Havnt a clue what bike to buy-any advise for a total beginner

bigalee

Hi, im just wondering if anyone can explain the different types of bikes that are availabe to buy, im a total beginner. i put up another post and got some good advise, but having looked up websites etc since, im now totally confused, i havent cycled since i was a kid but want to get into it now through the bike to work scheme, il prob spend the full 1000. just id like to know what are the different advantages and disadvatages of the different types are, ie road bike, hybrid, etc etc. only thing i know bout bikes is that when i was a kid you had a choice of three, a mountain bike, a racer, or one with a nice basket on the front:rolleyes: i know things have moved on so id like to have a bit of a clue before i go to buy. im hoping to buy early next week. i was saying in my other post i have an old back injury, it doesnt flare up that much anymore, but i always bear it in mind... il be using the bike for just keeping fit, but could see myself getting more serious about it in future.

Four of a kind

bigalee wrote: »

Hi, im just wondering if anyone can explain the different types of bikes that are availabe to buy, im a total beginner. i put up another post and got some good advise, but having looked up websites etc since, im now totally confused, i havent cycled since i was a kid but want to get into it now through the bike to work scheme, il prob spend the full 1000. just id like to know what are the different advantages and disadvatages of the different types are, ie road bike, hybrid, etc etc. only thing i know bout bikes is that when i was a kid you had a choice of three, a mountain bike, a racer, or one with a nice basket on the front:rolleyes: i know things have moved on so id like to have a bit of a clue before i go to buy. im hoping to buy early next week. i was saying in my other post i have an old back injury, it doesnt flare up that much anymore, but i always bear it in mind... il be using the bike for just keeping fit, but could see myself getting more serious about it in future.

Like yourself I'm a total beginner and also with back problem. I went with a full road bike a month ago and haven't looked back. Back has improved 10 fold and my fitness is also coming along. One of the best investments I've ever made.

rab!dmonkey

You're going to have to be a little more specific. There are probably as many, if not more, disciplines within cycling as there are codes of football. Each bike will suit some disciplines more than others and some not at all.

What are do you want to get from your cycling experience? Will this be a bike for transport and utility use or do you want to compete in some manner? If you want to compete, will it be on the roads in a peloton or off road through the hills?

guym

I also suffer with my back, had to eventually give up on the mountainbiking and move over to the darkside (roadbikes) and I haven't looked back since. Would definately point you in the direction of a road bike. I think there are a number of threads on here giving advise on what roadbikes are out there for around €1k. Get out there and enjoy, your fitness will come on leaps and bounds, also think about joining a club, most will organise spins for different fitness levels and you can meet up with like minded people and pick their brains for what is good and what is not.

bigalee

rab!dmonkey wrote: »

You're going to have to be a little more specific. There are probably as many, if not more, disciplines within cycling as there are codes of football. Each bike will suit some disciplines more than others and some not at all.

What are do you want to get from your cycling experience? Will this be a bike for transport and utility use or do you want to compete in some manner? If you want to compete, will it be on the roads in a peloton or off road through the hills?

Hiya,and thanks Rad!dmonkey,
well i want to buy the bike for use on roads, initially thats where i see myself using it. because im new to it im just trying to imagine what i will enjoy, but the idea of using it for fitness initially on roads appeals to me. I dont know about competing, ive probably a long way to go before i get to that stage, and if i do im sure i can sell on this bike as i get more experienced etc and buy something more suitable for competing. Initially, comfort, quality and suitability for road are mos important. thanks...any thoughts??

Bicycle Hunter

I'd suggest a Merida hybrid. Their reliable, light, great value for money and stylish. With a grand to spend you'll have a great selection to choose from while still having enough money left to get all the acsesorys you need. They come in most sizes so be sure to get messured for your right size before you buy any bike as wrong size = bad back

squeaky crank

I think you should consider a bike with drop handle bars (road bike).
I have a bad(ish) back and find the Drops have may different hand positions which helps my back alot on longer spins.
The straight bars on a hybrid restrict you to one position.

Also a few of people I know (including meeself) started on hybrids and within a few months were switching to road bikes.

Seve OB

+1 for the road bike

I only bought one last year and am not looking back, as prev poster mentioned the advantage of the drop handle bars means you can shift around a bit to ease any strain on your back

Also I stand to be corrected on this, but I think I got a "compact raod bike" which means it is not a full out and out racer and leaves you in a more comfortable riding position

seamus

stevieob wrote: »

Also I stand to be corrected on this, but I think I got a "compact raod bike" which means it is not a full out and out racer and leaves you in a more comfortable riding position

"Compact" beside the name of bike typically refers to the gearing rather than the geometry. It's still a "full" road bike, but designed to make climbing slightly easier by giving you lower gearing.

Bicycle Hunter

I use my road bike for long distance, it's far superior than any other frame for speed and ease of use but I would not recommend one for a novice/beginner. The larger wheel base and durability of a hybrid for someone thats practically learning to cycle again seems much safer. Road bikes are designed to be ridden whilst holding the drop bars in the down position as most new ones don't have extension levers or interrupt levers so you cant brake while in the high position, while this position change would take a second for an experienced rider it could prove a dangerous maneuver for the inexperienced whilst in a panic. I cant see the advantage of being cramped riding low and then switching high to ease strain on your back whilst having no breaks. Start with a hybrid, their perfect for the city hills and bumpy roads, you can work your way up to a road bike as your confidants grows.

Tonyandthewhale

Bicycle Hunter wrote: »

I use my road bike for long distance, it's far superior than any other frame for speed and ease of use but I would not recommend one for a novice/beginner.

Obviously it depends on the individual but I don't think it really takes that long to get used to a drop-bar road bike. It's a long time since I bought my first road bike but I was able to ride it home from the shop unaided, it's not all that complicated really.

DUBintheSTICKS

You should get a road bike. if you get the hybrid and enjoy it two months down the line when you want to get a road bike you will have used up ur bike to work up. And pay big bucks out of your pocket for ur new road bike.

I'm only new at road bikes as well, you get used very quickly and addicted even quicker.

Bicycle Hunter

I'd agree with you. Its just the total beginner part of the tread. After one finds their feet on a bike adjusting to drop bars is simple. Lets leave the bars aside, behing able to turn on a six pence on 23c's is mental for biginers. I have it in my head that this person cant cycle and has no intention of commuting on the bike so will probly enjoy an occasional cycle, thus gradualing advancing in proficencie. theirs reasons one should crawl before walking.

Rob A. Bank

Bicycle Hunter wrote: »

The larger wheel base and durability of a hybrid for someone thats practically learning to cycle again seems much safer. Road bikes are designed to be ridden whilst holding the drop bars in the down position as most new ones don't have extension levers or interrupt levers so you cant brake while in the high position, while this position change would take a second for an experienced rider it could prove a dangerous maneuver for the inexperienced whilst in a panic.

Bigalee this advice from Bicycle hunter is the most relevant for you on this thread, IMHO.

It seems to be a feature that everyone who asks for bicycle advice here is dragooned into buying a road bike, no matter what.

It appears to be the equivalent of asking about a car for a beginner on the motoring thread and being advised to buy a Formula 3 or perhaps even a Formula 1 car. There is a lot more to cycling than speed and spandex !

Rant over !

clonmahon

The thread "hybird bikes - what's the advantages of them" is well worth a read

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056551538

This is what I posted in that thread.

I have a road bike and a hybrid. I use the road bike for the Sunday morning run with the club. I use the hybrid for going to the shop, the bank, the pub, the post office, visiting friends, going to parties, running errands, going to look at cattle and relaxed leisure cycles in the summer. I use the hybrid for all those short local journeys I used to use the car for.

The hybrid is equipped with mudguards, carrier, chainguard, handlebar bag, panniers and a kick stand. It has a good range of very low gears, very useful for bring home a load of shopping as I live in a hilly part of the country. It is my everyday utilitarian transport and requires no special clothes.

The road bike is for fast runs with the club. When I go to the pub, to visit a friends house or to a party I wear ordinary clothes and cycle at a pace that won’t make me sweat. I don’t arrive dressed in Lycra and dripping with sweat, that’s for Sunday morning.

Horses for courses. For many people, in many situations the hybrid is the perfect solution.

rab!dmonkey

bigalee wrote: »

Hiya,and thanks Rad!dmonkey,
well i want to buy the bike for use on roads, initially thats where i see myself using it. because im new to it im just trying to imagine what i will enjoy, but the idea of using it for fitness initially on roads appeals to me. I dont know about competing, ive probably a long way to go before i get to that stage, and if i do im sure i can sell on this bike as i get more experienced etc and buy something more suitable for competing. Initially, comfort, quality and suitability for road are mos important. thanks...any thoughts??

I would recommend a relaxed geometry drop bar bike. If you're only going to be riding on the road, a skinny tyred bike is obviously desirable. Even if you're not competing, you'll obviously be exerting yourself to some degree as 'fitness' is amongst your stated aims. That's what drop bars are for. You'll see a lot of posts here saying 'I bought a hybrid/flat bar road bike and I changed to drops after a while'. That's an unnecessary and relatively expensive course to go down. There's a whole spectrum of bikes with these two features and not all of them are the bicycle equivalent of F1. You could start off with something like the Specialized Tricross, for example.

Disclaimer: mountain bikes are where my passion lies, others here most likely know a lot more than me about skinny tyred bikes.

Lumen

Bicycle Hunter wrote: »

Road bikes are designed to be ridden whilst holding the drop bars in the down position as most new ones don't have extension levers or interrupt levers so you cant brake while in the high position, while this position change would take a second for an experienced rider it could prove a dangerous maneuver for the inexperienced whilst in a panic. I cant see the advantage of being cramped riding low and then switching high to ease strain on your back whilst having no breaks.

I don't really understand any of that. What is this "high" position?

Modern drop bar bikes have integrated brake/shift levers. There are two positions where you have access to the brakes and shifters, the hoods and the deep drops. There are other positions (tops and the ends of the drops) where you have access to neither.

By contrast, a hybrid has access to brakes a shifters in only one position, on the flat bars. The other position, using bar ends, has access to neither brakes nor shifters.

So you're basically asserting that a bike with one "safe" hand position and one "unsafe" one is better than a bike with two "safe" hand positions and two "unsafe" ones. Maths and common sense disagrees.

The hybrid thread linked to earlier says it all. If you want convenient utility transport or a very limited budget and have no experience to guide you, get a hybrid. If you want a bike for sport/fitness, get a drop bar bike.

Cycling is not very difficult, regardless of which bike you choose. All this stuff about dangerous hand movements and panicking is total scaremongering. It's not bomb disposal.

Bicycle Hunter

Lumen wrote: »

I don't really understand any of that. What is this "high" position?

Modern drop bar bikes have integrated brake/shift levers. There are two positions where you have access to the brakes and shifters, the hoods and the deep drops. There are other positions (tops and the ends of the drops) where you have access to neither.

By contrast, a hybrid has access to brakes a shifters in only one position, on the flat bars. The other position, using bar ends, has access to neither brakes nor shifters.

So you're basically asserting that a bike with one "safe" hand position and one "unsafe" one is better than a bike with two "safe" hand positions and two "unsafe" ones. Maths and common sense disagrees.

The hybrid thread linked to earlier says it all. If you want convenient utility transport or a very limited budget and have no experience to guide you, get a hybrid. If you want a bike for sport/fitness, get a drop bar bike.

Cycling is not very difficult, regardless of which bike you choose. All this stuff about dangerous hand movements and panicking is total scaremongering. It's not bomb disposal.

The person asking for advice is again "a complete beginner" so I wanted to make things clear to them by stating high and low. I was replying to another poster who suggested that the two positions would benifit the persons back problems as they would be able to altercate between the two. The refrence to modren breaks on road bikes not having an ability to break while in both positions I stand behind. I never mentioned intergrated break/gear shifting. the two different brakes I mentioned, if that is where I lost you, one is an old type where you have two ends to the leaver whitch you can reach from either position and the other more modren but more rare to see on factory fresh road bikes breaks have two seperate sets of breaks (and yes the set on the down will more than likely be intergrated) with one on the flat or top end of the bar like a hybrid/mountain bike. the cable from thease will join that of the standard break and thus make it possible to break in both positions.

But all in all this person has asked for our openions. In my experience beginers need basics so i suggested a hybrid as you can get a workout on one while its practicul also. after some expeirience move up to a road bike, maybe get a cheap secondhand hybrid for starters and save the cycle to work for the road bike purchase. When people say I want to start cycling again and get fit I dont think that they have any attention of going training but are refering to taking the car everywhere and maybe using the bike instead when conditions are right.

ps the maths are identical just because you doubled the figures equaly doest change the percent. Scare mongerling realy? is that how you feal when ever someone doesnt share your openions. you dont have to slander any opposition you find in life brother, war is the wrong of the righteous.

Chips Lovell

You can brake on the drops and the hoods with one set of brake levers. No need for auxiliary levers to get two brake positions.

Lumen

Bicycle Hunter wrote: »

Scare mongerling realy? is that how you feal when ever someone doesnt share your openions. you dont have to slander any opposition you find in life brother, war is the wrong of the righteous.

It's a discussion forum. I'm perfectly entitled to point out when I think you're wrong, and vice versa.

smacl

To the OP, rather than trying to decide based on opinions in a forum like this, valid as they might be, you're much better off to go down to your local bike shop and try riding a few bikes to see how you get on. If you find the drop bars comfy an ok to handle, it is the better long term option. If you find the drops scary / awkward and the hybrid much easier to handle, start with hybrid and change bikes in the future when and if you feel the need. If you think you're going to start on a hybrid, with a view to moving to a drop bar road bike later, it could be worth considering spending less money on a mid range hybrid, and saving your BTW for the more expensive road bike that you'll get later on.

FWIW, I started with a hybrid a couple of years back which I got great value out of, and have since picked up a road bike. I don't think I would have been comfortable starting out with a road bike, after a couple of decades not cycling since childhood. I still get good use out of the hybrid as well as the road bike (and given the money and space would love another road bike and maybe an MTB).

Kav0777

smacl wrote: »

To the OP, rather than trying to decide based on opinions in a forum like this, valid as they might be, you're much better off to go down to your local bike shop and try riding a few bikes to see how you get on.

+1

Seve OB

Firstly, like the OP until I bought my bike last year, I hadn't got one in over 20 years when I to had the choice of a basic racer, mountain bike, one with a basket, a BMX or something cool like a Raleigh Chopper! For the record I bought a Felt Z6 last year, and I love it.

seamus wrote: »

"Compact" beside the name of bike typically refers to the gearing rather than the geometry. It's still a "full" road bike, but designed to make climbing slightly easier by giving you lower gearing.

My bad, I was of the understanding (someone in the bike shop told me) that the basic geometry of the frame had something to do with it.

It went along the lines of the crossbar on the bike I chose is not absolutely parallell to the ground but rather slops upwards slightly giving a more relaxed riding position. Ie. I am not leaning over as much to reach the handlebars as I cycle. I to like the OP have a long back and it can be suspect to the odd twinge from an old injury, however I don't struggle on my bike.

Bicycle Hunter wrote: »

Road bikes are designed to be ridden whilst holding the drop bars in the down position as most new ones don't have extension levers or interrupt levers so you cant brake while in the high position, while this position change would take a second for an experienced rider it could prove a dangerous maneuver for the inexperienced whilst in a panic.

I disagree. So as you see I was also a novice like the OP and by the time I went around the carpark on a test ride I had figured out how to manage the brakes and gears. Probably 95% of the time I sit in an upright position with my hands draped over the hoods and my fingers resting on the brakes in case of any emergency.

At any rate, there were many options like this when I was looking at road bikes

Bicycle Hunter wrote: »

Start with a hybrid, their perfect for the city hills and bumpy roads, you can work your way up to a road bike as your confidants grows.

I think this is subjective because we don't really know what the OP is looking for, so we have to supply hime with information in order to form his opinion.

I do however disagree with you from a financial point of view. The OP seems willing to spend the full €1,000 to get his bike on the BTW scheme, so he is hardly going to buy something to essentially have to go out and replace it 6 months or a year down the road with another bike that he won't be able to get on the BTW scheme because it can only be availed once every 5 years!

I think the OP needs to assess exactly what he wants to get out of his purchase, and buy the right bike first time out

Chips Lovell

There's compact gearing (i.e. compact cranksets) and compact frames (i.e. sloping top tube).

seamus

stevieob wrote: »

I do however disagree with you from a financial point of view. The OP seems willing to spend the full €1,000 to get his bike on the BTW scheme, so he is hardly going to buy something to essentially have to go out and replace it 6 months or a year down the road with another bike that he won't be able to get on the BTW scheme because it can only be availed once every 5 years!

This is actually the primary reason why we usually recommend a road bike over a hybrid on this forum.

It's not some ultra pro-roadie attitude, rather the simple fact that if you get interested after a few months, going out and buying a drop-bar bike or converting a hybrid to drops is very expensive.
By contrast if you find that the drops aren't working, you can convert from drops to a flat bar far cheaper. In fact you should be able to fund the conversion by selling your integrated shifter/levers with money to spare.

I don't buy the safety argument. I've spoken to people who hadn't been on a bike in literally 20 years and got back on a road bike, and they got used to braking on the hoods within 20 minutes.
It might be an issue if someone has never ever ridden a bike before or if the bike is too large for them, but otherwise I've never heard of anyone having difficulty with them.

smacl

stevieob wrote: »

Probably 95% of the time I sit in an upright position with my hands draped over the hoods and my fingers resting on the brakes in case of any emergency.

I started out on the road bike like this and never really found it as comfortable as the hybrid, and a bit freaky descending in the hoods. Now I spend the bulk of my time in the drops, which I find way more comfy and secure. Getting a new road bike, I'd select the geometry and fit based on the drops being the primary riding position. The hoods and flats are great for a change in position and the break that it provides, but IMHO a drop bar bike works best and is easiest to cycle in the drops. I found moving from a hybrid to a road bike that the hoods were the natural place for the hands, and moving into the drops psychologically very difficult (my brain seemed to think that the drops were not a safe place to be and only allowed my hands to move there under duress). Getting over this, the reverse is almost true. If I go back the hoods or flats moving at any speed, the wind brake is turned on, the transfer of weight backwards means that all the road noise is directed to the base of my spine, and the steering and controls aren't as connected.

+1 on the relaxed geometry, it makes getting used to a road bike much easier.

smacl

Vladimir Kurtains wrote: »

There's compact gearing (i.e. compact cranksets) and compact frames (i.e. sloping top tube).

And compact drop bars, which I'm currently loving after switching from deeper bars.

Rob A. Bank

Lumen wrote: »

If you want a bike for sport/fitness, get a drop bar bike.

Since when can you not get fit on a hybrid bike ?

Lumen

Rob A. Bank wrote: »

Since when can you not get fit on a hybrid bike ?

You can get fit on a unicycle. So what?

DirkVoodoo

I have yet to see a wave of deaths caused by inexperienced cyclists taking to road bikes too early. Maybe I'm not reading enough obituaries?

bigalee

Bicycle Hunter wrote: »

I'd agree with you. Its just the total beginner part of the tread. After one finds their feet on a bike adjusting to drop bars is simple. Lets leave the bars aside, behing able to turn on a six pence on 23c's is mental for biginers. I have it in my head that this person cant cycle and has no intention of commuting on the bike so will probly enjoy an occasional cycle, thus gradualing advancing in proficencie. theirs reasons one should crawl before walking.

Hi Just to clarify as i prob should have made myself clearer to help with feedback, Im in my early 30s and cycled lots when i was in my early teens etc, just for fun, but havnt cycled since. I dont think i will be using the bike for commuting as i live in the countryside and work at night, about 25 miles away, so it wouldnt be practical. what i can see myself doing is cycling on my days off for recreation and to get fitter, im relatively fit at the moment, but not used to cycling. it would be cycling on the road stsrting out i think id be able for 10/15 miles and hope to work up from there. I walk quite a bit at the moment, but that can get boring.. thanks again