New bike time but clueless what to get

[Biff600]

Hi folks, just joined your forum hoping to get some sane advice rather than from some bored salesman chasing his commission !!

I am in the market for a new treader, I have had this old pig-iron MTB for the past 5 years or so, and TBH it's a pain to get moving at any speed.

So...............

I have decided to go for something a little more lightweight (old bones and knackered knees from years of unadulterated abuse).

I fancy the idea of either a fixed gear/single-speed bit of kit and have seen some cracking looking ones with Aventon frames or a full-on road bike with loads of gears and drop down handlebars .

Can someone please explain the pros & cons of each type, it'll be used purely for leisure/getting to the pub/keeping fit etc

My budget is around 600 quid

This clown I was speaking to today was trying to sell me a bike for £1100 and didn't even come with pedals.
The conversation went something like::

Me: I'm after a new treader, my budget is about £600, something lighter than the Death Star that I currently have.

Him: This is a bargain, (pointing at this particular bike) it was £1700 and we have discounted it only for this weekend to £1100.

Me: Very nice, but my budget doesn't extend that far

Him: It is a bargain, it has all the bells and whistles (actually it did have a bell, but no sign of any whistles) and it's only for this weekend, c'mon sit on it, it's the perfect bike for you blah blah blah !

He then went on to explain that it had carbon this that and the other, I don't want to sound dismissive, but I didn't have a clue what he was on about. As I said, I've had this rattly old MTB for a while, the previous bike I had, I used for my paper-round before I started shaving. So as far as modern bikes are concerned, I am clueless !
Anyway, back to the conversation....

Me, It's got no pedals

Him: No, it doesn't come with pedals

Me: Why not ? How do I ride it then?

Him: You buy some pedals, people like to put their own pedals on

Me: (at this point I am proper confused) So you are trying to sell me a bike that is out of my price range and that I can't ride ?

Him: Oh you can, you just have to put some pedals on it

Me: So what is the point of the bell ?

I'd had enough of this smarmy clown so I just walked away.

So folks, please understand my plight, I know zip about bikes, I want half-decent one and more than that I wish for some sensible solutions and advice.

Thanks in advance

 

[DCLane]

I got the same approach 5 years ago and walked away.

Choose something that suits your needs and in that sort of budget.

Fixed gear is popular but is more challenging in hilly areas - are you OK with that? Alternatively having a set of gears is useful for anyone wanting to get into doing more miles.

£600 buys you a decent entry-level bike; for a road bike have a look at a Specialized Allez, Boardman Road Sport, a Cannondale CAAD8 / Synapse or similar.

 

[steve50]

Gotta agree with DClane, a good entry level road bike can be had for that sort of money and you will have some change left over to spend on "extras", i have the Boardman road Sport which I am very happy with.

 

[Racing roadkill]

If I were you, I'd look at 'off the shelf' offerings.

If you can stretch your budget by 50 quid

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/...goryId=165710&productId=1173835&storeId=10001

This is pretty good.

If you want a pure 'road bike'

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-520-road-bike-sora-black-red-id_8322663.html

Try this ( I have one of these, it's very good)

It also comes as a flat bar hybrid.

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-520-flat-bar-road-bike-sora-id_8322799.html

 

[Drago]

I think you need to accept though that many bikes of moderate quality upwards are unlikely to come with pedals, and those that done will probably have cheap plastic jobs that'll barely get you home.

Shop around and you'll get last years Felt F75 for £600. Its a £1000 bike that feels like a £2000 one. That's a recommendation, but you really need to try a few, see what's going to suit you.

 

[Fab Foodie]

High priced bikes don't come with pedals because people prefer to add their own type of clipless system of which there are many .... though a good shop would throw in a cheap pair of flatties for free.

I think some more questions are in order:

Terrain, is it hilly or flat?
What kind of surfaces will you be riding? Roads only, the odd canal path/bridalway, across the open fields
Was the seating position of the old MTB good for you and you just want something lighter and faster
All year round use - mudguards?


There's endless choices these days:
Full-on lightweight road-bike with low down drop bars
Flat barred road-bikes still light with skinny tyres
Flat barred road bikes/hybrids with heavier duty wheels and wider tyres for occasional gentle off-road use
Touring bikes either flat barred or drop barred with heavier wheels and tyres, more relaxed frames for long distance comfort and gentle canal paths etc
City bikes, more upright, strong wheels and wider tyres, nearly always with a rack, guards and often dynamo lighting
yadda yadda yadda the list goes on these days with Audax bikes, Gravel bikes, every combination and permutation you can think of.

For a good entry, Decathlon Btwin bikes are very well specced for a very good price and the savings will allow you to add extras that you'll possibly need and some kit within your £600 budget.

 

[Catweasel]

Noob here as well - but I went through the buying of the bike experience last year. I reckon I had a slight advantage in that I knew what I wanted...

Years ago I had a fixie - and they're great, but bloody hard work on the hills - loads of grinding and/or walking. Years and years ago I had a tourer based on a road bike which I enjoyed....and a few years ago I had this god-awful, bloody heavy, sit and beg sturmey archer type thing which was, well, not good.

So I knew that I wanted something with gears, something reasonably light (lighter than the sit up and beg at least), something that could take a pannier rack with ease (so them thar attachment point wossnames), something that was a tad roughty-toughty that I could throw around town, bounce up and down curbs, ride easy off-road tracks etc etc. I also had a much lower budget than the OPs...which led me to start looking in the 2nd hand market but that's just a huge waste of time - mis-leading adverts, trailing all over town, the wrong size, missing information in the ad...etc etc...

In the end I wandered into Sports Experts and bought a bike shaped object during one of their sales and got another 10% knocked off of it as it was a display model - total price was something like €250 (they're even cheaper in the UK..grrrrr - http://www.muddyfox.com/muddyfox-tempo200-mens-933010?colcode=93301044).

Mind you, that's just the start of it ... because since then....(I had the bike over the winter before I bought anything so I had a reasonable idea of what I wanted/needed changing)

A Brooks B17 saddle £55 + delivery
Front and rear pannier racks (cheap) £50 + delivery
Front and rear panniers - £25 + delivery
Front and rear lights - £20 + ...
A decent foot pump - £20
A saddle bag and a handlebar bag - £35 +

Haven't bought any clothing yet but my arse is crying out for some semi-decent cycling shorts (£30?) and I'm pondering shoes (£50+? - I've super wide feet) - but I'm happy in sandals and my running gear for now.

But you can see how costs can escalate pretty quickly. So based on my experience, if your total budget is £600, deduct £X from that to buy some farkles, make your mind up about fixed, mountain-bike (bombing down hills) ,road bike (tour-de-france), town-bike (sit up and beg with a nice basket on the front), hybrid (jack of all, master of none), full suspension (probably out of your price range) or front only (I'd have preferred none given my budget but it's what they had).

 

[bonsaibilly]

I would get a Giant Defy and they are 20% off at the mo as well which makes them even more of a no-brainer (if that were possible)...

http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Giant-Defy-2-2016-Road-Bike_84150.htm


BB

 

[vickster]

Decide what you want now and wait till September when all the big discounts start. Buy now, cry September!.

And miss a summer of cycling. There are always deals especially on older models

 

[jefmcg]

Decide what you want now and wait till September when all the big discounts start. Buy now, cry September!.

Or save even more by not ever getting a bike.

 

[jefmcg]

So folks, please understand my plight, I know zip about bikes, I want half-decent one and more than that I wish for some sensible solutions and advice.

When I bought my first road bike, I went into quite a few shops with my basic criterium - "drop bar commuter". I looked at what they showed me, and after a few shops and a couple of test, I knew what I wanted and what the market price was. (FWIW, in my case it was a Alu framed, carbon fork with tiagra, which were all about £800). That technique showed me quite a few different models, and told me which shops I wanted to deal with. Still happy to drop in on them on occasion, for a repair I can't handle on my own, or for a special part.

 

[Bonefish Blues]

High priced bikes don't come with pedals because people prefer to add their own type of clipless system of which there are many .... though a good shop would throw in a cheap pair of flatties for free.

I think some more questions are in order:

Terrain, is it hilly or flat?
What kind of surfaces will you be riding? Roads only, the odd canal path/bridalway, across the open fields
Was the seating position of the old MTB good for you and you just want something lighter and faster
All year round use - mudguards?


There's endless choices these days:
Full-on lightweight road-bike with low down drop bars
Flat barred road-bikes still light with skinny tyres
Flat barred road bikes/hybrids with heavier duty wheels and wider tyres for occasional gentle off-road use
Touring bikes either flat barred or drop barred with heavier wheels and tyres, more relaxed frames for long distance comfort and gentle canal paths etc
City bikes, more upright, strong wheels and wider tyres, nearly always with a rack, guards and often dynamo lighting
yadda yadda yadda the list goes on these days with Audax bikes, Gravel bikes, every combination and permutation you can think of.

For a good entry, Decathlon Btwin bikes are very well specced for a very good price and the savings will allow you to add extras that you'll possibly need and some kit within your £600 budget.

OP, this is wise advice and items for consideration.

Go to a decent bike shop and theyw ill guide you through the process, as there's a world of choice out there! FWIW I reckon the two I've emboldened above are the most verstatile types and you'd want a good reason to be choosing something from above or below.

 

[vickster]

Wont be missing anything as he has a bike to be getting on with. Depends what your after. I'd have a look on the CTC forum as well as I've seen some good deals on there.Pauls Cycles as well.

He says...
I am in the market for a new treader, I have had this old pig-iron MTB for the past 5 years or so, and TBH it's a pain to get moving at any speed.

Maybe he wants a new bike now for good weather!

No guarantees either. With Brexit prices may rise for starters due to sterling weakening

 

[vickster]

If knees are knackered, a geared bike might be kinder than a fixed or SS unless you will never go up hills

Could look at a bike with the single chainring 1x11 set up if liking simplicity and not in too hilly an area. Something like the Whyte Shoreditch

 

[Biff600]

Maybe he wants a new bike now for good weather!

It will only ever get used in good weather, I absolutely refuse to ride in the wet or cold. If there is anything bigger than the Expedia cloud in the sky, I'm staying in !!