Need help finding the right bike (newbie)

[Greyze]

Morning all,

I am a basically a newbie biker (haven't used one in 8 years) and i'm trying to pick the right bike for my needs, I don't know how what the market is like these days; so essentially i'm hoping to find a good website to purchase, common quality brands to look into, perhaps up to the £300 range? etc.

My main use for a bike is to ride to work daily which is only 4 miles a day so not a big deal for durability, but I would also like to use the bike for the occasional long journey which might include a little rough terrain, but mostly large distances on roads (lets say 20 miles, something like this http://goo.gl/maps/yJ5wU).

So far I've learned that the most suitable bike may be a Hybrid bike, the speed of a road bike while having some of the durability of a mountain bike.. am I on the right track here? in fact this carrera bike seems to be suggested quite a bit, though I wonder why its only available at half fords and almost every other bike store in the UK don't stock them at all.

Anyway, sorry for the long post and thanks for helping

 

[Nearly there]

Apart from the well regarded carrera from halfords decathlon are much better thought of for bikes have a look
http://www.decathlon.co.uk/C-10829-bikes

 

[Greyze]

Thanks for the link, seems to be quite alot of choice on it. Did you have a specific bike to look at or just anything on the website i'd feel happy with?

 

[vickster]

Carrera is a Halfords brand - the bikes are very well regarded, the mechanics less so (although some branches do seem good)

I am not sure Decathlon's hybrids are as good as the much vaunted Triban 3 road bike

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-3-road-bike-id_8167038.html

For £300, I'd maybe look for a used Trek 7.3, a Giant Rapid or a Specialized Sirrus

 

[Greyze]

Excellent!

I will gladly looking into used bikes too, such as the ones you suggested. Can you suggest places to look at used bikes? or is Ebay fine?

 

[rusty bearing]

Be very careful of Ebay. we get a lot of bikes through the workshop which are 'bargains' until the customer finds out what is needed to fix them and the cost of doing so! Not so much of a bargain then.......................
Buying online is OK if you get the right size bike but if you have a problem very often you have to return the entire machine back to the seller. I would always advocate a decent local shop over the internet for the convenience when things go out of synch as they will.

 

[Greyze]

I will likely go for the Triban, seems to be the best choice out of my current options. I looked around at local dealers and none stock such a bike, they have their alternatives of course but that just means more research and decisions.

Thanks for the advice guys

 

[Greyze]

Well, how disappointing!
I contacted Decathlon for some info on the Triban because its out of stock on the site. First they told me they are sold out entirely, and possibly for a long time because the maker is phasing out the bike entirely for a new model. The new model has a steel fork instead of carbon and it is white. While that was disappointing, I later learned that they can't deliver to me anyway because the distance is above 20miles.

What a shame, I was totally excited about Decathlon too. I don't know much about other brands such as GIANT etc which my local stores seem to sell.. perhaps the Carrera is the best choice.

 

[Fuzzball]

Gumtree is worth a try, see what is on offer in your area and get a bike mechanic to give it a quick look over before buying

 

[SpokeyDokey]

Well, how disappointing!
I contacted Decathlon for some info on the Triban because its out of stock on the site. First they told me they are sold out entirely, and possibly for a long time because the maker is phasing out the bike entirely for a new model. The new model has a steel fork instead of carbon and it is white. While that was disappointing, I later learned that they can't deliver to me anyway because the distance is above 20miles.

What a shame, I was totally excited about Decathlon too. I don't know much about other brands such as GIANT etc which my local stores seem to sell.. perhaps the Carrera is the best choice.

Giant are the biggest bike brand in the world - they make very good bikes.

Buy local - if you run into difficulties you know where to go and it saves returning the bike.

 

[Greyze]

Seems like local is the best option, I've found one of the most reputable bike stores in my area, they strongly suggest the Ridgeback Speed. So I guess I may be going to take a look around there instead of Halfords.