Bike advice

glero

Hi everyone, I want some recommendations for bikes for a friend and I based on usage and price point.

Having previously owned a mountain bike, I want to get back into cycling for a bit of exercise but I was wondering if a hybrid would be better.

For myself, I will be using the bike mainly on roads and a bit of off road trail cycling. This would probably be once or twice a week.

My friend's cycling habits will be the same except maybe their frequency might be more and they will be using their bike to travel around and do some shopping.

With a price range of £300 - £500, I saw in some threads for my usage a Voodoo Marasa is recommended but when I went to have a look in the shops the assistant recommended a Boardman MTX 8.6 for having better materials and thus reliability. The latter is £50 more than my budget so I was wondering if I were willing to spend the extra money is it worth it for my usage habits?

Also as my friend will be using their bike more intensively than me, would they do better to get the boardman or would the Voodoo suffice?

Finally if you think there are any other bikes more suited please do recommend.

Thanks

robertpb

Halfords are just trying to sell you a more expensive bike. The parts on both bikes will be as reliable as the other. You don't need the suspension fork which is just another mechanical thing to go wrong.

The Rookie

Glero wrote:

the assistant recommended a Boardman MTX 8.6 for having better materials and thus reliability.

I'd ask him which bit had better 'materials', from the specifications they are pretty much identical and the frames are made from the same material in the same factory. the extra money goes into a (very basic) suspension fork, arguably making it less reliable.

glero

Thanks for your responses.

Following this, I've seen some reviews of some people stating that they've slipped on wet surfaces with the stock tyres. Can you recommend good tyres for me to change to if necessary?

RagnarL

Glero wrote:

Thanks for your responses.

Following this, I've seen some reviews of some people stating that they've slipped on wet surfaces with the stock tyres. Can you recommend good tyres for me to change to if necessary?

I use a hybrid regularly for daily commute. Best advice would be if you did get that bike is just see how it runs first. I had my giant stock tyres for ages and they lasted a long time.