SkipdiverJohn
Deplorable Brexiteer
- Location
- London
Keep well clear of those models with suspension forks. They are nothing more than a gimmick designed to entice the unwary buyer, and will be of low quality at that price point.
Buying 2 bikes - any advice appreciated!!
- Thread starter Rapscallion
- Start date
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True, stay clear, unless you want a mountain bike, and a decent suspension
fork will be 400.00 on its own.
When you settle on a bike, look at their sizing chart, and see how your measurements
compare to that models sizing chart.
Rapscallion
Member
Thanks for all the input everyone. Now just gotta wait until I can actually go and test some!
SkipdiverJohn
Deplorable Brexiteer
- Location
- London
I think that the need to test ride bikes is vastly overstated, TBH. I have bought a number of bikes over the years but have not test ridden a single one of them before purchase. The most I have ever done is swing a leg over them to ensure I can comfortably straddle the crossbar without any painful experiences. When you've ridden and owned aa few bikes you get an idea of what sizing fits, and in the case of conventional frames with horizontal top tubes, if you can stand over the frame comfortably with your feet flat on the ground then the bike will basically fit, even if you have to tweak the saddle position or change the length of the stem to fine tune it.
How a bike will feel and handle can be predicted with a fair degree of accuracy by looking at the actual frame angles, the wheelbase, and any available geometry charts. I have never yet ridden a short wheelbase bike with steep-ish angles that felt ponderous, or ridden a long slack geometry frame that felt twitchy. Most mass market hybrid style machines will be pretty middling and benign to ride, as the manufacturers play it safe to appeal to a wide variety of riders. Tyres can make a noticeable difference, even in identical sizes.
How a bike will feel and handle can be predicted with a fair degree of accuracy by looking at the actual frame angles, the wheelbase, and any available geometry charts. I have never yet ridden a short wheelbase bike with steep-ish angles that felt ponderous, or ridden a long slack geometry frame that felt twitchy. Most mass market hybrid style machines will be pretty middling and benign to ride, as the manufacturers play it safe to appeal to a wide variety of riders. Tyres can make a noticeable difference, even in identical sizes.
Notafettler
Guest
Onion soup powder mix
Rapscallion
Member
Opinions on this one?
http://calibrebicycles.com/bike/stitch/
Can pick it up for £312 (including a cashback deal) brand new. The others I've had my eye on are:
Trek FX 2 Disc
Marin Fairfax 2
Giant Escape 2 Disc
Merida Crossway Urban 20/40 (hard to find stock in my size)
Ridgeback Vanteo 2020
I'd need to spend an extra £100 minimum to pick up on from that list. Is the Calibre a significantly inferior bike?
Must add I don't want the faff of upgrading certain parts as I want to ride off the shelf as it were.
A reminder, I'll be using it for casual road/light off-road cycling. No commuting but I will want to go on some long rides occasionally.
http://calibrebicycles.com/bike/stitch/
Can pick it up for £312 (including a cashback deal) brand new. The others I've had my eye on are:
Trek FX 2 Disc
Marin Fairfax 2
Giant Escape 2 Disc
Merida Crossway Urban 20/40 (hard to find stock in my size)
Ridgeback Vanteo 2020
I'd need to spend an extra £100 minimum to pick up on from that list. Is the Calibre a significantly inferior bike?
Must add I don't want the faff of upgrading certain parts as I want to ride off the shelf as it were.
A reminder, I'll be using it for casual road/light off-road cycling. No commuting but I will want to go on some long rides occasionally.
Last edited:
vickster
Legendary Member
Looks good, decent groupset, hydraulic brakes, 32mm tyres, should be fine on paths but not sure I’d ride much through woods or similar.
Lovely colour too
The Calibre is a really nice looking bike and a perfect “decent” bike to start on. If you get the bug you will want to move on to something better and at £312 you won’t lose much money, that will fetch £200 used after a couple of years, or just keep it as a second bike.
vickster
Legendary Member
Says it’s out of stock
and 15” is smallRapscallion
Member
Says it’s out of stock
I purposely didn't post the site that was listing it
They didn't have my size anyway...
vickster
Legendary Member
That page won’t load for me regardlessI purposely didn't post the site that was listing it
Rapscallion
Member
Thanks for the advice
