Bikes and Cyclists

[CMAC]

This whole Olympic fervour has woken me up to the man I used to be, a lot older so I thought cycling would be the least impacting and probably most fun I could take up.

So...............whats a decent mountain bike thats not a Tesco cheapy nor a specialist expensive one.

What are the look for's and avoids?

Must be a few cyclists on here with all you healthy bunch? it will help the two G's as well- Golf and Gut:smirk:

 

[MegaSteve]

Don't think you can go far wrong with a Specialized...

Usually plenty of good secondhand ones on the 'bay...

 

[Adi2Dassler]

First question is does it have to be a mountain bike? I cycle to work everyday and used to use a mountain bike, but the tyres are not ideal for roads, and if you have suspension forks, it makes the bike heavier than need be.

If your in Edinburgh/Lothians, I'd recommend Edinburgh Bicycle Co-op on Bruntsfield links, they make their own bikes using top parts and are pretty well priced.
http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/
Evans cycles are also good, as are halfords, but wherever you are, I suggest going to a smaller specialist shop and talking to one of the guys in there

 

[Fader]

I've also been watching the cyclists thinking maybe I should buy a bike, have an old mountain bike gathering dust in my shed but is useless for road use. Seen quite a few good deals on road specific bikes in halfords, would be ideal for my commute as well, maybe I should buy one!

 

[CMAC]

cheers guys, one more question should the basket go on the front or back, and what type of bicycle clips are good now.

 

[Val]

Specialized, Giant, GT, Trek to name a few DV, depending on what you plan on doing may determine your budget.

You could do a lot worse than going into Dales or Alpine Bikes in Glasgow for some info, the guys in both shops are pretty good.

Do you plan on actual mountain biking or cycling on bike tracks/canals?

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

What's your budget? £500 gets you a very good bike for general everyday use. As stated above, Specialized, Giant, GT and even the Boardman range from Halfords are all good.
First decision really is to decide what you want....road bike, mountain bike or hybrid? Once you know, the next thing is to get properly fitted so it is comfortable to ride. Any half decent bike shop will keep you right on this.

As an example, I've got a Giant Defy 4 which is about £570, I would describe it as towards the top end of entry level road bikes, easily suitable for doing anything up to 50 miles at a time.

 

[thecraw]

I prefer Alpine Bikes out of the Glasgow shops.

I currently ride a Ridgeback Genesis in and out of work every day and its over 10 years old. I'm going to change bikes again next year after the winter and I think I'm going to stick with Ridgeback. Ridgeback Flight 03 ticks my boxes as a fast commuter bike.

Like Adi says, Edinburgh bike co-op is superb and that's where I bought my wife's bike.

 

[MegaSteve]

even the Boardman range from Halfords are all good.

One of my lads has just got a Boardman road bike... Fantastic bit of kit... Very high spec for the price... Sales support a bit lacking though....

If purchasing a new bike might be worth looking into wether you can qualify for the 'cycle2work' scheme... Some quite sizeable savings to be had...

 

[Fader]

the boardman bikes what sort of price do they retail at, as my firm does do the cycle to work scheme. Not sure of the full ins and outs of it at the moment am going to find out on the company intranet but i'm definitely interested as it would make the jaunt home more fun and worthwhile from a physical point of view..

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

I got mine on the cycle to work scheme, my company used a national chain called cyclesoultions. The bike was then supplied by a comapny called wheelies. Great savings if you qualify for the scheme, saved over £180 on my bike.

 

[DelB]

Funny, I've been thinking along similar lines, what with the success of the cycling guys and girls in London. Was really into mountain biking from 1991 to 2007, then had a bad 'body to ground interface situation' and broke my wrist. Decided then to take up the gentle sport of golf and sold both my bikes (about £4K's worth!!!)

Fancy getting a Specialized Langster. It's a single speed road bike - no gears to faff about with - and looks lush!

http://www.specializedconceptstore.co.uk/detail/12Langster/Langster

Might go and check one out tomorrow.............

 

[Val]

The Boardman bikes get a good rep and I noticed the Brownlee Bros had Boardmans in the triathlon today.

 

[CMAC]

Do you plan on actual mountain biking or cycling on bike tracks/canals?

cheers fellas, more like bike tracks, out with the wee fella and HID (need a bike for her too) plus some individual stuff for me to get fit, again probably designated bike areas as the roads are lethal.
Mountain bike probably more apt, will look into cycle2work scheme, sounds like a decent saving to be had.

 

[Rooter]

Another one just sorting a new bike out, am using a cycle to work scheme. I am going for this: http://www.specializedconceptstore.co.uk/Detail/13conceptukhardrock/hardrock/Hardrock Sport Disc

£500, but in the scheme, works out at about £25 a month for 12 months! awesome. 29" wheels and fork lock out so ideal for road use, but can then do some mild off road which is perfect for what i want.

 

[CMAC]

Another one just sorting a new bike out, am using a cycle to work scheme. I am going for this: http://www.specializedconceptstore.co.uk/Detail/13conceptukhardrock/hardrock/Hardrock Sport Disc

£500, but in the scheme, works out at about £25 a month for 12 months! awesome. 29" wheels and fork lock out so ideal for road use, but can then do some mild off road which is perfect for what i want.

looks good, wheres the mudguard and bell?

 

[splashtryagain]

Got my Trek 4300 through the cycle scheme Lancashire council has. Brilliant and hasn't dropped to bits yet inspite of the hammering it gets!

 

[DappaDonDave]

Carrera kraken for me...great spec, frames not supposed to be as good as the more pricey bikes but never been a problem for me

 

[CMAC]

Anyone state the do's and donts, what to avoid etc like we would give for newby golfer?

 

[hamshanker]

Go for the best you can afford,mtb upto say £300-£400 are ok with avg spec (gears,breaks etc),get upto £500+ then you start to get better parts on the bike,including frame and wheel sets.....

So get a price of what you want to pay,choose 2/3 bikes that you like and go down to ur LBS and try them out as different makes will have different ride positions and choose which feels comfortable for you,if you narrow it down to 2 bikes then its down to looks n colour.....

If its gonna be mainly for fitness and leisurely rides then go for front suspension rather than full,you can get a lockout on some bikes,so if ur just on flat tracks you can lock the front suspension so there is no bounce and if you then go off road you turn it off and you got front suspension back..

Cycle scheme im not sure wot the savings are like anymore as they keep changing the way its run,but alot of lbs do interest free finance,this is what a lbs to me offers http://www.formbycycles.co.uk/page/20/0_Finance so worth a look..

If you have a price in mind then let us know and sure we can get you a list of what we can spend ur dosh on.