Getting a bike

jamels2

Hi I no longer have a car and wondering whether to try a bike and public transport. I find driving can get stressful. Where can I get a bike for a reasonable price? I'd be looking for a hybrid type, slick tyres and mudguards. Thanks for any tips

Nasqueron

Bike shops have had 2017 stock for a while so 2016 should be nicely discounted and will have the benefit of properly sizing you up etc

Without an idea of budget it's hard to go beyond suggesting you pop into the likes of Evans, Halfords or a local bike shop and see what they have in your price range.

esuhl

It's definitely worth reading some bike reviews. I paid £450 for my mountain bike (a b'Twin / Decathlon own-brand) and I'm really happy with it.

A friend bought a Specialized brand bike shortly after for £1500. I was amazed to see that it had the same forks and brakes and a similarly-priced chainset (Shimano instead of SRAM). Having ridden both bikes, I prefer mine. So (in my opinion) he'd wasted over a grand!

Another friend paid £350 for a hybrid, but it's got really low-spec gears and brakes and suspension. I can't help feeling that he over-paid too.

It seems like there are big differences between bikes and the prices don't always match the "performance value", so don't assume a more expensive bike is better.

jamels2 wrote: »

I'd be looking for a hybrid type, slick tyres and mudguards. Thanks for any tips

I've never quite understood "hybrid" bikes. I'm not a bike "expert", but when comparing a mountain bike and a hybrid at the same price, the hybrid always seems to be underspecced and over-priced.

I can't really understand what a "hybrid" really is. You can put slick tyres and mudguards on any bike. I set up my mountain bike as a kind of "all terrain tourer". There are no special mount points, but it was still easy to install mudguards, a heavy-duty pannier rack, and to add a bell, horn and reflectors.

So, I'd consider looking at mountain bikes too, and just making them a bit more road-friendly.

[Deleted User]

It all depends on how committed you are, and how many miles you plan to do, but I'd steer clear of the bargain basement stuff in £100- £200 price range unless you want to be replacing worn out components in next to no time.

elverson

Are you able to access the 'Cycle to Work' scheme?

Nasqueron

esuhl wrote: »

It's definitely worth reading some bike reviews. I paid £450 for my mountain bike (a b'Twin / Decathlon own-brand) and I'm really happy with it.

A friend bought a Specialized brand bike shortly after for £1500. I was amazed to see that it had the same forks and brakes and a similarly-priced chainset (Shimano instead of SRAM). Having ridden both bikes, I prefer mine. So (in my opinion) he'd wasted over a grand!

Another friend paid £350 for a hybrid, but it's got really low-spec gears and brakes and suspension. I can't help feeling that he over-paid too.

It seems like there are big differences between bikes and the prices don't always match the "performance value", so don't assume a more expensive bike is better.



I've never quite understood "hybrid" bikes. I'm not a bike "expert", but when comparing a mountain bike and a hybrid at the same price, the hybrid always seems to be underspecced and over-priced.

I can't really understand what a "hybrid" really is. You can put slick tyres and mudguards on any bike. I set up my mountain bike as a kind of "all terrain tourer". There are no special mount points, but it was still easy to install mudguards, a heavy-duty pannier rack, and to add a bell, horn and reflectors.

So, I'd consider looking at mountain bikes too, and just making them a bit more road-friendly.

Part of this is the price for a name - B'Twin is obviously less premium than Specialized though I am surprised a £1500 one didn't have a full groupset including brakes as opposed to third party ones like Tektro (or a newer version of the groupset) and the forks being the same seems remarkable given the 2 different manufacturers...

Hybrid has a purpose though I agree that unlike say a CX which has a specific niche as well as being a good winter bike it is a bit mixed and a MTB may well be better as you can get slicks for the MTB wheels

In terms of actual hybrids:

Cycling Weekly rated the Carrera Crossfire 2 as 7/10 for £429.99

Tredz (as a bike shop with less market choice) suggests the following under £500

Giant Escape 3 - around £325
Saracen Urban ESC 2015 - around £250
Felt QX70 2015 - around £380
Specialized Crosstrail Disc 2016 - £300+
Claud Butler Explorer 300 2015 - around £250

Look also at own brands - B'Twin (Decathlon) and Pinnacle (Evans)

jamels2

Hi yeh I am able to access the cycle to work scheme is that good value?
I've had mtb before but found the tyres slow you down on the road. Also I don't want to have spray making me wet/muddy which is why mudguards are essential.

elverson

It can be if you want to spend a bit more as it allows you to spread the cost, including clothing and accessories.

Avoid rear suspension (unless your commute is very off road) as it adds weight and wastes your pedal power.

Nasqueron

jamels2 wrote: »

Hi yeh I am able to access the cycle to work scheme is that good value?
I've had mtb before but found the tyres slow you down on the road. Also I don't want to have spray making me wet/muddy which is why mudguards are essential.

C2W is great if you know you will be there for 12 months and the bikes are under 25% off - if it's more than 25% off (unless you can use C2W on that price) then getting the bike directly or on some sort of 0% finance or purchase card would be better value (if you have poor credit history then getting C2W is a good idea)

You can get MTB mudguards and you can get slick tyres even on a MTB e.g. the below

26"
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/schwalbe-city-jet-active-line-26-tyre-with-kevlar-guard/
27.5"
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/schwalbe-marathon-supreme-hd-speed-folding-tyre-275/
29"
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/schwalbe-g-one-speed-road-tyre-snakeskin/rp-prod154966

Nebulous2

You generally get more bang for your buck second-hand. The trick is to find a barely used one, rather than one with gears / chain / brakes / cables all in need of replacement.

Cycle to work will often limit you to a specific retailer, often Halfords. They have some ok bikes. Look at a Carrera as a minimum, avoid the Apollo. Something like a Carrera Subway might be a good starting point. Unfortunately it is the wrong time of year. Prices fluctuate, they often have 20% off all bikes, but Christmas is a big time for selling bikes and they may not discount again until January.

Johnmcl7

esuhl wrote: »

I've never quite understood "hybrid" bikes. I'm not a bike "expert", but when comparing a mountain bike and a hybrid at the same price, the hybrid always seems to be underspecced and over-priced.

I can't really understand what a "hybrid" really is. You can put slick tyres and mudguards on any bike. I set up my mountain bike as a kind of "all terrain tourer". There are no special mount points, but it was still easy to install mudguards, a heavy-duty pannier rack, and to add a bell, horn and reflectors.

So, I'd consider looking at mountain bikes too, and just making them a bit more road-friendly.

The term 'hybrid' is a very general term used for anything between a road bike and a mountain bike - at one end they're pretty much just road bikes with flt bars then at the other end they're pretty much short travel hardtails with slightly narrower tyres.

I think it's too much of a generalisation to say all hybrids are underspecced and overpriced, there's plenty road and mountain bikes that could be badged the same and it's not always clear how good the parts on a bike are outwith the main groupset parts. I bought a budget road bike which was far cheaper than a similar Trek and the spec looked great with its Ultregra level hydraulics and 105 groupset. However you can see where corners have been cut with the quality of the finishing kit compared to my older Trek.

Like any bike, I think hybrids have their advantages and disadvantages as I bought a hybrid as my first bike and now having owned mountain and road bikes I'd still have picked the hybrid. It sat very much in the middle of road and mountain bikes and came ready to go with full metal fitted mudguards (not something you can generally fit to mountain bikes), rigid fork and rack. Its internal gear hub and carbon drive belt were well suited to cycling every day and not great for off road riding.

For those that want a bike for both on road and off road then it makes sense to get something with a mountain bike frame that can accommodate both wheel sizes but for those that want a day to day bike for commuting or similar, a hybrid may make more sense to get something lighter, narrower tyres, higher gearing, better mudguards etc. I preferred having a separate hybrid and off road bike, the MTB couldn't take full mudguards, it wouldn't be cheap to change the wheels, preferred the different geometries/bar setups for each bike's purpose and you can't change fork between rigid and squishy on the fly.

John