Buy before you try?

[Vorpal]

My experience when I was last bike shopping is that some shops wanted to sell me what they had in stock, even if it clearly didn't meet my stated requirements.

I ended up with a bike shop about 45 minutes drive away after calling all of the ones within about an hour or so, narrowing it down to about 4 that I wanted to visit, then going to ride some bikes.

I would not buy a bike from a shop that wouldn't let me ride it first. If I was that confident about size and fit, I would probably buy online rather than in a shop.

[Sara_H]

I'm in Sheffield - the bike shops locally to me cater mostly to the mountain bike scen. I;ve seen very little in stock catering for my needs.

Essentially, I'm looking for sit up and beg, low step through with adequate gears to get me up one of the steepest hills in Sheffield (for those that don't know Sheffield - we have magnificent hills!).

I appreciate all words of advice, the problem isn't so much which bike, but that is very likely that I'll end up in a position that my LBS may not have the bike I want to try in stock for me to try.

[Vorpal]

Most good shops will order a bike for a test ride. I would call around until I found one that would do that for me.

[Sara_H]

if you want a step through with full equipment and reasonably wide gearing range then there are other alternatives, e.g.

http://www.discountcyclesdirect.co.uk/catalog/product.php?products_id=9604

which comes with lights etc as well as an 8-speed hub gear. Vs the Dawes, it is likely to be a little heavier (suspension seat post and forks will see to that) but also more robust with less/cheaper drivetrain maintenance required in the medium/long term.

This bike comes with hub generator lighting; this is immensely practical and would be about £100 as a upgrade normally. The vendor in this case has several branches so a test ride shouldn't be out of the question.

cheers

Looks like a lovely bike, but I worry about the gearing not being low enough for my big hill.

[eileithyia]

Have you tried JE James who offer a large variety of bikes and also talk to Denise Bayliss of Women's Cycling Sheffield (if you are on facebook you can find her there or I will ask her for her email address and pm it to you) she and her partner are very knowledgeable about bikes, local set ups and shops .... you never know she could get you on her Sat tea cake rides.... Denise also has her own business, she hair straighteners....

[Merry_Wanderer]

I've just had a look at Edinburgh Cycle Co-op's website and saw this;

http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/product ... mens-bikes

Is it worth a look? My maths is terrible but with a 28T chainring and 34T sprocket it would give a low gear of around 23 inches. It also looks as if it has rear pannier mounts

I had a new bike built up from a frame a few months ago. I'm not suggesting you do this, it's just that I had to travel about 60 miles to find a shop that sold the complete bikes and had one in stock in my 62 cm size. Good luck with your search.

PS the link shows as ...mens bikes, it does link to womens bikes...

Andrew (no connection with Edinburgh Cycles Co-op)

[danfoto]

My experience when I was last bike shopping is that some shops wanted to sell me what they had in stock, even if it clearly didn't meet my stated requirements.

That, and the condescension served up because neither of us is obviously a Proper Cyclist, is precisely the reason why almost exactly 10 years ago we vowed never to spend another penny in a bike shop if we could help it. Since then, we've spent just over £10K on six complete bikes bought online to our complete satisfaction, as well as a significant amount on odds and sods.

Bike shops?

Pah!

[Brucey]

Looks like a lovely bike, but I worry about the gearing not being low enough for my big hill.

The gearing may well be set too high for you, this isn't uncommon. However, Nexus 8 gearing (like on any IGH) can usually be changed by simply swapping the rear sprocket, which is a £3-£8 item, maybe the chain too if it isn't long enough (about £5 for a 1/8" chain). You may choose to gain a lower bottom gear at the expense of losing a higher top gear this way.

If you set gear 5 (direct drive gear) to be 48" (e.g. ~44 chainring/ 24 sprocket on a 26" wheeled bike) then the gear range with a Nexus 8 will be ~25" to ~78" . Provided you don't want to pedal (downhill probably) at 25mph plus in top gear then this range of gears is adequate for climbing most hills and may be a decent compromise for you. It isn't as wide a range as a derailleur geared bike with a triple chainset, though it may be easier to live with in the long run.

If the bike is a little heavy as it stands, and you don't need suspension, fitting a rigid fork and a conventional seatpin may reduce the weight by 2-3lbs.

cheers

[Elizabethsdad]

I bought a bike from Rose bikes last year via mail order. Like you I liked it because it had everything I was looking for in a bike. I went ahead with the purchase as Rose have a free return policy if you are not happy with the bike. As it was the bike is just fine. I bought a bike some years back through my LBS which they didn't stock but could order in for a deposit. Fit was checked on an equivalent bike, and again I was happy with the bike when it arrived. They certainly didn't try to push me into buying something unsuitable anf a few months later they started carrying that bike in stock.

[PT1029]

When I worked in my LBS, Dawes Mojaves were standard stock items in most sizes - if you live in any cycling city (I'm in Oxford) the likes of Mojaves sell like hot cakes as so many people want sensible commuters (well, they come in wanting "a mountain bike". When asked what they want to use the bike for, they get pointed to the hybrids).
Sometimes however, don't blame the shop for no stock. Dawes forward order their year's stock from the manufacturer (who of course is not Dawes). If bikes sell better than expected, the last few months of the model year sees no bikes available until the following years order comes in. One of my LBS bemoaned in May last year that in the spring tourer selling season, Dawes had no Horizons until August.
Of course when Dawes made their own bikes in Birmingham, if they ran out they could run off a few more.

[Big T]

There's an Edinburgh Bike Co-op shop in Sheffield - on the SW side of the city, going out towards the Peak district:

Edinburgh Bicycle Co-operative
300 Broadfield Road
Sheffield
S8 0XQ

[benjaminn]

i would give butterworth's on abbeydale road a ring (not to be confused with butterworths in hillsborough, which seems more road bike orientated). You will get honest advice, and a practical outlook. He might tell you your current bike is fine, mind. That's what i was told when i enquired into buying a brand new touring bike from him. He was right! Their number is 0114 2552165. Edinburgh bikes has good bikes, but i found the staff there a bit ignorant and patronising. You might have a different experience though. Langsett cycles will tune up your bikeafter a month or so if you get one from them - a good sign., i reckon. They won't be the cheapest, but they know what they are doing.

[Sara_H]

Thanks for all your replies, I thought I was set on the Mojave as I'm fairly certain it'll do the job, but now I'm thinking about hub gears.

[Brucey]

hub gears are not right for every form of cycling and not everyone likes them, either. But they can be just the job for some cycling tasks. I prefer hub gears for utility riding, and simply getting the miles in, in all weathers.

My advice is to ride both hub gear and derailleur gear, and take a hard look at what you intend to do with your bike.

cheers

[Sara_H]

hub gears are not right for every form of cycling and not everyone likes them, either. But they can be just the job for some cycling tasks. I prefer hub gears for utility riding, and simply getting the miles in, in all weathers.

My advice is to ride both hub gear and derailleur gear, and take a hard look at what you intend to do with your bike.

cheers

Its mostly the hills I'm worried about. I cycle about 10 miles per day, sometimes further to work and grocery shopping etc. I do occaionally do a bit of cycle camping too, but even then I go at a very leisurely pace and only do around 20 -25 miles per day.