First post - used bike advice

[kerpow]

Hi there, I've always ridden casually but would like to start cycling more often to exercise.

My boss is a very keen cyclist and recently said he had an old bike he could sell me. I asked what the make and model was and he replied:

"Evans Columbus steel frame and mostly Campagnolo Centaur groupset."

That means absolutely nothing to me aside from sounding quite good. As he is boss I don't want to sound like a bit of duffer and ask any more questions.

Is that a suitable bike for general road riding? I want to start off riding around Richmond Park which has a few fairly steep hills and some good flat runs. I'd like to to train enough to take part in the London - Brighton ride next year.

He also said I'd need to service it as the brakes and gears would need to be tightened/adjusted. How much would you expect to pay for that kind of service at a capable bike shop?

Thanks

 

[2Loose]

If it is the right size, price & condition for you then sounds like a decent bike, would certainly do those rides.

I doubt your boss would sell you a pup anyway, he'd never hear the end of it!

A minor service should set you back about 30-40 quid and would sort those gears and brakes out too.

 

[HJ]

It sounds like a good start, if the price is right buy it.

The bit that confuses me is

I want to start off riding around Richmond Park which has a few fairly steep hills and some good flat runs.

are you sure??

 

[accountantpete]

That sounds like a decent entry level bike -if it has 10 spd I'd jump at it.

This is the latest centaur groupset http://www.totalcycling.com/index.php/product/grc7_centaur.html?action=currency&id=GBP

I suspect that the groupset on the bike will not be Ultra Torque (which is a bit of an upgrade) but it should be ok for your purposes.

The only thing you need to look at is the size of the bike.The general guide to size is the length of the seat tube which is measured in cm's from the centre of the bottom bracket to the top of the tube.Your boss will be able to tell you this.

 

[Sittingduck]

It sounds like a good start, if the price is right buy it.

The bit that confuses me is

are you sure??

We don't DO Hills down here my man... they are steep - by our low standards

Back on topic: the bike sounds nice
You'll have to come along one one of the CC rides - we are starting to do a few laps of RP sometimes... checkout this for deets!

SD

 

[simon_brooke]

Hi there, I've always ridden casually but would like to start cycling more often to exercise.

My boss is a very keen cyclist and recently said he had an old bike he could sell me. I asked what the make and model was and he replied:

"Evans Columbus steel frame and mostly Campagnolo Centaur groupset."

Columbus have always made good tubing - roughly equal to Reynolds. But, like Reynolds, the best Columbus tubes are a great deal better than the worst. Having said that you wouldn't put Centaur parts on a poor quality frame - it wouldn't be worth it.

Centaur is about the break point in the Campagnolo line-up where the engineering is top notch and the materials haven't got silly exotic - when you go up the range from Centaur, you don't get better engineering, just more carbon and titanium. Campagnolo are the Ferrari of the bicycle trade - their engineering is the best there is.

My bikes have mainly Centaur with a very few better parts. In summary, this is, of its age, very nearly as good as it gets without getting silly-expensive.

Is that a suitable bike for general road riding? I want to start off riding around Richmond Park which has a few fairly steep hills and some good flat runs. I'd like to to train enough to take part in the London - Brighton ride next year.

Eminently.

He also said I'd need to service it as the brakes and gears would need to be tightened/adjusted. How much would you expect to pay for that kind of service at a capable bike shop?

For a really thorough looking over you're looking at under two hours work, which is probably £50-£70. A new set of genuine Campag cables, if needed, will set you back £20, much less for no-name cables. If it needs a new chain then a genuine Campag one will cost between £20 and £30 depending on level, and to be honest even though they're expensive I would recommend a genuine Campag chain - they really are good and with reasonable maintenance do a lot of miles. The outside is you're looking at just over £100 for a thorough service, but it could be much less than that.

 

[simon_brooke]

That sounds like a decent entry level bike -if it has 10 spd I'd jump at it.

This is the latest centaur groupset http://www.totalcycling.com/index.php/product/grc7_centaur.html?action=currency&id=GBP

I suspect that the groupset on the bike will not be Ultra Torque (which is a bit of an upgrade) but it should be ok for your purposes.

To be honest I don't believe that Ultra Torque is an upgrade for amateur cyclists at all. Putting the bearings outboard does stiffen the bottom bracket area which is a benefit for sprinters, but it also greatly decreases the bearing size (there simply isn't room for the size of bearing that's used in the old square taper BBs) and the outboard bearings are also more vulnerable to weather; consequently Ultra Torque bearings and other outboard-bearing systems are not so durable and need more frequent replacement.

The ultimate solution to this is the Cannondale solution of increasing the size of the BB shell itself so that you can fit a bigger, wider bearing inside, but until that standard becomes more widespread the best, most reliable bottom bracket for amateurs is an old Campag cop-and-cone BB (if you know how to adjust it) or a cartridge one (if you don't).

 

[accountantpete]

To be honest I don't believe that Ultra Torque is an upgrade for amateur cyclists at all. Putting the bearings outboard does stiffen the bottom bracket area which is a benefit for sprinters, but it also greatly decreases the bearing size (there simply isn't room for the size of bearing that's used in the old square taper BBs) and the outboard bearings are also more vulnerable to weather; consequently Ultra Torque bearings and other outboard-bearing systems are not so durable and need more frequent replacement.

I know what you are getting at Simon - but IMHO bottom brackets are the most neglected item on a bike and tend to be used way past their sell by date because they are never checked propery and are difficult to remove.

The UT system is far easier to remove which encourages checking and is far more efficient. The downside is replacement cost of course but my Mirage UT cost £60 and I'll probably get two years worth out of it minimum.

 

[swee'pea99]

Hi Kerpow and welcome. As others have said, that sounds like a fine machine. If you've never ridden a quality bike, you'll likely be knocked out at just how nice it is. Presumably your boss will let you have a test run? In which case, start out by getting the saddle height right for you - it makes a big difference. Sit on it, put the r/h pedal to its lowest point, then, wearing the shoes you're going to be riding in, put your heel on the pedal. Your leg should *just* bend at the knee. Raise or ower the saddle till you have this height, then go for a test ride. If it feels right, I'd say anything up to £200 or so and you're laughing.

Oh, and as for tweaking the brakes and gears, you might well be able to do that yourself. It's easier than you might think, if you checkout bicycletutor.com.

Let us know how it goes.

 

[Arch]

Is that a suitable bike for general road riding? I want to start off riding around Richmond Park which has a few fairly steep hills and some good flat runs. I'd like to to train enough to take part in the London - Brighton ride next year.

Thanks

London to Brighton is a hilly 60 miler, isn't it? If you start training now and keep up the riding over the winter, even just regular short trips, by next summer that'll be a breeze.