What are your opinions on this bicycle??

It really depends on the type of riding you're looking to do. What type of weekend riding will it be - are you likely to be taking it offroad or just pootling along the canal path?

Personally, at that price point I would be considering a 'proper' mountain bike, and get a set of road tyres for it. This means it's just a simple case of swapping tyres when you want to take it offroad. If you get 700c wheels as on the Specialized, you're very limited by tyre choice going forward.

Cannondale used to do a 26 inch wheeled Bad Boy - this was the best of both worlds, it's superlight but you can easily swap the skinny tyres for something fat and grippy if the need arose. Which it will, if you really get into it.

al
 
ha ha ha use a MTB for on road riding??? Whilst you're huffing and puffing I'll be zipping along at a faster rate. Even if you put slicks onto a rigid MTB it'll be MUCH slower than a road bike. Also gearing is to low.

I would say for your first bike it's a bit fancy, a lower end model around £500 will be more than adequate. If you want something nipper I would look at flat bar road bike, or proper road bike with drops. Ignore Alasdair's "advice"

Do you need panniers and mudguards? (probably so if commuting) Check brake calipers have space for guards, and fixings on the frame/fork for guards/rack.

What about this
http://www.cyclexpress.co.uk/products/FCR_2.aspx
or
http://www.cyclexpress.co.uk/products/SCR_2.0.aspx
 
badbob said:
Ignore Alasdair's "advice"
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eh?

There's no point in buying a hybrid if you're going to take it offroad. It's far far easier to take a mountain bike on the road than it is to take a hybrid offroad. Make your own decision based on your individual circumstances, I can see that badbob is coming from the roadie camp, and I the MTB camp. Both have their benefits, but it's up to you to see which you prefer.

Badbob, in response: the bike you're suggesting is basically a road bike but with flat bars, which will be nigh on useless for anything other than flat roads. Top tube clearance is far too small to consider risking your nads offroad.

With regards to gearing, that's plain rubbish. A standard mountain bike will have a 44-11 top gear, this being a 4-1 ratio. The bike you've mentioned has a 52-12 top ratio, this being 4.33-1. However, the next gear down will be 52-13 if you're lucky, so you get the 4-1 ratio there. And I very much doubt that you use the top gear much of the time, and if you're commuting you'll likely not be going at such a pace to warrant such a high gear ratio.

Actually, on that subject, I've taken my MTB from a 22-32-44 chainset to a 26-36-bash combo instead. This was based on my determining that I never use the top ring and the lowest gears anyway, and I prefer having the bash as opposed to denting other parts of my bike.

Panniers - they can be mounted on any frame with a fitting kit, so it's not a deal breaker if there's no mounts.

Finally, whatever you do, test ride the bike before buying.

al
 
Has he said going off road? A hybrid is fine for country paths/asphalt and canal paths. You don't need a MTB for that, 38mm tyres will be fine.

If the OP wants to a dual use bike- more orientated to faster more crouched, then get a cyclo-cross, with two sets of wheels/tyres.

A MTB has a far to high riding position. I know, had a front suspension MTB, now got a proper road bike a fast tourer. The MTB was slow, really slow riding on road. I could half the riding time, and arrive without being knackered on the roadie..

I see MTB'ers on the road and fly by at warp speed :-) They're a bit sad really...similar to SUV crowd.

determining that I never use the top ring and the lowest gears anyway
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Shows what speed you get from a MTB. I do use big ring, 52 teeth. I can cruise at 18-22mph, and reach 30-35 no problem and hold that speed for a few miles.
 
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badbob said:
I can cruise at 18-22mph, and reach 30-35 no problem and hold that speed for a few miles.
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So can I. I hate to think what I'd be like on a roadie...

I'm sticking with the MTB personally, I have too much fun on my current bikes that I can't foresee happening were I to move to the dark side.
 
cheers for the info guys,

I have to buy my bike from evans because of the bike2work scheme at work. I don't really need a heavy duty offroad bike just one that wont break on canal paths tracks etc.

I also looked at the Kona phd, but it has really thin wheels, is this really just a road bike?

linky

http://www.evanscycles.com/find.jsp...rtMethod=4&ourRef=&speedSearch=phd&brandPick=

I am really confused!

Ferret
 
I agree that there isn't really any point getting a MTB if the worst you are going to be riding it on is canal paths. That bike comes with 23mm tyres which are the standard width for road bikes, you probably want something like 25-28mm so it would be worth checking that the frame and brake calipers have clearance for a wider tyre.

If you plan on doing much road riding it might be worth looking at drop bar bikes as this gives you many more positions to put you hands on longer rides to stop your arms/shoulders getting so tired... and you can go faster on the road :D There is no real advantage to flat bar bikes as far as I can see unless you really don't like drop bars. Even with drops you can just ride on the flats and you still have more positions to hold the bars than you would with just flats. Something to consider anyway :)
 
The Kona PHD is a flat bar racer, although depending on the top tube length, and the length of your torso and arms, and even if you buy a frame larger or smaller than your body size, it might be a upright or crouched position. I think that for a first bike is a bit posh. With Kona you'll pay more for a lesser specced bike, because of the name.

PhilthyPhil, the advantage of flat bar is that you always have your fingers near to the brake levers. For a noob they're probably easier to use. On drop bars you don't have brake levers on the flats or drops (unless you ride on the hoods) Cyclo-Cross has the best of both worlds.

Depending on the type of riding/commuting then I would look at these models, or types of bikes.


Commuter- Kona Smoke. Tough frame and wheels, guards and fittings for panniers. Steel frame and forks. Heavy and slow.
Hybrid- Cross between MTB and road bike. Slightly lighter frame, higher gearing, 700 tyres around 35mm.
Flat bar or proper road bike. 700x18-23mm tyres. Very light and nimble, but usually no fittings for guards or panniers. Some do have guards, check Ribble (go in the shop to buy one, don't buy online)
Cyclo-Cross, road bike with tougher frames, drop bars with flat brake levers, tougher wheelsets.
Tourer- great for higher milage, usually based on road bike but with steel frame and forks, relaxed riding position, fittings for guards and panniers.

There is a huge choice, more confusing as back when I started you could only get rigid MTB and road bike. Plus BMX's but those don't count:p

Since you're riding on canal paths, which can be quite bumpy, then I would probably look at road bike with 28-35mm tyres. Fit muguards otherwise you'll get filthy, and perhaps panniers if you need to carry loads.

My two bikes :)
giant-ocr1-montage.jpg


helium_the_frame.jpg
 
A hybrid is just fine for tracks and unpaved paths. Just dont take it through mud/grass/forests or actual mountain bike only type terrain. And dont do a drop off larger than a 8 inch street curb to ensure the longevity of your wheels and frame. And do it fairly slowly, not at full pace.

Regarding that Kona phd, that is basically a flat bar road bike. A fairly good spec for the price point as well. With the right tires, you could take it on paths off road, but I would go very gentle with it and avoid drop offs.

I think you should consider getting a cyclo-cross bike, swapping the wheels over for when you want to go from tarmac to bike paths, canal tow paths ect.

Btw when I went out mountain biking around fields and tracks (nothing technical) last spring, a fair amount of distance had to be covered on tarmac. Spinning heavily, I could hold ~22 mph whilst still having enough breath for a conversation for up to 5 miles. You'd be surprised how fast its possible to go on a MTB with not unreasonable tires (I used 2.1 semi-slicks with some tread on the edges and a solid pattern through the middle). Ofcourse it takes a considerable amount more effort to do than a high preassured, narrow tired road bike. Going any meaningful distance on a MTB is torturous on road but I have once done 55 miles on mine. For ferret faces purposes though, this is irrelevant. Get a cross bike. :)
 
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badbob said:
Shows what speed you get from a MTB. I do use big ring, 52 teeth. I can cruise at 18-22mph, and reach 30-35 no problem and hold that speed for a few miles.
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Not exactly a great claim to fame, bob.

No need to be so bloody rude to Alisdair, he's offering some friendly advice on an internet forum.
 
Can I get a cyclocross bike with flat bar handle bars?

The reason I ask is that I will also use it to commute in London and I think flat bars feel safer to me in traffic

Thanks

Ferret
 
I would have thought so. Ring/email evans cycles and see if they will do a custom for you. I doubt you'll find a cross bike with flat bars fitted as stock. Alternatively you could switch out the drop bar yourself (perhaps paying a LBS to do it for you?).

However you might want to just give drop bars a try. You get used to it and really the differences become very trivial once your past adapting.
 
platypus said:
Not exactly a great claim to fame, bob.

No need to be so bloody rude to Alisdair, he's offering some friendly advice on an internet forum.
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Exactly I could keep my brothers stumpjumper sitting at a minimum of 18mph and thats with 2.0 off road tyres.....hes got 1.5" tyres on it the now so i dont want to imagine how fast i could ride that!

I would go the mtb with thinner tyres route, if u want a mtb buy a mtb if you want to ride on road buy a proper road bike really is what i was told. I wouldnt go for a drop bar justnow though,start myself off on a flat bar roadie first.
 
Is that 18-22mph without even trying? Or pushing it?

I would have thought so. Ring/email evans cycles and see if they will do a custom for you. I doubt you'll find a cross bike with flat bars fitted as stock. Alternatively you could switch out the drop bar yourself (perhaps paying a LBS to do it for you?).
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Not worth it, talking half the groupset, brakes/levers...gonna cost a couple of hundred quid.
 
You don't need disc brakes for on road riding. Heavier although no rim wear. Also paying for the Cannondale name.
Gearing is MTB like, in other words loads of low gears you'll never use, unless you live in hilly areas.
Disc brakes will usually foul gurads and pannier mountings too.
 
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