Anyone know bikes?

Drea

rome55 wrote: »

i would avoid teh first one because the forks are back to front and who knows what else is wrong with it. Also no one has mentioned the size? as it could be to big or small? depends on you height?

I'm 5'3, any idea what kind of size I should be looking for?

rev_henry wrote: »

That one looks decent, and is definitely a normal size. Also doesn't have knobbly tyres so will be a bit quicker for your commute.

Ohh I texted that one earlier so it was still available. Only dismissed it because it's a bit further away but could pick it up in the car...

rev_henry

http://www.evanscycles.com/help/bike-sizing#womensmountain

Looks about right from that. You need it so that when sitting comfortably, you can touch the ground with the balls of your feet either side.

Drea

rev_henry wrote: »

http://www.evanscycles.com/help/bike-sizing#womensmountain

Looks about right from that. You need it so that when sitting comfortably, you can touch the ground with the balls of your feet either side.

Thanks again

chorlton

It's definitely worth checking gumtree etc - but bear in mind that the heavier and lower quality the bike is - the harder and less comfortable to ride it will be - and the less likely you will be to keep up riding it.
As others have said - definitely avoid suspension, and try and avoid anything with knobbly off road tyres, they'll just make pedalling harder on the road.

What i'd do is work out what it costs you to get to work each day, spend as much as you can afford (decathlon do some OK bikes for about £120)
then make sure you cycle enough times for it to pay for itself - say it costs you £2 each way now, cycle for 30 days and you are in profit!

(and to check if it fits - your legs should be almost straight when the pedal is at its furthest point - you absolutely should not be able to touch the floor when siting on the saddle!)

joolsybools

chorlton wrote: »

It's definitely worth checking gumtree etc - but bear in mind that the heavier and lower quality the bike is - the harder and less comfortable to ride it will be - and the less likely you will be to keep up riding it.
As others have said - definitely avoid suspension, and try and avoid anything with knobbly off road tyres, they'll just make pedalling harder on the road.

What i'd do is work out what it costs you to get to work each day, spend as much as you can afford (decathlon do some OK bikes for about £120)
then make sure you cycle enough times for it to pay for itself - say it costs you £2 each way now, cycle for 30 days and you are in profit!

(and to check if it fits - your legs should be almost straight when the pedal is at its furthest point - you absolutely should not be able to touch the floor when siting on the saddle!)

I'm sorry but I disagree with the last bit of advice, s/he should be able to touch the floor with tiptoes when sitting on the saddle. Re fitting, it should be that the leg has a very slight bend when the heel of the foot is on the pedal (although you should ride with the ball of the foot on the pedal).

chorlton

Sorry i should have been clearer - i didn't mean you should never be able to touch the floor - i meant that setting saddle so the balls of your feet (?!) touch the floor is not the way to do it.

rev_henry wrote: »

You need it so that when sitting comfortably, you can touch the ground with the balls of your feet either side.

Whether you can touch the floor when your saddle is at the right height will vary from bike to bike.

rev_henry

chorlton wrote: »

Sorry i should have been clearer - i didn't mean you should never be able to touch the floor - i meant that setting saddle so the balls of your feet (?!) touch the floor is not the way to do it.




Whether you can touch the floor when your saddle is at the right height will vary from bike to bike.

Dunno if I mean the balls, as in, your toes flat, not actual tips of toes. That's how I've always known to do it.

vaio

get the first one and turn the forks round

thelawnet

Get one that's been maintained, something like this:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Dawes-ladies-bike-ladies-town-bike-hybrid-Street-Cruise-/220738467913

thelawnet

rev_henry wrote: »

Dunno if I mean the balls, as in, your toes flat, not actual tips of toes. That's how I've always known to do it.

It doesn't particularly matter about putting your tiptoes on the ground, you can always lean the bike to one side to put your feet on the ground. What matters is that when you are at the lowest point of your pedal stroke, your legs should be verynearly fully extended (straight). If your knees are still bent then it will be uncomfortable.