Bike advice please...

Soldato
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12 Jun 2004
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Exeter
Hi all.

I haven't been biking for about 5 years now mainly due to having a long term illness but now I am recovering I would like to start biking again. I think it'll be a really good and fun exercise and help with my fitness.

I basically have a budget of around £350max to spend on a mountain bike. At the moment I'd say 70-80% of my usage will be on the road and I have considered getting a hybrid or road bike but I think I will start to use it off road a lot more once I get fitter and recover further. I'd also like to keep whatever bike I buy for a long time, so it has to be a pretty good all-rounder and very upgradable.

I really like the look of the Specialized Hardrock Sport/Comp/Pro series but I'm not sure whether to buy second hand or buy new and gradually upgrade the components when needed, etc.

Right now I'm thinking of going for the standard Specialized Hardrock Sport 2009 bike seen here;
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/specialized/hardrock-sport-2009-mountain-bike-ec016011

And gradually upgrade the suspension, gears and add hydrolic disk brakes, etc. later on. Do you think that is a wise idea?
Is there anything else I should be looking at?

If I go for the Hardrock I'd definitely like to buy some road tyres but I have no idea which ones I'd need. Any advice on that would be great.

Many thanks.
 
Soldato
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The Trek is twice the specialized bike. I got my Trek 4700 seven years ago (silver &red were the colours that year) and it is still as new. I ride it every day to work and it is pure pleasure. Not had a thing go wrong with it, infact its impressed me from every angle. I used to spend 1 to 2 hundred on a new bike every year with all the cycling i put in, but my trek has been round the world with me over sand, rocks mountains and the odd river and its still spanking.

Trek make very very high quality bikes at a reasonable price.
I would reccommend a trek.

If ur hard core I would also rec Kevlar tyres, iv had a few pairs and never had a puncture.
 
Soldato
OP
Joined
12 Jun 2004
Posts
5,472
Location
Exeter
The Trek is twice the specialized bike. I got my Trek 4700 seven years ago (silver &red were the colours that year) and it is still as new. I ride it every day to work and it is pure pleasure. Not had a thing go wrong with it, infact its impressed me from every angle. I used to spend 1 to 2 hundred on a new bike every year with all the cycling i put in, but my trek has been round the world with me over sand, rocks mountains and the odd river and its still spanking.

Trek make very very high quality bikes at a reasonable price.
I would reccommend a trek.

If ur hard core I would also rec Kevlar tyres, iv had a few pairs and never had a puncture.

Thanks. :)

I found the Trek 4500 in a shop locally and it looks stunning. I think I might spend an extra £100 and go for the 4500.

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/trek/4500-2009-mountain-bike-ec016491

They have it for a decent price in my local shop and they're offering 2 years of free servicing.
I'm not too bothered about it not having disk brakes because I don't need them right now and apparently it's very easy to upgrade on the 4500.
 
Soldato
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What cleaning products does everyone use on their bikes?

I think I will get a can of GT85 to use on the chain and cassettes, etc. but I don't know what to use on the derailleur and brakes.



Sory to Hijack the thread but it's kind of related.

I was just wondering if anyone knew why Trek Bikes cant be home delivered, seems bizzare to me, surely they're gonna lose custom.

I noticed that too, very strange.
 
Soldato
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21 Apr 2003
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4,328
I'm lazy and just tend to use 3-in-1 oil on my bits. Occasionally I'll give them a "proper" clean with a degreaser like WD40, letting that dry off and then more standard oil again.

I daresay there are many more specific products around, but this works well for me.

As to Trek not home-delivering, they're probably looking to maintain a good level of service to their customers - I would personally (as I'm not an expert) not buy a bike and build it up myself - even if I mail-ordered it, I would take it to a local shop to set it up correctly.

If Trek deliver to homes, and the bikes are inexpertly set up and hence don't work at their best, they will lose face - even when it's the fault of the customer.
 
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