What bike to get me started?

[david1701]

personally I quite like gears and disks as a n00bish cyclist they cover a lot of mistakes (and I make stupid ones)

 

[slowmotion]

Is there something I am missing?




Choose the bike you want. Then buy last year's model of the same bike. No, really!

 

[marzjennings]

Unfortunately the OP only has £200 and seems like some hilly stuff and maybe carry some fishing gear.

We'll have to agree to disagree about hybrids ....

Then maybe something second hand. There's a nice GT 29er on ebay for 200.

Single speeds, in general are geared for going up and not for going down and so hills won't be a problem. And there's nothing wrong with paniers on a ss.

Yea, I guess I'm not a fan of hybrids. I just don't see the point or even know what they are. Are they roadie bikes with flat bars, 'cos that's still just a roadie bike, a slightly burlier frames with flat bars, 'cos that's just a cyclocross bike with flat bars, or a really burley frame with flat bars, 'cos that's just a mtb with slicks.

 

[Kestevan]

Im with FF on this one.

At that sort of price, you will struggle to beat the Decathlon bikes. They're pretty much perfect for what you need.

Forget full suss, hardtail or no-suspension is def the way to go unless you're going to spend silly money.

Other alternative is a second hand bike, but you really need to know what you are looking for/have some tech knowledge before you go down this route.

 

[Fab Foodie]

well I might be willing to stretch the budget out some more IF it seems like there's gonna be a worthwhile increase in quality for what I want.

To me looking at things today, there didn't seem a great difference between 200 and 300quid bikes aside from more shiney paint! I looked as though things only really started getting interesting at the 450-500 mark which at this time is over-spending for what I am trying to achieve.
At the moment this is a "get to work and short trips" bike that way if serious cycling IS for me, it's served the job of getting me into it. If I find for some reason I am not getting on with heavy cycling, I've not chucked several hundred quid away.

Is there something I am missing?

Yes!

You can go to Halfrauds, Argos Toys r Us and buy a full suspension bike with disc brakes for £200 or less (like millions do) and it'll be an absolute dog, heavy, unreliable, constantly out of adjustment, poor tyres/bearings/gearchange etc. Then a fter a few weeks you'll never want to ride the thing again. It'll be fit for the skip as nobody will want to buy it. They're known as BSO's, Bike Shaped Objects.
OR
You could spenda few more quid on the basic Carerra Subway, or the Decathlon depending which you prefer and get a half-decent ride. The Carerra is a quality bit of kit for the money. It'll be soo much more fun to ride and it'll be reliable. Furthermore if you decide to buy a decent road-bike or MTB, you'de get a few quid for it back.

Cheap overspecced bikes put more people off cycling than anything else.
You can spend £200 sensibly. It's not snobbery, just experience.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Then maybe something second hand. There's a nice GT 29er on ebay for 200.

Single speeds, in general are geared for going up and not for going down and so hills won't be a problem. And there's nothing wrong with paniers on a ss.

Yea, I guess I'm not a fan of hybrids. I just don't see the point or even know what they are. Are they roadie bikes with flat bars, 'cos that's still just a roadie bike, a slightly burlier frames with flat bars, 'cos that's just a cyclocross bike with flat bars, or a really burley frame with flat bars, 'cos that's just a mtb with slicks.

I'm not against SS, (I've ridden fixed for nearly 30 years), but a fixed MTB geared for uphill on rough terrain is not going to be so much fun on the flat or on roads I'd reckon and maybe not the best starting point for a beginner where flexibility is important.

On hybrids, I agree it's a loose definition from flat-bar road-bikes to almost MTBs, but thay're generally quite adaptable for the cycling needs of the masses, fast enough for the road, robust enough for tow-paths forest trails etc, wide gear range, make good commuter irons and can be toured with. They're not for me, but I can appreciate their utility.

 

[marzjennings]

I'm not against SS, (I've ridden fixed for nearly 30 years), but a fixed MTB geared for uphill on rough terrain is not going to be so much fun on the flat or on roads I'd reckon and maybe not the best starting point for a beginner where flexibility is important.

On hybrids, I agree it's a loose definition from flat-bar road-bikes to almost MTBs, but thay're generally quite adaptable for the cycling needs of the masses, fast enough for the road, robust enough for tow-paths forest trails etc, wide gear range, make good commuter irons and can be toured with. They're not for me, but I can appreciate their utility.

Maybe, but my first bike was a single speed, crappy little bmx that'd I would ride for miles. No shifters, mechs or cables to worry about. Just jump on and go. I was excited to get my first 5 speed, then 10 speed and now 30 speed, but usually the bike I take for shiort runs to the store or mates house is my mtb single speed. It's always good to go and I don't worry about chain or gear cable stretch.

I get what you're saying about hybrids, but I've always had this sneaking suspision that they only came about because some geezer had bunch of road frames and flat bars to shift.

 

[Xiorell]

Yes!

You can go to Halfrauds, Argos Toys r Us and buy a full suspension bike with disc brakes for £200 or less (like millions do) and it'll be an absolute dog, heavy, unreliable, constantly out of adjustment, poor tyres/bearings/gearchange etc. Then a fter a few weeks you'll never want to ride the thing again. It'll be fit for the skip as nobody will want to buy it. They're known as BSO's, Bike Shaped Objects.
OR
You could spenda few more quid on the basic Carerra Subway, or the Decathlon depending which you prefer and get a half-decent ride. The Carerra is a quality bit of kit for the money. It'll be soo much more fun to ride and it'll be reliable. Furthermore if you decide to buy a decent road-bike or MTB, you'de get a few quid for it back.

Cheap overspecced bikes put more people off cycling than anything else.
You can spend £200 sensibly. It's not snobbery, just experience.

This all makes perfect sense.
This Carerra Subway, looks alright to me. I'll have a look at it tomorrow if I get up to halfords, gonna take a look at the little independant place in town first.
These hybrid bikes then, they'll be alright with the country side beaten trak stuff, between town and the villages?

 

[slowmotion]

I bought one of these in June 2009 as a bike to re-introduce me to some kind of bike fun...

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/dawes/discovery-501-2008-hybrid-bike-ec000421

It was quite light, but even the ten mile round trip to work seemed like torture for the first few weeks. Over the next eighteen months it was used to make trips down the towpath (sometimes fairly rough), a couple of 70 mile day trips in Holland, and a couple of night rides of vaguely similar length. It has 700 x 25 tyres which can easily cope with cinder paths.

I bought my first road bike two months ago. I can quite safely say that if I had bought it instead of the hybrid, back in 2009, I would not be cycling today. Get a "thin" hybrid. Good luck.

 

[Fab Foodie]

This all makes perfect sense.
This Carerra Subway, looks alright to me. I'll have a look at it tomorrow if I get up to halfords, gonna take a look at the little independant place in town first.
These hybrid bikes then, they'll be alright with the country side beaten trak stuff, between town and the villages?

Hi
Hybrids come in MTB wheel size 26" and Road-bike wheel size 700c generally a bit thinner and taller.
The Carerra has 26" wheels and tyres with slightly fatter road style tyres, others have say 700 x 28 or 700 x 35 road tyres which are fatter than a racing bike's and properly pumped-up will be fine cross country/farm tracky stuff between the villages (like the Boardman Hybrid for example, when you're in Halfrauds). Slightly fatter will be a little more comfort and absorbant over lumpy bits and a tad slower on the road. There's always a trade-off.
You local shops will know your locals roads so they should have useful advice.

 

[NotFabian]

Which bike is the least of your concerns when you're planning to carry your tackle in a backpack and strap your pole to your bike.

 

[Xiorell]

Thanks alot for the input guys, it's given me a better idea what I should look for to suit my needs. I'm off to the local place in town shortly. I just had a thought too, they used to do used bikes, not sure if they still do I've not been in there in years but, might find some hidden gem.
Only thing is I know they are more into the special stuff, like 600-1500 stuff and they used to have a fair bit of 5000+ stuff in there but they did used to have some entry level type stuff at least. If nothing else I am betting I'd get more solid advise there than Halfords (being the only other place in town now that has any selection of bikes).

After that it's back to Halfords to take a look at the bikes I instantly ignored yesterday, wanna take a look at this Subway thing for sure.

Whatever I get, be it a 150quid thing or a 300+ bike I wanna get a little trip computer, I'd like to keep track of total miles done since purchase date then compare how much it would have cost me to do those miles in the 2 cars I had thought about buying

 

[summerdays]

Yes!

You can go to Halfrauds, Argos Toys r Us and buy a full suspension bike with disc brakes for £200 or less (like millions do) and it'll be an absolute dog, heavy, unreliable, constantly out of adjustment, poor tyres/bearings/gearchange etc. Then a fter a few weeks you'll never want to ride the thing again. It'll be fit for the skip as nobody will want to buy it. They're known as BSO's, Bike Shaped Objects.
OR
You could spenda few more quid on the basic Carerra Subway, or the Decathlon depending which you prefer and get a half-decent ride. The Carerra is a quality bit of kit for the money. It'll be soo much more fun to ride and it'll be reliable. Furthermore if you decide to buy a decent road-bike or MTB, you'de get a few quid for it back.

Cheap overspecced bikes put more people off cycling than anything else.
You can spend £200 sensibly. It's not snobbery, just experience.

I second FF ... the components are usually rubbish to make them at this price whereas the simpler bikes without suspension and disk brakes can spend that little bit more on those little things that make a difference. I'm talking from experience as an ex-owner of a Toys'r'us full sus bike. Either a Carerra or Decathlon usually get the best ratings at that sort of price range. You can then save up for the next bike

 

[Jezston]

Xiorell: does your employer perhaps offer the opportunity to buy bikes on the cycle to work scheme? You may find you can afford something a lot nicer if you buy through that.

 

[Xiorell]

Right boys and girls.
Gone and brought me a Hybrid thingy. Completely rigid. Tis a Raleigh Cruz.
Went to the local independant place in town, spent some time upstairs alone picking up bikes of different types, cocking my leg over, giving them a little ride about the shop.
Didn't like the wieght of anything with suspension at all till you started getting to the 400quid plus region. propper road/race bikes, at this point not what I am after.
Was looking at a few but the one I picked up was an acceptable wieght and had nicer "trimmings" that the other contenders like the quick fire gears and what not. Had a ride around on it and the gearing seemed nice enough. It looked nice and the price was right.
Had them set it up, got me some lights and a little trip computer so I can see how many miles I've totalled. And a lock! lol.

Road it home to drop my stuff off, 2miles, and took it on a little 6mile spin after that.
So far so good it seems like it'll do me just fine for what I want right now! So happy enough to get cycling around the land a bit.