What budget bike should I get?

[jnb]

I have a budget of about £200 to get a bike. Now I want this for short commutes, cycling to the squash club, farm shop etc. and also so my wee boy sees daddy doing something healthy rather than just sitting on his behookey. My preference would be for a touring style bike but they don't come in at that price point so that's not an option and I'll probably be looking ata budget hybrid.

I know a lot of people would probably suggest that I should be spending a grand or more, certainly the first two bike shops I visited wanted to do that, but cycling if it's not a cheap option isn't an option at all. So I want a bike that will cost me about £200, I'll then want to add guards racks, child seat, lights etc but they're not part of that budget. Any suggestions?

 

[mark barker]

I assume you're looking for a new bike rather than used? My LBS has a range of "viking" branded bikes in stock, many are well within your budget, and the range includes dropped bar road bikes, hybrids and relaxed "city" bikes. I've not tried them myself, but they looked to be well put together, so might be worth a glance.

 

[P.H]

What happened to bike prices!!!!!!!!!!!

There were four or five I was going to suggest you looked at around that price, so I thought, when I went looking for the links I see they're all around £60 dearer now then last time I looked.

So, just one I have to suggest you look at, a little over your budget at £230, though it includes mudguards which many don't. Decent steel frame, sensible kit, nice looking bike and very capable of everything you want. I know someone who did a fair bit of touring on theirs. Kona Smoke

http://www.evanscycl...d-bike-ec021820

 

[aberal]

How long do you want to keep the bike? If the answer is 5 years then you should spend £5-1000 and buy a bike that will last at least 5 years (probably 10) and thus would cost you £1-200 year over its lifetime + a wee bit of maintenance. A £200 bike on the other hand will last you precisely one year and end up sitting in the shed rusty, unused and unloved. The point is - not that anyone is trying to get you to divest yourself of hard earned dosh, but that anyone who knows anything about bikes will advise anyone who doesn't know about bikes to avoid wasting their money on 200 quid on something which will be made out of old bedsteads and cheap plastic in a Chinese sweat shop. If 200 quid is your absolute maximum budget, then hunt around and buy a good branded second hand bike.

 

[P.H]

That's not my experience at all. Before I got into cycling and spent £4,000 plus on three bikes I had a Raleigh Pioneer for six years that did everything jnb is asking for. You can buy complete rubbish at this price, you can also get something that'll do what's required. A workmate has been riding to work on a Halfords Subway that cost less than £200 three years ago, OK we upgraded some of the components when they'd worn out, but the idea that it's a rubbish bike is nonsense.

Look at the Kona I link too above, read the reviews, not just the shop ones, have a look at what the owners say. OK, it's heavy, it's not going to win any races or beauty contests, but it will represent excellent value for money.

http://www.roadbikereview.com/cat/l...e/kona-mountain-bikes/PRD_291078_5672crx.aspx

 

[jnb]

I'd happily buy secondhand, in fact I always prefer to but secondhand rather than new it's the ultimate recycling, but that only works when you know what you're looking at which in this case I don't. I couldn't even at this point tell you what frame size I would want or whether a particular make has a good or bad reputation. So that means I need advice and would repfer a guarantee which means looking at new. (I would still consider second hand if it's near enough and cheap enough that it's worth a punt)

How long would I keep the bike? If it's a good one several years, If I get properly into cycling then I'd look at replacing with a tourer. But the fact that I might keep it for several years isn't a reason to spend more because right now I can't tell you what sort of bike I'd want some years from now. The main criteria here is to avoid anything so bad that it will rust unused and put me off ever cycling again.

 

[potsy]

I'd have a trip down to Decathlon if there is one nearby, some decent bikes in there for not much money

 

[DTD]

Someone mentioned Edinburgh Cycle Coop were selling off some remainders for about £200 – only seemed to have biggish sizes though.

 

[aberal]

That's not my experience at all. Before I got into cycling and spent £4,000 plus on three bikes I had a Raleigh Pioneer for six years that did everything jnb is asking for.

That's fair enough if that's been your experience. But it's not been mine. My first two bikes were bottom of the range budget things. For less than the price of these first two combined I could have bought my third bike - a mid range Specialized Rockhopper outright and had the decent bike for two years and saved myself hours of furstratrion and, frankly pain. The first bike, a Puch road bike had a "Hi-ten" steel frame which transmitted every ripple in the road surface straight into my bones.

Kona do build their budget frames in China by the way. Thought to be fair that's also probably true of many manufacturers these days.

I'd happily buy secondhand, in fact I always prefer to but secondhand rather than new it's the ultimate recycling, but that only works when you know what you're looking at which in this case I don't. I couldn't even at this point tell you what frame size I would want or whether a particular make has a good or bad reputation. So that means I need advice and would repfer a guarantee which means looking at new. (I would still consider second hand if it's near enough and cheap enough that it's worth a punt)

How long would I keep the bike? If it's a good one several years, If I get properly into cycling then I'd look at replacing with a tourer. But the fact that I might keep it for several years isn't a reason to spend more because right now I can't tell you what sort of bike I'd want some years from now. The main criteria here is to avoid anything so bad that it will rust unused and put me off ever cycling again.

There are decent websites reviewing all sorts of bikes and you can get advice on this forum if you find a bike second hand to your size and liking.

If you are going to spend £200 you'd be as well spending £500 IMO and getting something which at least is decent to ride AND if you don't like it, at least you can sell it for (say) £250-300 a year down the line. A £200 bike will end up in a car boot sale. The point I'm making is that it's actually more economic to spend a bit more. That way you avoid the mistakes I (and thousands of others) made. You will likely regret spending £200 you will likely not regret spending £500. Assuming you can stretch to that of course. Consider this for example - Revolution

 

[rb58]

+1 on taking a trip to Decathlon.

 

[jnb]

There are decent websites reviewing all sorts of bikes and you can get advice on this forum if you find a bike second hand to your size and liking.

If you are going to spend £200 you'd be as well spending £500 IMO and getting something which at least is decent to ride AND if you don't like it, at least you can sell it for (say) £250-300 a year down the line. A £200 bike will end up in a car boot sale. The point I'm making is that it's actually more economic to spend a bit more. That way you avoid the mistakes I (and thousands of others) made. You will likely regret spending £200 you will likely not regret spending £500. Assuming you can stretch to that of course. Consider this for example - Revolution

Looked at the revolution / edinburgh cycle coop bikes and, while I like them they are not local to me and I can't really justify spedning £500 on a bike. Unfortunately this all means that I might have to spend my pennies at halfords or similar. (and yes I know that means I might then need to take it to a real bike shop to get it set up properly but it still might the only really affordable option)

So what do people think of this. It's not strictly a hybrid but mudguards and a change of tyres would sort that out and it might not even be what I buy in the end but it begs the question is that really a £360 bike at a genuine sale price or do Halford overcharge so much that it's not even worth considering. I suspect I'll get a load of "don't buy from halfords" comments now which is understandable but they have the great virtue of existing, not asking prices that are more than a car would cost and they have stock I can have a look at.

 

[Soltydog]

I bought a spesh globe, hybrid type bike over 4 years ago & with regular care & general maintenance it has served me well. Riden through all kinds of weathers, done 3 coast to coast rides on it & still going well. I've had to change the back wheel, but apart from that it has just been chains, brakes, cables, tyres etc that have needed replacing & it cost me less than £300, so with good care a £300 can last several years
Evans have some good deals at the moment in the sale, but only selected sizes on most models, something like THIS is probably a better bike than the Halfords one

 

[Sheffield_Tiger]

Looked at the revolution / edinburgh cycle coop bikes and, while I like them they are not local to me and I can't really justify spedning £500 on a bike. Unfortunately this all means that I might have to spend my pennies at halfords or similar. (and yes I know that means I might then need to take it to a real bike shop to get it set up properly but it still might the only really affordable option)

So what do people think of this. It's not strictly a hybrid but mudguards and a change of tyres would sort that out and it might not even be what I buy in the end but it begs the question is that really a £360 bike at a genuine sale price or do Halford overcharge so much that it's not even worth considering. I suspect I'll get a load of "don't buy from halfords" comments now which is understandable but they have the great virtue of existing, not asking prices that are more than a car would cost and they have stock I can have a look at.

No, it is not a £360 bike, and yes, I would avoid Halfords unless you want the risk of a badly set up clunker set up by a gawky teenager who is only on bikes from the Ripspeed chavmobile dept because the halfwit who normally puts them together badly (and wishes he worked in the Ripspeed chavmobile dept instead of the "gay" bike section, is off sick

I also concur with the avove comment about the Pioneer, and in that vein how about
http://www.jejamescycles.co.uk/claud-butler-windermere-mens-id57131.html

Whilst it's no super-bike it's fully equipped, bang on budget and for comparison is a far better bet than the horrid thing that's £35 cheaper with its plastic coated steel cranks that would be unpleasant to ride
http://www.jejamescycles.co.uk/probike-enterprise-gents-hybrid-bike-id48819.html

 

[jnb]

I also concur with the avove comment about the Pioneer, and in that vein how about
http://www.jejamescy...ns-id57131.html

That's a bit more like it. Only problem is that it means buying online which when you have no idea what you're doing is a bit harder.

 

[mcshroom]

Another Evans one is possibly the Dawes Mirage

If you live anywhere near a Decathlon, then there are options like the Fitness 1 which is a sort of flat barred road bike or the Rockrider 5.2 which is a pretty decent hardtail mountain bike (although there's no fork lock-out)