Knackered me noodle! (no its not what you think! :P)

[Sam Kennedy]

I got a new bike today, I went to a second hand place, which seems EXCELLENT if you want a road bike, however they only had 1 purple hybrid

I then checked out 2 LBS, but they were out of my price range

I ended up getting an Apollo CX10 from that shop and when I took it out of the box the forks were twisted the wrong way, and me being a noob accidentally put the handlebars on the wrong way (I thought the forks didn't look right!!)

On my front brake cable I ended up splitting the casing between the "noodle" (metal tube next to the brakes) and the rest of the cable. I put electricians tape on it and it seems to work fine, should I replace the cable or should I be alright?

I know its not the best quality bike, but I found it alot more comfortable and faster than my Argos MTB.

It will hopefully hold up until Christmas

 

[Joe24]

Simple, dont buy a shitty bike, when you already have a shitty bike.

 

[Sam Kennedy]

My Budget was only £120, so I didn't have very many options :'(

 

[Joe24]

Have you really got much over your Argos bike?

 

[Sam Kennedy]

Its rigid so I don't waste energy bouncing, the tyres are wider in diameter and thinner (700x38c, when I get some more money might drop to 35c), and the front derailleur actually works and isn't 1" from the chainrings, its also lighter.

This might not be what the professional cyclists want, but its good enough for me, at least until I want to do 80 miles trips or whatnot

 

[nigelnorris]

haha I have an Apollo CX10 and did EXACTLY the same thing when I got it. I felt a right idiot when I first went out on it bashing my feet against the wheel trying to corner.

The good news is that I have had it for two years, caned it the whole time, and it's stood up to everything. At least 3000 miles, [two new tyres - I went down to 35mm but I think you can go down to 32mm which might be even better],all kinds of bumps and bruises - I dropped it and cracked one of the shifters but it still works - commuting, cycle trails, all over the place and it never let me down.

Got me into cycling and I've only just retired it for a new roadbike, there might be better buys out there if you shop around but in my case the best 100 quid I ever spent without a doubt.

 

[very-near]

It is a shame your budget is so tight. You really get what you pay for with cycles. Perhaps you could consider getting something on the bike to work scheme or interest free from one of the bigger cycle shops when you have worn this one out.

Make sure you get fitted out for it properly though to get the best from it.

 

[Sam Kennedy]

I'm jobless atm (I'm 16), I really want to get a summer job, not sure what though, I'll keep looking

I've tried my LBS, I might go in and ask, I sent an email since that would give them more time to think and put less pressure on them, but since I've got no response I'll ask them at the shop. I could have asked today but no one was in the shop, and there was only 1 staff member there helping some people with some road bikes.

Maybe on Monday people will be there

 

[Randochap]

Maybe this experience will be good for you to learn how to tinker with bikes. By the time you can afford a better bike, you'll be ahead of most people who can afford a brand new bike right off.

That's how I learned about bikes. I was poor and had to build them from old parts.

 

[jig-sore]

well i think you HAVE made a step forwards

you have got rid of all that suspension system so at the very least you have a lighter bike and as you said, you won't waste energy bouncing, so good stuff. this bike is more suited to the type of riding your doing

at this price it's still not going to have top quality components but things can be upgraded, keep your eyes open for cheap bikes at the local tip that may have better brakes etc, this is how i upgraded the wife's bike

as you have pointed out, your only 16 and have no job so for now this is the best you could afford but at the end of the day you have a bike that you can get out on and get riding.

so your into cycling big time at the moment but in reality you could go either way, in a year or so you may move on to something else, or maybe a different type of cycling altogether. THEN you can think about spending more money.

anyone who knocks a cheap bike better make sure they beat it up the next hill !!!!

keep going sam

 

[Joe24]

Paper round, its how i earned money to by my bikes/kayak and kit.

 

[Crackle]

Keep an eye out in skips and tips, ask people. Before long you may have a frame and better components and be able to build yourself a better bike. That's where one of mine came from. No money is good. As Rando says, you'll soon know a lot about bike maintenance.

 

[Joe24]

Bike i built for about £120

Bike i built for cost of grips.

Easy

 

[threebikesmcginty]

Bike i built for about £120

Bike i built for cost of grips.

Easy

They're very different aren't they?

 

[Garz]

Are we playing spot the difference?