Buying a Bike

[Bowsa]

Hi all,

I am looking to get a new (or second handbike)

Preferably front suspension.....although I have no idea where to start, initially it's for a 65k fundraiser. From there a daily commute to work.
I want it to last and not rust in 3mins and want to pay as little as possible? Thanks

Bowsa

 

[ianrauk]

Why the need for front suspension?
Not needed really for a commute on normal roads and cycle paths.

 

[Bowsa]

I have ridden non suspesion bikes before and they are very hard, I do prefer a little give up front as I generally ride standing up.
budget would be a maximum of 200 and I
Dont really wanna spend that much

 

[Bowsa]

So does anyone have any advice ?

 

[Norm]

Well, my advice would be to avoid front suspension, get something with a larger tyre (35mm if choosing a 700c wheel or 1.5" if going for a 26" wheel) and you'll benefit from much reduced effort for your forward motion.

Suspension, especially at that price, will be pretty poor and will turn much of your pedalling effort into bouncing up and down in the road.

The closest I can think to your budget is a Carrera Subway 1 from Halfords, around £250, or about the same price for a b'twin Fitness 1 from Decathalon, and I'd go for the former.

 

[Bowsa]

Do tyres make a huge difference?


Also in avoiding trying to sound dopey, what actually makes these bikes good?? Or put another way what should I be looking for if I were to hunt myself??

 

[Norm]

Do tyres make a huge difference?

Oh my word, yea they do. I posted about 18 months ago a comparison ride I did swapping combinations of bikes and tyres on consecutive days. Just changing the tyres from dual-surface to road specific reduced my time by nearly 20%.

What makes a bike good is the quality of the components. Better kit (at this price point) is lighter, smoother, easier to use and likely to last significantly longer. IMO.

 

[Bowsa]

Things may have changed a little bit, work do a "ride to work scheme" with halfords that let us have a tax relief and pay monthly and something

so I can pay a little bit extra for a bike now, maybe upto £350 but it has to be from halfords.

Also what size frame should I be getting? or how do I find out maybe a better question

 

[david1701]

[QUOTE 1345093"]
Under the scheme Halfords can get you pretty much any bike you like, so don't let them restrict you to what's on display.

Your best bet is to spend an afternoon in a few local bike shops. Talk to the staff, tell them what you want and, most importantly, try a few bikes out. All bikes are different and often it comes down to personal preference. Just sitting on one and squeezing the brakes isn't enough. You really need to ride around the block at least.
[/quote]

I spent yesterday doing this in the bike shops of plymouth, some really really nice people working in them who were dam helpful I put down a deposit about 5 minutes after closing in the specialised concept store

I found a bike that loooked fine and fitted to be too heavy and dull to ride and bought a tricross a size below everything else I'd looked at in the end because after riding a 54 round the man went and got a 52

 

[Moby Jones]

[QUOTE 1345093"]
Under the scheme Halfords can get you pretty much any bike you like, so don't let them restrict you to what's on display.

Your best bet is to spend an afternoon in a few local bike shops. Talk to the staff, tell them what you want and, most importantly, try a few bikes out. All bikes are different and often it comes down to personal preference. Just sitting on one and squeezing the brakes isn't enough. You really need to ride around the block at least.
[/quote]

So how does this work exactly. I like the look of the 2011 cube attempt, but Halfords don't stock it. Can i ask them to order one in for me and use my cycle to work voucher in halfords. Do halfords get any bike in you want????

 

[vickster]

It used to be that Halfords could get specific brands. Depending on where you are in the country, some LBS also take Halfords C2W vouchers (or used to, I used mine at Pearsons in Sutton, On Your Bike takes/took them too).

http://www.cycle2wor...vicecentrebrand
http://www.cycle2work.info/siteemployeefaqs
Did you actually think about asking that question in Halfords?

 

[buggi]

yes, i've heard that Halfords will source in any bike you want also, that's what our guys used to do when our work used Halfords scheme. If you have a bike from their own range, i would go for a carrera. my first road bike was a carrera and it was fine, although top end so i wouldn't have expected it for fall apart as soon as i bought it.
why do you cycle standing up most of the time? does your bum hurt? get a new saddle (local bike shops will measure your pelvic bones and find you a good fit).

as said, i wouldn't go for suspension on the road, your wasting a lot of energy and increasing your time and effort. better to get some good tyres with low rolling resistance. leave the suspension for downhill mountain biking.