Bike for my dad - around €300mark?

johnnyivan

Hi All,
We'd like to buy my dad a new bike for this Sunday. He lives in the country so the roads ain't great, and he'd be into some road-cycling in the mountains.

A small shop up the road has a 'Falcon Subway' hybrid with aluminium frame, Shimano parts (twist-gear-shifters). €300 and he'll throw in mudguards.

I'd like to support small local biz, but should I try big-corporate Halfords and get an even better bike for the same price?

Thanks
John

cdaly_

I would stay away from the falcon. Twist grip shifters are not that nice to use and are likely to break. The brakes are no-name.

For the money, a Carrera Subway from Halfords is better value.

That said, what level of biking does your dad do? If he's already got an older bike, you'd want to be sure that the bike you get him at least matches up and preferably exceeds the old one.

If he's already into cycling, he may not appreciate the hybrid and would prefer a road bike. To go that road, you'd want to budget around €600 or more...

johnnyivan

Hello there,
I really appreciate your reply. Yes, someone told me years ago that trigger ones were better and that's what I ended up with on my own one.

I've seen the Haford's Carrera Subway. You reckon the hardware's reasonable quality? Also, there isn't any prob with an Aluminium frame ? People are expressing doubts to me about that - but I can't see a prob myself.

---
Dad's had a BSA Tour of Britain racing bike (same as that shown I think) since he was a lad. It has one of those 531 frames that goes "chinnnng" when you tap it. Great sturdy bike. The wheels were forever getting wrecked on country roads though. I think a sturdy hybrid is what he needs.

I can see him going off on 20 mile trips now he's retired - even up the Wicklow mountains.

cdaly_

Ok, now you're in trouble.

This is intended as a surprise isn't it? I think you're going to have to ask him what he'd like before you buy anything. I doubt he'd be happy with a hybrid coming from there. Has he any cycling mates you could ask for advice?

Anyone in the family who could buy the bike through the Bike to Work scheme? That would allow you to spend double on the bike and get the tax back...

petethedrummer

johnnyivan wrote: »

Dad's had a BSA Tour of Britain racing bike (same as that shown I think) since he was a lad. It has one of those frames that goes "chinnnng" when you tap it. 541? 531 or something? Great sturdy bike. The wheels were forever getting wrecked on country roads though. I think a sturdy hybrid is what he needs.

I can see him going off on 20 mile trips now he's retired - even up the Wicklow mountains.

I'm not so sure I agree with your reasoning for a hybrid. If he has done long spins and intends on doing more, a hybrid probably isn't the way to go. He might not like the reduced speed of a hybrid.

As an example, a mate of mine who was riding a racing bike bought a MTB and thought he'd put slicks on it and use it for commuting instead of the racing bike, for comfort etc... He couldn't stand the reduction in speed and went straight back to the roadbike.

You could sneak out his existing bike and get it properly serviced with some good strong wheels. Is he still flexible enough to ride his existing bike?

Maybe get him some accessories like a saddlebag or a good quality waterproof jacket.

I would MUCH rather ride an old steel road bike than a Carrera Hybrid.

johnnyivan

Funny you should say that Pete - that's exactly what my wife and I suggested. Fix up the old one - and as you said - add Paniers etc. He loves keeping things going forever, hates waste, there's a war on etc...

but how this'll be accomplished before Sunday... They live 30 miles away.

But you reckon a racing bike could take much heavier sturdier wheels?

I have an inkling that it might add up to €150-200 in the end.

petethedrummer

I'm no expert on wheels as I was recently looking for advice on strong wheels myself.

With an old style road bike you are probably looking for 27" wheels which are probably less common today. Someone else here might chip in and suggest if these are widely available. Or you could ring a shop and find out.

johnnyivan

Hi Pete,
I don't think he had supply problems when he rode it several years ago. perhaps it's hard to get chunkier ones. I've been looking up his bike online - it's a real beaut and much sought after. Someday it's be nice to properly restore it with original parts.

I remember it had a 'spring' to it. Whereas mine just felt sort of dead and clunky.

cdaly_

Definately ditch the hybrid idea so. I did replace 27" wheels with 700c ones on my old bike with just small adjustment of brake blocks. That can vary depending on what calipers are on the bike though.

johnnyivan

You know what? I just spoke to dad. He was intending fixing up his great old bike. Suspected as much! Thanks for the help on that though everyone.

He says it's the BSA that won the Tour of Britain in 1952. He got it when he was 13 - so around 1958. Even then he said it wasn't in great shape. Apparently the deraileur didn't work too well. If you took off the back wheel and flipped it - it became a fixed-wheel. Hope he still has most of the original parts lying around.

Here's the same model:
http://www.bicycles.net.au/forums/viewtopic.php?t=11289&sid=9f4a0d2792de75c1b467682363ce916a

Cheers lads
john

Piercemeear

I hope if you end up doing some work on it you'll post some pictures. That is a beautiful looking frame. Good luck with the restoration.

Bluefoam

Wow, quality bike... well work fixing up.

johnnyivan

Nice to hear! A good retirement project for him I think. Here's someone else with exatly the same model in NZ:
http://www.bicycles.net.au/forums/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=11289&p=418077#p418077

John