Older fella - which bike ?

Aidans

Hiya,
looking for some rookie advice.....I'm in my fifties, reasonable fit (swimming) and looking to get a decent entry level bike...

At the moment I have an old MTB that I use once a week for a 2 hour spin - I can cover 35Km in that time - mostly flat....but it's getting boring, especially if there's a headwind.

The most I will use the bike is once/twice a week for a 1 to 3 hour spin
I have €700 to €900 to spend on the bike alone......I have most of the accesories already.

I've sat on racers (drop handlebars) and straight bar bikes and, to me, they are all fantastic pieces of kit. Coming from an MTB the racer feels skittish, but that's to be expected with those skinny little tyres.

For example I've sat on a Giant Defy 3 and a Giant Rapid 3, what are the pros and cons...

I presume the racer is strictly for paved roads, no canal paths, trails or gravel even ?

Would a Giant Rapid handle the odd canal path, or smooth but un-paved trail ?

When I do go out I try and avoid busy roads, I'm not to keen on having cars/trucks whizz by me at 60 mph......

Bearing in mind that it'll be used just once/twice a week, what would you suggest, and why ?


Regards
Aidan

studiorat

Cyclocross bike. Tougher than a road bike but still suitable for road spins.

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-gb/bikes/model/2013.giant.tcx.2/11842/56837/Etc.

http://www.boardmanbikes.com/cx/cx_pro.html

Lumen

Get a proper road bike. The brakes and handling are far superior.

studiorat

Don't listen to him. Mad as a brush!
CX bike...

Squidgy Black

Get a road bike and fit wider tires on it, cheaper than a CX bike.

quozl

Get a road bike with clearance for wider tires and fit wider tires on it

Squidgy Black

Or go one better and buy a Surly Crosscheck, and there's no terrain that could possibly stop you.

Aidans

Those cyclocross bikes look good......

Now - If I put wider tyres on a racer - does that make it a cyclocross, or is there a bit more to it....

I'd want to be able to handle some un-paved trails, and jump the odd foot path - would a racer with fat tyres handle this ? I presume it would be no bother to a cyclocross.

Is there much of a weight difference between them ?

Of course I could just keep my MTB and use that for the rough stuff and get a racer for the road.

Thanks for the replies.

Rgds
Aidan

Ryder

Road bike pros....light, fast responsive
cons, may not get the clearance for wider tyres, is 28 or 32
cyclocross pros....easy to fit wide tyres and run lower pressures so feels more comfortable over rough surfaces. A bit more versatile
cons, more expensive, handling isn't as fun

Depends where you want to go most cycling....if off road or on a gravel path, I'd go with the cyclocross. Get disc brakes if possible. If on the road, then a road bike

feck sake lads

i'm just a bit older than you and cycling most of my life, so now if i were to but yet another bike i would most definitly buy the Thorn audax bike.
why well, its really well built you can use it as a road bike or touring bike and of course audax or everyday use.it has room for wider tyres for your canal path cycling at a breeze, loads of gears mudguards .to be honest its hard to beat check it out at www. SJS cycles.co.uk.
btw the best of luck cycling is the way to go.

http://www.sjscycles.com/supersize/26246.jpg
you could buy just the frameset and build it yourself.

rollingscone

A CX (Cyclo-Cross bike) has:
- More upright geometry
- (Allegedly) more rugged frame.
- Bigger clearance for tyres/mudguards than most roadbikes.

But it may also come with Cantilever brakes - which you don't want if you're going to use it as a pseudo roadbike (you can also get mini vbrakes and disc brakes which would be infinitely preferable).

There is a lot of misrepresentation of what CX bikes can do, they're either A. Designed specifically for Cyclo Cross (Kind of like steeplechase on bicycles) or they're weird bastardisations (looking at you Tricross) with road gearing that would not suit CX racing at all.

While they are closer to roadbikes than MTBs they're still not roadbikes and in my limited experience of test riding them when making a similar decision to yourself, they're not as nice to ride on roads.

CX bikes are also more expensive at each pricepoint than their road equivalent due to their specialist nature.

Depending on what you mean by rough trails some roadbikes such as audax (reaaaally long distance cycle/navigation events) bikes could take quite a lot of rough treatment while having the clearance for mudguards and still being fun to ride.

I was on here a few months ago looking for recommendations for a friend with similar needs to yours and someone suggested this there are also more expensive steel framed roadbikes but if you're on a budget and/or feeling your way into cycling it might be better to look at something along these lines.

Drop bars take getting used to, it was a concerted effort in my case but they transform the cycling experience and you might find that a lot of the skittishness you feel now goes away when you get the feel for them.

Also I don't think 51 is that old in cycling terms, there was plenty a buzz on here the other day about the events of an over 70s race. It's certainly never late to expand your range and enjoy the sights/experience.

Beasty

When you get into your fifties you may as well accept the inevitable:



Just ask morana ...;)

Beasty

... but if you want a serious response - I started cycling seriously in my late forties and initially went for a hybrid but very quickly converted to a road bike and never looked back

You still have your MTB which means you have the flexibility to ride off-road, so I would not see much point in getting a CX bike

Raam

The only reason to get a CX bike is to race CX. They just don't handle as well on the road. I only speak from the experience of the two I have owned, so it's possible that there are better handling CX bikes than mine.

honestbroker

Consider a steel framed touring bike, I'm in my fifties and think it's great, , great in the wet, 1 puncture in 5 years schwable marathon tyres, more relaxed frame that a road bike, proper mudgaurds, triple front ring.

Aidans

...Ok...thanks for the replies lads....

I think I'm over-thinking this....I'll just keep it simple and get a racer and keep the MTB for when the mood takes.

Beasty....I actually had something like this when I was 5 or 6, back in the sixties....a 3
wheeler with a front brake and a boot ! Now, it was a hand me down from my 3 older brothers but that Triang was the dog's dangly bits....absolutely loved it....

Off to the bike shop tomorrow....

Best Regards
Aidan

Beasty

Aidans wrote: »

Beasty....I actually had something like this when I was 5 or 6, back in the sixties....a 3
wheeler with a front brake and a boot ! Now, it was a hand me down from my 3 older brothers but that Triang was the dog's dangly bits....absolutely loved it....

So did I - was it red? - mine was handed down from my sister and I in turn passed it onto my brother

Carpenter

I am 51 started back on the bike when 48 bought a giant rapid and then sold it and bought a defy advanced and am loving every min of it getting 29 average up to the gap go with a defy you will not look back I promise you they are not the cheapest of bikes but well worth every penny I have never had a problem with mine

Aidans

...was it red..... ! They were all red - that's what the red lead in the paint was for -

I progressed then to a Triang scooter, also red and also a hand me down...thinking back on it they were really built to last......ahhhh...fond memories...