Looking for bike for casual usage - under £350

[Alex321]

32” isn’t that short legged for 5’10? Mine are long at 33-34”.
Clearly he needs to ride it but stand over is less important than reach.
His height is in the middle of what is suggested for Large

28" would be very short for 5'10" though, and he is somewhere between those two extremes (I must admit, that is rather a large range to be unsure of what your measurement is). I'm a 29" inside leg, and am 5'9" tall, and that is definitely short legs.

 

[ColinJ]

32” isn’t that short legged for 5’10? Mine are long at 33-34”.

I think mine are 32" long and I am 6' 1" tall!

I should check because that doesn't sound right and I measured in a hurry decades ago!

 

[Alex321]

I think mine are 32" long and I am 6' 1" tall!

I should check because that doesn't sound right and I measured in a hurry decades ago!

How do men buy trousers if they don't know their inside leg measurement?

It isn't even as if that changes once you reach adulthood, unlike your waist.

 

[DRM]

That’s a minor detail, if you’re not standing on them you’ll be good to go

 

[DRM]

iirc there’s an Evans Cycles behind IKEA at the Metro Centre if you can get there, it’s always best to sit on a bike if you haven’t ridden in a while to see how they feel size wise

 

[KieranC]

iirc there’s an Evans Cycles behind IKEA at the Metro Centre if you can get there, it’s always best to sit on a bike if you haven’t ridden in a while to see how they feel size wise

There is yes, Durham one is more local.

 

[bikingdad90]

Can you get to Infinity cycles? They have three bikes for £450 that could fit the bill,

https://www.infinitycycles.co.uk/bikes/hybrid-bikes

 

[bikingdad90]

Not sure if of relevance, but I’d only get home delivery for Halfords as the build and collect in store has a set time slot only,

Don’t get too hung up about the collection times, I turned up a day late and it was all fine, it’s more of a problem coming early and they are not ready.

 

[KieranC]

Can you get to Infinity cycles? They have three bikes for £450 that could fit the bill,

https://www.infinitycycles.co.uk/bikes/hybrid-bikes

Doesn't seem to rlly specify any measurements, but both the Cube bikes have very few options in stock. Giant escape has some stock but that would quite heavily stretch my max budget Including accessories.

I’ve equally been told by the Evan‘s staff by phone that the Neon’s are really good bikes, and some of the staff even use them, minimal feedback on the Lithium.

In laymen terms, I don’t understand the difference between them other than the £150 price tag.

 

[Alex321]

Doesn't seem to rlly specify any measurements, but both the Cube bikes have very few options in stock. Giant escape has some stock but that would quite heavily stretch my max budget Including accessories.

I’ve equally been told by the Evan‘s staff by phone that the Neon’s are really good bikes, and some of the staff even use them, minimal feedback on the Lithium.

In laymen terms, I don’t understand the difference between them other than the £150 price tag.

The main differences are Hydraulic disc brakes, higher level groupset (Altus instead of Tourney) which means 8 speed cassettes rather than 7.

If you click on the Technical information line, it opens up details of the spec.

The Cube (they are the same bike with different colours) has a ridiculously low bottom gear with a 26 tooth cainring and 34 tooth largest sprocket. Even the middle ring, with a lowest option of 36x34 is very slightly lower than my lowest gear of 34x32.

But the Cube also has front suspension, which is really unlikely to be useful for what you say you want, and just adds to the weight. I have a Cube road bike and I love it, but it is a completely different beast, being a carbon framed proper road bike costing over £2000.

 

[Alex321]

The Neon is the next level groupset up again, even from the Escape and those Cubes, with Sora being 9 speed cassette. But it doesn't say what range the cassette is - probably 11-30 or 11-32, it does state the chainset at 50/34.

Groupset names are a little confusing because mountain bikes have one set, while road bikes have another, and hybrids may have either road or mountain bike sets.

For road bikes, they go Tourney (7 speed), Claris (8), Sora(9), Tiagra(10), 105(11 mechanical, 12 electronic), Ultegra(12), Dura-Ace(12). You won't be getting anything above Sora at your price point and probably not above Claris.

In MTB groupsets, the bottom one (7 speed) is still Tourney, but then there are several different similar level sets above that. Altus is the most likely next level, and comes in both 8 speed and 9 speed versions. But Alivio and Acera are also both 9 speed cassettes, then Deore wil be 10 speed.

 

[KieranC]

The Neon is the next level groupset up again, even from the Escape and those Cubes, with Sora being 9 speed cassette. But it doesn't say what range the cassette is - probably 11-30 or 11-32, it does state the chainset at 50/34.

Groupset names are a little confusing because mountain bikes have one set, while road bikes have another, and hybrids may have either road or mountain bike sets.

For road bikes, they go Tourney (7 speed), Claris (8), Sora(9), Tiagra(10), 105(11 mechanical, 12 electronic), Ultegra(12), Dura-Ace(12). You won't be getting anything above Sora at your price point and probably not above Claris.

In MTB groupsets, the bottom one (7 speed) is still Tourney, but then there are several different similar level sets above that. Altus is the most likely next level, and comes in both 8 speed and 9 speed versions. But Alivio and Acera are also both 9 speed cassettes, then Deore wil be 10 speed.

So in English, which provides the best value for money if my focus is ease of use (not speed)?

- Cube
- Escape
- Pinnacle Lithium 1
- Pinnacle Neon 1

The key thing is it can climb fairly steep hills, but still paved and nowhere near bad enough they need a gradient warning. But say walking up them it’s defo a workout.

 

[bonzobanana]

So in English, which provides the best value for money if my focus is ease of use (not speed)?

- Cube
- Escape
- Pinnacle Lithium 1
- Pinnacle Neon 1

The key thing is it can climb fairly steep hills, but still paved and nowhere near bad enough they need a gradient warning. But say walking up them it’s defo a workout.

Typically shop brands offer better value, that is the shop itself buying from the factories in Asia so the logistics is much simpler with less parties needing to make money. Same as Carrera at Halfords or Calibre at Go Outdoors etc. You can't take it for granted they are better value but typically you get much more for your money. Cube don't make anything themselves they rely on factories in Asia too and from memory they have shorter frame warranties, lower weight limits and have bought many bikes from Bangladesh factories which are the weakest factories for quality and tend to have a lot more manual processes. This news story shows they have invested in a factory in Bangladesh so likely will keep using them long term. They don't now have the flexibility to move away from Meghna if quality is poor or there are better Asian factories that charge less. I guess it does mean they can claim to be the manufacturer of these bikes although from what I've seen Cube like to sell on their German engineering not advertise themselves as being cheaply made in Bangladesh.

https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/germanys-cube-teams-meghna-make-high-end-bicycles-1632277

Giant are actually a manufacturer, they manufacture themselves in their own factories. They design and run their own factories and are pretty much state of the art using advanced manufacturing equipment. They are a Taiwanese company.

Ultimately though I think shop brands offer the best value at the bottom end. Even Giant can't compete that well with the simple logistics of a shop buying direct from a factory and retailing themselves.

I still think the Carrera Subway is one of the best value bikes on the market for a simple, reliable, versatile bike that suits most people.

 

[cyberknight]

I prefer comfort over speed. Don’t particularly fancy going 20-30mph as if you crash, even with a helmet at that speed it’s going to hurt quite a bit and likely result in some bad scuffs at least to the bike.

Uhm I'm not going to argue with you about that last year I crashed only 20 ish mph and needed 11 pins in my collar bone

 

[Jameshow]

Can you get to Infinity cycles? They have three bikes for £450 that could fit the bill,

https://www.infinitycycles.co.uk/bikes/hybrid-bikes

That's too far.....

I'll get my coat!!