First Bike?

[SteelCityColt]

Hello all,

First time reader, first time poster seeking a bit of nudging in the right direction. After going on a bit a fitness binge after hitting the post 30 blues which has mainly been gym and then some running I'm looking to add some bike riding into the mix. Initially planned on hiring a few times to make sure that I hadn't forgotten how to ride a bike (I think I was 16 the last time) and I've really enjoyed the first few dry runs.

I'm not starting to look into investing in my first bike and I've hit the obvious question, what bike? So far I've been riding on paved tracks tending towards unpaved slightly bumpy tracks at worst. Primarily be looking to ride to complement fitness work, looking to stick the paved/beaten paths to start with until I feel confident to try some road riding.

The advice I've had so far has consisted of spend a bit more now to get something that you won't out grown quickly, avoid hybrids, and learn to ride with cleats from the off. Budget I'm looking at is up to maybe £400 for the bike?

Open ears to any suggestions!

[Elizabethsdad]

Hi, and welcome to the forum.
If you can stand to stretch your budget a bit this is worth a look:-
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/cube ... prod141451

Shimano 8sp hub gear means low maintenance and you can change gears when stationary - useful if you have stopped in high gear and want to change down to make pulling away easier. No doubt plenty of other replies will point out the derailieur gears are easier to maintain but you would be doing that on a weekly basis. Since I discovered the joy of internal hub gears I haven't looked back.
Disc brakes for all weather stopping power and not wearing out the rims.
This bike also comes with rack, dynamo lights, kick stand and mudguards - extras that you would have to buy and fit separately on a lot of other bikes.

That said, some of the reviews posted list problems with the bike on delivery. This can be an issue with any mail order bike, so finding a good local bike shop means any problems can be more easily resolved.

[eileithyia]

Look at companies like Decathlon who produce some very good bikes with good quality components, similar to Aldi etc., they buy in bulk for their shops and offer some decent kitted bikes for reasonable prices.

Get to somewhere like Decathlon or Evans where you can ride a few bikes around the car park, decide if you want straight or drops. Having done off road riding for years, any reasonable tourer that can be ridden on our roads will adequately cope with tow paths, paved cycle routes etc. I have even ridden some fairly lightweight machines on tow paths and around places like the New Forest. So most bikes that can be ridden on the road will deal with the type of riding you describe.

Other things you may want to consider; can mudguards be fitted, lights?, do you need to carry a bag/luggage?

[theDaveB]

Defo get to Decathlon, very good and very cheap. You can even take stuff back within 12 months and get your money back if your not happy.

I paid £220 for a Original 5 Night & Day, thinking I don't want to spend a lot and then not like it. If I like it, will get a better bike, 3 years later am still riding the same bike and only changed the tyres and seat.

I am 6ft and 102kg

Dave

[pwa]

I'd pay £400+ to get something that will last. You have to pay to get hubs that don't easily let water into the bearings and so forth. And I'd say a lighter hybrid maybe just right for you. You don't sound like you want to go too far down the route of adventurous offroad stuff, so a pure moutainbike would be the wrong choice. You have no experience of road race bikes, and they take a bit of getting used to. A hybrid is the right general purpose choice for most people who are not experienced cyclists. You may not need suspension. It adds a lot of weight and only helps in a limited number of circumstances. Make sure you can sit comfortably on whatever you buy.

Leave the cleated pedals to later. They are great, but you have to learn how to use them. One thing at a time, perhaps.

[SteelCityColt]

Thank you to everyone for advice so far!

Certainly agree on not needing a MTB and suspension I think I can live without. To answer a few other questions:

- Don't plan on needing to carry luggage beyond maybe a little saddle bag for the essentials
- Mounting points for mudguards would at least give me the option but not essential (I don't mind getting muddy and I don't work in a commute friendly distance so I don't need to get anywhere in a presentable state)
- Way back in the day when I were a lad my Halfords special had "drop" (I use the term loosely) handlebars and I did quite like them. But it seems that pushes you towards the CX type stuff. I work with two keen cyclists, one a roadie one a MTB and they suggested I look at something like:
http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/product ... ross-bikes

Speaking of them... It's funny to see hybrids being suggested. I mean, on paper it would seem to right choice for my circumstance but every person I've know who cycles makes the sign of the cross when I mention them?

There's a local Decathlon so I'll get myself down there at some point, and there's quite a few other shops in Sheffield so I might do a tour one afternoon. I know the EBC here shut down though.

[Brucey]

Given the kind of riding you seem to want to do at present, whilst giving yourself some scope for 'trying other stuff out' I'd suggest that you look at a (so-called) Cyclocross bike.

In truth, often, such bikes are really a slightly lighter, slightly sportier version of a touring bike. You can fit them with skinny tyres and play racing bikes, or fit them with wider, tougher tyres and go down rough tracks. They are also versatile enough to commute on and will accept mudguards and a rack if you want to carry stuff.

If it were 'sale time' (autumn/winter) then £400 would get you something decent but at present you may struggle. A typical offering is the EBC ' revolution cross 1' model but @ £400 you don't even get a cassette hub at the back, so I don't think it is very good value TBH. Better is a 2014 model boardman from Halfords for £449.

So unless you can find a new bargain somewhere then I'd suggest that you might want to look at used ones. I just took a look on gumtree and there are some quite nice bikes in the £250 to £300 range, some hardly used. It can be a bit of a minefield buying used so a second opinion is always useful; if the bike has a worn transmission or some other fault then it could cost an appreciable amount to sort out.

I'd suggest that you buy a set of SPD (eg PD-M520) pedals and some SPD compatible shoes. Shimano SH-RT33 shoes are worth a look. SPD shoes allow you to clip in, clip out, and walk without waddling like a duck. If you find unclipping difficult even on the lightest setting, consider using SM-SH56 'multirelease' cleats instead; BTW these cleats come as standard with most SPD-click'r pedals, whereas most other SPD pedals come with SM-SH51 'single release' cleats.

hth

cheers

[Bonefishblues]

If this fits you, it really is a huge amount of bike for the money, and on the face of it is very much what would suit you:

viewtopic.php?f=40&t=106873&p=1023564#p1023564

[pwa]

Some so-called hybrid bikes are actually quite light and sporty. Just to get a feel for what's out there you might look in a Halfords Bikehut. Some hybrids have light alloy frames and, at the sportier end, carbon forks. They can be quite fast on the road but also okay on tracks.

Bike types merge into each other, so hybrids and tourers have an overlap.

[SteelCityColt]

If it were 'sale time' (autumn/winter) then £400 would get you something decent but at present you may struggle. A typical offering is the EBC ' revolution cross 1' model but @ £400 you don't even get a cassette hub at the back, so I don't think it is very good value TBH. Better is a 2014 model boardman from Halfords for £449.

Thank you for the detailed response . I'm a little confused as to the difference between cassette and non cassette? I assume you'd always want a cassette?

If this is the Boardman bike you meant, I did see it and was very tempted as they in have it in the advised frame size (I'm 5'7") but nearest store with it in is 100 miles away so not one to pop down and try for size.
http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/e ... -bike-2014

I did notice too the EBC are doing 15% of bike value in gear as an offer, so factoring in I might have to spend a fair bit getting kitted out with a helmet etc. anyway I don't mind chucking a bit more at a bike if I can get it back via the offer if that makes sense?

[Brucey]

a cassette hub has the freewheel mechanism built into the hub and (as a consequence) has a strong axle.

The alternative is a screw-on freewheel, and this is found on cheaper bikes these days. Axle breakage is common with hubs of this sort.

If you look on Sheldon brown you can find a nice description of the difference between these hub designs.

cheers

[Therealsouthstander]

If £400 is your budget I'd seriously consider buying 2nd hand..

You really want a bike that you want to get back on..

[SteelCityColt]

If £400 is your budget I'd seriously consider buying 2nd hand..

You really want a bike that you want to get back on..

What would you suggest is a realistic bottom end budget?

[Trail Beater]

I work with two keen cyclists, one a roadie one a MTB and they suggested I look at something like:
http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/product ... ross-bikes

.

This bike.
Any day of the week for me.
Bang for your buck,no question.
And that's all I have to say about that

[PRL]

a cassette hub has the freewheel mechanism built into the hub and (as a consequence) has a strong axle.

The alternative is a screw-on freewheel, and this is found on cheaper bikes these days. Axle breakage is common with hubs of this sort.

If you look on Sheldon brown you can find a nice description of the difference between these hub designs.

cheers

My experience of screw-on freewheels is that they became impossible to take off so that when the gears had worn I ended up getting a new rear wheel.