New Bike Advice

lawred2 · 25-07-2011 10:12am #1

Hi,

I'm looking to purchase a new bike under the BTW scheme.. I'd be getting 51% rebate so its definitely worth spending that bit extra..

Its about 15 year since I owned a bike.. I'm looking to pick it up again.. I'm completely ignorant of most things bikes at this stage..

I'm not interested in an out and out mountain bike I don't think but a good quality bike that will be good on the road and on bike trails..

I've had a brief look in Halfords and liked the look of some of their bikes but I'd prefer to do a deal with an Indy Irish bike retailer.. Halfords get enough business..

Can anyone point me in the direction of some quality bikes? Maybe the attributes I should look for? I'd be willing to go to around a €1000 to get something that will give me what I want and last a long time for me..

Also, would anyone know/recommend dealers in South Dublin who like a bit of the haggle?

Lemag · 25-07-2011 10:27am

If you are hoping to hit the trails with yor bike you'll need a proper hardtail mountain bike at least. This won't be very good on the roads.

lawred2 · 25-07-2011 10:32am

Lemag wrote: »

If you are hoping to hit the trails with yor bike you'll need a proper hardtail mountain bike at least. This won't be very good on the roads.

I'm sort of thinking of these types of trails..

http://www.mayotrails.ie/cycling_trails.html

Surely, this would not be hugely different to road requirements.. I'm not interested in a pure road bike. (racer type bike)

surely there are some hybrid types bikes..

Lumen · 25-07-2011 10:37am

Buy a hardtail MTB with front lockout, like this:

http://www.canyon.com/_en/mountainbikes/bike.html?b=2054

Then if you decide you want to do longer distances on road, buy a road bike. You'll then have two bikes perfectly suited to their respective environments.

Or do it the other way round, and buy a proper road bike with clearance for 28mm tyres, and when you want to do proper off-road buy a MTB.

Or just ignore the advice and buy a hybrid.

lawred2 · 25-07-2011 10:45am

That's a nice looking bike!

I take it there is little regard for hybrids in the biking community then..

Lumen · 25-07-2011 10:59am

lawred2 wrote: »

I take it there is little regard for hybrids in the biking community then..

I wouldn't necessarily say that. Lots of people own them and like them. They're easy to sell to people who are put off my the complexity of a mountain bike and the drop bars of a road bike, and they tend to be cheaper than either of those.

lawred2 · 25-07-2011 11:05am

Lumen wrote: »

I wouldn't necessarily say that. Lots of people own them and like them. They're easy to sell to people who are put off my the complexity of a mountain bike and the drop bars of a road bike, and they tend to be cheaper than either of those.

that sounds like me..

Lemag · 25-07-2011 11:33am

lawred2 wrote: »

That's a nice looking bike!

I take it there is little regard for hybrids in the biking community then..

It is a nice looking bike. I have it;) They can only be bought direct from Canyon however so you won't find them in any bike shops.

The thing with hybrids is that they are only really suitable for road use and for this a road bike would be a much better option. From the few pictures which I've seen from the link which you've provided a road bike with (as Lumen advised) larger tyres would do the job. If you were to venture off-road both the hybrid and road bike would be equally useless.

lawred2 · 25-07-2011 11:55am

Lemag wrote: »

It is a nice looking bike. I have it;) They can only be bought direct from Canyon however so you won't find them in any bike shops.

The thing with hybrids is that they are only really suitable for road use and for this a road bike would be a much better option. From the few pictures which I've seen from the link which you've provided a road bike with (as Lumen advised) larger tyres would do the job. If you were to venture off-road both the hybrid and road bike would be equally useless.

Maybe I should be looking at a MTB then.. Can you put road tyres on a mountain bike or is that simply stupid?

Aaarrghhh I'm all confused

Lemag · 25-07-2011 12:01pm

lawred2 wrote: »

Maybe I should be looking at a MTB then.. Can you put road tyres on a mountain bike or is that simply stupid?

Aaarrghhh I'm all confused

You could get MTB slicks. They would be pretty crappy on a muddy trail though.

Lumen · 25-07-2011 12:03pm

lawred2 wrote: »

Maybe I should be looking at a MTB then.. Can you put road tyres on a mountain bike or is that simply stupid?

Aaarrghhh I'm all confused

You can put 26" slick tyres on a 26" MTB, and wide 700c road tyres on a 29er MTB (depending on rim width).

Either approach will produce a less annoying result on the road, and you'll only lose the ability to do muddy off-road, but it still won't be anywhere near as fun on road as a road bike.

spurscormac · 25-07-2011 12:04pm

What makes a MTB bad for roads is the weight, suspension fork & knobbly tyres that will sap your energy.

However, if you have lockout on the fork, a lightweight MTB, and replace the tyres with slicks, it will certainly be easier.

It will still be slow on the tarmac compared to a road or hybrid bike though.

If you want to do any sort of off-road, get a MTB though. I got one a few years ago, had some fun on some trails and it still does me fine when I get out there.

However, when buying on the BTW I bought a road bike. I had racers as a kid, so was never wary of the drops like some are.

You'll just need to decide what type of riding you want to do, that will determine the bike you get.

32yg · 25-07-2011 12:17pm

I was going to use the BTW scheme but then i found this site : http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/.
2 day delivery and very cheap but good quality bikes:)

Tonyandthewhale · 25-07-2011 5:57pm

A touring bike is a good option if you need a jack-of-all trades bikes. However a touring bike still suffers from the compormises of a hybrid, it's just faster on the road and more comfortable for long distances.

Ideally you should decide on what kind of riding you're going to do and pick the bike that does it best. To me it sounds like you need a road bike, just put 28mm tyres on it.

Having said that there's nothing wrong with a hybrid bike. They don't break-down any more than other bikes and tend to be fairly good value for money, they just don't offer much scope for development so if you get hooked on cycling you're going to have to upgrade sooner or later.

New Bike Advice

Comments