Hello everyone.... and bike manuals....

[pardalis]

Hi there

We've just picked up our new bikes after a few weeks of careful research and many visits to various shops. We are beginners. Almost literally - last bikes were our childhood ones.

Just wondered whether manuals usually come with bikes? Ours haven't and we can see all these 'bits' that might need explanation further than what we got in the shop.

We're very excited about the whole thing and looking forward to getting the 'bug' and being slightly obsessed

Thanks in advance

P

 

[Willow]

I don't think they do any more we've bought 3 bikes over the last few years and the book that came with them is very generic. Have found a bit more help on the manufacturers website though.

Enjoy

 

[Sittingduck]

Hi Pardalis

What bikes did you plump for?

 

[theboytaylor]

Pardalis,

I know it's more money but this should explain a few of the bits that might need attention:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bike-Book-F...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1226605826&sr=1-1

Or, online, Sheldon Brown: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/

 

[oxbob]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bike-Repair...=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1226606222&sr=1-2 Another good basic book

 

[pardalis]

Ok,

Well, I have to confess we did go for aesthetics to a degree . Although we also looked for frames that were light and relative quality of components for our budget. So, we bought a Ridgeback MX2 each. Except i bought the blokes one (yes I'm a girl) because I can't see myself in a skirt riding a bike and I've always been a bit of a tomboy.

We also bought bikes for the kids for Christmas as we hope this is going to be a family thing. The eldest (aged 8) got a BMX Raleigh burner which was last year's model so we got a deal on it. The thinking behind this was that he won't grow out of it for a long time and it would be better value for money.

So all of those three were bought at a local bike shop.

The youngest (aged 5 and a half), well we wanted to buy him a new good quality bike too. But we were mindful that he at present cannot ride without stabilisers and he is due a bit of a growth spurt. So a new bike might mean a) lots of abuse as they both fall over and him growing out of it.

We were going to look out for a second hand one and buy some stabilisers. We enquired in a few places and learned that they don't come up (16"-18") that often but we gave our numbers to them to call anyway.

Then by accident whilst looking at other things we saw that Tescos were doing a 16" boys bike with stabilisers for £35. Yes, I know at this point you will all be hyperventilating or puking in your waste paper basket

But we thought at that price if he gets the hang of it riding in the local park and gets confident then even if the bike is a scratched mess it won't matter. Then he will have earned a decent one that will last him many years and we'll be more than happy to go out and buy it!

 

[pardalis]

Pardalis,

I know it's more money but this should explain a few of the bits that might need attention:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bike-Book-F...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1226605826&sr=1-1

Or, online, Sheldon Brown: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/

Thanks for the tip - good old Haynes manuals. Looking at the price of a service in the local shop we'll definitely want to have a go ourselves

 

[Danny]

Years ago when I was given a Raleigh for Xmas I am sure it came with a reasonable manual, but these days I would not really expect to get anything with a new bike.

As well as these good suggestions already made by others you could look at the Park Tools website. Park make a whole range of bike tools and their website has clear instructions on how to do most common jobs.

If you ever get stuck just post a question in Beginners or in Know How and you'll generally get a whole host of knowledgeable responses (plus a few off the wall ones )

Finally, if you have just bought new bikes from your local bike shop (LBS) I would expect them to provide a year's free servicing - not that much should go wrong in the first year. Also if your bike shop is any good they should be happy to provide you with advice on how to do jobs yourself, so it's worth establishing a good relationship with them.

 

[pardalis]

Years ago when I was given a Raleigh for Xmas I am sure it came with a reasonable manual, but these days I would not really expect to get anything with a new bike.

As well as these good suggestions already made by others you could look at the Park Tools website. Park make a whole range of bike tools and their website has clear instructions on how to do most common jobs.

If you ever get stuck just post a question in Beginners or in Know How and you'll generally get a whole host of knowledgeable responses (plus a few off the wall ones )

Finally, if you have just bought new bikes from your local bike shop (LBS) I would expect them to provide a year's free servicing - not that much should go wrong in the first year. Also if your bike shop is any good they should be happy to provide you with advice on how to do jobs yourself, so it's worth establishing a good relationship with them.

Thanks for the advice - I guess the rest of you are too busy hyperventilating/vomiting to comment on my post about what we bought etc

I would appreciate feedback - I did visit this place before we bought for some tips and value your knowledge/experience.

You would've all laughed at me as I wobbly tried to ride my new bike outside the front of my house when we got home. In my high heeled boots!!!

 

[jimboalee]

If you'd bought Dawes, you'd got a lovely gloosy manual, AND all the relavent Shimano Instruction sheets with the bike,,

Go to the shop and demand the manuals and the Shimano sheets he's kept for himself.

 

[punkypossum]

I got a short manual and a comprehensive cd rom with extra links to online help with my trek...

 

[Danny]

Thanks for the advice - I guess the rest of you are too busy hyperventilating/vomiting to comment on my post about what we bought etc

Others may disagree, but I really don't think there is much point in buying an expensive bike for a 5 year old. When my son was that age he didn't really want to ride very much at all, and we didn't really get much use out of the £75 bike we bought him. Subsequently I bought him cheap second hand bikes until I was convinced he wanted to ride seriously.

Also at that age they are growing so quickly that you'll be lucky if a bike lasts more than two years. So I think I think you were being sensible. And there's nothing wrong with your Ridgebacks either

So sorry no hyperventilating or vomiting from me. Were you hoping for a more extreme reaction?

 

[pardalis]

Others may disagree, but I really don't think there is much point in buying an expensive bike for a 5 year old. When my son was that age he didn't really want to ride very much at all, and we didn't really get much use out of the £75 bike we bought him. Subsequently I bought him cheap second hand bikes until I was convinced he wanted to ride seriously.

Also at that age they are growing so quickly that you'll be lucky if a bike lasts more than two years. So I think I think you were being sensible. And there's nothing wrong with your Ridgebacks either

So sorry no hyperventilating or vomiting from me. Were you hoping for a more extreme reaction?

I was expecting one!!!

Thanks though for replying and it is good to know that we made a sensible decision. Ok, we do feel a bit guilty about spending more on the eldest kid's bike but we reckon both will be thrilled come christmas. And for £35 including stabilisers - well it's worth every penny if he's happy and soon is bombing about like every littl'un should.

I couldn't resist earlier and had a bit of a peddle up and down the road on mine - the glass or two of wine made it a bit more fun! We live on a quiet road else I wouldn't have dared!

 

[Lazy-Commuter]

I found quite a few books on bike maintenance and general bike related hints and tips at the local library. It's worth getting a few out to see which ones you like the look of / can understand (some of them I was reading and trying to work out what they meant ) and then you can always buy one or two if you like.

They covered general tasks like adjusting gears, brakes and so on. Plus some riding tips, how to manage with kids, stuff like that.

Sounds like a good plan on the kids bikes: ours are the same age and we've done basically the same thing. A trail-gator might be worth investing in at some point for your younger one if you want to go for longer family rides. Our 8yo can do 13 miles or so as a round trip without any hassles, possibly further, but the younger one wouldn't stand a chance .. especially as she's still on stabilisers !!

But the trail-gator and a set of "quick release" stabilisers means I can tow her behind me when she runs out of legs or, more commonly, when the going is too rough for stabilisers: they're a bit of a pest on uneven ground when they lift the back wheel up and she just sits there spinning away going nowhere!!

When it's not in use it just clips down the side of the back wheel. Or if you're out on your own it's dead easy to take off your bike altogether: there's a bracket which fixes pretty much permanently to the adult bike, another for the kid's bike, and the rest is all quick release.

She loves being on the "tow bar" and tends to sing "Don't stop me now 'cos I having a good time having a good time" as we go along. (Think she got confused with "Bicycle Race" which is the next track on Queen's Greatest Hits). Plus she loves it when people point and wave. Awww.

 

[PpPete]

Others may disagree, but I really don't think there is much point in buying an expensive bike for a 5 year old. When my son was that age he didn't really want to ride very much at all, and we didn't really get much use out of the £75 bike we bought him. Subsequently I bought him cheap second hand bikes until I was convinced he wanted to ride seriously.

Also at that age they are growing so quickly that you'll be lucky if a bike lasts more than two years. So I think I think you were being sensible. And there's nothing wrong with your Ridgebacks either

So sorry no hyperventilating or vomiting from me. Were you hoping for a more extreme reaction?

+1
Agree totally - bought second hand from local paper/ads in newsagent window until they were ready to make their own decisions about what type of bike they wanted - then cheapy Halfrauds stuff [pause for gasps & vomit] until they were on to adult sizes.