What sort of bike to buy for mainly road & some flatish off-road?

[KATESEYMOUR]

Hi there!

Just joined as I'm hoping for some help! My husband turns 40 later this month and I want to buy him a bike. Last time I rode a bike was probably nearly 30 years ago and I am beyond clueless and unsure where to start!

It will probably solely be used for road riding for exercise/fun. We live in the country so I guess there may be chance for some off-roading/hilly bits (think more farmers field, rather than mountain climbing!)

He is 5'11" and weighs approx. 12.5 stone if that's relevant. Budget....probably up to £500 but once he knows what I have planned he may want to increase it from his own pocket.

I've done some reading and unsure if I should go for a road bike or a hybrid? What brands should I be looking at? And where to buy from? I would rather choose an independent retailer. We live in Worcestershire. Ive googled and found Worcester Cycles - anyone have any experience dealing with them?

I obviously cant buy the bike without him being there so I want to get him some accessories I can wrap. What are the essentials he will need? Also any specific brands. It will obviously need to be things I can buy before I get him the bike so unsure if some things can only be brought once the bike has been chosen. I know he will need a puncture repair kit but do new bikes come with one of those?!

Thank you so much for reading and I would really appreciate any advice you can give!

Once last thing...….I think this purchase is going to mean he'll want me to get a bike so I can join him on the road (eek!!) My Raleigh Lizard is in my dads garage(!) and he says its still in good nick. Could I get that serviced and be good to go or should I invest in something new? Its probably around 30 years old now!

Kate

[thatsnotmyname]

A lot will depend on what he 'likes the idea of' or 'can see himself riding' - drop bars, flat bars, etc. I'd try to get an idea of that first, as a way of narrowing your search..

[eileithyia]

I would agree with the above..... the last thing I would want is someone choosing a bike for me.......

Having said that your initial instinct of a hybrid might be a good one.

As well as Worcester cycle centre this is another good shop to consider

https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/

As for accessories; consider a saddle pack with essentials like spare tube, tyre levers, multitool. Then there are clothes such as a waterproof. Lights, Camera? Decent pump, I have a bontrager pump that is both pump and will inflate with CO2 gas cylinders....

[eileithyia]

As for your bike i would retrieve it, and get it to a bike shop for a service and a check over. As long as it is working order you should be ok. However components have moved on, so you will find kit like replacement sprockets (gears) will have gone from 5, 6, or 7 sprockets to 10 and 11 speed this means the replacement parts do not always fit your wheel, and then the gear levers suitable for the lower number sprockets will not work with replacement larger number of sprockets..... so replacement components can be expensive.

A local bike shop (LBS) may well have bits n pieces suitable in their workshops ... but not always guaranteed.

As said this is stuff to consider if your bike is not in working order..... if it is in working order then it's good. But you may have consider that as parts wear out they might not be easy to replace and you may have to upgrade to a newer model.

[nirakaro]

the last thing I would want is someone choosing a bike for me

Be aware also, that, especially in the early stages, we're not even good at choosing bikes for ourselves! Even if he has considerable input into the choice, it's quite likely that he'll want to change/upgrade before too long – so don't interpret that as a failure on your part.

[jimlews]

There's a Surly Troll for sale on this site that nobody seems to want and would be suitable for either yourself or your Hubby. Perhaps slightly over your budget, (and overbuilt in comparison to the '80s tourer that I use for this type of work) but it's a lot of 'Roughstuff' bike for the money, in my opinion. And in that colour, it wouldn't be easy to mislay it.

Disclaimer. I have no connection with the seller.

If you are considering 'roughstuff' usage; the first thing to consider, is top tube clearance. i.e. whether one is male or female, one should aim to have at least 2" of clearance between the top tube and the "naughty bits". This is to ensure a pain free dismount on rough ground and the continuation of the dynasty. Often referred to as the bikes 'standover' height.

[KATESEYMOUR]

Thank you so much for all of your replies!

thatsnotmyname I'm going to take him to a cycle shop and hope he can try some different styles.

eileithyia thank you so much for your advice re my old bike - I think I will get it serviced and make a decision. If its going to cost me to fix it up I think it might be better to put my money into something more modern than three decades old!

And don't worry, I definitely wont be choosing the bike, he will, I just wanted to do some research and get some advice off people that know much more about this than me! Thank you for the list of accessories needed.

Nirakaro this worries me - I defo don't want to spend £500+ on a bike only for him to want a different one after a short time!!! He'll be choosing it so he better be certain he's picked the right one!

Thank you jimlews for the recommendation - I'll check it out.

This might be a bit random but does anyone use walkies to communicate when out on a ride? Been thinking of getting some anyway and wondered if they could be used for this purpose also? If so anyone got any recommendations?

Thank you again!

Kate

[DevonDamo]

This might be a bit random but does anyone use walkies to communicate when out on a ride? Been thinking of getting some anyway and wondered if they could be used for this purpose also? If so anyone got any recommendations?

I've used walkie-talkies for rock climbing and to stay in touch with friends at festivals. The ones you can buy and use without any license are surprisingly good - we even tested them as someone was driving away in a car and they hung in there for a surprising amount of time. I think they're all more or less the same - same power output and same number of channels.

That said, they are basically grown-ups toys and climbing was the only application where they were anything other than something to play around doing funny voices with. I can't really think of any circumstances where they'd be any help whilst cycling. You're either going to be cycling together or you'll contact each other by mobile. You'd have to be disciplined about keeping them turned on all the time for them to actually provide a reliable means of communication, and my experience is that this rarely happens. Even when using marine VHF radios (which require you to do a training course etc.) I've always found them to be hopeless for keeping in touch with sailing/kayaking buddies - they never have them switched on or turned up when you're trying to contact them.