Looking for help choosing!

AC1980

Hi, I have no idea about bikes so could do with some help if that’s ok. Looking for a mountain bike for my almost 15 year old son. Will be used for general riding on the roads only. He’s tall, 5 ft 10, with long legs so I think will need an adult medium bike. Looking at the Cannondale trial 7, on sale for £389, or the Carerra Hellcat that I can get for £300 thanks to an employee discount from a friend. Which would you choose?
Many thanks

seanoconn

I wouldn’t be looking at mountain bike to be riding on roads only.

pblakeney

seanoconn said:

I wouldn’t be looking at mountain bike to be riding on roads only.

This.

AC1980

Any advice as to what I should be looking at?

pblakeney

A hybrid (which is a road bike with flat bars) or a road bike with curved bars.
If you go down the curved bars route then there is pure road, cross or gravel.
One step at a time.

AC1980

Any advice as to what I should be looking at?

pblakeney said:

A hybrid (which is a road bike with flat bars) or a road bike with curved bars.
If you go down the curved bars route then there is pure road, cross or gravel.
One step at a time.

Thanks. I was just looking at hybrids. Is Pinnacle a good brand? I would be happy to spend up to £400

The Rookie

Pinnacle is Evans in house brand, used to be made by Merida (the worlds second largest bike manufacturer, mostly under other brand names) not sure if they still are, and yes they are decent bikes and a decent value.

steve_sordy

Edit: My apologies, I answered this ages ago and logged out with sending. It was here waiting for me just now.

Pinnacle is the house brand of Evans Cycles. They offer good value for money.
Even though it might be a surprise for your son, I would still take him in to the shop and let him try it for size. The shop guys should be trained well enough to give good advice on which size.
There is loads of stuff on YouTube on how to choose the right size of bike and how to best set it up to suit the rider.

The problem is that everyone has different proportions, some have longer or shorter legs for their height than the average. That means that they will have a shorter or longer torso than average for their height. So if your son is way outside the average, proportion-wise, he is unlikely to get the perfect fit. But the good news is that bike manufacturers all seem to use a different concept of what is the average. One size Medium will fit, another make of bike won't. Try a few.

The basics for a road bike: set the saddle high enough that when sat on it, and with his heel on the pedal, his leg is ALMOST straight. (No extreme footware please, unless that is what he will be riding the bike with all the time). Once you have the saddle height, place the foot on the pedal in the usual place and rotate the crank until the pedal is forward with the crank horizontal. Drop an imaginary plumb line over the front of the knee and it should pass through the pedal axis. Move the saddle forward or backward until you get the best position. Don't obsess over it to the nearest mm, within 4-5mm is fine. Above that try a different size bike.

Once you have the seating position sorted look to the bars. Do they feel in a comfortable position, too far away, too close, too high, too low? Grips too far apart. At this price level you will be limited to what can be done, but there is likely to be spacers above or below the stem which if moved can raise or lower the bar height (takes a few minutes). The bar can be rotated by slackening the stem bolts (don't forget to retighten). That will change the grip height and the angle that the grips are to his wrists. Experiment to find a comfy position, you should not have to move far. There is more but you need to consult YouTube.

I'm sure that others will chip in with their tips.