Newbie needing bike advice :)

[tom73]

@gshaw sorry miss read your post. Thought it read it closed (as in for the day) before you got chance to call in.

Decathlon is not a bad place to start for sure you can even ride round the shop on one. Just call in and see what you think on the whole they look to have good service and value hard to beat. From what i've seen they wont hard sell on your either even if it's turns out not for you you've at least ruled them out. If you want to keep your current one and happy to carry on and see what come's then do it. But if you like the idea of something a bit better then go for it.

Good 2rd hand bikes are to be had if you look if your really not too confident buying then new maybe best of both worlds.
It can be a right mind field when you 1st start it was for me which was not that long ago but once you get your head round the basics the smoke starts to clear.

 

[CXRAndy]

@gshaw

Your budget is pretty much at the bottom of any bike range. Is your idea to ride just a little or in the desire to get into cycling as a fitness/ lifestyle change. Accept that this bike will most likely be a stepping stone onto a better bike in a year or so. I would buy a wide tyre cyclocross/gravel bike with capability to take 40mm tyres. That will give enough suspension within the tyre. Suspension forks will be poor quality and heavy at the budget end.

Ride the bike until you get the bug for cycling or begin to hate it, that will decide the next step.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

This screams to me early non suspension Steel mtb like Marin Bear Valley , Giant , early Muddy Fox's , Saracen and such beasts
And like @DCLane say's keep the Apollo as a back up bike and use it to learn re diy repairs

Avoid twist grip gear changes

Absolutely spot-on. Cheapo bikes with suspension are basically heaps of junk straight from the factory. Riders on a low budget should keep well away from them and stick to 26" wheel steel-framed rigids that are lighter, simpler, and don't suffer the same mechanical issues you get with suspension BSOs.
Dare I say it, even an old Apollo would make a useable knockabout MTB, so long as you go for a fully rigid model, but there are plenty of better quality bikes out there on the secondhand market at very low prices if you are a savvy buyer. None of the bikes I knock about on gravel and in woods cost me more than £20 to buy, and I see no advantage in buying new or spending any more. I maintain them DIY on a shoestring and I get plenty of fun at virtually zero cost.
The beauty of the late 80's/90's style of rigid MTB is their all-round versatility. With mudguards, rack, and suitable tyres they can be adapted to all sorts of uses very easily and cheaply. If you were to buy another 26" rigid with the same number of gears as your FS 26, you could strip it for its wheels and have one wheelset with MTB tyres and one set with semi-slicks for road use. Swapping between them would only take a few minutes and you would have a bike better optimised for either off-road or tarmac riding. Modern MTBs have become too specialised for one type of use to be good all-round bikes, whereas the 90s style 26" wheel bikes are very adaptable and reasonably good at lots of things apart from road racing.

 

[gshaw]

@gshaw

Your budget is pretty much at the bottom of any bike range. Is your idea to ride just a little or in the desire to get into cycling as a fitness/ lifestyle change. Accept that this bike will most likely be a stepping stone onto a better bike in a year or so. I would buy a wide tyre cyclocross/gravel bike with capability to take 40mm tyres. That will give enough suspension within the tyre. Suspension forks will be poor quality and heavy at the budget end.

Ride the bike until you get the bug for cycling or begin to hate it, that will decide the next step.

It's already a fitness change as it gives me an alternative to running and something that can test me a bit with inclines and suchlike. Generally been used to having high fitness levels but had an ill spell in 2016 that knocked me for 6, just trying to get back to how I was previously (if not better)

Will I be doing 500km rides across France in it, no
Will I be doing regular 5-10km rides around Southend, definitely

The main thing that got me looking around was various posts \ articles saying how heavy the BSO bikes are and that you waste a lot of energy hauling that around. As I say it could be argued that's a good way to build strength if it takes double the effort or could also look at it that I might get more frustration with how tiring the big inclines are early on, not sure which side of the coin I'm at yet as I've only had 1 proper ride with a pair of fully inflated tyres (!)

Speaking of tyres think I need to fit two new ones of those as the knobbly bits are looking rather flat, certainly didn't grip too well in the mud over the weekend, your imagination can do the rest for the end result

 

[CXRAndy]

I bought my kid for their birthday a Boardman HYB 8.6. Flat bar, hydraulic brakes, wide tyre, with sub compact gearing, wide range cassette. A little more than your budget. This bike will last her years. Discounts can be had from Halfords with BC membership.

https://www.boardmanbikes.com/gb_en/products/2181-hyb-8.6-grey.html

 

[gshaw]

So it appears Decathlon are doing a clearout of their B-Twin bikes, I guess to make space for the new Triban brand models instead. Think they're out of stock of most of the clearance offers though, typical.

Local bike shop can do me a deal on a GT Aggressor Sport, seems to be a model or two down from the GT in the Gumtree link (seller doesn't reply) - thoughts?

 

[Grant Fondo]

Just got my son one of these as XS size spot on

https://www.cyclerepublic.com/marin...uf0Y4V2dioXT9iFE3Xn_q6vogj7LkTuUaAiKFEALw_wcB
Great all purpose bike and reasonably light.