Giant Rock Bike '08

tullachBuí

Sorry for yet another opinion and advice thread.
Looking for a bike to cycle to work, 2-3 miles and for recreational cycling, nothing too off-roady though.

Don't want to spend more then 300E.

I have seen this for 250E-275E.
http://www.cyclesuperstore.ie/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=0&idproduct=20968

I have read here a few people saying Giant are pretty good. Would this be a good buy for the price? Or are there better alternatives in this price range?

Appreciate any advice.

tB

bobtjustice

Looks pretty good for what your going to be using it for. Anything more I'd recommend moving more upscale, which invariably involves spending more cash.
That bike looks pretty solid though.!

One thing for me is to stay away from a suspension on a bike (if your only using it for the road), takes away from power and speed. This is just my preference though.

tullachBuí

Had to drive into town, on the way back I had myself totally convinced to go the shop and just buy it, but the place is closed on Sundays it seems Hollingsworth cycles in kilmacud. Perhaps it's for the best to make me think about it a bit.

I'll probably end up just getting this unless I get other suggestions

I appreciate the feedback bobtjustice, at least I know I'm not onto a total ripoff or something over the top/unsuitable for my needs.

tB

bobtjustice

No problem

Some alternatives for you. I commute daily so have a decent enough bike. Some entry level bikes on the links for you there within your price range.
Anyone will tell you that you get what you pay for so, all these style of bike will have some + and -.


http://www.evanscycles.com/product.jsp?style=70230

http://www.evanscycles.com/product.jsp?style=87373

http://www.evanscycles.com/product.jsp?style=86267

Anyone of these are good for what your looking for... it'd be down to personal preference and what feels right.
I see a lot of people commuting on Treks, and they seem pretty sturdy.

tullachBuí

Those look great. My flatmate just bought the trek 7100, but I haven't had a chance to check it out yet. So i'll have a look.

If I could get a Giant Boulder for less then €300 I'd probably go for that, otherwise I'll just grab the Giant Rock Depends on my haggling skills I guess

tB

blorg

If you are not going off-road I would suggest a hybrid rather than a MTB, something like this. Will be lighter and less to go wrong (in particular avoid suspension.)

The Trek 7.1 is a hybrid and would be a great choice, nice looking bike too.

tullachBuí

Interesting development.
Second person to say nay to suspension. This is where my inexperience comes to the fore.

My reaction to suspension? "Ooooooooo fancy, it must be good!!"

I didn't really want to go that high price wise, but future problems is a good point, I doubt I'll be doing offroad stuff being realistic. If I could haggle down to 290Euro then get my lock etc on top I'd think about it.

Is haggling at cycleSuperstores something worthwhile? Might call out tomorrow evening.

bobtjustice

tullachBuí wrote: »

Interesting development.
Second person to say nay to suspension. This is where my inexperience comes to the fore.

My reaction to suspension? "Ooooooooo fancy, it must be good!!"

The reason we're saying avoid suspension is you lose a lot of power transfer to the pedals with a suspension bike on hard flat surface.
Hence why no suspension on racing bikes.
Hardtail(front suspension) bikes are ideal for light trails, dirt jumping etc. Full suspension for Downhill, cross country, Free ride.

I'm a novice in the mountain biking genre, as I've only being doing DH and trail riding a few months, but thats just how i see it from being on trails and seeing people out on bikes in different situations.

Road bikes, like some Hybrids and racers are all about speed. So are generally as light as possible, suspensions add a lot of weight as you can imagine, so not fun to try and haul up a big ass hill.:D

My experience in haggling with bike shops in Dublin has never been good. Maybe Im just cr@p at it.!!!

tullachBuí

I had an MTB for 4 years in college, weighed as much as a small pony and was just as stubborn on hills until it was stolen and sold for glue most likely.

It didn't have suspension and I guess I never missed it. If I'm going to go that bit higher price wise then it's between the Giant Boulder or the Giant CRS 4.0 I'll have to really make my mind up about light off roading. After coming on here a few days ago and reading various threads I'm getting interested:)

Anecdotal peer pressure! That and tracking down junkie bike thieves makes for a great forum everyone. Glad I found this place.

blorg

Suspension is fantastic off-road but completely unnecessary on-road. It's also expensive, so doing without it will generally either save you money or get you a better rest of the bike. Cheap suspension is not good at all. Apart from the loss of pedal power it is REALLY heavy (even good suspension) and another area for things to go wrong (and you will not get a good suspension fork on a €250 bike.)