Noob in need of advice...

Hooked

Hi all... Little help needed please.

The last bike I owned was a Raleigh burner (with ALL the matching gear) and I was 12 so here goes... I'm after a pair of his n hers bikes. We have a Siberian Husky and are both (I'm 34) fairly fit from running and walking daily. We'd like to get running more in the new year and as the dog needs exercising twice daily we see cycling on non run days as a great solution.

I'm based in Limerick and thru friends, my boss and others I know a lot of folks that cycle or road race... for charities etc, friends who are triathletes (and a few ironmen) and I could prob get a good deal on a bike from a specialist store. However the bike to work scheme is out!

What would you recommend for our first bikes? Bricks and mortar store or halfords route? Id imagine more mountain bike/off road type outings with the dog as against road racing. An hour or so in the saddle at a time - if you'll excuse the pun! I'm looking into bikejoring and kits for our husky to pull with.

I suppose I'd have about a grand to 1200 euro spend total on both and mine could be second hand. But I really have no idea about brands, no of gears, what to look for, etc... I'd use an online chart to gauge frame size as I know the bike must fit but other than that I'm clueless.

Any advice at all would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks

HivemindXX

You almost certainly want to try out any bike before you buy it so a local bike shop sound better for you (assuming you have one). I've never bought a Halfords bike but from what I hear the bikes are ok but you may not get great after sales (or pre-sales assembly) from them. I guess if the guy at Halfords strikes you as knowing what they are doing then you are probably ok.

It sounds like you don't have a very definite idea of what kind of cycling you will want to do. You mention friends who do charity cycles and races but it's not clear if you are interested in participating in those yourself.

There are three basic choices. A proper mountain bike will have suspension on the front and I suggest keeping clear of rear suspension on a cheaper bike. If you are planning to take the bike on to unpaved trails then this might be right for you. If you are staying on tarmac (even very pot holed surfaces) or the sort of hard packed grit roads you find in forests then a hybrid might be better.

The hybrid category can cover quite a bit, they can be quite rugged on one end of the spectrum and quite sporty on the other. The main defining characteristic is that they have flat bars (like a mountain bike) instead of drop bars (like a road bike, or racer as I used to call them).

A road bike does not have to cost the earth and they can cover quite a range of cycling styles as well. A touring bike will have full mudguards and places to attach luggage racks, 'relaxed geometry' will be a bit more comfortable for long hours in the saddle especially if you are not in to racing and a then you have the full race bike which trades comfort for speed and agility. All of these will have drop bars. You can get the odd bike which is sold as a road bike with flat bars but I consider those to be fast hybrids really.

Without knowing too much about how you plan to use the bike I would go for a hybrid. I have one that I use for commuting and have done some sportives, including the Ring of Kerry at 172k, with no problem. I like the more upright position that the flat bars give me in traffic. I also have a decent mountain bike and the hybrid is simply way better for paved roads.

Another thing that people commonly say, which I agree with, is not to spend all your money on your first bike. You may find you actually use it on forest trails a lot or get interested in doing sportives and want to get a different bike than that which you initially bought. You should spend a reasonable amount of money though, a very cheap bike will probably be nasty and it will put you off cycling altogether. The first bike I bought after a big gap of no cycling was pretty awful and I spent more time avoiding it than cycling it. After upgrading to a significantly better bike I dread the days when I have to get to work without it.

Hooked

Thanks a million firctaking the time to reply hive mind.

Today I've learnt the lingo from a few mates. Hardtails, front shocks that lock out and all about the different types of brakes.

I don't fancy long distances at first so the road racer is out. Deffo a mountain bike or hybrid for me to start off.

Thanks again. Really appreciate it!

Discostuy

I bought a Specialized Rockhopper few years ago on the BTW scheme from Cycleways. Great bike, great build quality, super comfy and didn't break the bank. Hardtail, front shocks, disc brakes and is not overly heavy.

I then attached a gangline lead to the bike...and clipped it to the harness on my dog and used the bike like a sled.
Its great craic for you and the dog. Any "pulling dog" like a Sibe would take to it like a duck to water.
It took a bit of practice to get used to it, but soon enough we were bombing around the local pitches/park.

The frame design of the Spez was ideal, as there is a gap between where the top tube and the down tube join the stem. This allowed me to clip the gangline on securely to the frame (picture here explains better)

I bought the gangline and harness from countryhounds.ie I think it was. There is a forum called tailsandtrails which is worth checking out, they have lots of info on "Bikejoring".

Your Sibe would love it, and once the weather was cool enough he would pull you on the bike all day.

Could be worth checking out.

I'd second the point on not spending all your money on your first bike. I used my BTW for the mountain bike, and recently invested in a road bike which wasn't cheap. Its an addictive sport, is cycling.

Ben_10

I have a mal and a sibe and bikejore every day. I got my harness and gangline from countryhounds.ie also. Very cheap and very good quality stuff. The gangline has a bungee section to protect the dogs from jolts. It also came with a large carabiner for connecting to the bike.

I use a full suspension bike with hydraulic disc brakes and find it perfect. Great for the cycle paths and also great for trails. I would definitely recommend getting a bike with hydraulic discs. I found that v brakes and mechanical disc brakes are very poor if you go out in the rain.

Just my 2 cents

J Madone

Hooked wrote: »

Hi all... Little help needed please.

The last bike I owned was a Raleigh burner (with ALL the matching gear) and I was 12 so here goes... I'm after a pair of his n hers bikes. We have a Siberian Husky and are both (I'm 34) fairly fit from running and walking daily. We'd like to get running more in the new year and as the dog needs exercising twice daily we see cycling on non run days as a great solution.

I'm based in Limerick and thru friends, my boss and others I know a lot of folks that cycle or road race... for charities etc, friends who are triathletes (and a few ironmen) and I could prob get a good deal on a bike from a specialist store. However the bike to work scheme is out!

What would you recommend for our first bikes? Bricks and mortar store or halfords route? Id imagine more mountain bike/off road type outings with the dog as against road racing. An hour or so in the saddle at a time - if you'll excuse the pun! I'm looking into bikejoring and kits for our husky to pull with.

I suppose I'd have about a grand to 1200 euro spend total on both and mine could be second hand. But I really have no idea about brands, no of gears, what to look for, etc... I'd use an online chart to gauge frame size as I know the bike must fit but other than that I'm clueless.

Any advice at all would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks

Get rid of dog