New bike advice

teaboy5 · 7 Jul 2011 at 19:00

Hey All

I am after a new bike and wouldn't mind some advice, as I haven't owned one since i was a kid!

I was looking for some kind of hybrid bike that can be used on the road but if needs be I can take it off road a little with a change of tyres.

I only want to spend around 200-300 as I only want to use it to get a little fitter.

Is there anything knocking about the site with an "H" in it that I can at least go see and buy there or else were online if it's cheaper.

Phil99 · 7 Jul 2011 at 20:31

Something like this doesn't look too bad but as usual at that sort of price range you'd get far more for your money second hand.

Also depends on what you mean by off-road. You're not going to want to do much more than ride down muddy paths on a hybrid regardless of the tyres you put on it.

MadMossy · 7 Jul 2011 at 20:42

If it were me as your intending to cycle for fitness i'd get a road bike and go from there, hybrids are ok road/muddy path but off-road will be a no no without suspension or you will shatter your spine!

Get a road bike to start with as you build up your fitness look into going for an offroad bike for weekend fun.

teaboy5 · 7 Jul 2011 at 20:55

Well by off road i mean, country roads tbh. I wont be flying down no hills.

I dont like the look of some of the road bikes to be honest, I like the normal handle bars compared to the shape of the most road going bikes, so thats why i thought a hybird would suit me better.

Richie · 7 Jul 2011 at 20:59

You can get road bikes with flat bars.

SkodaMart · 7 Jul 2011 at 21:04

If I only owned 1 bike it would be a mountain bike. You can fit slick tyres or semi-slicks and do pretty much anything on it.
If you do get into cycling that is the point at which you may get the itch for a road bike.
They are not quite as practical or versatile as a MTB (unless you go the classic tourer route, such as a Dawes Galaxy type) Racing type bikes are exhilerating to ride on the road at speed.
I have a fully rigid steel mountain bike (OneOne Inbred), and my spine is perfectly fine thankyou, however your arms do get a battering on rocky descents.
Hybrid = jack of all trades master of none. Rigid MTB would be my suggestion.

Phil99 · 7 Jul 2011 at 21:07

teaboy5 said:
Well by off road i mean, country roads tbh. I wont be flying down no hills.

I dont like the look of some of the road bikes to be honest, I like the normal handle bars compared to the shape of the most road going bikes, so thats why i thought a hybird would suit me better.

Obviously up to you if you really don't like it, but is that from experience or just from looking at them? I've only fairly recently bought a road bike and the hand position is far more comfortable than flat bars. You don't have to go down on the drops at all if you don't want to, I quite happily go long rides on the hoods which IMO is a lot better than flat bars.

SkodaMart · 7 Jul 2011 at 21:10

Phil99 said:
more comfortable than flat bars. You don't have to go down on the drops at all if you don't want to, I quite happily go long rides on the hoods which IMO is a lot better than flat bars.

This is true for a confident experienced rider.
Racing type bikes can feel a little flighty, at great big pothole isn't going to bother a MTB much for example.

teaboy5 · 15 Aug 2011 at 17:55

Hey sorry to bring this up again, but I didn't get one at the time as i was busy with other things.

I went and looked a one today which was a trek 7 2 FX i think, i forgot to note the model down.

I had also forgot work do the cycle to work shceme , so I can get 46% off the price listed in the shop which is £400 (have seen it online cheaper already)

Anyone got any opinions on the bike bearing it mind it will just be used to get fitter and lose some weight.

encephalopathy · 16 Aug 2011 at 14:21

best 2 things to motivate me are a cycle computer and as of yesterday the endomondo app for my android phone. i'm doing 7-12 miles most days and have lost around a stone in the last couple of months and have stronger legs (but not much belly shrinking yet)

whereabouts in NI are you?

SickAsAParrot · 18 Aug 2011 at 11:37

teaboy5 said:
I went and looked a one today which was a trek 7 2 FX i think, i forgot to note the model down.

I'm getting a 7.3 FX disc through cyclescheme but they're all out of stock until the 2012 models come out possibly at the end of August. They had a 7.1 FX in the shop though it seemed suprisingly light and sturdy.

Mp4 · 22 Aug 2011 at 09:34

Hi all,

Sorry to hi-jack this!

My gym membership currently ran out & still looking after my left knee (knee surgery)
I used the bikes at the gym but ofc its not the same etc. I've not used a bike since i was a lad n all that.

ill be popping to the retail name with H later on to have a look at their range.

What brand is good etc?

I know i want disk breaks and for the bike to be light.

ill mainly be on roads but maybe a few country lanes etc.

£100-300max i like the look of the link that was posted above!

Participant · 22 Aug 2011 at 09:58

Halfords

There, I said it

.

Mp4 - common wisdom when I was looking for a £200 hybrid was that disc brakes at this budget are inferior to the v-brakes you'd get, as you get mechanical and not hydraulic disc brakes. Whilst for your purposes, the extra cost and maintenance required for hydraulic discs would not justify the type of usage you're going to get, there's still the question of how budget mechanical disc brakes like the Tektro stack up against typical v-brakes such as the ones available on the older Subway. On the other hand if you're buying new and they all come with discs now, then you have little choice.

I bought a Carrera Subway (with v-brakes) for commuting a year and a half ago (~£200) and stuck some road tyres on it. Then when I go on tracks I swap the tyres over. If 90% of your cycling is on the road, then this is well worth doing imo, if you do end up with a hybrid.

I should say that I've found the Subway excellent in terms of reliability and ease of maintenance. The v-brakes are dead easy to maintain and adjust. It's not light, at all, but then it's cheap and it does the job of taking me 6 miles to work and back each day, very well.

touch · 22 Aug 2011 at 10:03

Mp4 said:
ill be popping to the retail name with H later on to have a look at their range.

I know i want disk breaks and for the bike to be light.

ill mainly be on roads but maybe a few country lanes etc.

£100-300max i like the look of the link that was posted above!

For that price, the choices are Carrera TDF or Carrera Subway.
I would chose the road bike (TDF) over the hybrid (subway). It is lighter and will be a lot faster and easier to cycle on the road.

edit: Also, i agree with what robbie said about disc brakes. V-brakes are often better than low-end disc brakes.

Mp4 · 22 Aug 2011 at 12:11

Cheers lads!

Carrera TDF looks nice and so does the subway! Ill keep a look out for V breaks

Was used to mountain bikes as a kid so I've never had a road bike etc

going to be odd using the U handlebars instead of the T hehe

Mp4 · 22 Aug 2011 at 14:51

Had a look at the bike but £350 atm

touch · 22 Aug 2011 at 16:13

The TDF?
Their website says 299.

Mp4 · 22 Aug 2011 at 18:21

touch said:
The TDF?
Their website says 299.

Must be a web price :/

Is it possible to get a decent bike say for £100 - 200?

Berger · 22 Aug 2011 at 18:26

Mp4 said:
Must be a web price :/

Is it possible to get a decent bike say for £100 - 200?

Not really no.

Try going secondhand but its not going to be easy.

Phil99 · 22 Aug 2011 at 18:39

Mp4 said:
Must be a web price :/

Is it possible to get a decent bike say for £100 - 200?

At Halfords you can reserve online and pay the web price in store, probably the best way to do it as you can try it out in store and (if I remember correctly) you're not commited to buying it even if you reserve it.