Best general bike advice for average beginner?

[Andy in Sig]

I thought about this after looking a Bonj's thread on hybrids in P & L. A lot of beginners come on here asking what sort of bike they should get and a common recommendation is indeed a hybrid which, as far as I can see, is a racing bike with flat handle bars.

It seems to me that a racing bike (irrespective of handle bar type) is at one extreme end of the design spectrum much as a fully suspended heavy duty downhill bike is at the other. Therefore what sort of bike should be recommended to the average beginner or somebody returning to cycling, assuming that they specifically don't want to take up racing?

My default setting is always a tourer as they are fast, are designed to carry paniers or loads (makes them perfect for shopping/utility) are comfortable (especially steel framed ones) and can happily be driven on woodland paths, canal towpaths etc. Then there are other "town" bikes (for want of a better term) which also come with mudguards racks etc.

Does this seem a reasonable point of view, i.e. that tourers are most likely to please most beginners, most of the time?

 

[jimboalee]

Yes. Very reasonable.

I have been through this many times with works colleagues and friends.

Road race bikes and tourers differ in one important aspect.
Although one can convert a race bike to a 'sports tourer' as many Audax riders do, one would look damned silly converting a tourer into a race bike.

Reasons - Head angle, seat angle, chainstay length and fork rake.

Tourers have a shallower head and seat angle, and therefore require a longer chainstay. The head tube is generally parallel with the seat tube; and coupled with a greater fork rake, provides more stable steering.

Some race frames have 75 deg head angle and less than 40mm rake. Twitchy and not what the beginner wants. Requires experience to ride with phone in one hand and can of coke in the other, ala Claudio Chiapucci.

A tourer will have more like 73 or 72 deg head with 40mm rake, providing a much more stable roll and predictable steering.

I'm not sure about Hybrids. When they first apeared, they were frowned upon as a bike for those who couldn't make up their minds whether they were a MTB or a 'fuddy' tourist.

 

[mickle]

Hybrids (oh how I hate that name) are touring bikes with flat or riser bars and always have been. Touring bike geometry, clearance for 32+mm tyres & mudguards and eyelets prove this. The flat bar road bike is a relatively new sub-genre.

I agree that a touring bike may be the optimum beginners bike but you try finding an entry level touring bike in an actual bike shop. I haven't seen one for twenty years. The nearest thing is a touring bike with flat bars.

 

[Andy in Sig]

That explains a lot as the bikes which seem to be sold as hybrids in Germany look more like racers with flat bars (maybe I haven't looked closely enough). Don't Edinburgh Cycles do something resembling an entry level touring bike?

 

[mickle]

It's a shame that inexpensive touring bikes are not more common (don't know about the Edinburgh one). At one point a decade or so ago I think only Dawes had one in their range, the Horizon.

I think most bike shops have lost the ability to size drop bar bikes properly.
Flat bars do give more control in traffic so a 'flat bar tourer' or hibreed makes more sense to more people. A city bike.

 

[Andy in Sig]

I've just had a look at the Edinburch Bicycles website and they do their own brand Revolution County Traveller for 450 quid, which I seem to remember got a good review somewhere. That however is perhaps a bit more than a lot of people are willing to spend on a first bike.

 

[wafflycat]

My first bit of general advice would be to get a bike that fits.

Second - yes, I think tourers are a good all-rounder. In my 'stable' I've got a tourer (Bianchi San Remo), a hybrid (Raleigh Pioneer Trail c.1989), a 'race' road bike (Bianchi Via Nirone) and a recumbent trike (IceT). The bike I use most often and do the most miles on is the tourer. It's just so versatile. It takes me into town to do a spot of shopping, it takes me on day rides for leisure, it takes me on cycle tour holidays. This bike I love so much (and it was bought second-hand) that now it's quite a few years old and looking a bit shabby, rather than ditch it, it's been refurbished (Mercian respray jobbie on frame & forks) and with a bit of luck & TLC from MrW (who is an excellent bike mechanic), it'll last me a lifetime.

 

[Sittingduck]

I had been looking at the Dawes Horizon and managed to find one brand new on eBay for £350. Has anyone had much experience of them?

 

[jimboalee]

Dawes Horizon are a fine 'Beginners' bike. Steady and sturdy.

AND, it makes you look like you've been cycling for years.

 

[Sittingduck]

Yeah they seem nice... if a tad suited to the older style riders!

Cheers jimboalee

 

[Randochap]

There seems to be a bit of confusion about what constitutes a "hybrid" as well as a "sport tourer."

I own two sport tourers that I use for Audax, or randonneurring, as we prefer, so I'll start there.

The sport tourer has much different geometry to either the racer or full on tourer.

The sport tourer has extra clearance under the brake bridges, permitting the use of mudguards and marginally larger tyres, while still using caliper brakes. It has longer stays and eyelets and braze ons for rack and mudguard stays.

Here are two examples: #1 -- #2

You can see (and read) that #2 has even greater clearance, using 57mm long-reach brakes. I had it built specifically to fit 28mm and up tyres w/ mudguards.

The so-called hybrid -- what is really just a city bike -- is another animal altogether. Unless it is (just to confuse things) a "sport hybrid", the vast majority come with tyres in the realm of 32-35mm and low gearing akin to the MTB. Most are mass-produced aluminum frames, made in Taiwan or Vietnam. They will be spec'd with the usual Shimano groups, starting at Acera, or Alivio MTB components.

It is not a simple thing to throw drop bars on a hybrid, because, of course, one would need to switch out shifters/gear levers.

This is not to say that people don't press inappropriate bicycles into service for jobs they weren't intended to do. Indeed, I've seen racing bikes at brevets (especially in Europe), but it doesn't mean their owners wouldn't be more comfortable and just as fast on machines designed for the job.

 

[jimboalee]

To quote Evans Cycles

"Hybrids combine all the sexy bits of mountain bike construction with a more practical road set-up for easier cycling. Hybrid bikes have really come to the forefront with the recent increase in urban and commuter cycling. Were sure to have the bike to match your needs."

 

[Willow]

What we need is a flow chart which leads us newbies to the right bike for our needs. All these words are just too much.

 

[Sittingduck]

But that's all part of the fun Willow

 

[louise]

I wouldn't stretch it that far I have been trying to choose a bike for weeks I keep picking a bike then I see another bike and think hmmmm what about that one.

For example I was set on a giant city 3.0 but now i have seen the Trek T30 aarrgghh