Want to buy a new bike

[Fooby]

I know a few of you are into your bikes and know your shiz, dan!, jonny,scott etc

I am looking to buy a new bike, but I don't know the first thing about "proper" bikes.

What do I want to do with it?:

I would like to cycle to work on it, but also take it off-road/join in with maybe doing some mountain biking. I wont be doing stunts or taking it up Everest.

What research have I done?:

I've spoken to some people and read up about the different types of bikes there are.

I reckon I am looking for a bike with the following criteria:

- Lockable front suspension
- no need for rear suspension
- Hydraulic disk brakes
- medium frame
- More towards a mountain bike than a hyrbid
- being cheeky and getting road wheels for mountain bike, making it more useful.


I dont know anything about brands and I'm not up with what gears or suspension is good/bad.

I have around £1000 to spend, but within this i want to include things like, lights, helmet and maybe road wheels.

I don't actually care what brand the bike is, its of no relevance to me, just as long as its a top quality bike that will last.

Am i looking at this wrong? Please feel free to comment and discuss, or even post suggestions. I'm open (gigidy)

[Ed Doe]

Hydraulic disc brakes.... with road wheels?

In fairness you can get a really good bike for a lot less than your budget, but I'll let people who actually know what theyre talking about get in on this; I haven't got a clue!

[Fooby]

Yeah i lol'd too, but apparently its all the rave on top end bikes...

example: http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/store...&%7Bcopy:_$ja%7D&%7Bifdyn:_$$ja=tsid:35588%7D%7Bifpe:_$$ja=ad=pe%7D&_$$ja=cgid:2609461324|tsid:35522|cid:72839644|lid:32012893324|nw:{ifsearch:search}{ifcontent:content}|crid:10353949084|bku:1&gclid=COuhif75lbgCFUNd3godBw8A1Q

[Connor]

You fall over on 4 wheels... Do you really think less wheels is a good idea?

[Dum-Dum]

Fooby that Boardman is pretty epic for the money. I got my GT from halfords a few years ago for about £250 and it's been awesome and has the exact spec your looking for. A grand will get you something really awesome but TBH unless you want to get really into it I wouldn'tspend a grand as that sort of money could custom build you something that you could race at a national level.

IMO I know we slate Halfords but considering they have loads of stores and do a free 6 week service which you'll need as the gear cables slacken off as can a few other things.

[cully]

I'm thinking something like this then when you've mastered walking you could take the stabilisers off

   


and when you've grown up you could progress to one of these

   

[Fooby]

siiiiighhh lol


Na i need to spend the 1k, its through our works cycle2work scheme, so i took the maximum valid to get the best bike. Since its also tax free i get the most benefit.

[Ed Doe]

You're one to talk Cully! *ahem* scooter....

[cully]

You're one to talk Cully! *ahem* scooter....

at least ive seen sence and stay away from the things now!
fooby stil walks on his FAIL feet!

[Niall]

Fooby you need to find a good, local independant bike shop (we have one here that take C2W if you want the drive up). Halfords are picking up their ideas with the bikes they sell but you dont get a huge amount for your money. You need to decide what you want it for ideally. You dont want to be putting road wheels on a MTB (mostly because they wont fit ) so perhaps a XC MTB with 2.1 tyres? Anything too wide and you will be putting in more effort on the road. Also, stick with hard tail. For 1k, you wont get a good full sus and it will literally kill you unless your going downhill lol.
Avoid specialized. They are good but very very expensive for what you get. Giant are very good and you get a lot for your money.
Front forks, you dont want more than 130mm of travel. Any more and it will kill you for XC and road. Avoid cable disc brakes big time. Go for either hydro discs (avoid shimano. Try and go for Avid or hope) or good quality V brakes.

[Pete]

The newer Shimano stuff gets really good reviews to be fair. I have Avid Exilir5's on both my bikes and hate them As said good quality Hardtail will do nicely. Was reading MBUK and the new Voodoo Bazingo 29er looks awesome for 600 notes.

[Fooby]

If anyone could find me some examples of bikes for £899 or something that would be great. Leaves me money to buy lights and stabilisers etc

Basically, i wouldnt know decent gearing if my face fell on it. So links to something good will suffice and i'll walk into halfords and ask for it.

[Dum-Dum]

Na i need to spend the 1k, its through our works cycle2work scheme, so i took the maximum valid to get the best bike. Since its also tax free i get the most benefit.

My work does a similar scheme but you have to shop with 1 retailer and although we get a discount (on top of getting the tax off and paying it off monthly interest free) their prices are OTT to start with. What retailers can you use?


I've always found chain reaction cycles online good. For a grand you could get a full suspension bike with lockout on both front and rear shocks like this Kona Tanuki Delux, its last years model but its half price, down from nearly £2000 to be within your budget with money left for a helmet.
>>>>>>>>>>> http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Model...elID=95404 <<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Fooby you need to find a good, local independant bike shop (we have one here that take C2W if you want the drive up). Halfords are picking up their ideas with the bikes they sell but you dont get a huge amount for your money. You need to decide what you want it for ideally. You dont want to be putting road wheels on a MTB (mostly because they wont fit ) so perhaps a XC MTB with 2.1 tyres? Anything too wide and you will be putting in more effort on the road. Also, stick with hard tail. For 1k, you wont get a good full sus and it will literally kill you unless your going downhill lol.
Avoid specialized. They are good but very very expensive for what you get. Giant are very good and you get a lot for your money.
Front forks, you dont want more than 130mm of travel. Any more and it will kill you for XC and road. Avoid cable disc brakes big time. Go for either hydro discs (avoid shimano. Try and go for Avid or hope) or good quality V brakes.

As with Niall specalised are VERY good but your paying for the brand name not the bike really. Same with the shocks, not only because sometimes on the road youll want them unlocked but frames designed for the longer shocks tend to be for Downhill/Freeride and start giving very slack steering angles which isnt great round town or on the road especially for a beginner. I used to ride my 4X bike to work, DMR trailstar LT with a 150mm fork and no lock out and it was exhausting, especially as you cant make tight turns round cars id end up standing on the pedals to get the bike on 1 wheel to make tighter turns, I used to be fit then too.

Defo avoid cable discs, they are a worst of both worlds. I wouldn't use avid discs, iirc it was one of them spoony had explode on him under heavy braking causing him to have a very nasty crash. Hayes hydraulic discs are good. IMO for your budget you shouldn't even need to be considering v-brakes, the only reason anyone has them on a high end bike is cos they race and they want the lighter weight. On the road or trail especially when its wet your rims get caked in shit so much faster than a V-brake and they never warm up whereas a disc is that much higher out of the way of some spray and most mud and will actually warm up if you use it a fair bit giving you a slight increase in performance on a cold day.

I've got a single shimano XTR v brake on my race bike and I love it, great feel to it, really powerful, weighs f*ck all, really easy to change pads without having to re adjust your brakes but if I'm racing the chances are I'm only gonna brake once and thats after the finish line. Day to day I'd have hydraulic discs as they are more powerful and easier to modulate and more predictable.

[Niall]

Oh yeah forgot about Hays. They are also very good! I personally think Avid are very good but then again no matter how good a product, their will always be horror stories. Hope are considered some of the best brakes going yet a few years back, they had a big issue with the 6TI melting piston seals. Not good considering that 6 pot is supposed to go on some serious down hill kit (yes Fooby, you can get 6 pot bike callipers and they look porn!)

[Fooby]

Thats excellent info Cheers Chris.

I have to use: http://www.cycle2work.info/

But from reading the site, if they dont have it, they go get me whatever i want basically. http://www.cycle2work.info/siteadvicecentrebrand#Store

Problem is, way to much choice and not enough knowledge.

I have my letter of collection and im really eagar to go get myself a bike! Just really want to make sure i get my monies worth.

[Dum-Dum]

Ah if youve gotta buy through halfords you wont be able to get huge discounts on last years bikes.

That said halfords used to sell kona stuff.

Are you a 40% tax payer because TBH if halfords arent giving you a discount and you gotta pay up front you might find yourself able to get the same bike the 35% cheaper elsewhere.

[Niall]

Dont forget halfords can special order any bike you like but will add their bit on top. As Chris said, if you pay 40% tax, don't bother with C2W. Go into a good independent and say I've got a grand in cash, what deal will you do me. I guarantee you will get better value for money and they will recommend something suitable for you unlike the halfords monkeys who will just say "errr this ones red. buy this one".

Oh and btw. Your welcome Fooby...

[Fooby]

No i've been lucky to get be under 40% just yet. So i got this on normal 22%.


Yeah, i'd love some last years discount ones. But surely i can do that if i ask for it? The section i pointed you too is for other places?

[Dum-Dum]

Yeah fooby i missed the bit at the bottom. They can add an independant retailer to the scheme so if you go in and say i want the 2012 bike andits there then they should add chain reaction and youll get another 33% off whats already 50% off.

Im saying 33% as I thought you got both tax and NI back

[Fooby]

No idea, i think i get NI as well. ALl i know is i spend like £600 and get 1k back over 12 months. Easy deal. Will nearly have paid more for this bike than i did for my GTi6..

[Dum-Dum]

LOL my BMX race bike is worth £1500+ and has no gears and one brake. Thats worth more than most of my cars, In fact its as much as my last 3 306s put together.

[Grant]

This is going to end in disaster. You can barely use your feet to walk, let alone operate light machinery haha.

That said;

-Lockable front suspension - why? If you are using it for a road bike to cycle to work, just get short travel suspension. Most lockable suspension comes in 120mm+ travel, which for a road bike is too much any way. You need to decide which you are going to be doing most, road riding or off road riding, and angle for that. You will never get a good bike for both, but just get stuck in the middle and when your off road keep saying to yourself this is shit. When your on the road you will be thinking jesus i wish i bought a road bike.

Spend about £800 on a second hand off road bike. You will get a really cracking steed for that. Then take that £200 thats left and invest it in a second hand cheap road bike.

That way you will have a bike specific to each. If you are coming this weekend have a spin around on my freeride hard tail. Take it up the park if you like.

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Avoid cable disc brakes big time. Go for either hydro discs (avoid shimano. Try and go for Avid or hope) or good quality V brakes.

In what dimension are v-brakes better for off road than cable discs? lol

[Slam Wagon]

Look at the specialized range, theyre our high end bikes where i work. Can get exactly what your looking for at that price or less (im in the workshop so not 100% on their prices) theyre in the middle of brining in their new range as week speak so all of the 2013 bikes are getting low on stock with specialized themselves and local stored will be wanting to shift old stock soon, means discount if you sweet talk them. But if you want to go through c2w you wont get any discount so might be worth waiting for the new ones to come through, might be a while though.

And you dont need a spare set of wheels, just get some slick tyres in the right size, about £30 for a pair and then some tubes to suit.

---

Oh and i really like the shimano hydro disks, avids are just getting worse and worse. Hope will always be expensive but nice. A well set up v-brake will be better than a mechanical disk, plus cheaper and easier to maintain. But for the money you will get hydro disk easily.

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Lockable suspension will make a difference if your using it for commuting, most will have it at that price too. Just dont ride if off road with it locked, it will go wrong.

[Fooby]

This is going to end in disaster. You can barely use your feet to walk, let alone operate light machinery haha.

True Dat

That said;

-Lockable front suspension - why?

I was just told its a good idea.

Spend about £800 on a second hand off road bike. You will get a really cracking steed for that. Then take that £200 thats left and invest it in a second hand cheap road bike.

Cant do that unfortunately, not unless i spend more of my own cash. Which is something i could do i guess. (not allowed to top up, i'd just have to go out and buy my own road bike). Its not something i wanted to do really.

I want my bike so i can cycle around on the road/off road tracks or something. But i wanted to have the ability (since, come on its one thousand pounds of metal) i wanted to join in with you guys going off roading to a degree. I'd want to be at least able to keep up.

For me, a thousand pounds is a lot of dosh for a bike, so for that money i want to get something i can use for most occoasions. Obviously the extreme stuff i don't expect it to do (i wont be good enough anyway)

If you are coming this weekend have a spin around on my freeride hard tail. Take it up the park if you like.

Thanks dude, i might come up, be great to see what your bikes are like so i know weather its something i could "put up" with for road use.

[Grant]

Fair points.

I've never had any issue with riding my bike on the road. I used to cycle to work on it every day Its just a case of how fit you get

[Dum-Dum]

To be fair you can get a reasonable compromise between road and off road especially at that price. Lockable suspension helps as does having the money to get something nice and light

[Fooby]

To be fair you can get a reasonable compromise between road and off road especially at that price. Lockable suspension helps as does having the money to get something nice and light

and this is all im really after.

Anyone got any tips for good brands of the following? I'm not overly fussed about the brand of the bike itself, as, for that sort of dosh its going to be enough.

- brakes
- suspension
- gears

[Jonny81191]

IMO, i'd worry less about the brand of the frame and focus on the kit bolted to it

For your price range I'd personally be looking at 9 speed Sram or shimano gearing, shimano deore cranks, Rock shock forks with a remote lockout on the bars (something like the Recon silver TK), some decent tyres (conti x trail or barons are good) and good stoppers, Avid are good IMO, the elixir 3's are really nice. Get some nice wide bars with lockable grips too. Then for road use, another set of wheels with semi slicks on, then you can use them in dry and dusty conditions too!

[Niall]

To be fair you can get a reasonable compromise between road and off road especially at that price. Lockable suspension helps as does having the money to get something nice and light

and this is all im really after.

Anyone got any tips for good brands of the following? I'm not overly fussed about the brand of the bike itself, as, for that sort of dosh its going to be enough.

- brakes
- suspension
- gears

Just lol. Wish i had of already partially answered this question. Oh hold on...

[Grant]

Get on ebay and get some second hand hope 4 pot brakes.
No joke. I swear by them. Ive had brakes from Tekro, Shimano, Avid, Hayes to Hopes, and Hopes win it hands down. You can get them cheap enough now.

As Jonny811922111211818811111ONE1111EIGHT11111 said, rockshocx are another thing I would swear by. I've had my Pike 426's for 8 years now and with regular servicing, they are still as good as the day I got them!

Gears, SRAM 7 or X9. All they way. Ive had so many shimano derailures snap on me now its not even funny. I 'acquired' about 6 when I worked at halfords, this stock was depleted within 12 months as they kept snapping. Ive had my X7 rear mech for 5 years now and all I have had to do was change the jockey wheels.