I want to buy a bike, but know nothing about bikes...

04-07-2010 11:27PM #1

Hey all,

I'm looking to buy a bicycle. Very vague, I know, but I'm looking for some help. I've been mooching through older threads for hours and reading other people's posts.

Unfortunately, I'm still really not much wiser with regards to what I should look for in a bike.

I don't want to spend a lot of money. I'd be planning to spend about €400. I don't mind going a little over that, but the thing is, It's very likely the bike will see an hour of use daily when the weather is good, and then sit in a shed for a year, so as you can imagine, I really don't fancy throwing too much money at it. I'm aware that on top of the bike itself, there are other costs I have to factor in (mudguards/locks/pumps/etc.) so I'd really not be too comfortable spending too much on it.

As for the bike itself, I've always owned mountain bikes, but after reading the old threads on here, i keep reading more and more that a hybrid bike is better suited to people who won't be flying down the side of mountains.

The last bike I got was about €200 from Halfords. I didn't expect much, but halfords' incompetence in fixing minor issues with the bike along with poorly building it to begin with, coupled with their poor customer service made me swear to never buy anything from them again. With that in mind, I was considering going the online route.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com was mentioned in an older thread I read, and they seem OK. I don't know of any other sites, though.

Aside from cycling to and from the shops, etc. I've no real cycling experience. I want to try and get a bit fitter and so I plan to try and get at least an hour of cycling in each day.

The only thing I'd particularly like, is to avoid V-Brakes. They always seem to end up squeeking and squealing, especially if you buckle the wheel. In rain, i find they become rather useless. I don't hate V-Brakes, and I'd settle for them, but if it were possible to avoid them, I would like to.

My main questions are;

1. Should I go hybrid instead of mountain bike? If anyone knows the area, I'm in Drogheda and will probably be cycling to laytown or clogherhead and such. It's mostly roads, but they're the typical beaten up irish roads if i remember correctly.

2. I tend to cycle on footpaths more than the road, though I'm obviously on the road when the path has people on it. Does wanting to 'bunny hop' on and off paths rule out a hybrid and put me back in the mountain bike category? (I'm quite heavy

)

3. If I buy a bike online, is there anything I should be aware of that I wouldn't encounter when buying from a shop? For example, if i want to buy a bike that is pictured with no peddles (as a lot of bicycle product shots seem to be), does that mean I'll be missing pedals when it arrives? Or is it just assumed that such things will always be packed with the bike? I know that seems like a bit of a silly question, but knowing my luck...

4. Is my budget too tight? I've considered going second hand, but aside from not being able to find any second hand bikes locally, I know if I buy second hand, i'll always be looking for problems with the bike.

5. Any recommendations?

I realise this thread is a bit all over the place, but I'm just lost. Hoping that some of the more knowledgeable users will be able to point me in the right direction.

Cheers

EDIT: Also, I'm 5'10" and my inseam is approx 29 inches/74cm... what 'size' bike should I be looking at?

bryaner · 04-07-2010 11:31PM

If your hoping on and off paths I'd stick with the mountain bike

bryaner · 04-07-2010 11:32PM

And CRC are the best value about.

05-07-2010 12:48AM

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=46180

What do ye guys make of this? The price seems cheap... a little too cheap? I know it says 50% off, but still.. I never trust such sales.

Lumen · 05-07-2010 07:16AM

Deleted User wrote: »

I tend to cycle on footpaths more than the road, though I'm obviously on the road when the path has people on it. Does wanting to 'bunny hop' on and off paths rule out a hybrid and put me back in the mountain bike category? (I'm quite heavy )

Don't do that, it's unnecessary and illegal. Better to buy a hybrid and use the road.

I bunny hop my road bike (on the road, and on/off cycle paths) all the time, but I'm <70kg. I wouldn't do it if I was much heavier, for the sake of my wheels. Road bike wheels are very strong, but running narrow high pressure tyres gives less cushioning from impacts.

HivemindXX · 05-07-2010 08:01AM

Sounds like you should get a hybrid. They are very sturdy and are just as capable as a mountain bike for anything you are likely to come across on the roads.

€400 is a decent budget. You should have no problem getting something for that.

Don't assume the bike will have pedals. If it doesn't have pedals in the picture and/or you can't find the pedals on the spec sheet then ask the retailer.

V-Brakes are fine. Mine rarely give me any trouble and are fairly easy to fix when they do. Perhaps you just had very cheap and poorly set up ones before. All rim brakes are less effective in the wet, you just have to take that in to account like you would in the car.

I second the opinion that you should just stay on the road and off the footpaths. Leaving to one side the illegality and rudeness to pedestrians chances are that every time you hop off the path back on to the road you're putting yourself in a lot more danger from motor traffic than if you just stayed on the road.

bryaner · 05-07-2010 12:12PM

Deleted User wrote: »

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=46180

What do ye guys make of this? The price seems cheap... a little too cheap? I know it says 50% off, but still.. I never trust such sales.

Looks good it's probably a 2009 model hence the price

monkeypants · 05-07-2010 02:00PM

People have answered, but I'll just throw my piece in here too.

Stay off footpaths and on the road. Aside from riding on the footpath being illegal and inconsiderate, irish footpaths can be just as bad as irish roads. Get on the road, take it easy and get used to where the potholes, pits, cracks and seams are. Don't ride in the gutter, give yourself room.

Most mountain bikes and hybrids seem to come with pedals, but road bikes are iffier. Take no chances and ask. If you need pedals, I have a red pair of these on my MTB and my foot hasn't slipped once in 18 months.

I'm 5' 10" and I have a 20" mountain bike. Go down your local shop or Halfords and do a wee bit of window shopping. Sit on a couple of bikes and see what fits. No obligation to buy.

Have you considered the cycle to work scheme? Would save a few quid of your budget.

bryaner · 05-07-2010 08:26PM

monkeypants wrote: »

People have answered, but I'll just throw my piece in here too.

Stay off footpaths and on the road. Aside from riding on the footpath being illegal and inconsiderate, irish footpaths can be just as bad as irish roads. Get on the road, take it easy and get used to where the potholes, pits, cracks and seams are. Don't ride in the gutter, give yourself room.

Most mountain bikes and hybrids seem to come with pedals, but road bikes are iffier. Take no chances and ask. If you need pedals, I have a red pair of these on my MTB and my foot hasn't slipped once in 18 months.

I'm 5' 10" and I have a 20" mountain bike. Go down your local shop or Halfords and do a wee bit of window shopping. Sit on a couple of bikes and see what fits. No obligation to buy.

Have you considered the cycle to work scheme? Would save a few quid of your budget.

Yea stay on the road and pass no remarks to the truckers that try to kill you.

05-07-2010 10:12PM

With regrads to cycling on the path; I believe that you'd need to be a fairly fit, confident and competent cyclist to be sharing your space with tonnes of speeding boxes of steel, especially where traffic lights and such are concerned and you have to take off from a still position.

Unfortunately, I'm not that confident that I could pull it off, and I'm not the fittest either, so I think that it's safer for all involved if I keep away from the cars, vans and trucks that decorate our roads.

Cheers for the bike advice guys. Unfortunately I'm a bum at the moment, so i don't have any work to cycle to, which obviously rules me out of the cycle to work scheme.

Having looked at this bike size guide;

http://www.cyclesuperstore.ie/shop/pc/viewContent.asp?idpage=40

It's got the size of my old mountain bike spot on, and it recommends I use a 51cm hybrid/road bike.

Can anyone tell me, though, does it make much difference if you go slightly above or below that? Surely adjusting the seat a little upwards or downwards would flesh out any problems with the frame size (unless you go really big or really small)?

A lot of the bikes I've been looking at, invcluding the one I linked to above, are 54cm. Would 3cm really make much difference?

Thanks

tomasrojo · 05-07-2010 11:50PM

Using the footpath isn't safer, though it may well feel safer. You are far more likely to be hit by a car pulling out a driveway or coming out a sideroad, or turning into a sideroad. Basically, you're positioning yourself where traffic isn't expected, considerably increasing your chance of having a collision. It's also discourteous to pedestrians, though that probably doesn't apply to you, as you mention getting off the footpath when you see pedestrians.

If you are intimidated by heavy traffic, as your post suggests, find a route with less traffic. I have worked out a lot of routes that take me through smaller suburban streets with less traffic and slower traffic.

You could also borrow Cyclecraft by John Franklin from the library. It's a very informative read. I have a leaflet from the Galway Cycling Campaign that's a highly digested version of Cyclecraft. PM me if you want a scan of it.

I have those Wellgo pedals that monkeypants linked to. I like them a lot. If you wear rubber-soled shoes the chances of your foot slipping is very low. They also allow you a little bit of purchase on the up-stroke, which can be handy.

I have had two hybrids, both rather cheap ones, but they certainly were fine for everyday cycling.

tomasrojo · 05-07-2010 11:59PM

Ken Kifer wrote a page about general safety in cycling, which includes some comments on sidewalk cycling.

Many fatalities and injuries occur among those who were trying to be careful, but who weren't following the correct procedures. For example, cyclists who ride on the sidewalk, on wrong side of the road, and at the extreme edge of the pavement are all fearfully trying to prevent injuries, but the methods they employ greatly increase their chances of getting struck by cars.

Analysis of bicycling accidents and of cyclist fatalities demonstrate that cyclists are most safe when they operate their bicycles as vehicles. Motorists scan the highway in front of them and on either side watching for other vehicles. They do not watch as carefully for pedestrians, and they do not anticipate fast-moving bicycles traveling on sidewalks, crosswalks, and shoulders, especially when traveling in the opposite direction from the rest of the traffic.

(By 'pavement' he means 'road surface')
http://www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/traffic/

monkeypants · 08-07-2010 03:56PM

bryaner wrote: »

Yea stay on the road and pass no remarks to the truckers that try to kill you.

That's what I thought when I started cycling again, but the experience has been pleasant. I think most drivers are considerate towards cyclist. Be predictable in your movements, use signals, etc.

cdaly_ · 09-07-2010 09:40AM

In particular, truckers are usually very aware of cyclists and give them decent room on the road. The only issue with trucks is their huge blind spots. These are typically an issue in slow-moving or stationary traffic where a cyclist could be in a truck's blind spot for a lot of time. Staying behind a truck when it's moving slowly or stopped and only overtaking it on the right is most of what you need to cope with trucks.

I want to buy a bike, but know nothing about bikes...

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