Beginner bike

dandelionclock30

One of my mates has that Pinnacle Hybrid which is advertised for £300 and its a great bike.
Ridgid mountain bikes will handle light off road perfectly well such as a canal path or for a potter round the woods. Op definatly doesnt want a full suspension mountain bike.
If it was me I would be looking at trying to get a Boardman mountain bike 2nd hand or get the Pinnacle Hybrid (new) or The Rockrider 8.0, 2nd hand. With cheap front suspension hardtail mountain bikes , the fork will be awful, thats why its best trying to get a decent secondhand one for your budget. Try to get a £500-£600 thats a year or so old for £300.

catoutthebag

It's been food for thought, so thanks.

I think it seems a 19 frame looks best, will try it out.

I'm more set on a hardtail mtb

Couple things:

Will look of front suspension cause wrist injury?

Wheel size- what should I be looking at? Is it 2 different standard sizes from what I've seen?

dandelionclock30

Go to a shop and get sized up properly, remember that a size 17 from one manufacturer will be different to a 17" from another.
When you stand over it you need a least a couple of inches clearance from the top tube to your crotch. If you can feel the bar its too big.
When you sit on the seat and grab the handlebars the reach should be comfortable and you should have a slight bend at the elbows.If you feel overstretched its too big.
I've seen shops sell bikes to people that are far to big with the bar digging into a guys groin !.
Evans have size charts on their website,look up for a general guide. Also you can have free test rides there and you are under no obligation to buy. I've tested a few bikes there and the staff I've found to be courteous and not pushy.

armyknife

Johnmcl7 wrote: »

If the primary purpose is off road cycling I don't see the point in choosing a hybrid, yes they may be capable of going off road but they're not well suited to it nor particularly comfortable for it. Lifting yourself off the seat doesn't replicate front suspension in any form because the impact and vibration coming through the front fork will still continue to come straight through your hands and wrists.

John

If vibration is a concern of yours, then I'd suggest some of that can be solved with the correct tyre inflation for the terrain you're going over. To some extent the tyre has to deform to 'fit' the terrain so it can run efficiently on that surface.
Otherwise using an over inflated tyre is generating an extra initial problem that then has to be compensated for with the use of gloves and part of the forks motion.

I think the point I was trying to make about getting out of the saddle is, on saddle you tend to make a somewhat stiff A-frame above the diamond frame of the bike. But once out of the saddle you're body isn't so fixed and it a more fluid moving shape working more in conjunction with the bike.

As for using a hybrid vs MTB it all depends just how off-road is off road, I don't see railway lines/trail-ways and bridle-paths around here as especially difficult and we really don't have any mountains around here.
But it's horses for courses, personally I like being able to get back on to tarmac with fairly smooth running 700mm tyres vs MTB tyres and feel whatever I might lose on the off-road bit, these more than make up for on the 1/3 to 1/2 road bit of the journey.

GT60

catoutthebag wrote: »

It's been food for thought, so thanks.

I think it seems a 19 frame looks best, will try it out.

I'm more set on a hardtail mtb

Couple things:

Will look of front suspension cause wrist injury?

Wheel size- what should I be looking at? Is it 2 different standard sizes from what I've seen?

A 19" frame on a mountain bike is far too big for you I am 5' 7" and have a 18" frame on a trek hardtail

For your money you will only be able to get a 26" wheel as the 29" wheel is quite new

Richard53

gingernm wrote: »

As others have said, get down your local Evans, they will allow demo rides and offer competent advice. Then its onto the net to search for your chosen ride at more affordable prices.

Sorry, but that is just wrong.

When all the bike shops with their 'demo rides' and 'competent advice' have gone out of business through lack of sales, where will you go?

Play fair.

ILW

I have a soft spot for Konas. Steel ones ride beautifully.

gingernm

Richard53 wrote: »

Sorry, but that is just wrong.

When all the bike shops with their 'demo rides' and 'competent advice' have gone out of business through lack of sales, where will you go?

Play fair.

Play fair with prices then, so I don't have to either get Evans to price match (their policy not mine) or shop elsewhere.

I like Evans and have bought many things from them including a turbo trainer (not cheap) and plenty of clothing! But I refuse to pay £2,000 for a bike I can purchase on the web for £1,500 (not just an e-tailer, but another well known (proper) bikeshop), only thing that stopped Evans price matching this was I had to wait a week for delivery.

And "where would I go", straight onto the net to the many, many forums to seek advice, to research anything I was interested in and if to make a purchase to find the best price! I, like many, am not here to fill the coffers of others from my already stretched budget, so if I can find the same product cheaper elsewhere... I'm off there... simples!!

Rob.

Richard53

You can only get so far with advice on the net, though. Nothing beats a physical shop with an owner who cares about his product and is willing and able to take time to make sure his customers get what is right for them. As Richard Ballantyne once wrote, the extra you pay when shopping in a proper bike shop buys you an awful lot.

Simple economics means that a physical bike shop, paying rent and rates and keeping a decent stock in hand, cannot compete with an online retailer who has far fewer overheads and perhaps has no actual stock at all.

As an experienced cyclist, perhaps you don't need the displays and the chat, and can go directly to what you want online, but what does a newcomer do?

Tell you what - you do all your shopping online and save your hard-earned cash. That's fine, nothing wrong with that. I do it all the time. But don't visit your local shop, pretend to be a customer, take up their time with demo rides and advice, and then go home and buy online. That's not fair, in my view.

Remember the days when every town had its little bike shop, where you could pick up the odd spare part or accessory, check out the new stuff, and have a chat with whoever was in there? All the online discount stores in the world can't replace that, and soon online is all we will have. It's happening all over the place, right now.

gingernm

Not disagreeing with anything you say, for the sake of a few pence, i'd sooner visit a shop and get great personal service!

I have a local independent bike shop in town (for advertising - NEWLEC in Northampton), I use them whenever I can, I've bought bikes for my family from them and advised numerous people to give them a visit. My own bikes make at least 1 visit to them a year for a service and inspection (perform the skilled checks / corrections as required).

They are more than happy to pass on their knowledge and advice, which to a person new to / returning to cycling is invaluable!

But then when the difference is no longer pence, but hundreds of pounds, I'm sorry, it's the cheaper option for me, after all we're MSE'ers.

Back to the OP...

Please visit your local bike shop, they will help with brand choices, bike sizes and general kit you'll need from the beginning and give you ideas for items you'll need down the line.

Regards


Rob