Need a new bike.. again.

General cycling advice ( NOT technical ! )
Reverend
Posts: 14
Joined: 2 Oct 2018, 2:26pm

Need a new bike.. again.

Post by Reverend »

Hi guys,

Can someone suggest me a new bike to buy? My budget is max £250 (can go up to £300 but prefer something cheaper). I will want to pay monthly under 0% interest free finance.

I will be using the bike for delivering (ubereats, deliveroo, stuart etc). Going to be looking to use the bike at-least 5 days a week for about 4 hours a day approx.

Can someone recommend me a solid bike that won't just die out quickly, like has good quality materials? I purchased a Apollo Transition from halfords for £160, spent like £100 already just to get things repaired (chain issues/pads and what not....)

Please help!
De Sisti
Posts: 1507
Joined: 17 Jun 2007, 6:03pm

Re: Need a new bike.. again.

Post by De Sisti »

Chains and brake pads (if looked after and maintained) should last more than a couple of months.
Please bear that in mind if you're going to do a much cycling as your post suggests. If you've spent
£100 or so already it should be ok to ride? Have you thought of buying a pre-owned one with better
components?
Reverend
Posts: 14
Joined: 2 Oct 2018, 2:26pm

Re: Need a new bike.. again.

Post by Reverend »

De Sisti wrote:Chains and brake pads (if looked after and maintained) should last more than a couple of months.
Please bear that in mind if you're going to do a much cycling as your post suggests. If you've spent
£100 or so already it should be ok to ride? Have you thought of buying a pre-owned one with better
components?


Thanks for the reply!

Brought the bike on 3rd october, currently on my 3rd chain now. Halfords done a check and said the wheel isn't true, hub service issues fitting costs and all together it will all cost £69 to repair. I've spent exactly £68 so far just for repairs by a cytech 1 & 2 mech and also halfords team

I want to buy a preowned one but I feel it's going to be hard to find a reliable one :(. I also would really prefer to pay monthly if possible
scottg
Posts: 1218
Joined: 10 Jan 2008, 8:44pm
Location: Highland Heights Kentucky,, USA

Re: Need a new bike.. again.

Post by scottg »

Not to the OP, but what is the modern version of a Golden Sunbeam,
with the 'little oilbath' chain case and hub or bracket gears.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
Deutsche Luftschiffahrts-AG
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
User avatar
Graham
Moderator
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Joined: 14 Dec 2006, 8:48pm

Re: Need a new bike.. again.

Post by Graham »

Previous history - to avoid repeating everything . . . . .
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=125405
Oldjohnw
Posts: 7764
Joined: 16 Oct 2018, 4:23am
Location: South Warwickshire

Re: Need a new bike.. again.

Post by Oldjohnw »

Is the post a wind-up?

[ EDIT : Graham : Probably not, otherwise I would not let it continue. ]
Last edited by Graham on 18 Dec 2018, 10:08pm, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: So . . . .
John
De Sisti
Posts: 1507
Joined: 17 Jun 2007, 6:03pm

Re: Need a new bike.. again.

Post by De Sisti »

Reverend wrote:
De Sisti wrote:Chains and brake pads (if looked after and maintained) should last more than a couple of months.
Please bear that in mind if you're going to do a much cycling as your post suggests. If you've spent
£100 or so already it should be ok to ride? Have you thought of buying a pre-owned one with better
components?


Thanks for the reply!

Brought the bike on 3rd october, currently on my 3rd chain now.

Seriously though; you're not looking after your bikes; are you? Third chain since October? What's going on there?
Why not ask Deliveryoo to supply a bike for you (after all, you're working on their behalf)? But seriously though,
what are you doing to your chains?
Reverend
Posts: 14
Joined: 2 Oct 2018, 2:26pm

Re: Need a new bike.. again.

Post by Reverend »

De Sisti wrote:Seriously though; you're not looking after your bikes; are you? Third chain since October? What's going on there?
Why not ask Deliveryoo to supply a bike for you (after all, you're working on their behalf)? But seriously though,
what are you doing to your chains?


My second chain break was today, I can really only use the 4th gear without worrying about the chain keeping on skipping the cogs, on the way to my free halfords bike check today, i was going up the hill on 4th gear and the chain snapped. I think the bike mech (certified in cytech 1 & 2) that fit in the chain had maybe cut the chain incorrectly? Idk.

I'm only working for Stuart right now and they don't do any schemes to provide cycles.

The chains are from amazon, shimano, idk if they are low quality or something?
De Sisti
Posts: 1507
Joined: 17 Jun 2007, 6:03pm

Re: Need a new bike.. again.

Post by De Sisti »

Reverend wrote:I can really only use the 4th gear without worrying about the chain keeping on skipping the cogs

Your gears obviously haven't been indexed properly.

Here are a few link on how to do it. Give it go and satisfy yourself that you're being self reliant (up to a point):
https://www.google.com/search?q=how+to+ ... e&ie=UTF-8

Good luck.
Brucey
Posts: 44517
Joined: 4 Jan 2012, 6:25pm

Re: Need a new bike.. again.

Post by Brucey »

from the previous thread

Brucey wrote:10 hours per week, ~50 weeks a year, so 500 hours use per year, (or about 5000miles per year if you ride moderately slowly). Doubtless you would like the bike to last a few years too. Suppose you want the bike to last three years, that works out at 17p per hour (or 1.7p per mile) for a £250 bike. From Halfords....

IME in such use you will be very lucky if such a bike lasts a single year without costing the same again in repairs of various kinds. That is just the way it is with bikes at this price point.


and you still bought a £160 bike? This might sound a mad thing to say but cheap bikes are not actually designed to be ridden.....much.... Halfords did a survey some years ago and it revealed that their average customer rode one of their bikes exactly fifteen miles before parking it up and leaving it alone. They still sell bikes that are aimed at that kind of, uh, 'casual use'.

A cheap derailleur chain will often last about 1000 miles in hard use, i.e. about a month tops if you are doing as much riding as that . Better quality chains cost more than cheap ones, but any can wear fast if they are not lubricated correctly and/or break if they are incorrectly installed or overloaded. If you fit a new chain on worn sprockets you will get skipping. Ditto if the indexing is badly set up. I would suggest that you just replace the chain once a month or whenever it reaches 0.5% elongation, whichever comes first.

I think your bike also has a screw-on 6s freewheel. This is both good (such freewheels are cheap to replace) and bad; the rear wheel axle will almost certainly break sooner rather than later. Cassette hubs are much stronger.

Cheap wheels in hard use tend to fall apart and/or break spokes. Better quality wheels have stainless steel spokes, the spokes fit the hubs properly, and they are stress-relieved. Building reliable wheels is something that you can pay for or you can learn to do (eventually) but by and large if you buy machine-built off-the-peg wheels you shouldn't expect them to last that long if you are putting the miles in.

Look at the bikes that experienced couriers ride; many of them will be fairly minimalist machines, often with a singlespeed or a simple IGH. Such transmission arrangements are more reliable, as well as cheaper and simpler to maintain. A singlespeed/IGH rear wheel is less dished so is much stronger and less likely to fall apart. Time/money spent on handbuilt wheels is rarely wasted.

Learning how to carry out various maintenance tasks is more or less essential if you ride a bike that much; your bike need be off the road for less time (and more to the point) at a time of your choosing rather than when it breaks.

cheers
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Brucey~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Stradageek
Posts: 1657
Joined: 17 Jan 2011, 1:07pm

Re: Need a new bike.. again.

Post by Stradageek »

I'd take guidance from the latest Islabikes project. The sustainable bike design she is looking at has hub brakes and hub gears and is designed to last for years.

The nearest I have is an old Pashley postie bike - probably too heavy for your use but I expect it to last another 40 years - it's currently in perfect working order despite have many many years of postman abuse.

So to address your question more directly, I agree with others that looking for a good quality second hand bike will be much better than buying new (find someone who knows what they are doing to help you). May latest bike was £80 and had covered 250 miles since it was purchased new for £900.

But secondly, it's got to be worth learning how to do your own bike repairs - it's not that hard and will save you a fortune!!

Good luck :D
Reverend
Posts: 14
Joined: 2 Oct 2018, 2:26pm

Re: Need a new bike.. again.

Post by Reverend »

Brucey wrote: . .. <SNIP . unnecessary repetition > . . . . .


Yeah, unfortunately i got very greedy after making that post and just went ahead and brought the bike without even bothering to read the replies on the previous thread. Lesson learned lol :(

I see

Alright

Well, I've never actually seen any other courrier ride apollo lol. All ive seen is either GIANT or Carrera bikes.

Alright. Thanks for the detailed reply. I have taken your points in

Stradageek wrote:I'd take guidance from the latest Islabikes project. The sustainable bike design she is looking at has hub brakes and hub gears and is designed to last for years.

The nearest I have is an old Pashley postie bike - probably too heavy for your use but I expect it to last another 40 years - it's currently in perfect working order despite have many many years of postman abuse.

So to address your question more directly, I agree with others that looking for a good quality second hand bike will be much better than buying new (find someone who knows what they are doing to help you). May latest bike was £80 and had covered 250 miles since it was purchased new for £900.

But secondly, it's got to be worth learning how to do your own bike repairs - it's not that hard and will save you a fortune!!

Good luck :D


Hmm okay. I Will look into it.

I have been looking on eBay, gumtree and fb marketplace but struggling to find a good used bike within 5 miles of me (im in Newcastle).

De Sisti wrote:
Reverend wrote:I can really only use the 4th gear without worrying about the chain keeping on skipping the cogs

Your gears obviously haven't been indexed properly.

Here are a few link on how to do it. Give it go and satisfy yourself that you're being self reliant (up to a point):
https://www.google.com/search?q=how+to+ ... e&ie=UTF-8

Good luck.



I have been looking at several videos on this, videos from park tool, gmbn and some other youtubers but regardless of how i set it, It would still eventually skip again. The bike mechs had a look and indexed it too but still it does not work correctly.
PH
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Joined: 21 Jan 2007, 12:31am
Location: Derby
Contact:

Re: Need a new bike.. again.

Post by PH »

I've been doing some Deliveroo/Stuart for the last four months, first just for a bit of extra money and as my sole income for the past couple of months. It is hard on bikes, not really the mileage but it's all stop/start urban riding in all weathers, then there's the need to leave them in places you wouldn't normally choose to. Because all my bikes are to good for it and there is a high theft risk, I've just bought one of these
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Pinnacle-Lit ... :rk:1:pf:0
It's actually better than advertised! Although it says ex demo, mine had never been ridden, the wheels didn't match (rims and tyres are different, front is nutted rear QR) the 7 speed freewheel turned out to be an 8 speed cassette and the twist shifters are triggers... All in all, it's a lot of bike for £160
The 1X8 gearing is ideal for the job, just choose a chainring that gives an appropriate bottom gear for your fitness and local hills, there's no real advantage of high gears when delivering, the drops are rarely more than a couple of miles and racing to the pick up is pointless as it's never ready for you. V brakes keep it nice and simple, mudguards keep it and me clean, some old style Marathons at £8 each from Spa are ideal. I shall keep the chain wiped and oiled and run it into the ground, if the indexing becomes troublesome I'll fit a friction thumbie. The wheels were a bit shocking, but nothing a session with a spoke key didn't sort. I wouldn't call it a great bike, but I think it's well up to the job.
Maintenance need not be arduous, keep it clean, the brakes adjusted and the chain lubricated. what you do need is a bit of understanding, so when things are not working perfectly you know what to do. Locally there's a decent Deliveroo community, plenty of people who know what they're doing and willing to help others. There also seems to be a fair bit of bike trading going on, might be worth the op asking around other riders.
I'm doing about 25 hours a week, I haven't been clocking the mileage, but I'd be surprised if it was nay more than 150, I've done that in tha past commuting!
thelawnet
Posts: 2736
Joined: 27 Aug 2010, 12:56am

Re: Need a new bike.. again.

Post by thelawnet »

A couple of comments:

It does take quite an investment of time to know what bike is good and what is not, and also what is broken and what is not
My wife has a ten year old hybrid she took it to Halfords because it was missing front brake pads they refused to fit them and insisted she pay £120 or thereabouts for various things. I am not sure all but i had a look and the brake housing needed replacement, brake cables, gear cables, pads, rubber nozzle thing in the brakes, bit of lube for the cables and probably you'd be ok.


In the end I got new brakes front and rear with levers Shimano to replace the generic ones about £40, plus cables, housing etc and you are at £50 new chain etc. That was shopping around online - at retail with Halfords labour etc it's easy to see how you could
end up with over £100 on a bike certainly not worth that much.

I looked online today and found a better bike for £200 after eBay promo https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Pinnacle-Lithium-3-2018-24-Speed-Womens-Hybrid-Bike-Small-Ex-Demo-Ex-Display/123551793827?hash=item1cc442c2a3:g:GRYAAOSwOVlcGP4K

Brand new chain, gears, brakes which just work without adjustment (ok eventually they will weAr through the rotors and need replacement), lighter, faster etc, it makes more sense to buy new that to give Halfords your cash. You could easily spend £400 to £500 for similar but knowing what makes a bike worth £400 compared to £100 takes time and reading, so this bargain replacement is not entirely free.

So you end up being as well to give Halfords your £120 because if you know nothing then your new bike will still give you problems because the indexing is off or whatever and you end up in the same spot.

So there is no substitute finally for diy, as in this kind of job you need to be on top of costs and able to keep yourself on the road at modest cost to turn a profit. In reality bike maintenance is NOT expensive if you aim to keep it that way with cheap chains, cables that you maintain yourself and fettling what's there, as opposed to the bike shop model of replacing everything with labour & full rrp
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martin biggs
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Location: northamptonshire

Re: Need a new bike.. again.

Post by martin biggs »

Oldjohnw wrote:Is the post a wind-up?

[ EDIT : Graham : Probably not, otherwise I would not let it continue. ]


It's on cycle chat [url="https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/need-a-new-bike-again.243487/"]Need a new bike.. again.[/url]
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