Getting a push bike

Schizophonic

Schizophonic

Schizophonic

Soldato
Joined
27 Dec 2006
Posts
2,911
Location
Northampton
Looking to loose a bit of weight and for the weather to get better. I'm looking to get a bike to get around those shorter places that don't need a car.

I've been told to look out for Carerra or Spealized (sp) brands. Going to the first place to look I visited Halford and through that a size 16 would be the best frame for me (I'm only 5 foot 4) and when I sat on a size 16 frame bike it felt comfortable and something I could use easily.

I went back to the Halfords website and Carerra start from Size 18 men and 16 on women, would a woman's bike really be a bad idea?
 
From what I've heard, if you want a decent bike you need to buy from somewhere like Evans Cycles rather than Halfords or go to a specialist cyclist shop in your local town.
 
Have just replied so have copied from the other thread:

Where will you be taking the bike? If you are going to do all road riding or on good, solid paths then you could consider a cheap road bike. I have a carrera Virtuosso and it's fine for my use which is occasional commuting. I have made the mistake of taking it on some non concrete paths now and then - if it rains you'll really struggle with the thin tyres. If you aren't too confident on the bike then a road bike may also not be the best of starts, they are not particularly comfortable to ride and will feel quite frisky (for want of a better word) at first. Even a cheap road bike like mine will be a lot lighter than the equivalent hybrid/mountain bike though.

If you have any reasonable country parks / lanes etc nearby that you could take the bike and would be interested in doing so then either a hybrid with reasonably thick tyres or mountain bike with hardtail / no suspension would be worth looking at. I reckon you should find a local bike shop and have a chat with them as already suggested, most of these guys are happy to talk to you and will give genuine advice regardless of whether you purchase something that day or at all - whereas halfrauds are very much hit and miss and will try to push a sale there and then.

I also have a giant Rock ( I think, haven't used it in a good while) that I bought 4/5 years ago and it's a perfectly good starter mountain bike. It was very cheap (under £200 from memory). Something like that or a second hand bike could be a good way to discover if you're really into it or not.

As above I can't see any reason for going for a womans bike unless you can't get comfy on the mens versions - you'll have much more choice this way. My road bike was around £300, both are very basic, starter bikes.
 
At £200 i would be looking at a well looked-after second hand bike. As asked above, what sort of terrain do you plan to tackle with it?
 
thanks for the feedback .Sorry i opened 2 threads.

As for the questions I'm only planning to go on path, the odd road (as I'm not comfortable with town roads) to start off with and the odd back gravel path.

I will resort to getting a woman's bike if I've exhuasted other options. I know nothing abouts bikes especially what brand to get. I've heard stories from cheap and nasty ones can lead to being snapped or rust quite easily. I'll visit one of my local bikes and have a chat with a member of staff and report back what they've said (dont feel confident on what by sales staff say all the time)

When I went to Halfords they really didn't have to ask me many questions, I already thought of a few and told how I feel. I didn't think that their staff really knew how to provide support or reassurance with me as to what bike I really right for me.
 
For £200 brand new whatever you get is not going to particulary decent at that price. One piece of advice though, make sure you get a hardtail with rim brakes.
 
Ive come looking on the forums for a similar'ish kind of question,instead of starting a new thread i'll just post in here if the OP doesnt mind ? :)

my question,is it worth spending extra money on a high end mountain bike just for exercise use ? i bought an old raleigh mountain bike cheap off "the bay" about 7 weeks ago for the sole purpose of trying to lose the jelly belly,i use it every other day riding along the canal.

Monday,wed,friday i do 9 miles per day , on sundays i do a 20 mile trip,ive already started seeing some impressive changes in my physique,unfortunately the bike is taking abit of a battering,along the canal is several surface types,gravel,tarmac,wet mud,dry mud and a lot of hedge rows witch have caused me several punctures already due to the thorny branches that litter the path.

I bought some continental "baron" 2.3 tyres yesterday so im hoping that replacing the cheapo types will reduce the amount of punctures,i also bought some spare innertubes just incase :D

The crank on the bike feels like its coming abit loose and i dont think that is a job i could replace myself so id probably have to get it fixed,so then you started thinking about is it worth it on a cheap bike should i just buy a better RE: expensive one,im currently finding it hard to justify spending hundreds of pounds on a new bike ,even though im really enjoying going out riding with my headphones on and listening to my fav music as i lose weight :D

so would i really see any benefit in spending a lot of money on a new bike ? or will fixing the old one suffice just for long flat rides a few times a week ?
 
CSA said:
Ive come looking on the forums for a similar'ish kind of question,instead of starting a new thread i'll just post in here if the OP doesnt mind ? :)

my question,is it worth spending extra money on a high end mountain bike just for exercise use ? i bought an old raleigh mountain bike cheap off "the bay" about 7 weeks ago for the sole purpose of trying to lose the jelly belly,i use it every other day riding along the canal.

Monday,wed,friday i do 9 miles per day , on sundays i do a 20 mile trip,ive already started seeing some impressive changes in my physique,unfortunately the bike is taking abit of a battering,along the canal is several surface types,gravel,tarmac,wet mud,dry mud and a lot of hedge rows witch have caused me several punctures already due to the thorny branches that litter the path.

I bought some continental "baron" 2.3 tyres yesterday so im hoping that replacing the cheapo types will reduce the amount of punctures,i also bought some spare innertubes just incase :D

The crank on the bike feels like its coming abit loose and i dont think that is a job i could replace myself so id probably have to get it fixed,so then you started thinking about is it worth it on a cheap bike should i just buy a better RE: expensive one,im currently finding it hard to justify spending hundreds of pounds on a new bike ,even though im really enjoying going out riding with my headphones on and listening to my fav music as i lose weight :D
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I think you've made a mistake buying those tyres, they're big heavy slow downhill tyres certainly not ideal for cycling canal paths , they may not even fit on your bike i'd take them back and look for 2.1-2.2 tyres with puncture protection. i'd be looking at the x king or race king from conti.

so would i really see any benefit in spending a lot of money on a new bike ? or will fixing the old one suffice just for long flat rides a few times a week ?
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If your going to stick to canal paths fix your old bike if you want to do some proper off roading i'd buy a new bike.
last time i had my bike serviced by a bike shop it cost me £200, for that money you could get a decent second hand bike, it's really up to you what to do.
 
thanks for the info but ive already fitted them and been out on it this morning,they where fine tbh , the bike feels a lot more stable with these tyres fitted , yes is does feel abit slower on a hard surface but along the muddy and rocky sections it felt very good so im very happy i bought them,also with highering the seat yesterday after a ride the crank feels fine,presumably because there less pressure on the peddles ?
 
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