New bike vs repairing old bikes

Steve-o

I'm in a bit of a dilemma, and would welcome some advice. I'm due to work at a different base from where I usually work, where the distance is only 5 miles along canal tow paths. I'm trying to get fitter, so I want to cycle there. I have two bikes, which both need repairing to get them ridable again, or I can buy a new bike.

The first bike is a steel frame, both rims and tyres okay. It's 18 speed, but would need the cassette and bottom bracket cleaning of rust. It needs both new gear shifts, new forks (threaded), inner tubes, a new chain, and cables for brakes & gears. Bearings may need to be stripped & re-greased. Cosmetically it needs rust removing from nuts & bolts.

The second bike is a very light alloy frame, again with both rims and tyres okay. It's 7 speed, but would need the cassette and bottom bracket cleaning of rust. It needs a new gear shift, new forks (threadless Ahead), inner tubes, handle bar grips, a new chain, and cables for brakes & gears. Bearings may need to be stripped & re-greased. Cosmetically it needs rust removing from nuts & bolts.

I would need to spend £80+ on both bikes to get them into shape, with the main price being spent on forks off Ebay.

Or, I could buy this bike from my local Decathlon, for £250, and know that nothing needs to be done to it: http://www.decathlon.co.uk/rockrider-52-mountain-bike-black-id_8207349.html

Cycling to work will save me around £140 in petrol over those 12 weeks. After that, my commute would return to my normal base, which is 8 miles along (mostly) canal tow paths: it would lengthen my journey time by cycling, but eliminate petrol & parking costs.

I don't know what to do. It seems the best way to save money is to repair one of the bikes, but then comes the hassle of sourcing & repairing. Buying new costs more, but comes with no hassle. I could also sell the bike parts, but no idea if that would be worth doing.

Any advice would be most appreciated.

Cycrow

if it was me, i would get a new bike rather than trying to fix up an old bike.
althou for £250 it might be better to look 2nd hand for something abit better for the money.

if your not certain about cycling then having a crap bike that doesn't ride too well will only turn you off, so u'll be more likly to keep it up if the ride is better especially when you start doing 8miles on the bike

just make sure you get the right type of bike for the terrain u'll be cycling on

Steve-o

Cycrow wrote: »

if it was me, i would get a new bike rather than trying to fix up an old bike.
althou for £250 it might be better to look 2nd hand for something abit better for the money.

I did look on Ebay at some 2nd hand bikes, but I know next to nothing about makes & models so could buy a duffer at a high price.

Cycrow wrote: »

just make sure you get the right type of bike for the terrain u'll be cycling on

I think a mountain bike would be best, because the canal paths vary in quality, and there is very little road riding to warrant a hybrid.

Steve-o

Adding: I could possibly go up to around £500, as that would still save me petrol money if I stick with the bike commute (I'd have to get my head around the poor UK weather). It's a chunk of cash though, so not something I really want to do without being sure that I'll stick with it.

Cycrow

canel paths can quite often be rough and bumpy, so a hardtail mountain bike might be best.
if its fairly flat a hybrid might work.

£500 is a decent amount to spend on a new bike and will get you something decent, but if you going to put that much money in it'll be best to be sure you will stick to it.

if you plan on a new bike it might be an idea to look at wiggle, you can get a british cycling membership for £28 and it'll give you 12% off which will save you more than the membership price and give you 3rd party liability insurance at the same time

bloghog

I think new bike may be best especially with the saving on fuel. Just don't let this one go rusty

airtool

On the previous page i answered a post about my recent experience of buying a cheap bike, personally i would forget the old bikes and buy new.
Consider if you want to stay relatively clean on the way to work if so get a hybrid with mudguards and puncture resistant tyres, again how bad are those paths,what do other people ride ?.
The bike from decathlon looks reasonable for the money, like i said i bought a ridgeback meteor with mudguards which was around the same price because i did not want a stripe up my back in the rain.
You could look on ebay/gumtree for something local to you which you could view but if a bike advert does not mention type of frame/brakes and gears forget it, it may not last.

Idiophreak

Is there a road route alternative? I know setting out on the road can be daunting, but you should comfortably be able to manage double the speed on a half-decent road bike than you will be able to achieve on a mountain bike over canal paths...will also stay a bit cleaner and avoid stingers and quite a few punctures.

The higher speed would mean the increase in journey time when you switch back to your normal location would be limited.

liz545

The main cost is going to be replacing the forks - what did you do to damage the forks on both bikes? If it involved a head-on collision you may find that's damaged the rest of the frame as well, which would pretty much rule out restoring them.

With the steel bike, finding a suitable replacement fork might take time, but it's unlikely to be too expensive. I got a replacement fork for my mum's steel 80's Raleigh for £30, and I'd expect to pay less than that if you're looking for something fairly common.

If the fork damage isn't indicative of more structural damage, I'd be inclined to try and restore the steel bike. Keep a look out for a suitable replacement fork, and learn to do the cleaning/de-rusting yourself. It's not particularly difficult, but it is a bit of a labour of love.

If you do decide to get a replacement bike, you may be able to sell the frame of the steel bike - do some searches on eBay to see what kind of price that model of bike goes for. If any of the components have a brand name on them, do some searches for those too.

Steve-o

Idiophreak wrote: »

Is there a road route alternative? I know setting out on the road can be daunting, but you should comfortably be able to manage double the speed on a half-decent road bike than you will be able to achieve on a mountain bike over canal paths...will also stay a bit cleaner and avoid stingers and quite a few punctures.

The higher speed would mean the increase in journey time when you switch back to your normal location would be limited.

There is a road route, but it's roughly the same distance with hills and bad traffic. No way I want to do that when I'm trying to break myself in gently, and safely. :rotfl:

liz545 wrote: »

The main cost is going to be replacing the forks - what did you do to damage the forks on both bikes?

I, um, left them outside for a few years.

I've not idea how the forks on the alloy bike decided to split themselves in two, but I'm glad that I didn't go riding on it or I'd have ended up in the canal (at least).

Someone pointed out to me that if I buy a cheap bike I haven't really lost any money if I don't stick with cycling to work (after the 12 weeks), because it still comes under my petrol costs for that period, and that I could use it as a donor for either of the other bikes if it rides like a bag of bones. So I popped down to Decathlon today, and bought a £120 "trail" bike that had been reduced from £160 that morning. It rode better than the £110 basic MTB they had, and I can sell it on if I decide to upgrade after the 12 weeks.

jaffa30

good for you cycling is great and I am sure you will catch the bug