Thinking of a new bike

rabsterw91
rabsterw91 Posts: 10
edited April 2016 in Road beginners
Hey guys so I took up road cycling last year as a way to stay fit after injuring my knee and was unable to run

I got the bike through my cycle to work scheme and picked up the 2015 carrera tdf I felt it has been a spill bike and got me from A to B no problem but I am now doing a sportive and has found the bike doesn't have the smallest gears for getting me up the big climbs

What I'm asking is where do I go from the TDF I'm looking for something faster and help me get up the steep hills I'm currently weighing around 18 stone / 115kg so it's a quite a load to move up a hill lol

Thanks guys

Comments

  • fat_cat
    fat_cat Posts: 566
    Without a clear idea of budget its difficult to recommend a specific bike, but based on what you have said, I would recommend:

    - wheels with a high spoke count - 32 spokes preferably, otherwise you might run into problems breaking spokes.

    - a Compact Chainset 50/34 on the front and 11/32 on the back, or even consider a triple chainset, for getting up hills.

    Pretty much every brand will have these options , in a range of frame materials (Alloy / Carbon / Titanium) so my advise would be to go with whatever takes your eye in your local bike shop.
  • keef66
    keef66 Posts: 13,123
    Depending on what you have on the Carrera you may be able to stick on a bigger cassette and / or a smaller chainring. Actually, scratch that; looks like it already has a compact chainset (34 tooth inner chainring) and a 28t cassette?

    To get significantly lower gearing than that you'd need a triple chainset which should give you a 30 tooth inner chainring, and a bigger cassette maybe 30t. Then of course you'd need new shifters / front mech for the triple. Might be cheaper / simpler to sell the Carrera and buy a different bike...

    I'm sure you know this already, but the cheapest way of improving your climbing is going to be to lose some of the weight. 18 stone is a lot to be carting up hill. In my personal experience it's a lot easier to lose weight by diet than exercise. After years of failing with calorie counting and lower fat foods, I found that 5:2 intermittent fasting works for me. 2 days a week I eat nothing till 6:30pm, and then it's a 600 calorie meal. The rest of the time I eat / drink more or less what I like. Dropped 18 pounds quite easily, and it's staying off despite my lack of willpower / gluttonous nature of feed days :D
  • markhewitt1978
    markhewitt1978 Posts: 7,614
    It's impossible to say because you haven't told us your budget. It could literally be anything from another Halfords bike to a Team Sky issue Pinarello.
  • rabsterw91
    rabsterw91 Posts: 10
    keef66 wrote:
    Depending on what you have on the Carrera you may be able to stick on a bigger cassette and / or a smaller chainring. Actually, scratch that; looks like it already has a compact chainset (34 tooth inner chainring) and a 28t cassette?

    To get significantly lower gearing than that you'd need a triple chainset which should give you a 30 tooth inner chainring, and a bigger cassette maybe 30t. Then of course you'd need new shifters / front mech for the triple. Might be cheaper / simpler to sell the Carrera and buy a different bike...

    I'm sure you know this already, but the cheapest way of improving your climbing is going to be to lose some of the weight. 18 stone is a lot to be carting up hill. In my personal experience it's a lot easier to lose weight by diet than exercise. After years of failing with calorie counting and lower fat foods, I found that 5:2 intermittent fasting works for me. 2 days a week I eat nothing till 6:30pm, and then it's a 600 calorie meal. The rest of the time I eat / drink more or less what I like. Dropped 18 pounds quite easily, and it's staying off despite my lack of willpower / gluttonous nature of feed days :D

    Yeah I already looked into that and I'd be around 400 pound for decent shifters and gears which is more than I paid for the bike. My price range would probably be around the 600 -700 pound mark

    Yeah 18 stone isn't the lightest but am far from a fat bloke dying in a bike I play rugby so a lot of its muscle so I'm a hybrid lol half fat dying bloke half muscle lol
  • markhewitt1978
    markhewitt1978 Posts: 7,614
    This one is a bit more than your budget at £900 but it's worth it as it has an 11 speed Ultegra groupset, and carbon frame http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/EBPXSLP680 ... -road-bike
  • Bobbinogs
    Bobbinogs Posts: 4,841
    edited April 2016
    I don't get the need for a new bike. If the OP is running 50/34 12/28 (which I haven't seen confirmed anywhere) then this is another one for the "I need lower gears" thread. There are some easy solutions out there, mainly based around getting a 7 or 8 speed cassette with a 30T or 32T on the back (in fact, if the bike has Tourney then doesn't that offer a 14/34T cassette although that may need a new RD too). Either way there are some cheap options here that will keep the OP riding his bike.

    If the OP needs something lower than a 34/32 combo then he would be better off wearing some decent SPD shoes so he can walk up the hills until he can cycle them :-)

    OP, why not look at a cheap option for now and set a target of buying yourself a new bike if you hit 16 stone?
  • markhewitt1978
    markhewitt1978 Posts: 7,614
    Bobbinogs wrote:
    I don't get the need for a new bike. If the OP is running 50/34 12/28 (which I haven't seen confirmed anywhere) then this is another one for the "I need lower gears" thread. There are some easy solutions out there, mainly based around getting a 30T or 32T on the back (SRAM cassette territory, perhaps). If the OP needs something lower than a 34/32 combo then he would be better off wearing some decent SPD shoes so he can walk up the hills until he can cycle them :-)

    IIRC those cheap Halfords bikes are renouned for having high gears e.g. 53/39 with 11-25, and considering they are just the bikes beginners would buy it's no wonder many struggle.
  • Bobbinogs
    Bobbinogs Posts: 4,841
    Yeah, you're right there Mark. I find it bonkers that a lot of the cheap carrera bikes come with a standard double. I don't think the one he mentions does though, looks like a compact on the Halfords website.

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