Cycling to work..

Mrs_Arcanum

A hybrid should suit your particular likely route to work. Smoother tyres are better for roads/pavements so avoid big chunky tyres as they are only good for serious cross country very bumpy tracks and will make for hard going on the roads.

Also avoid rear suspension as this reduces your forward momentum (your pedal power is being absorbed by the suspension instead).

bigjl

If you want a decentish bike at reasonable cost the I would use Decathlon.

If you want a really good bike then use Evans.

I won't buy from Halfords again, they do sell decent bikes, such as the boardman range, but they are expensive, most of the bikes are crap.

Decathlon bikes are better quality than I expected, had mine for 3 years now, will be giving it to my daughter to usse for a couple of years, she like sit, and getting another similar one from Decathlon, my sons next bike will be from Decathlon.


Though I was very tempted by the RidetoWork scheme which allowed many people at work to buy a decent bike from Evans, we could have bought one from Halfords, but I know of nobody that did.

Mrs_Arcanum

bigjl wrote: »

If you want a decentish bike at reasonable cost the I would use Decathlon.

If you want a really good bike then use Evans.

I won't buy from Halfords again, they do sell decent bikes, such as the boardman range, but they are expensive, most of the bikes are crap.

Decathlon bikes are better quality than I expected, had mine for 3 years now, will be giving it to my daughter to usse for a couple of years, she like sit, and getting another similar one from Decathlon, my sons next bike will be from Decathlon.


Though I was very tempted by the RidetoWork scheme which allowed many people at work to buy a decent bike from Evans, we could have bought one from Halfords, but I know of nobody that did.

I do (but not me). Most people at work used local cycle stores as part of the cyclescheme.

Have a very nice Dawes which is nearly paid off.

TiTheRev

I am far from a fan of Halfrauds, but I wold still recommend the bikes as they are good. Carrera/Boardman are very well spec'd and (as long as they are assembled correctly!) they will outlast most bikes from that price range.

benjus

To be honest I don't think Evans are much better than Halfords. They do stock big brand bikes, including some very nice ones, but the knowledge of the staff and the quality of the service department varies a lot.

Ideally I'd go to a good independent bike shop where they know what they're doing - if you have one of those available. Having the bike correctly adjusted to fit you can make quite a difference.

TiTheRev

I can vouch for my local Evans at Gatwick. It's the national HQ, so might be a bit higher standard than some (?), but they really know what's what, and what will work best for you with regards to geometry/spec/use and they also do price match so you can trawl the tinterweb to find cheaper prices and they'll match it. If ound this out when I took my bike in for it's service recently and they matched gear cables/cassette and chain prices, plus gave me a 10% discount code

DermotFlanigan

Is MuddyFox a rubbish make of bike then?

JQ.

I can highly recommend Decathlon. We've had numerous bikes from them over the years and they are of a very high quality but at budget prices. They do mountain bikes, racers, hybrids, town bikes and everything inbetween. They also do loads of accessories which are very cheap.

Have a look at their website and find one near you, it will definitely be worth the trip.

benjus

matthewandemma wrote: »

Is MuddyFox a rubbish make of bike then?

I think they were once a respected brand, but are now part of Universal Cycles which is a bit of a "lowest common denominator" manufacturer.

TiTheRev

benjus wrote: »

I think they were once a respected brand, but are now part of Universal Cycles which is a bit of a "lowest common denominator" manufacturer.

Exactly. Once OK, but definately lower quality these days.