Buying my first bike!

ElecKtrA

Hi guys!

I'm looking at getting into cycling this spring/summer.

Basically i'm looking for any recommendations on a suitable bike. I would be using it for road and mountain trails, but mostly road usage!

I'm female, and 5ft 4inches in height, so what size frame would be ideal?

Any information at all would be great.

Thanks!

ipodrocker

do you have a budget in mind? Help give ya suggestions

planning for cycling to work?

ElecKtrA

ipodrocker wrote: »

do you have a budget in mind? Help give ya suggestions

planning for cycling to work?

Yeah, i definately do not want to spend any more than 400/500euro! I just think it wouldn't be worth spending anymore for the amount of times i will be getting out with it.

I currently walk to/from work, so i guess ..yes i could use it for work

Lemag

Can you avail of the 'Bike to Work' scheme? If so, would you consider increasing your budget to €400/€500 after tax deductions?

ElecKtrA

Lemag wrote: »

Can you avail of the 'Bike to Work' scheme? If so, would you consider increasing your budget to €400/€500 after tax deductions?

Hi, thannks for your reply. What exactly is this scheme about?

If it means money back then yes, i would be interested

Lemag

ElecKtrA wrote: »

Hi, thannks for your reply. What exactly is this scheme about?

If it means money back then yes, i would be interested

There's a little thread here about it It depends on how your employer implements it so you ought to ask them. Basically, your employer buys the bike on your behalf. They then deduct the cost of the bike from your wages before taxes so effectively you wouldn't be taxed on the income used to buy the bike.

rollingscone

Don't use your bike to work for the first bike you buy.

Pick up something second hand or in Decathlon (in Belfast or everywhere in Europe but Ireland...), also there's no such thing as a bike that can do everything but a good rigid forked hybrid or Mountainbike (rigid forks means no suspension, don't believe the hype, suspension forks are not for comfort) should be obtainable second hand but in good condition for much less than your current budget.

After you spend some time on that, you might decide you want to invest in something more city friendly/stylish for commuting to work/leisure, or get into one of the sporting aspects of cycling and want to spend more on a dedicated road or mountainbike.

In the meantime you can get tons of advice on what to do buy/try here (albeit it's a very road cycling biased form in sports terms). Good luck and enjoy!

diomed

ElecKtrA wrote: »

I'm female, and 5ft 4inches in height, so what size frame would be ideal?

Probably around a 50 cm frame.
You can Google using "bike frame sizes female" to get an estimate.
Trying out bikes (the bike) is the real way to know your frame size.

Fwiw torso length is imo the important consideration in choosing a frame size.
You can raise / lower the saddle height to suit leg length, but the distance from the saddle to handlebars can not be changed much.

Lemag

rollingscone wrote: »

Don't use your bike to work for the first bike you buy.

Why not? One can only avail of it every 5 years so the sooner one does the sooner they'll be able to avail of it again Anyhow, this scheme probably won't be around for forever so one might as well make use of it whilst they can.

rollingscone

Lemag wrote: »

Why not? One can only avail of it every 5 years so the sooner one does the sooner they'll be able to avail of it again Anyhow, this scheme probably won't be around for forever so one might as well make use of it whilst they can.

Painful personal experience.

Lemag

rollingscone wrote: »

Painful personal experience.

Your personal experience may not mirror her own.

OP, if you think that you'll be putting in long distances on the road get a road bike. If you think that you'll be riding mountain bike trails then get yourself a hardtail mountain bike. This could also do nicely as a short/medium distance commuter bike. Regarding frame sizing, ballpark figures would vary between bike types and once you've realised the type that you want there'll be a variation in suitable sizing across bike models.

elnino23

rollingscone wrote: »

Don't use your bike to work for the first bike you buy.

Pick up something second hand or in Decathlon (in Belfast or everywhere in Europe but Ireland...), also there's no such thing as a bike that can do everything but a good rigid forked hybrid or Mountainbike (rigid forks means no suspension, don't believe the hype, suspension forks are not for comfort) should be obtainable second hand but in good condition for much less than your current budget.

After you spend some time on that, you might decide you want to invest in something more city friendly/stylish for commuting to work/leisure, or get into one of the sporting aspects of cycling and want to spend more on a dedicated road or mountainbike.

In the meantime you can get tons of advice on what to do buy/try here (albeit it's a very road cycling biased form in sports terms). Good luck and enjoy!

I'd agree with not using they bike to work for that value.
I reckon 5 years it will be gone and if you get into cycling and want to buy a better bike in a year you can't use it. much bigger tax saving using the full 1k than using it for only 400. It you do use it make sure you add on helmet, Lock and some rain gear.

ElecKtrA

Thank you all for your replies.

I really don't think my employer would take an interest in that scheme :-(

I obviously don't mind buying the bike myself...I'm just really interested in the types of bikes available for my budget....I don't want to buy something that will rust and fall apart after a few outings...I want something sturdy that is good value for money.

Is there anything that I should be aware of before buying a bike I.e. the type of material used in the construction etc...also....I'm in Cork, would anyone recommend a reputable bike shop? I heard before never to buy from Halfords.....are their bikes of poor quality?

darkvalley

ElecKtrA wrote: »

I heard before never to buy from Halfords.....are their bikes of poor quality?

Halford bikes are fine quality and generally good value for the price. The issue is with the quality of the staff that may have put the bike together. Some staff are top class but more of them are not.

diomed

ElecKtrA wrote: »

Thank you all for your replies.

Is there anything that I should be aware of before buying a bike I.e. the type of material used in the construction etc...also....I'm in Cork, would anyone recommend a reputable bike shop? I heard before never to buy from Halfords.....are their bikes of poor quality?

You could browse www.chainreactioncycles.com and www.wiggle.co.uk to see the well known bike brands and get and idea of bike type and cost.
The bigger brands are Giant, Trek, Specialized, Cube, Boardman, Cannondale, Cervelo, Colnago, Felt, Focus, Lapierre, Merida, Planet X, Ridley, Rose, Scott, Vitus. (bigger brands in bold). These are the common road bike brands (racer bikes).
Aluminium is the most common frame material. Steel is good but heavier. Carbon or titanium lighter, stronger, more expensive.

The big bike companies assemble using components made by other manufacturers.
Gears will be by Shimano, SRAM, or Campagnolo, and each gear manufacturer will have five or six offerings from basic to very expensive.
It is the same story with wheels, saddles, forks, chains.

So it would be impossible to say a Giant bike is better than a Specialized bike. It depends on which model in each range you are comparing.

You probably should be thinking of what cycling you will be doing. If it is for commuting you will need mudguards, and a rack (back-carrier) and possible a pannier to carry clothes/books/shopping. Most road bikes (racers) do not have mudguards (or attachment points to fit them).

If you cycle in a hilly area you will need a bike that has low gears.

Lemag

ElecKtrA wrote: »

I really don't think my employer would take an interest in that scheme :-(

There really isn't much to it. You find the bike that you want. Your employer sends a cheque (or other method of payment) amounting to the cost of the bike to the company supplying the bike. Your employer then deducts the cost of the bike from your wages in a lump sum or spread out as payments weekly, forth nightly, monthly etc. over a period of time amounting to no longer than a year. The implementation of this scheme is very simple.

ipodrocker

Lemag wrote: »

There really isn't much to it. You find the bike that you want. Your employer sends a cheque (or other method of payment) amounting to the cost of the bike to the company supplying the bike. Your employer then deducts the cost of the bike from your wages in a lump sum or spread out as payments weekly, forth nightly, monthly etc. over a period of time amounting to no longer than a year. The implementation of this scheme is very simple.

agree so handy this way and also you can get accessories too in the 1k price, so you could get a bike for 700euro and buy extras up to the 1k price.

ElecKtrA

Lemag wrote: »

There really isn't much to it. You find the bike that you want. Your employer sends a cheque (or other method of payment) amounting to the cost of the bike to the company supplying the bike. Your employer then deducts the cost of the bike from your wages in a lump sum or spread out as payments weekly, forth nightly, monthly etc. over a period of time amounting to no longer than a year. The implementation of this scheme is very simple.

Thanks Lemag for all the information! That's great, i acutally memtioned it today at work so hopefully my boss will take up on it :rolleyes:

Does it work out alot cheaper than buyer a bike out of your own pocket?

Lemag

ElecKtrA wrote: »

Does it work out alot cheaper than buyer a bike out of your own pocket?

The savings are dependant on your income as the cost of the bike is taken from your salary before deductions.

ElecKtrA

Lemag wrote: »

There really isn't much to it. You find the bike that you want. Your employer sends a cheque (or other method of payment) amounting to the cost of the bike to the company supplying the bike. Your employer then deducts the cost of the bike from your wages in a lump sum or spread out as payments weekly, forth nightly, monthly etc. over a period of time amounting to no longer than a year. The implementation of this scheme is very simple.

diomed wrote: »

You could browse www.chainreactioncycles.com and www.wiggle.co.uk to see the well known bike brands and get and idea of bike type and cost.
The bigger brands are Giant, Trek, Specialized, Cube, Boardman, Cannondale, Cervelo, Colnago, Felt, Focus, Lapierre, Merida, Planet X, Ridley, Rose, Scott, Vitus. (bigger brands in bold). These are the common road bike brands (racer bikes).
Aluminium is the most common frame material. Steel is good but heavier. Carbon or titanium lighter, stronger, more expensive.

The big bike companies assemble using components made by other manufacturers.
Gears will be by Shimano, SRAM, or Campagnolo, and each gear manufacturer will have five or six offerings from basic to very expensive.
It is the same story with wheels, saddles, forks, chains.

So it would be impossible to say a Giant bike is better than a Specialized bike. It depends on which model in each range you are comparing.

You probably should be thinking of what cycling you will be doing. If it is for commuting you will need mudguards, and a rack (back-carrier) and possible a pannier to carry clothes/books/shopping. Most road bikes (racers) do not have mudguards (or attachment points to fit them).

If you cycle in a hilly area you will need a bike that has low gears.

Thanks so much for your reply, it's very informative At least now i am equipped with some knowledge before purchasing a bike.

BigDog101

I just bought a Trek 3900 a couple of weeks ago, I'm 27 and its my first bike since I was 12. Its a great bike and I really like it. I got it through bike2work.

BUT...A bike shop owner in Cork very honestly told me that the reason he doesn't sell Giant anymore is that he can no longer remain competitive on the prices because the Giant store undercut the other brand prices on same spec bikes by about €100!!!

I would have gone for a Giant Revel instead but the Giant store in cork isn't in the bike2work scheme.

Based on that info I would probably look at Giants bikes if I was you.

Lemag

BigDog101 wrote: »

I would have gone for a Giant Revel instead but the Giant store in cork isn't in the bike2work scheme.

ANY shop selling new bikes can provide the OP with her bike. The exception to this is if her company has chosen to use a third party company to administer the scheme and they happen to impose a restriction limiting the purchase to a select list of shops.

BigDog101

Lemag wrote: »

ANY shop selling new bikes can provide the OP with her bike. The exception to this is if her company has chosen to use a third party company to administer the scheme and they happen to impose a restriction limiting the purchase to a select list of shops.

Ah, I didnt realise that sorry, I got a list of shops given from the employer, I presumed that they were the only shops taking part in scheme.

Lemag

BigDog101 wrote: »

Ah, I didnt realise that sorry, I got a list of shops given from the employer, I presumed that they were the only shops taking part in scheme.

Yeah, unfortunately a lot of employers choose to go with these third party companies.