you trust the seller. Replacing worn out bits adds up quickly.

bendertherobot

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/avanti-giro-f-1-2016/

dstev55

Matthewfalle wrote:

dstev55 wrote:

If the spec listing is correct then your lowest gear would be a 45-23. Good luck getting up any sort of hill with that!

For a bike of that weight you want at least a 34-28 bottom gear, unless you are super fit. In fact a lot of high end bikes have gears as low as this.

Tosh - that gearing is fine unless you're heading into major hills.

Overall though, it's just a cheap flat commuter bike - it'll do the job but won't set your pants on fire.

No it's not.

I'm sure you just post for the attention sometimes.

lesfirth

Matthewfalle wrote:

dstev55 wrote:

If the spec listing is correct then your lowest gear would be a 45-23. Good luck getting up any sort of hill with that!

For a bike of that weight you want at least a 34-28 bottom gear, unless you are super fit. In fact a lot of high end bikes have gears as low as this.

Tosh - that gearing is fine unless you're heading into major hills.

Overall though, it's just a cheap flat commuter bike - it'll do the job but won't set your pants on fire.

The old chinese saying springs to mind, " The man who talks most invariably speaks the most censored ",

Moonbiker

For the same price you could get this which is loads better.

http://www.rutlandcycling.com/284979/pr ... wgodahgD0Q

Unless you really can't stand drops for some reason....

redvision

gav1983 wrote:

Hi wondering if anyone could tell me about this bike. I do a lot of cardio, and im just looking for something reliable, with smooth gear changes etc, that will last, had a barracuda sharpfin which lasted me years, but been looking at this one here http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2015-Viking-T ... n-_ldSsGiQ

I wouldn't buy that.

As others have said, far better bikes out there for the money.
Don't be thinking that because its on Ebay its cheap (Ebay is not a place for bargains any more).

N0bodyOfTheGoat

If looking for a flat bar, I would put the Voodoo Marassa on my shortlist, perhaps waiting until the next 10%+ sale that comes around (I used such a sale to get my Wazoo for £450 just under two weeks ago).

markhewitt1978

[quote="Matthewfalle"
Tosh - that gearing is fine unless you're heading into major hills.
[/quote]

Are you trolling or what? It's nowhere near low enough for a beginner or experience cyclist for that matter.

gav1983

Nowt wrong with that viking bike. The purpose of the bike is cardio, if i wanted it to be easy id get a carbon bike with 24gears, i was even contemplating a fixie for the hills

imposter2.0

gav1983 wrote:

Nowt wrong with that viking bike. The purpose of the bike is cardio, if i wanted it to be easy id get a carbon bike with 24gears, i was even contemplating a fixie for the hills

If it's for 'cardio' - why not just use one of the gym bikes and save the money?

haydenm

What's the quote, 'it never gets easier, you just go faster'?

markhewitt1978

gav1983 wrote:

Nowt wrong with that viking bike. The purpose of the bike is cardio, if i wanted it to be easy id get a carbon bike with 24gears, i was even contemplating a fixie for the hills

You know what's the best for cardio? Spinning at a good cadence in the correct gear for the terrain.

Pegasus2

If you want cardio you want a bike you can spin on at 90-95. It doesn't matter how 'hard' or 'easy' it is, the faster you go the the harder it becomes and the more energy is required.

Slopping around at 60rpm is pointless and not good for your knees.

dstev55

gav1983 wrote:

Nowt wrong with that viking bike. The purpose of the bike is cardio, if i wanted it to be easy id get a carbon bike with 24gears, i was even contemplating a fixie for the hills

So you start a topic titled "is this bike alright" and then respond by saying that there is nothing wrong with it.

Bit of a pointless topic then isn't it?

Just saying....

gav1983

Not really, wanted opinions on the bike, but all most of them were, its rubbish, with no followup as to why, because it weights 1lb more than one twice the cost? If i wanted an easy cycle id get a 6kg carbon bike, but being nearly 18st i doubt it would last, so it would be a grand down the pan. The barracuda, lasted me 3years, thousands of miles per year, hence why i wanted a bike of similar spec, that is durable, but wont break the bank, that viking seems a reasonable choice, looks like it could take the punishment

dstev55

gav1983 wrote:

Not really, wanted opinions on the bike, but all most of them were, its rubbish, with no followup as to why, because it weights 1lb more than one twice the cost? If i wanted an easy cycle id get a 6kg carbon bike, but being nearly 18st i doubt it would last, so it would be a grand down the pan. The barracuda, lasted me 3years, thousands of miles per year, hence why i wanted a bike of similar spec, that is durable, but wont break the bank, that viking seems a reasonable choice, looks like it could take the punishment

It probably would, it sounds like you've made your mind up anyway.

Have you looked in Decathlon though? Their bikes are great for the money and I've never heard of any issues with build quality. I'd personally think the build quality would be better than what you have suggested, but I can only go on my experience of Btwin (Decathlon). Have a look at this:

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-500-f ... 22664.html

Spend a bit more and you get Shimano gearing.

gav1983

The viking has shimano gearing though? Reviews on that particular bike arent great, issues with gearing, and that the main issue i want to avoid, cheers though

herzog

gav1983 wrote:

If i wanted an easy cycle id get a 6kg carbon bike, but being nearly 18st i doubt it would last, so it would be a grand down the pan.

Got a link for 1k 6kg carbon bike?

redvision

OP, the replies to your question have all been offering good sound advice & suggestions, all trying to help you. Its not that people are against Viking bikes, it's just that it is well known that there are better value bikes out there.

If i were you I would listen to the advice on offer.
If you have already made your mind up, and it sounds pretty much like you have, then just order the Viking.

dstev55

The next Viking model up in the range for a tenner more here:

http://www.bikes2udirect.com/B5260

Carbon fork and better gear range.