New to biking and need to decide on first bike!

mpdgoosey

Hey all, I am just starting to get into biking and have stumble across this forum, it seems a great place for me to learn the ins and outs of everything as well as to help me chose a first bike!

I have been looking around however because I plan to get this bike from interest free credit I am limited to Halfords to purchase my first bike.

I look to get into biking properly in the future but for now am looking to a bike that can get me to work and collage and back, and also be good for longer rides via road and off road.

I have decided a hybrid would probably be the better choice for this bike, and from what ive seen they arent the most popular bikes here so I assume I will be recommended to some mountain bikes however I feel a hybrid would be the best starting bike for me upon research and perhaps in the future I can spent a bit more on a good road or mountain bike.

I have found a few bikes I am looking towards getting and have a limit of about £430 as I need to get a cover, lights, helmet etc as well.

I will show you the selection I have narrowed down to:

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/h ... sport-bike - Boardman MC Sport Bike

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/h ... -bike-2015 - Carrera Crossfire 1

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/h ... ybrid-bike - Carrera Crossfire 3

The prices of the bikes do not fuss me as long as they are within my budget, the Boardman MC is my favorite looking out of the bunch and seems to have the best specs however it would be nice to have the opinion of some more experienced riders whom know what they are talking about!

I am open to other suggestions of bikes, as mentioned it needs to be from Halfords and I would prefer a hybrid but any suggestions are welcome.

As I mentioned, the bike will be mostly used for getting across town so will involve some small grassy patches to pass over but I will also be using it for long road rides and some moderate off road journeys.

Hope I have provided enough information to get some opinions!

Thanks!

The Rookie

The MX isn't too badly specced, I wouldn't get the Crossfire 1 as the fork is horrid, an undamped pogo stick, between the other 2 the MX has better brakes (and just about every other component) and a lighter frame (the Crossfire frame is very basic).

Have a look at the Voodoo Marasa as well, it has rigid forks which lose a fair bit of weight and its good value for money, with just a change of tyres it can play the roles of a fast road hybrid or a rigid 29er mountain bike.

N0bodyOfTheGoat

I'd also add these to the shortlist at that sort of price....
13 Incline Alpha (for more off-road option) http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/m ... -bike-2015
Boardman Hybrid Comp http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/h ... -comp-bike

Plus the Voodoo Marassa mentioned above http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/h ... ybrid-bike

Don't forget cashback sites for online purchases, currently 5.5% at http://www.topcashback.co.uk/halfords/, or 10% off in-store purchases with British Cycling membership https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/membership

scoi

Depends on your future intentions. A hybrid is great for town commuting but if you really like the look of some trail riding in the near future, grab yourself a decent mountain bike and some replacement slicker tyres. It'll perform pretty similarly on the road but should survive the abuse of a trail a bit better.

The old design voodoo bizango and boardmans won plenty of awards between them so you should be happy with whatever the budget allows

N0bodyOfTheGoat

There's a 10% flash sale on today at Halfords for the next ~35mins (ends at noon), for example makes the Boardman Hybrid Comp ~£382 (as 15% Boardman offer works too).

Go there via Topcashback and it will save you another ~£22.

larkim

I'd second the thought about future intentions. There was a point where I was considering a hybrid, but in the end I rationalised that I could do everything I might ever want with a Decathlon 29er, less with a hybrid, less with a cyclocross bike and less again with a roadie. So far I've ridden the 29er in a duathlon (against guys in full tri gear and carbon wheels), on family rides around the forest, down to the shops, down the red and blacks at Llandegla trail centre and on evening "training" rides to get myself fitter. All I needed was some thinner tyres (32) to make it a little easier to ride on the roads.

I could have done all of that apart from the Llandegla stuff on a hybrid, but I'd have missed out on riding with my son if I'd not bought the 29er. (Though of course in practical terms I *could* have done most of those things on a hybrid, but I would have felt very stupid had I killed the forks at Llandegla on them)

(Though I will admit I've since bought a roadie too).