Raleigh vs Viking - bike advice required

soulheavensu

Hi so I'm in the market for a new bike.. I can't decide between the Raleigh Paris (http:// www .rutlandcycling.com/42244/Raleigh-Paris-Traditional-2011---Ladies-16--Hybrid-Shopper-Bike.html) or the Viking Vitesse which is slightly cheaper (http:// www .rutlandcycling.com/41861/Viking-Vitesse-2012---Ladies-Hybrid-Bike.htm)

The only difference I can see, other then the price I'd that the Raleigh is aliminium and Vitesse is steel. I've heard of Raleigh but not of Viking. I will be using this bike at the weekend for leisurely rides with my OH.

Any advice would be greatly received. Also has anyone dealt with Rutland cycles? They seem to be quite reasonable but I'm wondering if I could sway them for free p&p I didn't really want to spend over £200...

ericonabike

Rutland Cycling are fine - have bought several bikes from them over the years. As for the bikes - to be honest if you're buying without trying then you may as well just take the one you like the look of most! For your intended use and within your budget I'd say any differences would be marginal.

bris

Aluminium is better and lighter than steel, so if price isn't the issue I would go for the Raleigh.

soulheavensu

Thank guys

Have they been known to be open for haggling? Like I said previously £200 was my budget and I prefer the £199.99 one but don't want to pay the £15 p&p charges

miltonskeen

Having owned a Viking bicycle I thought I would chip in with my view...

I bought a Viking Roma road bike off e-bay (new) last year as I got into cycling more and more. They are ok on build quality but the biggest problems are the Kenda tyres that come as standard(useless - had to replace with continental gatorskins £50) and the brakes (no make/brand and almost pointless - shimano upgrades - £50)

Upgrading the brakes was a mission in itself as the mountings and fixings on Viking bicycles are out of date and do not accomodate 'modern' cycling parts.

Basically, you cant really upgrade a viking bicycle, nor easily replace broken / worn parts.

Also the gearing on a Roma is like a 1950's tour de France machmo man would use. On hills near me (I live in pan flat MK!) I struggled to turn the largest gear as the ratios are well out.

Basically, dont buy one!

bikeradar.com provide excellent reviews of bike, search on their site before buying any road bike.

I would recommend a Specialized bicycle, as for the same price as your looking to spend you could get a really nice model like the 'dolce' off ebay and get far more kit for your money!

Basically, dont buy a brand new Kia when for the same price you can get a second hand nearly new Ferrari!

Hope you get lucky

soulheavensu

Thanks that's some really helpful advice! I've never brought a bike before so appreciate your honesty.

rsvtoddy

If you're really tight on budget and can get to a Decathlon have a look at this:

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/riverside-1-mens-id_8202744.html

Very well thought of brand and they get good reviews.

HTH

red_eye

soulheavensu wrote: »

Hi so I'm in the market for a new bike.. I can't decide between the Raleigh Paris (http:// www .rutlandcycling.com/42244/Raleigh-Paris-Traditional-2011---Ladies-16--Hybrid-Shopper-Bike.html) or the Viking Vitesse which is slightly cheaper (http:// www .rutlandcycling.com/41861/Viking-Vitesse-2012---Ladies-Hybrid-Bike.htm)

The only difference I can see, other then the price I'd that the Raleigh is aliminium and Vitesse is steel. I've heard of Raleigh but not of Viking. I will be using this bike at the weekend for leisurely rides with my OH.

Any advice would be greatly received. Also has anyone dealt with Rutland cycles? They seem to be quite reasonable but I'm wondering if I could sway them for free p&p I didn't really want to spend over £200...

I would not get a shopping trolly for leisurely rides, but thats personal preference.

if you are going to ride regular get a decent bike with decent kit it will last longer then a throw away bike. Once you get out there and you enjoy it you will want to ride more which is were you will find a throw away bike will give you problems. You will be dropping £££ on new hubs, brakes and gears. But if your not going to ride more then http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=80862 might work for you

red_eye

bris wrote: »

Aluminium is better and lighter than steel, so if price isn't the issue I would go for the Raleigh.

not really they both are good materials, alu is lighter but steel has give, alu which is very stiff with out suspension can be unconformable.