Advice for a newbie - £300 to spend

[JohnD]

Hi All,

I'm new to the forum- sorry if this is the wrong place.

Basically I had been commuting 8 miles each way to work and back a few days a week since june. I bought myself a nice new Ridgeback cyclone (XL) form the Evans warehouse sale...

All was good, until some scumbag stole the wheels/rear gear when I locked up the frame as I have to rush back to my flat to get something...

Long storey short, cost nearly as much as the bike to replace the wheels/tyres/tubes/gear/pins etc.. and insurance are sending me the money for a new one (£300 Evans voucher which i cannot use on sale stock or £280 odd cash)

What would you guys reccomend? I need an XL frame, assuming I cannot afford a road bike. Too much to choose from online!

I liked the cyclone because of its speediness! (for a hybrid)


Also... I have an XL ridgeback cyclone frame+pedals+saddle+bars etc... sitting in my small flat... what should I do with it? If I bought new wheels etc... it wouldn't be worth that 2nd hand! (bit of a scrape on rear of frame due to a fall)

 

[cyberknight]

Depends what you want from your bike.....

If you do not mind getting a bike from halfords (take it to the LBS afterwards for correct set up )

You can get carrera vituosso for £339 and they got a cracking review on in cycle plus , in fact they placed in top for the price point.

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_272625_langId_-1_categoryId_165710.

Compact chain set,mudguard / rack points the only thing i would change is some decent tyres as i know a bloke with one says they are a bit thin,mind you i think he gets pinch punctures cos he doesnt blow them up enough

 

[coolchris]

Hi. I have about the same money to spend, well about £250, but dont want a truely roadbike, as I will be doing both on and offroad, so maybe a hybrid or rigid mountain bike?
See, I have only just started reading about the different bikes, but a great allrounder is really what I am after.
Cheers.

 

[cyberknight]

Its kind of hard to give advice based on purely a few sentences and without knowing your fitness/route/ etc etc so do not take anythign i say as gospel.

At £250 price point you will be struggling to get a really good bike new and maybe you should consider a second hand one if you know what to look for.But then if your new to cycling? you may not.

found this........

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/trek/3700-2009-mountain-bike-ec001556

and try a read of this .......

http://www.bonthronebikes.co.uk/help/bike-buyer-guide

I am hoping that some others with more information will post as my knowledge of brands is small compared to the vets on here and i only can comment on what i have experienced inthe last year and half of commuting.

If would personally not buy a bike online unless i was real sure it was what i wanted, maybe a local bike shop has advice and you can test drive some bikes before you splash your cash

 

[WickfordWheels]

CoolChris - There's always the sport one road bike from decathalon at £269 - I've looked at these in store and they look good for the money:

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/sport-1-54-57-69567468/

or if you want a real cheapie theres the lamborghini hybrid, see my blog for a review.

To JohnD - how about selling the parts on ebay and putting the money towards the new bike?

 

[JohnD]

Thanks guys, Insurance confirmed they are sending me £350 evans vouchers. Will stretch to £400 so I am tempted by a Specialized Sirrus or a Scott sub 40... any recommendations at that price pt (from Evans)

I need to look into breaking... am I best off removing handlebars, gears and brake stuff and selling separatly?

 

[g00se]

Will the Evans vouchers go with their current sale bikes - or is it RRP only?

 

[coolchris]

Thanks for the info guys. Whilst looking at the Lambo on Amazon, I came across this:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cross-Crossbow-52cm-Urban-speed/dp/B002GPFA3Y/ref=pd_rhf_shvl_5

What do you reckon? Seems OK to me.

 

[The Jogger]

sirrus

 

[coolchris]

sirrus

Sorry, I dont understand

 

[WickfordWheels]

Sorry, I dont understand

I didn't understand that either...

Friend of mine was tempted to buy the Cross Crossbow, looks like a very nice bike.

 

[JohnD]

they say full price stock, but I can be persuasive.... rules are there to be broken.

 

[Paulus]

This time of the year some of the bigger stores such as Evans and Halfrauds will be open to a bit of hagling. There may be some 2009 bikes left over which will be discounted as next years stock will be in.

 

[coolchris]

Hi all. After a lot of deliberating, I reckon that I could plunge for the Dawes Discovery 301 at £300 approx. Not really seen a bad review of it, they all seem to be positive. Wonder if I could try haggling for some accessories thrown in?

 

[Lazy-Commuter]

This time of the year some of the bigger stores such as Evans and Halfrauds will be open to a bit of hagling. There may be some 2009 bikes left over which will be discounted as next years stock will be in.

Right enough, but watch out for H******ds set up .. with the rush for Christmas bikes being bought for the kids, and pressure to get 100+ bikes per day assembled and out the store, their staff are even more rushed than normal.