My advice to newbies.

[Rickshaw Phil]

Hi all, guess what - another 'which bike' question!
I'm looking at starting cycling having not ridden a bike since being a kid (im 38) . After searching the internet i came across this forum about 2 weeks ago, joined and have been lurking ever since. I've decided on a hybrid bike to get started as i will be using it on the road and canal/hills. I'm looking at around £300 budget for the bike just in case its not for me and i dont waste too much money.What would you recommend between these? I've seen the carrera subway but not sure i like the look of it. my LBS sells trek bikes with a trek 2012 7.0 fx at £325 and 2013 7.1 fx at £375, is there a big difference? the boardman performance hybrid race bike at £386 looks good also but then im getting further away from £300. help please!

Hi bendanuk and .

The Trek bikes you've listed are decent ones. My brother has the 7.1fx and likes it.

Looking at the specs, the differences are down to details: the 7.1fx has the slightly better Acera rear derailleur instead of Tourney, an Aheadset type stem instead of a quill stem and different spec (probably lighter) wheels.

The "mega range" gear is nice to have - in lowest gear you should be able to wind your way up practically any hill.

Things I would point out are that my brother didn't get on with the standard saddle and that he found the supplied tyres had poor grip on wet roads.

 

[Boon 51]

Just on a personal note..
Look at where you will be riding, if you have a lot of hills then get a bike with low gears it saves a lot of heart ache.
Things like saddles are hard to get right first time and most people change them.
PS.. Have a few quid over to get a pair of padded shorts.

Enjoy your ridding

 

[bendanuk]

thanks for the replies, any recommendations on saddles if the standard one isnt so good. also, i know nothing about gears i've never had a bike with them! how do you know how many low gears its got?

 

[Profpointy]

Something like this you mean?

I should probably add i would prefer straight bars, for the only reason is i prefer them more to 'racer' type ones. I wouldn't rule that type out if i found the right bike just if i had the choice, would be straight bars with perhaps some of those resty ones. Full of the lingo me..

Well... Personal preference and all that, and flat bars are fine if you don't want a choice of hand positions (4 distinct choices on drops), if you never cycle into a headwind, only cycle slowly, and won't be going up hills, and don't mind going slower for more effort. Sarcastic reply aside, some people do need flats, eg if have a bad back, but that aside very few go back to flats after changing. Something like a tourer or audax bike would be fine for canal tow paths and the like, as would a cycle cross bike - which will do pretty rough stuff not just trails. The only snag with drop barred bikes is they often have rather high gearing for hilly terrain - which is a marketting thing rather than a snag with drop bars per se. Tourers, cyclo cross, and audax style bike normally have more sensible (ie lower) gears though.

 

[Boon 51]

thanks for the replies, any recommendations on saddles if the standard one isnt so good. also, i know nothing about gears i've never had a bike with them! how do you know how many low gears its got?

On the rear cassette you would be looking at 11-28 as about standard and an 11-32 or 11-34 which has bigger cogs for hillier climbs..
But your bike shop will know what to advise?

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

thanks for the replies, any recommendations on saddles if the standard one isnt so good.

Saddles are an incredibly personal thing so it's really difficult to recommend a good one. What one person thinks of as a comfy sofa of a saddle might be an instrument of torture to another, and returning to cycling after a big gap you'll ache for the first few rides anyway.

What I'd suggest is getting yourself measured. Some cycle shops (Specialized dealers in particular) have a device nicknamed the arsometer, which measures the width of your sit bones. If your saddle is the right width you've got a better chance of it being comfortable.

also, i know nothing about gears i've never had a bike with them! how do you know how many low gears its got?

This is judged by the number of teeth on the gears. The way gears work is that running the chain from the small chainring at the front to the big cog at the rear gives you your lowest gear and from the big chainring at the front to the small cog at the back gives the highest gear.

On this bike because the 28 tooth small chainring is smaller than the 34 tooth rear cog it gives an extra low gear comparable to many mountain bikes, but the rest of the gears are similar to other "hybrids" so the bike won't feel too low geared on the flat. Best of both worlds.

 

[Hill Wimp]

Saddles are an incredibly personal thing so it's really difficult to recommend a good one. What one person thinks of as a comfy sofa of a saddle might be an instrument of torture to another, and returning to cycling after a big gap you'll ache for the first few rides anyway.

What I'd suggest is getting yourself measured. Some cycle shops (Specialized dealers in particular) have a device nicknamed the arsometer, which measures the width of your sit bones. If your saddle is the right width you've got a better chance of it being comfortable.
This is judged by the number of teeth on the gears. The way gears work is that running the chain from the small chainring at the front to the big cog at the rear gives you your lowest gear and from the big chainring at the front to the small cog at the back gives the highest gear.

On this bike because the 28 tooth small chainring is smaller than the 34 tooth rear cog it gives an extra low gear comparable to many mountain bikes, but the rest of the gears are similar to other "hybrids" so the bike won't feel too low geared on the flat. Best of both worlds.

Def get yourself measured but get the measurer to sign a gagging order. After that i have never cycled so fast trying to get those measurements down.

 

[Boon 51]

Def get yourself measured but get the measurer to sign a gagging order. After that i have never cycled so fast trying to get those measurements down.

 

[bendanuk]

thanks for the information everyone. I haven't actually been to the LBS yet, just looking online at the website at the bikes available . I like to make informed decisions, hence the questions before i do visit and also get the money together. and mrs permission of course

 

[Boon 51]

thanks for the information everyone. I haven't actually been to the LBS yet, just looking online at the website at the bikes available . I like to make informed decisions, hence the questions before i do visit and also get the money together. and mrs permission of course

Plus many sleepless night thinking about the bike you want..

 

[Ivan]

Hello everyone,

This will, hopefully, not take too much of your time...
I am looking at this bike, but since I don't really understand what the specs mean, what would the more competent users here have to say about it?
Any other bikes you would suggest in this price range?

Thanks

 

[bendanuk]

Plus many sleepless night thinking about the bike you want..

correct! i keep changing my mind every 5 mins...

Hi bendanuk and .

The Trek bikes you've listed are decent ones. My brother has the 7.1fx and likes it.

Looking at the specs, the differences are down to details: the 7.1fx has the slightly better Acera rear derailleur instead of Tourney, an Aheadset type stem instead of a quill stem and different spec (probably lighter) wheels.

The "mega range" gear is nice to have - in lowest gear you should be able to wind your way up practically any hill.

Things I would point out are that my brother didn't get on with the standard saddle and that he found the supplied tyres had poor grip on wet roads.

so would you say the 7.1 is worth the extra £50?

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

so would you say the 7.1 is worth the extra £50?

I think yes. Although I personally would quite happily ride either of those bikes I think that the detail improvements would make the 7.1fx worth spending that little bit extra.

 

[Roadrider48]

Hello everyone,

This will, hopefully, not take too much of your time...
I am looking at this bike, but since I don't really understand what the specs mean, what would the more competent users here have to say about it?
Any other bikes you would suggest in this price range?

Thanks

Hi Ivan. It seems to be not a bad bike for the money. I ride a Carrera road bike and apart from changing the tyres and peddles it has been a good bike so far. The Veangance looks pretty cool too. Make sure if you buy one, that it fits you properly.

 

[Havoc6]

Hello everyone,

This will, hopefully, not take too much of your time...
I am looking at this bike, but since I don't really understand what the specs mean, what would the more competent users here have to say about it?
Any other bikes you would suggest in this price range?

Thanks

Deffo worth a look at https://www.decathlon.co.uk/C-359112-mountain-bikes as aarapatlio said they also sell hybrids and racers . Excellent customer service too , not sure you will get that at Halfrauds .