Cycling UK Forum

The Giant Roam might be an option and the Roam 4 is in your budget and you may even get a Roam 3 as they'll be dropping prices on them now it's the end of the season.

For more of a touring style one the Giant Cypress is OK as well and is more suited to fitting it with storage racks or panniers for carrying stuff.

From what you've said so far it looks like it comes down to two choices regarding type of bike for you, Hybrid or Road Bike. Each has it's own good and bad points so really depends on what you're going to use it for and I was recently in the same boat as you so know a bit about it.

Road Bike

- Strictly Road and paths only. The odd bit of gravel may be OK but not advised.
- Not as comfortable as an MTB or Hybrid

Hybrid

- Various types of hybrid around so you can go for one closer to a road bike or closer to a mountain bike or tourer depending on requirements.
- Jack of all trades but master of none. You may get frustrated at it not being as fast as road bike or as robust as an MTB if it doesn't match your needs.

Personally, I have a cheap MTB for a bit of off road but after a few weeks of cycling I was getting frustrated at the amount of effort it took to get it moving compared to Road Bikes so bought one of those as well. For general off road you really don't need full suspension at all, front suspension is more than adequate, and if your budget is at the lower end then it may be better with no suspension because the cheaper ones are just not worth it.

On the other hand, I know I would have been very frustrated if I just had a Road Bike because Epping Forest is on my doorstep and not being able to cycle there with a frail road bike would have irritated me just as much!

If you're looking for fitness and distance riding only a road bike is the way to go(you'll soon get frustrated at how much faster cyclists on Road Bikes seems in comparison!) but if it's for leisure rising then it's probably a hybrid and you'll just have to accept it's limitations compared to a pure MTB or Road Bike.

IrishBill76 wrote:

AndyBSG wrote:Had a bit of a look around and found these three which seem OK but I don't really know what I should be looking for

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00B ... 6HPF6G8MCI
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00B ... 6HPF6G8MCI
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000 ... 9XD7FFS162

I bought the 3rd one down, the Oxford one. It is indeed rated as Sold Secure Gold for bicycle use and silver rated for scooter use. It weighs a ton and reassuringly so. I'd be very surprised if a better lock for that money could be found. Just make sure the key goes all the way in before you try to open it as it can sometimes be a bit sticky and you don't to have the horror story of a broken key in your lock like so many others. Kryponite locks spring to mind.

Ordered that one myself in the end so looking forward to the 'reassuring' weight smacking against my back as I cycle around with it in my back pack!

Had a bit of a look around and found these three which seem OK but I don't really know what I should be looking for

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00B ... 6HPF6G8MCI
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00B ... 6HPF6G8MCI
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000 ... 9XD7FFS162

I'm after a new bike lock as i've only got a fairly cheap one at the moment but I do not want a D-Lock.

I know a D-Lock is the way to go but there is nowhere on my frame to fit it so I need one that I can carry comfortably in my rucksack.

So, can anyone recommend a reasonably priced chain or cable lock that is easy to carry and that has a high security rating(preferably a gold rated Sold Secure)

I have looked at the Kryptonite Fahgettaboudit but it looks a little on the short side at 90cm?

Is it just the bike you need for that £450 or do you need all the other gear such as lights, pump, etc?

I'm off to get a Thule fitted this weekend and agree it is pricey... Especially as I don't have a tow bar so have to pay for that as well, but after this weekend I don't begrudge paying it.

Training for L2B at the moment but was away for the weekend so bought a cheap Halfords Cycle carrier so I could take the bikes with mer and get some miles in. Spent nearly an hour fitting it and once I put the bikes on I took one look and thought 'No way am I leaving almost 2 grands worth of bikes on that while I do 70 MPH' so took the whole thing off and crammed two of the three bikes in the back of the car with the seats down.

I then took off up the M11 and suddenly traffic was stopping all over the place, finally got past it to see it was caused by a car with a cycle rack similar to the one i'd abandoned which had dropped all three bikes and they were in several pieces on the hard shoulder.

Booked up to get a towbar and Thule fitted as soon as I got home that night!

IMO these idiots existed long before Twitter or social media so I don't think social media is responsible for creating more of them, it's just responsible for exposing the truly moronic ones who think that these crimes are something to boast about and don't understand that people can see their stupid boasts and use them as evidence!

I have the Cateye Strada Wireless which cost me just over £30 from Amazon.

The actual sensor is a small circular disk that connects to the spokes and is about the same size as a 5p piece.

I picked up a couple of pairs of these ones which were reasonably priced and comfortable enough

http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Endura-Mesh-Box ... _44387.htm

Rod Liddle is an idiot and always has been.

I'm actually surprised he's got a column in the Sun because his thinly veiled racism would make him an ideal candidate for the Daily Mail and how a bigotted, woman bashing, neanderthal like him has been responsible for reporting 'impartial' news and current affairs to the public is beyond me.

Willski wrote:Gotta be honest, bit nervous about wearing the shorts though !

Just do what I did and get padded undershorts which you wear instead of boxers with a normal pair of shorts over the top.

Also, when you pick your bike up don't do what I did which was to pick it up in the middle of the City Of London on a busy Saturday morning then try to ride home on a new bike through London.

In retrospect I should have picked it up in my car and drove to somewhere a bit safer/quieter for my first ride as there were a few hairy moments as I tried to clip in, get use to cycling while not upright or find the correct gear/brake through London traffic!

Just wondering what people's views and experience of cycling clubs are?

I'm wondering if joining a cycling club will drive me to get better or just discourage me completely when I see how fit everyone else is in comparison to me!

Are cycling clubs generally for all levels of cyclist or do they tend to be for the more serious/elite cyclist?

At the moment I just go out cycling 3 or 4 times aweek as and when I have spare time and am pretty disciplined about it so not sure if I even need a cycling club.

pioneer wrote:Just had a go at mapmyride. Easy enough so far, can't figure out how to print though. Hmmmm....

Once you've set up a route and saved it just click on 'My Home', 'My Routes & course' click on the route in question then you should get to the main summary page where you can Edit, Export, Send To Phone or Print the route.

Send to Phone is particularly useful if you download the app that goes with the web site

I use www.mapmyride.com which is pretty good