Beginner's bike - hybrid or road bike for around 500?

crótach

Hi folks,

I'm looking for a bit of advice, I've only learned to cycle recently, and at the age of 36 it hasn't been easy, but I'm finally starting to enjoy it.

The bike I have is a pretty old and very simple Orbita hybrid bike. It has served it's purpose very well, but I find it a tad bit too small and more importantly a bit uncomfortable. There's no suspension on it, and the gears are a lottery, selecting a gear on the gripshift doesn't have much to do with real life.

With the summer on the way and me finally able to cycle, I'm looking for a new bike that I could take for a spin for 20-30 miles. I have no clue about bikes, and if anyone asks me what I want, I would say a more comfortable ride (suspension) and more reliable gear shifting. I'm looking to spend around 500 euro on it, and hoping it will last me a few years.

I don't cycle on roads since I have a pathological fear of cycling next to cars, but luckily there are hundreds of kilometers of good cycling paths close to where I live, most are paved and the rest are smoothed out even gravel.

My first confusion is around the suspension, is it enough to have a suspension on the fork or should I have one on the saddle as well, and what difference does it make? At this stage I'm used to getting my ass off the seat when I see a bump ahead.

Then there's the brakes, I have the simplest on my bike and they seem to work well enough for me. Why would one go for disc brakes, or v-brake or hydraulic brakes?

And then there's the bike type, a hybrid of a road (trekking) bike? My current bike is a hybrid, and from what I've seen hybrids should be more agile and lighter than the road (trekking) bikes, and yet when I go cycling with my wife I have to keep on pedalling like mad when she's freewheeling half the time on her road bike!

I don't see myself ever cycling in traffic, or at night, so I'm more inclined to think towards hybrid bikes, but if there's a good reason to go for a road bike I'm here to learn

And lastly, if you can advise me which brand to go for or what to look out for, that would be great. Every bike I see is using Shimano parts but they all have different names, and it means absolutely nothing to me. Taking a salesman's advice usually ends up in me buying something too expensive that I don't really need, so I'm looking for some impartial advice.

Thank you all for reading!

petethedrummer

There will follow about 20 posts trying to talk you out of buying a bike with suspension. You will not be convinced for a while but eventually you will be browbeaten into forgetting about suspension. Some will try to convince you into a racing bike, but if you're only a relative beginner a flat bar racer, a hybrid or maybe even a touring/audax bike would be the way to go.

Having suspension is not going to help you keep up with the missus.Having a well fitting, properly maintained bike will be comforable without suspension. Cycling in traffic will come with time.

And, where do you live with the hundreds of kms of cycle paths? Germany? It can't be Ireland.

500 quid would get you a decent Giant Rapid or equivalent from other makers.

poochiem

petethedrummer wrote: »

There will follow about 20 posts trying to talk you out of buying a bike with suspension. You will not be convinced for a while but eventually you will be browbeaten into forgetting about suspension. Some will try to convince you into a racing bike, but if you're only a relative beginner a flat bar racer, a hybrid or maybe even a touring/audax bike would be the way to go.

Having suspension is not going to help you keep up with the missus.Having a well fitting, properly maintained bike will be comforable without suspension. Cycling in traffic will come with time.

And, where do you live with the hundreds of kms of cycle paths? Germany? It can't be Ireland.

500 quid would get you a decent Giant Rapid or equivalent from other makers.

sticky that reply and lock all future threads

ednwireland

crótach wrote: »

And lastly, if you can advise me which brand to go for or what to look out for, that would be great. Every bike I see is using Shimano parts but they all have different names, and it means absolutely nothing to me. Taking a salesman's advice usually ends up in me buying something too expensive that I don't really need, so I'm looking for some impartial advice.

you are so in the wrong place here (have you seen the "i should have left the credit card at home thread"

you need a canyon ultimate cf

smacl

Was in a similar situation Christmas before last and went with a kellys neos flat bar hybrid with wide tires (38c) and lockable front suspension. Negatives; slower and heavier than a road bike. Positives; comfy on gravel as well as paved roads, and a really good beginners bike. I've done many thousand kilometres on my bike at this stage and many 100k+ rides, and it works just fine. €500 will also get you an acceptable hybrid but it is a bit on the low side for a road bike, so I'd be tending towards a hybrid. If you go for a road bike, you'll probably want to change to wider tires for gravel.

goreyhead

Hi
I to got back into cycling last year after not been on a bike for 20 odd years and found cycling in traffic very nevering, but with time you get used to it, i bought a hybird graint escape 2 and found it a grand bike , but looking back i should of bought a road bike , as you get fitter you may want to increase you milage and to do that you realy need a road bike

thundercatho

Giant Rapid gets a +1 for me too. Quality bike that is lighter than my lock.

crótach

petethedrummer wrote: »

There will follow about 20 posts trying to talk you out of buying a bike with suspension. You will not be convinced for a while but eventually you will be browbeaten into forgetting about suspension.

Well, one benefit of being a total beginner is not having a strong opinion and being more likely to take advice

So no suspension? I've seen that some bikes have a lockable suspension that you can stiffen or completely lock, would that be an idea?

petethedrummer wrote: »

And, where do you live with the hundreds of kms of cycle paths? Germany? It can't be Ireland.

You're spot on, I recently moved to Germany, on the border with Luxembourg. I finally felt safe trying to learn to cycle as an adult, and the bicycle paths seem endless.

Thanks for the recommendations, I've seen Kellys bikes in a local shop. Haven't seen anyone here stocking Giant though. German brands like Kreidler and Reibeneick seem quite popular around here.

Pigeon Reaper

you'll have a much bigger selection of bikes in Germany than we have in Ireland. Check out the local shops. Most people over there will use nice townbikes with carriers and mudguards. I'd advise looking at what the locals use unless you have aspirations of racing.

If you're passing Munchengladbach I can recommend a shop and organise someone to look after you.

petethedrummer

crótach wrote: »

So no suspension? I've seen that some bikes have a lockable suspension that you can stiffen or completely lock, would that be an idea?

I wouldn't if I were you, given that the cycle paths in Germany are very good and you're not off-roading, there really is no point. On a 500 quid bike the suspension won't be very good and its money better spent on other areas of the bike. A bike with no suspension is likely to have better gears(groupset), than an equivalently priced bike with suspension.

What you need most is a good fit and a good saddle (which is very personal) and some cycling shorts if you want to go long distances. Also you could get bull bar extensions for the handlebars so you can get another position for you hands on long rides.

Specialized, Trek, Cube, BH, Giant, Fuji are all good brands and will all have something for you. I'll try to think of a few other brands.

Shimano Groupsets(gears) from best down (alot of bikes will have a mix):
Dura-Ace
Ultegra
105
Tiagra
Sora
2300

crótach

Okie dokie, plenty of material to bring with me to the bike shop at the weekend.

What about the brakes? Does it matter if they're V-brakes, or hydraulic, or disc brakes?

I've heard that disc brakes make a difference when it's wet, but I really don't see myself going out for a long cycle in the rain. Over here I have a "weather permitting" policy

petethedrummer

I have hydraulic disc brakes on my MTB and they are very powerful, but I don't know how to service them, so I wouldn't want them on an every day bike. I don't anything about mechanical (cable pull) disc brakes. Someone else can chip in there.

Regular caliper and V brakes will do a good job and are easy enough to maintain.

To be honest I would stick with the norms. I had a Giant FCR which was the precursor to the Rapid. No suspension, regular V brakes, Shimano Sora groupset, bar ends and it was a great bike. I only sold it to buy a road bike. I sold it to my brother and he uses it daily. The only thing that was bad about it was the saddle but they can be bad on bikes worth thousands.
You can fit a rack on it, wide commuting/touring tyres. There was even a lad on the boards Saturday spins who was well able to keep up with the road bikes on his FCR.

You could go for an Escape which will be a more hybrid and upright than the Rapid.
http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-gb/bike-finder/men/allcategories/?level=sport
Best thing to do is keep it simple at this price point. Any fancy looking component is just going to take away from where the money should be going.

I'm only using Giant as an example, all the big manufactures will have equivalents.

smacl

In addition to what Pete has said, on the Kellys and similar bikes you'll also see Deore gears, which are mountain bike rather than road bike gears. They seem fine on my hybrid, the lower gears would let you climb a wall, but the higher gears will not give you the same speed as a road set. As for the front suspension, it helps on rougher forest tracks, and also on longer spins on bad roads if the hands are getting a bit numb, but i leave it locked 90% of the time. Decent tyres are probably a better use of your money, something puncture resistant and not too thin if you're hitting gravel.

cdaly_

I'd suggest a suspension seatpost which won't add much weight.

crótach

It's funny how much the products differ, Giant have a different lineup here:
http://www.giant-bicycles.com/de-DE/bike-finder/men/allcategories/?level=sport

Escape N8 seems a bit out of my reach, but the other two models (Seek and Roam) can be gotten for around 500.

Thanks for all the good advice!

inkedpt

Hi Crótach! Disc brakes are very helpful if you plan to ride a bike on rainy days or muddy terrain because unlike the "conventional" brakes, disk brakes don't lose braking power in adverse conditions. Giant Rapid is an excellent machine, but note that the rider's position is a bit "drop" over the handlebars like on a race bike and you may find it a little uncomfortable for your wrists, arms and even shoulders. Within the same line will give a sneak to the Specialized Sirrus which as a more upright riding position...
Best of luck in this new adventure

Newaglish

petethedrummer wrote: »

There will follow about 20 posts trying to talk you out of buying a bike with suspension. You will not be convinced for a while but eventually you will be browbeaten into forgetting about suspension. Some will try to convince you into a racing bike, but if you're only a relative beginner a flat bar racer, a hybrid or maybe even a touring/audax bike would be the way to go.

Having suspension is not going to help you keep up with the missus.Having a well fitting, properly maintained bike will be comforable without suspension. Cycling in traffic will come with time.

And, where do you live with the hundreds of kms of cycle paths? Germany? It can't be Ireland.

500 quid would get you a decent Giant Rapid or equivalent from other makers.

I looked that bike up on Wheelworx but it's €1,150 - am I looking in the wrong place?

Edit: I'm talking about the Giant Rapid in the link

petethedrummer

Thats the Giant Rapid 1. I should have linked to the Rapid 4 which is €650.. a bit higher in price than I was expecting, but all bikes seem to have gone up this year. A fair few turn up secind on adverts and donedeal.
http://www.wheelworxbikes.com/product_info.php?products_id=2643&osCsid=0fc5ecf6e39ba0d522ed1f8fca51be1c

You could try looking for a specialized sirrus or other equivalent. I think they are a little cheaper.

Newaglish

Went to the shop and was recommended this bike (although it appears to be cheaper when bought online).

Cube 2011 SL Cross Comp

Just looking for a beginner's road bike that reasonably simple and reliable - thoughts?

thebouldwhacker

It'll do exactly what it says on the tin but its a hybrid, neither mtb nor road bike (racer) so if you were to get into either you will prob end up changing it.
If that syle of bike is what you want (and you like it, how it feels/ looks etc) then it wont let you down. You would prob get cheaper though if you shop around...

crótach

Hi folks,

I've been to see the local Giant dealer and they've told me that Rapid range has been pulled off the German market. Apparently they weren't selling too well and Giant decided not to bother anymore.

They showed me the kinda closest thing to what I was looking for, and the bike looks great but I don't really know anything about this stuff, so I figured I'd ask here. It's a bit more expensive, but it's also the cheapest of what they offer, and everything else is way out of my range.

Is this worth considering:
http://www.giant-bicycles.com/de-DE/bikes/model/roam.1/7638/44880/

Or should I forget about Giant and consider some other brands?

It has Alivio group, which I think is the cheapest one, and it has hydraulic disc brakes (giant's own model) which is a strange combination. I'm used to seeing normal brakes or V-brakes on bikes in this price range.

thundercatho

From what I see on the roads there are quite alot of Giant Rapids...
It could just be me noticing them more as I own one...
Still you cant go wrong with the Rapid.... Very Light & Durable so Far anyway...

petethedrummer

crótach wrote: »

Is this worth considering:
http://www.giant-bicycles.com/de-DE/bikes/model/roam.1/7638/44880/

Alivio are MTB gears for bikes like the Roam. Which are fine. You'll be able to go up the gable end of the house with them. But there won't be much at the top end.

It's a Giant with Shimano gears so it will last if you look after it. It has Disc brakes and suspension which I wouldn't want, but I'm not buying the bike. If you like it then go for it.