New bike - 3 gears?

firefish

Hi all,
Like many a poster, I am taking advantage of the cycle to work scheme to upgrade from my v basic model!
Looking for a ladies hybrid around €400 to €600. Having looked at a no of bikes have put an order on a ridgeback avenida 3 - does anyone know anything about this bike? Can't find any reviews from googling...Also looked at a Trek, a Giant and a kellys mascarena (or some name like that!) but liked the look of the ridgeback the best. Was thinking of a velocity but it had been sold when I reached the shop and in fact the avenida looks prettier (I'm so shallow!)

However is 3 gears enough on a bike? Will be riding it around Dublin city centre and close suburbs so no heavy hills. Bike is costing €460 - is this a lot for a bike with 3 gears only? Pardon my ignorance!

petethedrummer

Well you can't judge the price purely on the number of gears, but you should be ok with the 3 gears. I cycle around Dublin on a 3-gear bike and only the harder 2 work properly.

I presume the bike is €460 before the discount is applied?

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/ridgeback/avenida-3-womens-2009-hybrid-bike-ec017026

firefish wrote: »

in fact the avenida looks prettier (I'm so shallow!

Stick around the forum and you'll meet other cyclists discussing jersey designs, sock colouring, the prettiness of bikes, the correct way to wear sunglasses and leg shaving.

thebouldwhacker

petethedrummer wrote: »

Stick around the forum and you'll meet other cyclists discussing jersey designs, sock colouring, the prettiness of bikes, the correct way to wear sunglasses and leg shaving.

While this is true, but it doesnt sell what the forum is really about. Or maybe it does and I have just missed the bigger picture:eek:....

Some other topics covered from time to time include

...........................................................................................................

Ant

That looks like a fine bike for a commuter and I can't see anything wrong with the spec going by the Evans' Cycles link. While not quite as important as the practicalities of the the bike, aesthetics are important. You'll want something that you can show off and that your friends and other cyclists can admire.

As Pete says, 3 gears is plenty for commuting around Dublin. You might want more if you lived in San Fransisco or Cork! I used to have a mountain bike for commuting but found I just never used most of the gears. My current cycling joy (which I got for €700) is much simpler and only has one gear - but it's the perfect one for me.

Once you've found a model that's right for you and the kind of cycling you intend to do, the main thing is that the bike fits you properly and that the frame you buy is the right size for you. I've seen far too many people come back with a cheap mountain bike with a frame that's far too big for them. If it's a good shop, they should be able to advise you on this. If you're spending that kind of money on the bike, you should also be sure to take it for a test ride before handing over the cash.

Overall, I'd say it looks like decent value for money (making the same assumption as Pete). Just make sure you buy two locks with your bike: one D-lock and one chain or cable lock (thieves need to use different tools/methods to break the two different kinds of locks). You don't want to be deprived of your new pride and joy by opportunistic scumbags.

towel401

3 gears are all you need! i suppose they are hub gears. which have their own advantages but extremely hard to repair.

Vélo

How about a nice Pashley.

petethedrummer

towel401 wrote: »

3 gears are all you need! i suppose they are hub gears. which have their own advantages but extremely hard to repair.

The hub gears on my bike are 50 years old. And 2 of them are still working grand. They also seem a hell of alot more efficent than derailleur gears.

towel401

petethedrummer wrote: »

The hub gears on my bike are 50 years old. And 2 of them are still working grand. They also seem a hell of alot more efficent than derailleur gears.

1 of the gears is gone? can you get it fixed anywhere in this country?

penexpers

petethedrummer wrote: »

The hub gears on my bike are 50 years old. And 2 of them are still working grand. They also seem a hell of alot more efficent than derailleur gears.

+!

In general hub gears need little maintenance. I recently went back to servicing derailleur systems and I remembered why I like hubs so much. Simple to use and hardly need adjusting.

petethedrummer

towel401 wrote: »

1 of the gears is gone? can you get it fixed anywhere in this country?

I never checked, it was working at one stage and I undid the cable to remove the wheel for something else. I reconnected and it didn't work, well it works, I just have to hold the selector down or it slips out of gear. Soooo I imagine it is just something as simple as cable tension. I'll get round to looking at it some time. :rolleyes:

katiemaloe

Hi, I think 3 gears is plenty. I got my brand new Raleigh Elegance last weekend. It just has 3 gears and its plenty (I went up a little hill the other day, no bother!) And prettiness is so important!! I find its a very smooth and fast bike, much better than my cheap halfords old bike. A real pleasure to cycle. I tried one of the czech made Kelly bikes.... really gorgeous though it had that backwards pedal-brake thing that I didn't like. The Think Bike shop in Rathmines lets you try a bike for 2 days for free.... its pretty cool if you're a bit unsure. They have the Kelly bikes too. Hope you find something lovely