Bikes for budding cyclists

moving_home

Myself and the hubbie are looking to buy bikes in the next week or two. We will be using them for recreational purposes mostly and can't imagine going any distance over 80km at a time and the odd duathalon. We can only afford to spend around €500. What should we be looking for in a decent entry level bike? I have been told that a hybrid is the best option.

HivemindXX

Unlike some people here I have no problem recommending a hybrid for commuting, shopping or relaxed recreational cycling, however if you are thinking of doing anything competitive, like duathalons you should probably consider getting a drop bar bike.

€500 for two bikes is a pretty tight budget. A new bike for €250 will almost certainly have cut some corners quality wise. Buying second hand will get you a lot better value but it's tricky if you don't know much about bikes. If you could round up someone you know that knows even a little about bikes to help you check out any potential second hand buys that would help.

There's not really much to look out for. Avoid suspension (not an issue if you get a road bike) since it's not required for the type of cycling you want to do and cheap bikes have cheap suspension and cheap suspension sucks. If you care about mudguards look for the eyelets on the frame that allow you to fit full length ones, if they are not there don't worry too much since you can fit clip on guards that will be ok. You'll probably want to budget for some accessories, pump, puncture repair kit/spare tubes, multi tool (although if you already have allen keys you can use them, almost everything on a modern bike it held together with allen bolts), lights and a lock (or two).

moving_home

Thanks for the reply. Sorry I meant we will spend up to €500 each so have a grand for just the bikes and extra for accessories. Thanks for the tip in the hybrid - I would also be thinking of doing the An Post cycle series also so I'm probably better staying away from the hybrid then?!

Raam

If the BTW scheme is an option then you will have 1,000e each approx to spend.

hardCopy

I would also guess that if you're already planning on doing duathlons it probably won't be long before you're hitting distances of over 80KM.

ford2600

http://www.adverts.ie/bikes/felt-f95-great-road-bike-or-triathlon-training/2731202

http://www.adverts.ie/specialist-bikes/wilier-racer-bike-road-bicycle/2451554

two 2nd hand for starters

HivemindXX

moving_home wrote: »

Thanks for the reply. Sorry I meant we will spend up to €500 each so have a grand for just the bikes and extra for accessories. Thanks for the tip in the hybrid - I would also be thinking of doing the An Post cycle series also so I'm probably better staying away from the hybrid then?!

€500 per bike is much better, you should be able to get something decent new for that. You will still be able to get better second hand but you are not basically forced in to it. As Raam said if you are able to benefit from the BTW scheme your budget increases significantly and this doesn't apply to second hand.

You can certainly do long cycles on a hybrid, I've done multiple 100k+ cycles on mine including most of the mid-length An Post events. I use my bike for every day commuting as well though and I prefer the upright position a hybrid gives me in traffic. If I was primarily going to use the bike for sportives like the An Post events and competitive events like duathalons I would certainly get a drop bar bike.

Things I'd be aware of if I was looking for a drop bar bike...

+ Relaxed geometry. This basically means more comfortable for longer cycles at the expense of a bit of speed and responsiveness.

+ Compact group set (meaning the gears). This means a bit more range at the low end (ie: easier on hills) at the expensive of less at the high end (ie: you might not be able to pedal fast enough at 50kph+) and also probably bigger jumps between gears.

+ Double / Triple. This refers to the whether you have two or three chain rings in the front. A triple will give you more gears at the low end but not as much as you think since there will be a big overlap between gears on different chain rings. For example the high gear on the easiest chain ring will actually be faster than the low gear on the middle chain ring. The down side of the triple is a bit of extra weight and expense and the loss of all cool points, at least for some people.

If you are interested in the An Post events you should certainly go for it. I found them to be great. Their 2013 calendar seems to be fully updated:-
http://www.anpost.ie/AnPost/IrishCycling/An_Post_Cycle_Series/

moving_home

Great info there thanks guys!

moving_home

We are both going for the road bikes and drop bars. We are eligible for the bike to work so delighted as I didn't realise what good value it was!

moving_home

just to update this. I ordered the Giant Avail 3 and with accessories spent up to the limit of the Bike to Work. There was a few problems along the way so I ended up getting upgraded to the Giant Avail 2 at no extra cost. Hubby got the Cube Peleton which is fantastic! Amazing bike but a bit over the budget :-)
We are super happy with our choices. Have the bikes about 2 weeks now. Longest cycle so far was 40k and we are loving it!

Thanks for all the tips and advice.