New to the forum and just bought a couple of bikes - would value your opinion

[Syphon]

Hi,

New to the forum and not had my own bike for about 10 years. After a trip to Centre Parcs last week me and Mrs. decided to get into cycling properly with me commuting to work (6 miles each way) and taking occasional trips at the weekends.

I spent about 2.5 hours today in my local Evans store and the very helpful chap there gave me lots of advice and spent all that time with me to make sure I was happy with my purchase (despite being very busy).

I only discovered this forum tonight, so it's probably a bit late now, but I'd value your opinions on what I've ordered and expect to be delivered later in the week.

For me:
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/kona/dew-2009-hybrid-bike-ec017268

For the Mrs:
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/pinnacle/stratus-10-2009-womens-hybrid-bike-ec018118

Money well spent? or should I have come here first?!

I've also bought some accessories which he gave me a bit of a discount on (chain, pump, spare innner tubes, chain oil, helmets and a few other bits).

Cheers.

 

[The Jogger]

money well spent, so long as you use them and before you know it, you'll be eyeing up your next purchase . welcome to a great forum.
jogger

 

[Gerry Attrick]

Welcome Syphon. Good to have you aboard.

IMHO you won't go far wrong with your bikes. I have an earlier Pinnacle Stratus 2 which has seen hundreds of miles on and off road. The only thing I had to change was the chain set as the original became horribly noisy.

I'll give you three months before you are completely addicted and you will be buying road bikes, not to mention all the clothing and equipment which goes with them. Who said cycling was cheap transport?

 

[jimboalee]

Golden rules on 'buying wife a bike'.

1/ It MUST be as light as yours.
2/ It MUST be as light as yours.

 

[jimboalee]

Golden rules on 'buying wife a bike'.

1/ It MUST be as light as yours.
2/ It MUST be as light as yours.

Best it is LIGHTER.

 

[Sittingduck]

Hello & Welcome @ Syphon

Good choices I'd say. Ideal for a minimum outlay compares to some of the tosh you could get at that price point. Have heard the Pinnacle bikes are decent enough and the Kona Dew is a bit of a bargain for 300 notes IMHO. Ianrauk from this forum commutes regularly on one over not an inconsiderable distance... He'll no doubt be able to confirm it's reliability/quality

Cheers,
SD

 

[rich p]

Perfect price band for you to upgrade without having spent too much when the bug grabs you!

 

[HJ]

The main thing is to get out and ride them...

Enjoy

 

[ianrauk]

as per my esteemed friend SD quite rightly said, I can confirm the quality of the Kona Dew, very nice bike indeed imo, well made, tough, nice and light & very easy to throw around. Done a good few thousand miles on mine and has served me well.

ps and welcome to the forum

 

[Syphon]

Thanks for making me feel welcome. Glad to hear I've made a good choice. I was getting worried for a moment there!

I've probably got a few bits still to get, although I've picked up some padded boxers which I never knew even existed!

The journey is about 5.5 miles each way mostly flat however there's a bstd. hill at the end up to work. Any estimates how long it should take me? People in the office are guessing about half-an-hour. I need to do a trial run of course when the bike arrives.

Cheers

 

[Lazy-Commuter]

Thanks for making me feel welcome. Glad to hear I've made a good choice. I was getting worried for a moment there!

I've probably got a few bits still to get, although I've picked up some padded boxers which I never knew even existed!

The journey is about 5.5 miles each way mostly flat however there's a bstd. hill at the end up to work. Any estimates how long it should take me? People in the office are guessing about half-an-hour. I need to do a trial run of course when the bike arrives.

Cheers

Another welcome. There's always a few bits to get. ALWAYS. And you can always find a few more bits to get. After you've got the first bits. And so on.

Then you get into the number of bikes you need is n + 1 where n is the number you currently have. And then all that money you're saving on fuel has gone. And quite a few of its friends have gone with it. But it's lots of fun!!

As to the time your journey will take, that will depend on a lot of factors: not least the presence of any head or tail winds, traffic, how fit you are and so on.

For what it's worth, my journey (7 miles or so, quite steep hill for the first mile then gently down hill for the rest) took me approx 40 minutes to start with. A year on, it takes me around 25 minutes depending on what the wind's up to. There's minimal traffic on my route though I do sometimes get held up by cars going through one of the estates. This is on a not-particularly-expensive Giant MTB which I've put slicks on .. and I'm not ever so fit.

 

[Downward]

I have the Dew Deluxe - Only diff is it had disc brakes. These are great but in the wet your back wheel locks up v quick and in hindsight i prob should have saved ££ on the Dew.

I like mine it's a decent workhorse.

 

[HJ]

Thanks for making me feel welcome. Glad to hear I've made a good choice. I was getting worried for a moment there!

I've probably got a few bits still to get, although I've picked up some padded boxers which I never knew even existed!

The journey is about 5.5 miles each way mostly flat however there's a bstd. hill at the end up to work. Any estimates how long it should take me? People in the office are guessing about half-an-hour. I need to do a trial run of course when the bike arrives.

Cheers

1/2 an hour at the start would be about right, although you will get quicker as you get fitter. Let us know how you are getting on....

 

[Syphon]

Hi again. The bikes arrived on Thursday. Took mine for a spin round the block in the evening. Much easier to ride than the CP bike, but then they were proper mountain bikes.

Went out with the wife and our son in his trailer today for a half-an-hour pootle around. Very pleased and we all enjoyed the trip.

For some reason when the front gears are in second it seems to click all the time, no matter what gear I am in on the back. Any ideas what is causing this? It's quite annoying!

Cleared out the garage today to make room for the bikes. They just fit in front of the car if I remove their front wheels.

I've still got some clothing to get before I try a trek to work. Will hopefully take my first commute soon

Cheers.

 

[Ben M]

Welcome =]

Best it is LIGHTER.

Indeed, it gives you an excuse if she's beating you