Cyclists types - advice please

[HardRockCamaro]

Right, I know some of you are into 1hp (human power) and I've been considering buying a bike (pedals, not engine) for some time now.  I had a look at a couple today but rather than impulse buy I decided to hold off and do some research.

Of course, the problem with real enthusiasts (the ones who hang around in bike forums) is that they generally take things very seriously and have spent the money on top gear so anything less than that is complete c*** apparently.  

I have no intention of spending the same as a decent used hatchback on a bike..

So, back in the real world, what should I kook for?  I used to be into bikes before I got a car and things have moved on since then.

I plan on using it for very light off road use (gravel trails, rough paths etc) and on the road.

My understanding is that front suspension is fine, but rear suspension is a waste of peddling energy and not needed unless you're doing real rough stuff?

Disc brakes are better than the old fashioned rim brake and hydraulic discs are better than mechanical discs.  (but in what way I do not know)

I'm familiar with Shimano gears, as far a sI was aware their Deore line is the good stuff, but a lot of "experts" po-poo them and consider them cheapo.  They're citing brands I've never heard of...

The only suspension name I'm familiar with is Rock Shox but apprentley their low end stuff is c**p?  again, I;ve never heard of the other brands...

Speaking of brands, in my day it was Raleigh, Giant, Dawes and Muddy Fox and Carrera were just appearing.  Now we have Saracen, Specalised, Pinnacle, Scott, Kona, Teck, Cannondale, Ironhorse to name but a few...

My understanding is that Kona are meant to be pretty good, although I've spotted a Scott I like the look of...

Ignoring ultimate downhill performance here, does it really matter what brakes, shocks and gears I go for, based on what I plan on using it for?
Should I for example go with a lighter aluminium framed bike with rim brakes instead of a heavier steel bike with mechanical drum brakes?



Or should I just buy whichever one I like the look of as anything will do for what I need?

[philoldsmobile]

avoid suspension all together, its a waste of time, rigid bikes ride much better.

as bad as this advise may seem, if you are looking to spend around £300 or so, halfords do some excellent aluminum framed carrera mountain bikes, light, strong and ride well, shimano is fine, campagnolo stuff is more precise, but very fragile.

there is so much bullsh*t surrounding bikes its unreal. kona muddy fox or cannondale are all fine brands, and total overkill for what you need. go to halfords, buy a carrera, be happy.

Saracen (what i have) are also excellent value for money, and totally competent.

[HardRockCamaro]

I figured Halfords would be a good choice actually so I did go there first, but (and this may sound daft) I didn't like the look of any of the bikes in my price range.  Most of their lower priced stuff (bizarrely) is full suspension which I figure is bad for what I want.

My local bike shop was closed for bank holiday (and small businesses wonder why they lose business to the big chains) so I popped into one of the big chains, evans cycles in Docklands.  they had a decent selection, but the ones I liked on their website weren't in store...

I don't want to spend more than £300, well, certainly not without good reason.  Equally I'm not looking for the cheapest thing going.  I'll always spend money to get quality.

I like the look of this one:
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/scott/yz35-2008-mountain-bike-ec001285\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.evanscycles.com/products/scott/yz35-2008-mountain-bike-ec001285

But it's not aluminium and weighs about 32lbs.


I also like the look of this one but it's a bit pricey and doesn't really seem to offer any benefit (in fact is loses the disc brakes the cheaper one has):
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/scott/scale-80-2008-mountain-bike-ec001244\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.evanscycles.com/products/scott/scale-80-2008-mountain-bike-ec001244


This one seems to have all the right bits (aluminium, hydraulic discs, front shocks can be locked out) and doesn't look too bad although not as nice as the others and I've never heard of the fork manufacturer, it's a little more money but maybe it's worth it:
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/mongoose/tyax-super-2008-mountain-bike-ec000855\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.evanscycles.com/products/mongoose/tyax-super-2008-mountain-bike-ec000855


I certainly don't want anything fragile or tempremental.

[F Body]

Quoting: philoldsmobile

avoid suspension all together, its a waste of time, rigid bikes ride much better.

Certainly I'd avoid rear suspension at all costs, personally I wouldn't spend a lot of money on a bike because then you'll be worrried about it being stolen

[Incursus]

I bought one for £30 off ebay 18 gears, old style brakes & no suspension. front suspension is nice but not a deal breaker.  If you find you like it and use the bike often enough to justify it, then spend more money. that's my plan anyway

[EDGE]

mine was bought from macro when an "unwanted element" moved in to the carpark next to where I used to work.  Didn't want to take the car to work.  Cost me £80 i think, 21 gears? ( i think i use 5 of them) full suspension, normal brakes.

Ive wound the spring perch as far as it'll go on the rear suspension so thats basically fixed solid now, brakes work, gears work, fine on the road and off road.  Its quite heavy though, no idea how heavy in comparisson to others.

I was out n it yesterdy and even after not uing it for years it worked as it should have.  Might be worth getting a secondhand "good" one rather than buying new from halfords, bikes are always on ebay.  FOr the amount i expect you'll use it, its probably the best option.

[HardRockCamaro]

Quoting: EDGE

mine was bought from macro when an "unwanted element" moved in to the carpark next to where I used to work. Didn't want to take the car to work. Cost me £80 i think, 21 gears? ( i think i use 5 of them) full suspension, normal brakes.

Didn't think to go to Macro, I did pop in to Costco thought and they have a Raleigh one there for £150.  I'm getting the impression Raleigh ain't what they used to be, and I was most annoyed by the big union jack flag on it which would make you think uk built (and make me more inclined to buy it) but in fact the small print says UK Designed...

I know what you mean about gears, I don't care how many it has, I used to have a 21 speed bike and used about 5 as well...

Its quite heavy though, no idea how heavy in comparisson to others.

My last bike was a Dawes made of magnesium alloy.  It looked proper funky and cost about £500 back in the v early 90s.  I've not seen any magnesium bikes in my travels...

I was out n it yesterdy and even after not uing it for years it worked as it should have. Might be worth getting a secondhand "good" one rather than buying new from halfords, bikes are always on ebay. FOr the amount i expect you'll use it, its probably the best option.

I'm wary of s/hand bikes.  I used to look after mine but so many people don't seem to look after theirs...

[FUBAR]

My new bike was £185 from Halfords and its a Diamondback DB something-or-other, front suspension only, front disc (mechanical, i didn;t know there were 2 types) ally frame.

Its great, I use it for commuting and cycling around places like Willen Lake & over to Newport so its mostly path stuff (of varying quality)  my only complaint is that I Easily climb hills in the top (lowest?) gear so it could do with some lower(?) gearing to keep me 100% happy.

[HardRockCamaro]

I had a look online and there is a nice looking Diamondback at Halfords for £199.  I'll bear that in mind.

One thing I have noticed is that the accessories soon drive the cost up, by the time you've added mudguards (needed in UK weather imho), front and rear lights, spare tube and puncture toolkit, bottle, cage, pump etc etc it soon adds up to £100...

Being a gadget freak I must have one of those computer thingies...

[HardRockCamaro]

On a side note...

I found a pic of the last bike I had:



That actual one wasn't mine, the pedals on mine were black and it didn't have the extended handlebars.

It was a Kirk Precision and made of magnesium alloy.

My parents kept it for yeat, only selling it a couple of years ago for about £50.
Turns out it's a bit of a collectors piece these days...  

[HardRockCamaro]

Came across this, spec be damned, if they sold these in the UK, this is what I would have:

[philoldsmobile]

i had a kirk revolution, that was magnesium frame.. some scrote stole it just 3 weeks after i bought it

hymmm.. badge engineering in MTB's? that pic you posted andy IS a kirk revolution. mine also had black pedals and forks.

bloody nice bike, i was gutted when it was nicked.

[HardRockCamaro]

It was an awesome bike!

I remember getting it up to 46mph according to the little computer gadget thingy...

[HardRockCamaro]

I'm pretty sure I'm gonna go with the Mongoose for £350.

It seems you have to spend £400 to get hydraulic discs and apparentley the XTR fork on it is also a worthy upgrade as it's lighter due to being made from magnesium.  2 separate shops and one forum have told me that both items are a worthy upgrade over a £300 bike, especailly the brakes.

The only negatives are the cranks (not as strong as some but can be upgraded) and the 8 speed gearset which may be limiting for cheap(ish) upgrades.  The tyre doesn't grip as well off-road as some slightly wider tyres, but as a consequence it's a faster tyre on the road.

Apparently it's a good quality frame and the stuff on it is as good as you can expect on a £400 bike.  The extra £50 off makes it better value than similar spec examples at £399.

So if I can get one, I'll probably go for that, should I go ahead and decide to get a bike in the next couple of weeks...

[philoldsmobile]

this is why i dont even like front forks, heavier bikes are lower geared, rigid bikes don't require the effort to go fast, so a higher top gear is possible without making the bike hard to ride.

the kirk was light, thats why it was fast.

[FUBAR]

Quoting: philoldsmobile

some scrote stole it just 3 weeks after i bought it

EXACTLY why I flat refuse to spend loads on a bike, hell £185 was enough!! most i've ever spent on one actually.

[philoldsmobile]

i used to ride about 15 miles, 5 or 6 evenings a week, it was quite a major hobby. its a real shame it fell onto the back burner.. mind you, i did manage to sell a pair of my old used shorts for 26 quid!!

mmmm, used sportswear..

i'd love another really nice bike, but its a real problem hanging on to them

[HardRockCamaro]

Theft is a problem, but hopefully it won't be much of one for me as I don't really plan on leaving it anywhere anyway.  Mine you, another reason to avoid a used bike off of ebay...

As for suspension, I don't mind the idea of it on the front, especially with the lockout.  If I do use it on the road I'll lock it out, but to be honest I can't see me using the roads much around here, there's *way* too much traffic.

I'll probably get a bike rack for the boot of the Caddy and drive to somewhere I can use it off-road.  So the suspension will be a plus.

The rear stuff is too complex and thus heavy for me, and probably overkill for what I intend to do.  And again, if you want half decent quality, you have to increase the budget to cover the cost of the more complex rear otherwise the quality of all the stuff must suffer to pay for that rear suspension system.

£350 isn't too bad when I remember that time has moved on and due to inflation is probably the same as paying £200 in the early 90s for a bike, and my Kirk cost over £400 back then...

[philoldsmobile]

going by the cost of utilities and petrol, the kirk should be about £2000 now!

[Fieldy]

BMX FTW!!

In all seriousness, I have said it before, i will say it again, do not go full suspension, but do go front suspension......

with that spec, you can get a perfectly fine bike from Halfords, with change from £400, Carrera/Mongoose etc.....

[HardRockCamaro]

I have learnt that Mongoose came from a BMX background!  

Yup £400 seems to be the magic number to get:

Aluminium frame
Front suspension with lockout
Hydraulic disk brakes

If you're prepared to forgo front suspension lockout and hydraulic discs and just go with mechanical discs you can get a good bike for £300.

If you're prepared to forgo discs completely and the aluminium frame you can get down to £200.


Just remembered I can save the £30 or so I was going to spend on a cycle computer as I have my old Garmin eTrex GPS unit which has a handlebar mount...

Just need to cough up for some mudguards, bottle, lights and a basic toolkit inc 2 tubes and a pump (probably co2 canister).  Oh and a lock for work, even though it will be inside the unit...

Probably £100 of stuff right there...

Then I will (later) also need the bracket for the Caddy boot, not sure what they cost...

[HardRockCamaro]

Had someone else on a forum confirm that in my price range the Mongoose is the best value.  They pointed me to a sit with a Saracen for £30 less, but the brakes lost the hydraulic feature, so they said for just £30 it's silly not to.  If it was their money, it's what they would buy.  And considering said person has a £2,500 mountain bike it's probably a good choice then.

Now I just need to persuade myself to actually cough up and do it...

[nick69]

If it helps at all my mate is selling his GT AGGRESSOR XC2. Its mint and silver, all I know about bikes im afraid.
Just had a kid so needs the cash.

Let me know if your interested.

Nick

[HardRockCamaro]

You have a PM.

[art b]

bang ...!!!  then all the plans changed....