£80 or £280 range - does it really matter?

[cyberknight]

Hi. Thank you all so much. I will check out Decathlon. I am not looking for a bike that I can sell on, just something safe and reliable that will last a few years and allow me to go out with my daughter as she grows up / becomes a more confident rider.

It is nice to have so many of you give advice - wish I found this site a few weeks ago when I started looking, would have saved me so much time. When I was younger I remember my parents taking me to a local bike shop and I had a selection of about three bikes to pick from. There are just so many different bikes out there now with different features - it's a minefield!

Last and only bike my parents bought me i had a choice of a racer with down tube shifters and a 5 speed gears or a grifter , the grifter won

 

[midlife]

@biggs682 on here might have something. Sound as a pound as they say

 

[biggs682]

Thanks @midlife

@atmosworld at the moment the only bikes i have for sale at the moment are retro road bikes and looking at your previous postings on this thread thats not what you are looking for .

My suggestion would be an early 90's non suspension mtb from a decent brand Like Marin , Saracen , Giant or Trek to name just a few and fit some good road style tyres rather than knobbly ones

Not sure where you are based but if local to Wellingborough then feel free to get in contact for any further help

 

[NorthernDave]

Don't automatically discount Halfords - yes, the Apollo range is pretty dire, but the Carrera Subway hybrids are regularly cited on here as a good choice at the price point and sound like they'll be a good match for your needs.

A bike that only costs £80 brand new from a shop is likely to be a disappointment.

 

[Reynard]

+1 for either Decathlon or for a good used bike. Halfords can be hit and miss in terms of service (I'm lucky, two out of my three local branches are good), but their bikes are actually pretty decent once you rule out the bargain basement BSO.

A really cheap bike is more trouble than it's worth. Others have already mentioned the componentry made of cheese, but cheap bikes are heavy. Really heavy. Combine the two and it makes cycling a chore. Which kind of defeats the point.

Most important thing is to find a bike, that as well as doing what you want it to do, puts a smile on your face when you ride it.

 

[User16625]

+1 for either Decathlon or for a good used bike. Halfords can be hit and miss in terms of service (I'm lucky, two out of my three local branches are good), but their bikes are actually pretty decent once you rule out the bargain basement BSO.

A really cheap bike is more trouble than it's worth. Others have already mentioned the componentry made of cheese, but cheap bikes are heavy. Really heavy. Combine the two and it makes cycling a chore. Which kind of defeats the point.

Most important thing is to find a bike, that as well as doing what you want it to do, puts a smile on your face when you ride it.

Not to mention potentially dangerous. Halfords sell bikes where the brakes are woefully inadequate. How on Earth can any company get away with selling such products beggars belief. One would think there is minimum standards.

One important check to make is that the brakes should provide decent power before the levers touch the bars. If the levers have been pulled as far as they can go and you're still moving, leave the bike and F.O outta there.

 

[nickyboy]

For tootling around with your daughter you don't need anything fancy at all. Any bike will do

Decathlon bikes are well made but have a look on ebay for one of them second hand. There will be loads listed and they will be cheap and fine for your purposes

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

Apollo is heavy, cheap & nasty.
It is true that you get what you pay for. A £100 bike will not last.

Only up to a point; a lot of Apollos are indeed heavy, cheap & nasty - principally the ones built with low quality suspension forks or even worse, full suspension. The ones without any suspension - rigids, can make a perfectly acceptable low-budget bike. I use an old Apollo rigid MTB as a local hack. It must be about 25 years old, and I've spent less than £10 on it in total. Everything works and it gets me from A to B. It is fairly heavy at about 34 lbs, but then it's a cheap steel bike not something exotic made with Reynolds tubing - so I don't expect it to be light. It's best attribute is that it's not really worth stealing, and if some junkie did nick it I've only lost ten quid. It's not true to say that a £100 bike will not last, as mine clearly has lasted, so that is too simplistic a statement. It depends entirely on what sort of £100 bike it is. Some are utter junk, some are just budget quality but entirely useable bikes. The trick is to ignore the blingy looking junk with cheap chrome and flashy paint and go for the unexciting but solid type of budget bike without suspension.

Another vote for decathlon here as being great value for money for a "proper" bike.

Something like this might fit the bill:

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/riverside-100-hybrid-bike-id_8405298.html

A bit more expensive, but also nicer is this (comes with traditional flat bars or racing drop bars):

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-100-flat-bar-road-bike-id_8500949.html

However, if you're prepared to bide your time, £80 could get you something reasonably good second hand. Older 1990s 26" rigid forked mountain bikes often go for a song on ebay/gumtree and can make nice road going bikes if you change the inevitable knobby tyres for slicks. .

If I was in the market for a budget NEW general purpose bike I too would buy a flat bar Riverside or Triban from Decathlon. I don't think there is anything better value available, and Decathlon are a reputable retailer.

However, I don't really "do" new bikes, much preferring the more attractive style and better value you get from old school secondhand steel bikes. As Chris says, you will not beat a 90's 26" rigid MTB for value or practicality. 1990's 700c hybrids are also a good used buy, especially the Raleigh Pioneer. Old Ridgebacks are also decent.
To me, £80 is more than enough to buy a really nice used bike. I look to pay no more than about £20 secondhand and I've still got bikes with Reynolds 501/531 frames for that, which were certainly not cheap machines when they were new.

 

[nickyboy]

Just get something like this off eBay

It'll be fine for tootling around. Why spend more than necessary?

 

[oldfatfool]

You wanna be looking at what you get on the bike for your budget. Like a good group set or brakes. Those brands you have mentioned will never have good quality items on them.
.

I don't know my ridgeback managed to stop with 30 kg of panniers on it descending the odd alp

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

I don't know my ridgeback managed to stop with 30 kg of panniers on it descending the odd alp

The Ridgeback clearly isn't in the BSO category, which is how I read the implication of the previous comment you were responding to. Components don't have to be super-expensive to work, they just need sufficient quality not to bend or break in use. For example, Shimano Tourney is fitted to millions of budget hybrids and MTB's the world over. It doesn't look pretty, it isn't the most refined gearchange, but it works OK and if you don't bash it up, it keeps working.
I tend to look at build features rather than brands at the budget end. The other day, I spotted a pair of identical 700c commuter type hybrids locked to adjacent cycle racks. Two different budget brands, exactly the same actual bike. Mass produced in the same far-east factory no doubt, with decals stuck on to suit the retailer selling them. A commodity.

 

[Illaveago]

Hi and .

It can be a bit of a minefield . Have you noticed anyone who has commented that is living in your area who may be able to you to decide ?

There does seem to be some bargains for sale on the internet . I recently bought one which I am very happy with now once I had cleaned it .
What I have discovered is that pictures can be very misleading . Both the bike I bought and another bike which I went to see looked totally different in the flesh .
Good luck in your search .

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

It can be a bit of a minefield . Have you noticed anyone who has commented that is living in your area who may be able to you to decide ?

There does seem to be some bargains for sale on the internet . I recently bought one which I am very happy with now once I had cleaned it .
What I have discovered is that pictures can be very misleading . .

If you set a low budget and stick to it you minimise the potential for getting your fingers burnt by a pile of junk. Low priced stuff tends to be more honestly described as well, it's the sellers trying to big up a piece of scrap for an inflated price you really need to be wary of. There are plenty of used bargains out there and the more vague the descriptions and pictures are, the bigger the potential bargain. Some people really don't help themselves by posting blurry pictures lacking detail and unhelpful descriptions that don't mention important details, or give incorrect sizes etc. It puts off many potential buyers which reduces competition and results in low winning bids. You get the best bargains by taking calculated risks.

 

[Illaveago]

If you set a low budget and stick to it you minimise the potential for getting your fingers burnt by a pile of junk. Low priced stuff tends to be more honestly described as well, it's the sellers trying to big up a piece of scrap for an inflated price you really need to be wary of. There are plenty of used bargains out there and the more vague the descriptions and pictures are, the bigger the potential bargain. Some people really don't help themselves by posting blurry pictures lacking detail and unhelpful descriptions that don't mention important details, or give incorrect sizes etc. It puts off many potential buyers which reduces competition and results in low winning bids. You get the best bargains by taking calculated risks.

The risk I took was as to the size of frame as it wasn't stated . A bit of a guess by using the headbadge as a guide suggested that the frame size was within my tolerance, but it turned out smaller than I thought . It still fits though and is nice to ride .
The wheels turned out to be 27 inch alloys which was good, alloy bars , stem and cranks would have all cost more if I had bought them separately .
It has turned out to be a good buy and one that I enjoy riding .

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

The risk I took was as to the size of frame as it wasn't stated . A bit of a guess by using the headbadge as a guide suggested that the frame size was within my tolerance, but it turned out smaller than I thought . It still fits though and is nice to ride ..

If you're talking about a conventional mens triangulated frame with a horizontal top tube, you can usually guesstimate the frame size to the nearest inch by looking at how tall the head tube is, how long the wheelbase is, and where the top of the seat tube stops in relation to the height of the back tyre. It's not an exact science, but I can tell accurately enough if a frame is in the 22 1/2"-23 1/2" range I'm ideally looking for regardless of what info the seller posts, or omits to post, about the sizing.