My advice to newbies.

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DW1

Member
Had a road bike (Carrera TDF) for a couple of months now. I posted a thread earlier on this site about the gearing which seemed very hard up steeper hills. At the moment, I think I will stay with the current set up (12-26 cassette and 38-52 front chain set) BUT - I don't live in a very hilly area and I would be regarded as quite a strong cyclist by those I know who cycle occasionally/fairly regularly (but generally shorter distances). Countered by the fact that I am pushing 15 stones, it makes a difference up hills ! Getting used to it but it does require a BIG effort up steep hills. If I was to go to, say, Scotland and tackle hilly areas, I think I would look at changing something.

I hadn't quite realised the importance of the gearing set up after being used to mountain bikes. Based on my experience, my advice to any newbie looking at buying a road bike would be to look fairly hard at gearing ratios if you are fairly new to cycling and particularly if you will be tackling fairly steep, long hills. Something like a 12-28 or 12-30 cassette and 34/50 compact front will give you lower gearing for steeper hills. You can of course change cassettes and fronts but if you have to get a LBS to carry this out, adjust gears etc all extra cost. Although if changed at time of purchase, the LBS/Halfords may not charge extra for the labour cost and just count is as part of the initial set up of the bike.

Some v useful suggestions by others on my Carrera TDF gearing post.

Anyway, hope this might help someone inexperienced considering a first/new road bike. I am sure more experienced cyclists will be able to add more useful info.
 

tonyw

Active Member
Location
west midlands
....don't know about analogy, but a collective could be " A Sedentary of recumbents" ;)
have to say shops like Halfords are not the problem,having a Carrera Kraken myself I actually like the bike but set up is a problem ha immense problems with hydraulic brakes and gears due to bad set up but saying that my local bike shop did no better a job,do conclude that probably means its not the bikes at fault
 
Wondering what sort of bike to buy? Start here.

pretty much everyday there is a post on this forum saying,

'hi newbie, which bike?'

This is good, the people on this forum are passionate about helping people begin cycling.

Unfortunately there are so many, that the responses can be somewhat sporadic. It's not that people dont want to help but it really does get asked an awful lot. These are my views, there are a lot of people with more experience than me on here, but i have been in the same position as most people asking this question as i only got back into cycling over the last couple of years. i have included a lot of generalisaton but these tend to be comonly expressed views on this forum.

So what have you got?
First things first, i'm fairly sure that most people on here have, in a deep dark corner of the garage 'an old bike'. Well thats good, drag it out hose it off and assess the beast. Put some air in the tyres (i KNOW that theyre flat!). My guess is that this bike will do 90% of people who are getting back into cycling, at least for the first couple of months. If it has been in there, unused for a good while, say 4 years plus treat it to a service at your local bike shop (LBS). This should cost you about £60. Use it, enjoy it and if you are lucky you will have no need of new bikes.
If however there is no 'old bike' in the garage or it is completely inappropriate or unsafe then read on.

Firstly a bit of background
You can buy bikes EVERYWHERE nowadays. so lets have a look at the options.

Internet - Great deals - Little service, problems with sizing, not for the uninitiated
Discount suppliers - Motorworld and the like - Very Cheap, Bikes from about £80. The reason theyre cheap is because they're crap. Avoid at all costs.
Specialist bike chains - Buy a bike mag, the big swanky adds will be bike chains, Evans, Edinburgh Cycle co-op. and the like. They offer great choice, decent service and keen pricing. - A bit too corporate for some tastes (not edinburgh cycle co-op which i beleive is a proper co-operative)
Local Bike Shop-Every town has at least one, they dont always have the greatest choice but they do have almost without exception a passion for cycling, and a desire to see you leave on the right bike for you. Fnd a good one and you will treasure it like your firstborn child. These men and women know their stuff.

All things being equal - use your LBS, you wont regret it.

Halfords-One of britains biggest bike retailers, tens of thousands ride happiy on bikes from halfords. They are selling some pretty nice looking Chris Boardman bikes right now. But it is fair to say that they have earned a poor reputation on cycling forums like this. So use with trepidation.

You want a bike? WHAT FOR?
What sort of journeys do you have in mind? This is THE crucial question to deciding what bike you chould buy. I reckon the easiest way to adress this is to look generally at what each type of bike does, then match it to your needs.

ROAD BIKE - A racer as most of us used to call them when we were kids. If you are of a certain vintage then you will find things have changed... A LOT! They are as light as a feather and very quick. But by far the biggest change is that there are no more levers to change gear any more, they are incorporated into the brake levers and it was an invention bordering on genuis!! Dropped handle bars, thin wheels and tyres, anywhere between 10 and 27 gears. These are light fast, used for commuting where your journey is by road (or very good quality cycle tow path). Used for keeping fit, club and sportive (long timed rides). Not great for hooking up child seats trailers etc. If it was a car it would be a Ferrari.
8RA91T_blk.jpg


HYBRID - pretty much designed to be fast commuters. They have 'flat' handlebars, (more comfortable/better view) Good brakes and bits that commuters need such as screws for mudgaurds and panniers etc, Use on road and good quality cycle paths. not ideal for the 'sportier' side of cycling. If it was a car it would be a Golf GTI

trek-73-fx-hybrid-bike-45689.jpg



TOURER - a sort of relaxed road bike, will do everything that the bikes above will and a hole lot more, if a tad slower. Comes with holes and screws for lots of panniers and racks in case you fancy going to Bolivia. A comfortable ride. If it was a car it would be a Volvo Estate.

seven%2520vacanzaL.jpg



MOUNTAIN BIKES

Heavyier and sturdier than the bikes listed above. They have different gearing too, which means it's much easier to get up hills on them but not quite so easy to tear along on the flat. Not my area of expertise but they generally fall into three catagories

Rigid - Similar to a Hybrid but a bit slower. Big fat tyres = comfy ride. great for tarmac and rougher trails and cycle ways. Ideal for fitting kids seats to it. A great all rounder used by lots of commuters. If it was a car it would be a Ford Mondeo.

charge-duster-rigid-2008-mountain-bike.jpg



Frount suspension - Great for rough x country rides and a little tarmac based riding. Quite slow as theyre heavy and 'bouncing up and down is an in efficient use of energy. If it was a car it would be a RAV 4.

400-213074.jpg

Full Suspension - usually identified by a metal spring or similar connected to the back of the bike - these are really specialist sports bikes for full on mountain biking. If it was a car it would be a Land Rover.

New_Jeep_Cherokee_Full_Suspension_Mountain_Bike_Shimano.jpg

Specialist bikes - recumbent, trikes, folders, bmx...... the list is endless but most people returning to cycling pass these by. No matter what you are interested in someone on these forums will have one or have ridden one so ask away


Now consider the original question, what journeys will you be using the bike for? Once you have an idea of which bike is for you then get on the internet and get out to the shops. The staff will help you and when you have narrowed it down to two or three models post here and people will find it much easier to advise you on specific bikes. Your big limiting factor is budget but there is something out there for everyone, even if youre skint the second hand market can usually turn something suitable up.

There you go, thats my advice i hope you find it useful. This should with luck enable you to begin making sense of the bike market today. Any feedback welcome.

Andy
 

Louch

105% knowledge on 105
I brought a bike from Halfords... Cycle to work scheme so didn't have a choice. (as seen on my display pic) personally wouldn't have choose one if I had the choice however that's another story! Since I've had it 3 months I've had nothing but problems with it, seems to be in Halfords more than on the road! problems so far include gears not set up correctly so chain kept slipping off in top gear... they've adjusted it many times but now I've just got used to it and learnt to change gears in a different way to avoid it, Wheel spokes keep coming loose so getting rattling sound, little things like reflectors keep loosening so the thread has gone (Replaced them twice) I could go on... Thing to bear in mind is DONT BUY A HALFORDS BIKE!
One final note.. checked independent reviews and they mark it as a top bike... Maybe this is what I should expect at a £500 price mark I'm not sure... this is my first road bike and I'm a beginner.

I had same issues with my boardman road race. Led to my gearing showing signs of excessive wearing. I eventually complained to head office and as a result was refunded what I'd paid my lbs to reset my gearing and replace the cables as halfords hadn't set them up correctly
 

bpsmith

Veteran
If you rang Halfords' central C2W number, they would have sourced any bike you fancied. Didn't have to be a Boardman. Got my Giant Defy 1 during the Summer that way.
 

FortuitousFluke

Active Member
Just wanted to pop in and mention how useful this guide is to the relatively uninitiated. I've just started commuting by bike and, whilst my current ride does the job adequately, I'm hoping to upgrade in the coming months.

I live just outside of Cambridge so I'm guessing I can find a decent LBS somewhere in the City (there is one in Cambourne where I live but on first glance it seems to cater more to the high end club riders). One thing I find massively confusing is pricing, with such a massive range <£100 - £2000+. It's difficult to know how much to budget for my first upgrade (I can probably go to £700 but is this overkill?). Obviously it's very subjective but I'm still thinking I shall need to put on my researching cap well in advance of popping into the LBS.
 

Doc333

Knight Of The Realm & All Around Good Guy
Location
Cheshire
Great thread and as I have just started cycling again, I would have had great help with this, although I had to do the research myself as i have only just discovered this site. From my own experience I needed to choose a bike that would best suit my needs, and as its been mentioned on this thread that is the only way to go. I decided on a road bike rather than a tourer, MTB etc, but what type of road bike. Iwanted something fast, light and a good amount of gears (I'm 57 so need as much help as I can get) to get me over lumps. I am not going to be a racer therefore no point in a superbike that starts to hurt from being in a streamlined position for hours on end. A racer is not a bike that the average rider can use in the UK all year around, due to wather. So I wanted something fast, well geared and now comfortable, and that can take mudguards and maybe slightly wider tyres. So this brings me down to either a cross bike or an endurance bike. I finally plumped for the endurance bike as the rubber was going to be skinnier and also the gearing on the bike I chose was going to be enough to get me over most hills. Light, well equiped, comfortable etc. So thats where I got to and I went out and did it last weekend.

Horses for courses, but I wanted a bike I could use to commute all year (If I wanted to) a bike that could race if I wanted/needed and generally a bike I would get my monies worth out of and would get used constantly. No point in a bike you can only use locally when it's not rained for a fortnight etc.
 

SWSteve

Guru
Location
Bristol...ish
@Doc333 what did you get? Pics?
 

SpokeyDokey

68, & my GP says I will officially be old at 70!
Moderator
Great thread and as I have just started cycling again, I would have had great help with this, although I had to do the research myself as i have only just discovered this site. From my own experience I needed to choose a bike that would best suit my needs, and as its been mentioned on this thread that is the only way to go. I decided on a road bike rather than a tourer, MTB etc, but what type of road bike. Iwanted something fast, light and a good amount of gears (I'm 57 so need as much help as I can get) to get me over lumps. I am not going to be a racer therefore no point in a superbike that starts to hurt from being in a streamlined position for hours on end. A racer is not a bike that the average rider can use in the UK all year around, due to wather. So I wanted something fast, well geared and now comfortable, and that can take mudguards and maybe slightly wider tyres. So this brings me down to either a cross bike or an endurance bike. I finally plumped for the endurance bike as the rubber was going to be skinnier and also the gearing on the bike I chose was going to be enough to get me over most hills. Light, well equiped, comfortable etc. So thats where I got to and I went out and did it last weekend.

Horses for courses, but I wanted a bike I could use to commute all year (If I wanted to) a bike that could race if I wanted/needed and generally a bike I would get my monies worth out of and would get used constantly. No point in a bike you can only use locally when it's not rained for a fortnight etc.

Good luck with your new hobby/bike although I think you'll find that there are a lot of "superbikes" and "racers" that are indeed used all year round.
 

Doc333

Knight Of The Realm & All Around Good Guy
Location
Cheshire
A question from me about locks. Not been cycling long and not gone far enough yet to get off and leave the bike whilst I have a meal etc. When I do I could do with knowing what's the most popular lock, especially when thinking about weight - seems silly to spec out a light bike and then load yourself up with a few kilo's. Abus Mini has been mentioned somewhere but it seems too small to be of use?

Thanks in advance
 

Bomber69

Active Member
Some great advice on here. I started cycling about 18 months ago on an old hybrid as part of my rehab following an ACL reconstruction and totally loved it. I'm now at the stage where I'm starting to do longer rides mainly on roads over more challenging terrain(hills!!) so I'm considering buying a road bike. After some research i've narrowed it down to a giant defy 5, specialized allez or scott speedster. They all seem very similar in spec so does anyone recommend a particular one of these (or indeed another!!?) Cheers in advance
 
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