Beginner Bike - Torn between Local Shop and Online

[biggs682]

Thanks for all the replies. Am heading down to my local shop this evening and hopefully will get something sorted.

Will test out both Hybrid and Road again.

Appreciate all the responses

Don't forget to let us know how you get on

Why not ask them if they have any ex demo bikes for sale and that way you will be saving money

 

[netman]

I'm going to be different here - I'd advise that you'll get much better value online. Something like the Planet-X London Road is a perfect commuter, and as long as you get the size right, there's nothing to fear in ordering online. I'd also say you're right to want something that looks good to you... that equals wanting to ride it more, which is a big deal! Good luck, you're gonna love cycling!

 

[Reynard]

I'm going to be different here - I'd advise that you'll get much better value online. Something like the Planet-X London Road is a perfect commuter, and as long as you get the size right, there's nothing to fear in ordering online. I'd also say you're right to want something that looks good to you... that equals wanting to ride it more, which is a big deal! Good luck, you're gonna love cycling!

Which is fine if it's an experienced cyclist who knows exactly what they are looking for in a new bike.

For a beginner who knows almost nothing about bikes and isn't entirely sure what they need, the ability to walk into a shop and try things out, ask questions and learn a little outstrips by far the monetary savings made by buying online. Better going to a shop than ending up making an expensive mistake.

 

[tom73]

I'm going to be different here - I'd advise that you'll get much better value online. Something like the Planet-X London Road is a perfect commuter, and as long as you get the size right, there's nothing to fear in ordering online. I'd also say you're right to want something that looks good to you... that equals wanting to ride it more, which is a big deal! Good luck, you're gonna love cycling!

+1 for london Rd has all you need , great tyre clearance , is happy on and off the road. Love mine great fun to ride close up it looks even better.
Buying from a shop is fine if they have what you want and you have the service to match. When I 1st went looking the latter was hard to find. Do your homework and buying on line is not problem.

You can save on the postage with planet X by going to the warehouse and with help building it yourself. If this is practical maybe something you'd like to do. Which would give you best of both and learn a few things along the way.

In the end go with one that fit's , will do all you want from a bike and one you will want to ride and makes you smile.

Good luck.

 

[jay clock]

You're overthinking this way too much. By your own admission, you are a novice cyclist, yet you are going into the minutiae of things like 105 groupsets and carbon frames! Your list of "requirements" in terms of spec is pointless because you have nothing to compare them with. I've been riding bikes for many years and none of mine have 105 or disc brakes, and none are carbon framed either. Strictly steel only, and rim braked. No-one "needs" discs any more than anyone "needs" Tiagra as a minimum. It's all marketing spin. What you do REALLY need as a commuter above all else, is a bike that will still be where you parked it in the morning, when you come back to it at the end of the day to go home on! So lose the vanity attitude and forget about anything expensive/pretty/bling and instead go for something that looks dull/boring/scruffy/worthless, so it is not remotely attractive to bike thieves. That way you stand the best chance of being able to ride home rather than have to walk because your bike has gone missing......

Once you've mitigated theft risk, the next things are durability and practicality. Some (super-fit) people will tell you to commute on a stripped down fixie/single speed because it offers a "pure" cycling experience and minimal maintenance. Ignore them. Someone like you needs a good range of low gears. I'd suggest you get a bike equipped with a 28/38/48T triple front chainring. That means an old rigid MTB, Hybrid, or Tourer in practice, not a weekend warrior's road bike. You also need the ability to run decent stout comfortable tyres AND have mudguards on at the same time. A lot of bikes can only fit sensible tyres if run guard-less, and if guards are fitted the size that will fit drops down by several mm. It's bonkers to even consider any bike without decent tyre clearance for utility riding all year round. You also need proper, puncture resistant tyres like Schwalbe Marathons if you don't want to be late for work because of flats. Tyres with a high level of puncture resistance tend to be taller than lightweight roadie tyres, and so limit mudguard/frame clearance more still. Much of the UK's roads and canal paths have one thing in common, the surface is in poor condition and can be rough. Forget narrow high pressure tyres, go for 32 or 35mm as a minimum..

A lot of modern road bikes do not have provision for racks and guards, because they are designed with appearance in mind, not practicality. Years ago, clubmen's sports bikes did have these features, because they were often ridden all-year round, or to get to work on in the week, as well as weekends. Cyclists were practical then. Many modern roadies are way too vain to even have mudguards mounts let alone actual mudguards on their bikes! Leave them to pose in their Lycra, and get yourself a practical flat bar hybrid or drop-bar touring type machine. Secondhand is way better value than buying new, sometimes you can pick up really nice bikes for literally a tenth or less than their original cost - which can be very low mileage, having spent years in someone's garage not even getting ridden and worn out.

Lots of very good comments but my experience is that discs are a massive improvement in braking and cleanliness on a winter or commute bike. Certainly not marketing spin.

 

[vickster]

@tom73 The OP is in the SE, unlikely to want to travel to a PX warehouse ‘up north’. Time and travel costs alone would negate any apparent cost saving!

 

[vickster]

Lots of very good comments but my experience is that discs are a massive improvement in braking and cleanliness on a winter or commute bike. Certainly not marketing spin.

For him, any development in tech since the 50s is marketing spin

 

[DCBassman]

I would also say that Shimano's lower groupsets are fine, and all you 'lose' is a few grams' extra weight. Right down to Altus, Acera and Alivio, they all just work.
The fit is the all-important thing.

 

[rivers]

As most others have said, go to a local shop, preferably one with a good reputation. Only you can decide if you want hybrid or drop bar by test riding a few of each. I commute on a carbon 105 equipped road bike if the weather is nice, and an aluminium tiagra with hydraulic discs equipped cyclocross bike (similar to a road, but built for a bit of light off roading) when the weather is grimy. IMHO, hydraulic discs are worth there weight in gold when the weather is wet. Rim brakes can be downright frightening in the really wet. If there is anything you need to have on a bike that's going to be used in all weathers, it's hydraulic disc brakes. The ability to have full mudguards is nice, but the SKS raceblade pro xls are decent clip on guards, but not as good as full guards if you don't have mounts (or in my case I just don't want full mudguards on all the time).
I'm more of a backpack commuter, but I don't need to take much to work, and have a variety of types of on bike luggage if I need to take more.

 

[Leaway2]

For 1500 i would be looking to buy 2 bikes! Check the weight. I am not saying you should be a weight weeny, but as a new rider, you dont want to be lugging a heavy bike.
Perhaps,
https://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/ribble-hybrid-al-black-commuter-summer-sale/

Edit: A few other musings
Groupsets, don't stress, Claris is solid. A cassette and chain is considerably cheaper for these, and you will need to replace them.
It doesn't rain as much people think. I commute every day in Manchester, noted for rain, and vary rarely get wet.
Learn how it all works. It will save you money.

 

[hysq]

I've found this thread just after I posted a fairly similar query (sorry!). To the people recommending independent stores, I would say I was all for them but have had rubbish experiences visiting two near me which had excellent reviews on google. Despite being open and honest about being a novice and needing advice, I was very much left to my own devices and got the feeling my questions were frustrating. I was hoping there and then to price up a whole shopping list to apply for my cycle to work voucher to spend in their shops but left thinking I'd just look online after doing some research. Maybe my face didn't fit!