# looking to cycle my way slim which bike



## paul870 (2 May 2009)

Hi All

New to cycling. I am 19 stone at the moment 42 years old. I am looking at a bike for weight loss and fitness. I have a budget of £150-£250 to spend. i will be mainly cycling on the road, Was thinking of hybrid. Any help would be very appreciated.

Cheers Paul


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## punkypossum (2 May 2009)

Carrera Subway - but it does involve H**fords...


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## Steve Austin (2 May 2009)

punkypossum said:


> Carrera Subway -



I would agree with that.


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## ASC1951 (2 May 2009)

paul870 said:


> I am looking at a bike for weight loss and fitness.


Lots of bikes for that budget, although I would go for the top end of your range if you can: it's like a bottle of wine, where the cost of advertising, packing, delivering and duty are the same so if you pay £4 instead of £3 you are actually paying twice as much for the contents.

Decathlon are very good value for bikes if you have one near you.

If you are looking to lose weight, controlling the amount you eat is far more important than trying to exercise it away afterwards; I do bags of exercise by normal standards and am still a little porker.

In theory you want the slowest, heaviest most rubbish bike you can get, because that is the hardest work.  In fact get the best you can, otherwise you will hate riding it. Give it a year and you will be lighter, fitter and happier. You will then be posting "Recommend me a £750 road bike for 80 mile rides" and I'm afraid it's downhill with the rest of us from then on....


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## eldudino (2 May 2009)

I started in the high 19 stones (now mid-17's ) and bought a sport-hybrid like this 






Which is great for my commute and the odd bit of bridleway riding I do but slightly heavy as a long-range bike. If I were to buy again I'd definitely go for a road bike. I've heard good things about the Decathalon bikes, the Sport 2 




was on sale recently, there still may be some left or the Sport 1 is about £250. If you're going to do road riding and want something that you can 'grow into' in terms of your fitness I'd recommend a road bike. If someone had told me that when I was buying my bike I'd have been really daunted but I kind of wish I'd gone for one now that I'm addicted to going further and faster!


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## potsy (2 May 2009)

paul870 said:


> Hi All
> 
> New to cycling. I am 19 stone at the moment 42 years old. I am looking at a bike for weight loss and fitness. I have a budget of £150-£250 to spend. i will be mainly cycling on the road, Was thinking of hybrid. Any help would be very appreciated.
> 
> Cheers Paul



Welcome Paul. New to this myself so can't offer too much advice on which bike to buy, If it's any help I bought a Trek 7.1fx hybrid £300 and does the job for me. have lost 18lbs this year about 8 of that since I started commuting 2-3 times per week,plan to lose another 15-20lbs by end of the year.


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## Rezillo (2 May 2009)

punkypossum said:


> Carrera Subway - but it does involve H**fords...



I'd second that from my own experience. The gearing is ideal for getting started on and the frame is fine if you're heavy. 

As your fitness builds up and your weight goes down, you will find that you're always cycling in the smallest gear on the cassette and wearing it out and then you start looking at other bikes, but that's how it goes!

John


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## paul870 (2 May 2009)

After looking on halfords website i found this. Please help me choose

this

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_709757_langId_-1_categoryId_165534

or this

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_240361_langId_-1_categoryId_165534

Thanks for the replys 
Paul


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## punkypossum (2 May 2009)

That is a hard choice - they are both identical!


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## paul870 (2 May 2009)

paul870 said:


> After looking on halfords website i found this. Please help me choose
> 
> this
> 
> ...



link updated sorry for that


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## punkypossum (2 May 2009)

The subway, definitely!!!


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## Sittingduck (2 May 2009)

punkypossum said:


> The subway, definitely!!!



^What the possum said


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## punkypossum (2 May 2009)

Cause possums are always right!


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## Ivan Ardon (2 May 2009)

Don't be seduced by the £30 saving with the Raleigh, it's cheap for a reason - it's rubbish. Wheras the Subway is a good bike, cheap.


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## Speicher (2 May 2009)

eldudino said:


> I started in the high 19 stones (now mid-17's ) and bought a sport-hybrid like this
> 
> 
> 
> ...




I have been following this thread, as I also need to cycle myself thin.  (to lose about three stone). 

I have looked on the Decathlon website and the Sport is called b'Twin. Is this a brand name that might be on sale elsewhere. My nearest Decathlon is not remotely easy to get to, and also they do not list a Sport 1 Ladies.

I would not want to spend two lots of £300 approx inside two years. 
Would it be better to get a second hand hybrid, as I know somewhere to get second hand, serviced, roadworthy bikes, which you can return within one month if they are not right. Then save up for a "better" ie lighter bike?

Is a sport-hybrid different from a hybrid? Thank you for your help.


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## twosquarewheels (2 May 2009)

The Btwin is Decathlons own brand, get yourself up to the Merry Hill tomorrow, they open at 11am and have a look at what they have to offer. Halfords is down outside the main shopping centre so you can look at the Carrera, Boardmans, Gts etc.


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## Rezillo (2 May 2009)

Speicher said:


> I have been following this thread, as I also need to cycle myself thin.  (to lose about three stone).
> 
> I would not want to spend two lots of £300 approx inside two years.
> Would it be better to get a second hand hybrid, as I know somewhere to get second hand, serviced, roadworthy bikes, which you can return within one month if they are not right. Then save up for a "better" ie lighter bike?



£250 for a years use that shifts your weight and adds years to your life for around four pounds a week is a bargain. Actually, it's less than that because if you move upmarket, you can sell your old bike - I had no problems selling my Subway 1. 

Yes, you can go secondhand but I can assure you that whatever bike you buy now, if you stick with it, in a year's time you will want a different one. It is then that you can start making a serious financial commitment because you'll have a much clearer idea of just what type of cycling you will want to continue with.

When I started out, I had an idea of doing a mix of off-road and on-road biking. Well, I've never done any off-road biking since and I'll probably never will. If I had spent a lot of money on what looked to be a suitable bike at the outset then I would have wasted it. As it was, 250 quid on the Subway got me hooked. At the time I thought that was a lot of money for a bike but you soon realise it's an entry level price and for the benefits it brings you, it's really peanuts.

If you're looking to lose three stone, you'll spend more than that on new clothes - it doesn't take long for it to sink in that there is not one set of clothes for your current weight and one for your goal weight - you'll have at least a couple of changes in between as well. That will be everything - coats, jackets, shirts, trousers the lot. For my four stone, I even went down two shoe sizes as my flat feet got their arches back.

John


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## Speicher (2 May 2009)

I agree Rezillo that whatever bike I purchase now, I would probably want a different one in twelve months, according the the terrain I prefer. I think I should get cycling somehow, and in twelve months I would know what sort of bike to purchase. 

As for clothes, I have kept the ones that are now too small , and as they are not fashionable items, they should still be wearable as I reduce in size. Therefore the money I would have spent on clothes, could be spent on a bicycle. 

I will keep an eagle  eye out for a second hand Subway.


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## eldudino (2 May 2009)

Speicher said:


> I agree Rezillo that whatever bike I purchase now, I would probably want a different one in twelve months, according the the terrain I prefer. I think I should get cycling somehow, and in twelve months I would know what sort of bike to purchase.
> 
> As for clothes, I have kept the ones that are now too small , and as they are not fashionable items, they should still be wearable as I reduce in size. Therefore the money I would have spent on clothes, could be spent on a bicycle.
> 
> I will keep an eagle  eye out for a second hand Subway.



Looking again at Rezillo and your conv. I think that's probably the best idea. I've had my Trek for 2 years now and though I love it, I _really_ want a road bike so maybe my response was a tad biased! My bike is quite similar to the subway, though having ridden one, the Trek is a bit lighter. From what I've seen, sport hybrids tend to have a more focussed riding position though I do admit I had to change it for a more relaxed one however I'm now going back to the original - all weight on the front end riding position as I get fitter. To be honest as a bike that can do most things, including some light off-roading and long on-road rides, a sportier hybrid is the way I'd go again.

Unless I had enough money for a Colnago!!!


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## Rezillo (2 May 2009)

Speicher said:


> As for clothes, I have kept the ones that are now too small , and as they are not fashionable items, they should still be wearable as I reduce in size.



If I had kept my old clothes, I could now get a walk-on part in Ashes to Ashes 

John


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## vernon (3 May 2009)

paul870 said:


> Hi All
> 
> New to cycling. I am 19 stone at the moment 42 years old. I am looking at a bike for weight loss and fitness. I have a budget of £150-£250 to spend. i will be mainly cycling on the road, Was thinking of hybrid. Any help would be very appreciated.
> 
> Cheers Paul



A hybrid or a similar configuration - street bikes; is a good idea for a first bike as they have low gearing the will ease the pain of your first hills. 

If you hit it off with cycling, you'll probably want to change bikes within a year so I'd not be too hung up about getting things totally right first time round.

The Carrera Subway is a sound bike. My son had one before it was stolen. It's got bulletproof wheels and decent components. I think that it will meet your needs.

The Decathlon b'Twin Riverside 3, on first impression, looks like tremendous value for money. It comes with dynamo lighting, a rear rack and mudguards making the bike an all weather 24/7 machine for no additional expense.
http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/riverside-5-men-s-49820112/


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## colessurfer (3 May 2009)

*hi paul*

I am 43 and started cycling 4 weeks ago, I started at 16-7 and am now 15-9, I believe cycling helped but ditched kebab meat and ta chips and other fatty foods, Its boring to start with but it does motivate you when you get on the scales. I started slowly 9 mile rides that nearly killed me, now I do 16.5 miles very other night and yeserday did my second 30 miler this cycling is addictive you will lose weight but you have to control diet. hope this helps 
dave


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## Madcyclist (3 May 2009)

I agree that the Decathlon Riverside looks a good purchase. I started riding again in June last year at 17st 4lbs I'm already down to 10st 7lbs. I started on a Giant SCR 3, 50 cm frame but after 750 uncomfortable miles purchased a Pearson Touche fixed gear road bike. If you intend to ride predominantly on road then I would suggest going for a road bike that that takes guards and rack with a compact treble chainring to give you granny gears to start with.

I started slowly for the first few months, building up from a couple of commuting days a week to everday. At the moment I can't get enough of it, I get withdrawal symptoms the minute a ride ends !!!


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## Sittingduck (3 May 2009)

Madcyclist said:


> I agree that the Decathlon Riverside looks a good purchase. *I started riding again in June last year at 17st 4lbs I'm already down to 10st 7lbs.* I started on a Giant SCR 3, 50 cm frame but after 750 uncomfortable miles purchased a Pearson Touche fixed gear road bike. If you intend to ride predominantly on road then I would suggest going for a road bike that that takes guards and rack with a compact treble chainring to give you granny gears to start with.
> 
> I started slowly for the first few months, building up from a couple of commuting days a week to everday. At the moment I can't get enough of it, I get withdrawal symptoms the minute a ride ends !!!



Respec 
Have you altered your diet much Madcyclist? Thats some loss!

Well done,
SD


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