Thinking about buying a new [budget] bike

arcon5

Well on a budget i'm thinking of finding some extra cash to buy myself a nice new shiny bike instead of repairing my current one which in itself is quite worn.

Use:

• typically once/week commute by road 2 miles each way - brisk ride by road with some pavement

• typically a couple of trips out and about 1 day per week with little one in child seat attached to frame behind me. Probably about 4-6 mile overall - casual biking, with the exception of crossing the road all pavement (up/down curbs - not at speed), river banks (slabbed) etc.

Budget:


<= £100


Weight:


Me: 15 1/2 stone
Child: 2 stone (and growing)
+ rucksack about 1/2kg hanging on child seat




So looking at halfords, is there any reason either of these bikes wouldn't be suitable? And in particular wouldn't be capable of handling my weight.


Trax mountain back £80

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/mountain-bikes/trax-tr-1-rigid-mountain-bike


Clifton hybrid £100

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/hybrid-bikes/trax-t700-hybrid-bike-18-dark-red (or this - although they are the same just different colour)


From reading I like the idea of hybrid - apparently its thinner wheels and slightly lighter weight will make it easier to glide against the wind and get some speed up on the road. And it makes mention of the rigid steel spokes.


The mountain bike is cheaper and wider wheels - so stronger? Or will the rigid steel spokes specifically mentioned in the hybrid ad make both equally as strong.


Downside of hybrid is it's 18" - I currently have a 26", smaller would be a little easier to get on with little one on back without nearly kicking him in the face though. Not sure if 18" is too small though.


Your thoughts welcome please guys?


Can't afford to get it wrong and end up with buyers remorse.

Norman_Castle

Downside of hybrid is it's 18" - I currently have a 26",

18" is the frame size.

Nebulous2

Have you read the reviews on the website?

In my view it isn't possible for a company to sell a usable bike at that price. I would go for secondhand if I was you. You need to be careful though. £50 or £60 can get you a decent looked after bike or it can get you one which may need a lot of new parts.

dandelionclock30

A really cheap bike with stock wheels unless its a very good secondhand one is not going to cope well with all that weight.
I'd try and get a decent secondhand one then if needed go to somewhere like SPA cycles and get some decent wheels that will cope with all that weight without buckling.
Those bikes you chose will not be robust enough for what you want the bike for, they may just collapse.

thescouselander

I agree with nebulous - its just not possible to put a bike together that cheaply and then sell it at a profit.

I'm sure you could do much better second hand.

Eliza_2

While a second hand bike may well be best if you know what you're doing or have someone knowledgeable to help, how do you know you're getting something decent that won't collapse? At least buying from Halfords or similar, they will assemble it under guarantee if required and take it back if it isn't of usable quality surely. I can sympathise with the OP for wanting to try a cheap but new bike, it's what I wish I'd done.

I wouldn't have a clue where to go or what to look for in a secondhand bike, I've looked on ebay and many seem to be just as expensive as new. I tried looking at secondhand bikes just for pottering around the lanes, a while ago but felt so unconfident about it that I ended up not buying anything! If I'd bought from Decathlon or Halfords at that time I would've been riding around for these past few months!

...and don't they put mudguards on bikes these days? I hate that mud up the back look!

Will be interested to see what the OP decides in the end.

Eliza

Nebulous2

Eliza wrote: »

While a second hand bike may well be best if you know what you're doing or have someone knowledgeable to help, how do you know you're getting something decent that won't collapse? At least buying from Halfords or similar, they will assemble it under guarantee if required and take it back if it isn't of usable quality surely. I can sympathise with the OP for wanting to try a cheap but new bike, it's what I wish I'd done.

I wouldn't have a clue where to go or what to look for in a secondhand bike, I've looked on ebay and many seem to be just as expensive as new. I tried looking at secondhand bikes just for pottering around the lanes, a while ago but felt so unconfident about it that I ended up not buying anything! If I'd bought from Decathlon or Halfords at that time I would've been riding around for these past few months!

...and don't they put mudguards on bikes these days? I hate that mud up the back look!

Will be interested to see what the OP decides in the end.

Eliza

Its not so much what the OP decides as what the outcome of the decision is. Many supermarket bikes languish in sheds for a variety of reasons, including the fact they never work and that the experience is so poor that it puts people off.

I've seen quoted that the average bike in this country does 48 miles - ever. You can sell bikes made of soft metal that doesn't last for that sort of usage. There are very few weeks where I cycle less than that, so I need something more reliable.

Buying second-hand is not easy if you don't know much about bikes, but with a bit of research and preferably a knowledgeable friend you can do much better than a very cheap bike for the same money.

SailorSam

I agree with you Eliza, whatever happend to mudguards, they were the first thing i went to get when i got a bike.
I paid less than £100 for my bike from Makro some years ago now. I hardly use it but if i go out for another ever i think i'd take the advice that get's given out here.
But buying secondhand seems to be taking a chance.

Richard53

If you have a local bike shop (I don't call Halfords a bike shop, just a shop that sells bikes), go in, have a browse and ask their advice. They might have a decent bike which will do what you want for not much more than a Halfords cheapie, and you will have the shop to go back to if it goes wrong. Failing that, they might well know of a decent second hand one which they could check over for you for a modest charge.


Personally, I would always go for good second-hand over a new item of dubious quality.

Johnmcl7

SailorSam wrote: »

I agree with you Eliza, whatever happend to mudguards, they were the first thing i went to get when i got a bike.
I paid less than £100 for my bike from Makro some years ago now. I hardly use it but if i go out for another ever i think i'd take the advice that get's given out here.
But buying secondhand seems to be taking a chance.

I guess it's a question of costs, not fitting mudguards allow them save money and it also allows the bike shop to add them with their own markup for those that do want mud guards. There's still plenty bikes that do ship with them (my own hybrid did), many different bikes out there.

I wouldn't say second hand bikes are that big a risk, it's not like a car where you could pay £500 and then have a major failure requiring thousands in repairs. Bike parts are a lot simpler and cheaper and easier to replace, I agree with the posts above that I'd much rather a second hand bike than a very cheap new bike. There is a charity here that takes donated second bikes, checks them over and sells them for a small amount and I'm sure there's similar places elsewhere as well.

John

dandelionclock30

If you are buying a bike from a shop and intend to strap a childseat to it then you need to ask if the frame is still covered under the warranty. My guess is its not.