Budget bike

in message <[email hidden]>,

Well_i_Wonder (') said:

Hi,

I'd appreciate it if you knowledgable people could give me your advice
on the bike I'm thinking of getting. I must make it clear that this is
only needed for a short term so I'm not worried about it falling apart
in a years time, as by then I'll be able to upgrade if I want.

We've gone through this again and again; it's a very frequently asked
question. There is really no polite answer: the Sterling House specials
are indescribably bad, and really represent a total waste of money. Even
Halfords own-brands are better.

At this price point you are a lot better getting something second hand.
Bikes which are worth buying new start at about twice this much.

The FAQ on this is here:
<URL:http://www.jasmine.org.uk/urcautofaq/jsp/Wiki?GoBuyBike>

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; I'd rather live in sybar-space

"Well_i_Wonder" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi,

I'd appreciate it if you knowledgable people could give me your advice on
the bike I'm thinking of getting. I must make it clear that this is only
needed for a short term so I'm not worried about it falling apart in a
years time, as by then I'll be able to upgrade if I want.

I'm going to be using it for keeping fit, riding on country lanes and the
odd farm track.

I basically want to know, is this the best I can get for the money? Or any
recomendations for something a tiny bit dearer, I really can't go over
£140 at this time. I thought the alloy frame and slightly better than
ultra budget gears make it an ok purchase for the money?

http://www.sterlinghouse.co.uk/Default.asp?Action=ViewProduct&ID=595

Thanks!

W.

Or maybe it'd be worth paying a tiny bit more for something like this:

http://www.bikes2udirect.com/B1027.html?specs=1

🙂

"Simon Brooke" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

in message <[email hidden]>,

Well_i_Wonder (') said:

Hi,

I'd appreciate it if you knowledgable people could give me your advice
on the bike I'm thinking of getting. I must make it clear that this is
only needed for a short term so I'm not worried about it falling apart
in a years time, as by then I'll be able to upgrade if I want.

We've gone through this again and again; it's a very frequently asked
question. There is really no polite answer: the Sterling House specials
are indescribably bad, and really represent a total waste of money. Even
Halfords own-brands are better.

At this price point you are a lot better getting something second hand.
Bikes which are worth buying new start at about twice this much.

The FAQ on this is here:
<URL:http://www.jasmine.org.uk/urcautofaq/jsp/Wiki?GoBuyBike>

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; I'd rather live in sybar-space

Thanks,

I read that FAQ several weeks ago. Hence why my two choices are alloy
framed, no silly weight adding odd suspension (apart from the front yes I
know), alloy v-brakes, and road tyres.

Could you look at my second choice please
http://www.bikes2udirect.com/B1027.html?specs=1

Unfortunately after a month of looking in the free ads and local paper I've
seen nothing even remotely useable.

W.

Well_i_Wonder said:

"Simon Brooke" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

in message <[email hidden]>,

Well_i_Wonder (') said:

Hi,

I'd appreciate it if you knowledgable people could give me your advice
on the bike I'm thinking of getting. I must make it clear that this is
only needed for a short term so I'm not worried about it falling apart
in a years time, as by then I'll be able to upgrade if I want.

We've gone through this again and again; it's a very frequently asked
question. There is really no polite answer: the Sterling House specials
are indescribably bad, and really represent a total waste of money. Even
Halfords own-brands are better.

At this price point you are a lot better getting something second hand.
Bikes which are worth buying new start at about twice this much.

The FAQ on this is here:
<URL:http://www.jasmine.org.uk/urcautofaq/jsp/Wiki?GoBuyBike>

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; I'd rather live in sybar-space

Thanks,

I read that FAQ several weeks ago. Hence why my two choices are alloy
framed, no silly weight adding odd suspension (apart from the front yes I
know), alloy v-brakes, and road tyres.

Could you look at my second choice please
http://www.bikes2udirect.com/B1027.html?specs=1

Unfortunately after a month of looking in the free ads and local paper I've
seen nothing even remotely useable.

W.

Sold a second hand reasonable hybrid for $70 AUD today. Thats the sort
of thing you need to buy. SOmething ratty looking that hasnt seem much
use but of okish quality.

Best use of the money.

Maybe someone on this newsgroup has something to flog. We were
personly happy to see it go to a good home .. someone in the same
building who hopefully will use it.

And I sold my 1220 trek for $500. But thats another story

Well_i_Wonder said:

I read that FAQ several weeks ago. Hence why my two choices are alloy
framed, no silly weight adding odd suspension (apart from the front yes I
know), alloy v-brakes, and road tyres.

Could you look at my second choice please
http://www.bikes2udirect.com/B1027.html?specs=1

Superficially it looks OK. Suntour forks are naff, but are less naff
than some others. No discs but mounts for them. Replaceable rear
derailleur mount (If you bend it, you can get a new one) which also
means that the rear mech can be upgraded relatively easily.

I'd guess that it's a freewheel not a freehub (Did they make 7-speed
freehubs?) at this price point. The slight lean towards components
rather than appearance would mark this as a better bike.

What are you actually looking for in a bike? If you have a friend with
reasonable technical skills (Or have them yourself) it's worth keeping
an eye out for abandoned / skipped bikes. If the frame and wheels were
vaguely sound you could get an older bike and do it up for less.

Jon

Jon Senior said:

I'd guess that it's a freewheel not a freehub (Did they make 7-speed
freehubs?) at this price point.

It probably is a freewheel but the smallest freehubs were 7-speed. I
should know, I still have 4 in the garage, 3 of which are in use.

...

"Jon Senior" <jon_AT_restlesslemon_DOT_co_DOT_uk> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Well_i_Wonder said:

I read that FAQ several weeks ago. Hence why my two choices are alloy
framed, no silly weight adding odd suspension (apart from the front yes I
know), alloy v-brakes, and road tyres.

Could you look at my second choice please
http://www.bikes2udirect.com/B1027.html?specs=1

Superficially it looks OK. Suntour forks are naff, but are less naff than
some others. No discs but mounts for them. Replaceable rear derailleur
mount (If you bend it, you can get a new one) which also means that the
rear mech can be upgraded relatively easily.

I'd guess that it's a freewheel not a freehub (Did they make 7-speed
freehubs?) at this price point. The slight lean towards components rather
than appearance would mark this as a better bike.

What are you actually looking for in a bike? If you have a friend with
reasonable technical skills (Or have them yourself) it's worth keeping an
eye out for abandoned / skipped bikes. If the frame and wheels were
vaguely sound you could get an older bike and do it up for less.

Jon

Hi Jon,

Thank you for the reply. My technical skills are good, I could easily build
a bike myself but I really just don't have the time or inclination at this
moment. I'm also a mechanical engineer, so I know very well advantages and
disadvantages of various components, materials etc.

I am back to living in the countryside after spending several years in the
city where I walked everywhere, I thought a nicer way to keep fit out here
would be to cycle, having spent my entire childhood/teenage years cycling
every hour of the day (on cheap argos type bikes!)

As I said given more time I would happily buy second hand and do up if
necessary, but after a month of looking i've found nothing, so time has run
out and I need the best bike I can get for the little money I can afford,
knowing full well that in a years time I will have more cash to burn and so
I can upgrade if I want.

W.

"Well_i_Wonder" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Or maybe it'd be worth paying a tiny bit more for something like this:

http://www.bikes2udirect.com/B1027.html?specs=1

Yeah, just buy the damn thing and ride it!
You've already (by your own admission) wasted a month of not only the summer
but of your life shopping.
The bike may be Not Very Good but should last a year and if you are a
mechanical engineer who actually possess practical skills you should be able
to keep it roadworthy ;-)

I've oft seen the advice to buy secondhand and have indeed proffered it
myself but in practice it's not always that simple. If you are lucky the odd
genuine bargain appears in the local paper but not neccessarily at the time
you want to buy. I periodically check our local paper and not a lot turns
up, most seem to be the sort of bike you're currently looking at so
presumably there will be a market for yours next year when you upgrade.
I once decided to buy a S/H mtb but after wasteing a lot of time and petrol
looking at a load of [censored] eventually bit the bullet and bought new, and
buying S/H requires a bit of market and mechanical knowledge too or you
could end up buying a pile of poo.

my 2 pee
--
Pete
http:[email hidden]/P

Well_i_Wonder said:

Hi,

I'd appreciate it if you knowledgable people could give me your advice on
the bike I'm thinking of getting. I must make it clear that this is only
needed for a short term so I'm not worried about it falling apart in a
years time, as by then I'll be able to upgrade if I want.

Forget Sterling House.

Try three things:

a) go to a local bike shop. Explain what you need.
They might have second hand bikes, or know someone selling one.
For a new bike, last years models may be on discount.

b) Look at the range of bikes in Decathlon. Plenty around that price.
They have a range of 'city bikes' which might suit.
Decathlon have bikes starting from 80 UK pounds.

c) The Edinburgh Bicycle Coop do a range of bikes called Revolution which
are liked on this newsgroup. Probably more than your budget though.

Well_i_Wonder said:

Hi,

I'd appreciate it if you knowledgable people could give me your advice on
the bike I'm thinking of getting.

Decathlon have moved their bikes to a new website.
http://www.deecathloncycle.com

How about the Riverside 3 Homme?
http://www.decathloncycle.com/produit/Gamme_2005/loisir/produit/produit_133283.asp?prod_id=133283&lang=&famille=vtc&rayon=vtc

http://tinyurl.com/9unv5

149 Euros well within your budget, and you can get one in any Decathlon
store in the UK Birmingham, Nottingham, London,Sheffield, Stockport,
Romford

Post a reply here and I'll go round to my local store and have a look
at one for you.

in message <[email hidden]>,

Well_i_Wonder (') said:

I read that FAQ several weeks ago. Hence why my two choices are alloy
framed, no silly weight adding odd suspension (apart from the front yes
I know), alloy v-brakes, and road tyres.

Could you look at my second choice please
http://www.bikes2udirect.com/B1027.html?specs=1

That actually doesn't look - on paper - too bad. I don't know the brand.

The transmission is all Shimano. OK, it's bottom of the range Shimano,
but even bottom of the range Shimano is better than a lot of the [censored]
out there. The brakes are branded and claimed to be 'alloy' - which
means that at least they're not 'resin' (dreadful) or pressed steel
(pretty bad).

For the money you could do a lot worse.

The Shogun Gatecrasher 2 on the same page is actually quite a nice little
bike - I sold one last Saturday[1].

[1] No, I don't work in a bike shop. I was just minding the shop while
the owners were off watching the last weekend of le Tour.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

...but have you *seen* the size of the world wide spider?

"John Hearns" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Well_i_Wonder said:

Hi,

I'd appreciate it if you knowledgable people could give me your advice on
the bike I'm thinking of getting.

Decathlon have moved their bikes to a new website.
http://www.deecathloncycle.com

How about the Riverside 3 Homme?
http://www.decathloncycle.com/produit/Gamme_2005/loisir/produit/produit_133283.asp?prod_id=133283&lang=&famille=vtc&rayon=vtc

http://tinyurl.com/9unv5

149 Euros well within your budget, and you can get one in any Decathlon
store in the UK Birmingham, Nottingham, London,Sheffield, Stockport,
Romford

Post a reply here and I'll go round to my local store and have a look
at one for you.

Thanks John,

The bike looks ok, the things I'm concerned about with it are; the weight as
it's all steel but then it does look very slender and 14.9kg doesn't sound
too bad? And the gears, are they ok? The rear derailleur looks like one of
the cheaper types?

Thanks again.

W.

Simon Brooke said:

in message <[email hidden]>,

Well_i_Wonder (') said:

Hi,

I'd appreciate it if you knowledgable people could give me your advice
on the bike I'm thinking of getting. I must make it clear that this is
only needed for a short term so I'm not worried about it falling apart
in a years time, as by then I'll be able to upgrade if I want.

We've gone through this again and again; it's a very frequently asked
question. There is really no polite answer: the Sterling House specials
are indescribably bad, and really represent a total waste of money. Even
Halfords own-brands are better.

At this price point you are a lot better getting something second hand.
Bikes which are worth buying new start at about twice this much.

The FAQ on this is here:
<URL:http://www.jasmine.org.uk/urcautofaq/jsp/Wiki?GoBuyBike>

Fine in theory, but when I was looking around that price point recently,
there was nothing decent around. None of the shops round here sell
second hand bikes, and the papers, loot, ebay were just full of toot.
Ebay is a joke anyway, there are rarely any real bargains. Winning
something on ebay means "I was willing to pay more than lots of other
people". It seems that people with decent bikes don't sell them. Not
around here anyway.

Antony

"Well_i_Wonder" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

The bike looks ok, the things I'm concerned about with it are; the weight

as

Quoted message said:

it's all steel but then it does look very slender and 14.9kg doesn't sound
too bad?

Which is approx 32.78 pounds. Twice as heavy as a top class road racing
bike but not much heavier than some of the budget priced "proper" mtbs
tested by UK magazines, so not the end of the world.
--
Pete
http:[email hidden]/P

Well_i_Wonder said:

The bike looks ok, the things I'm concerned about with it are; the weight
as it's all steel but then it does look very slender and 14.9kg doesn't
sound too bad? And the gears, are they ok? The rear derailleur looks like
one of the cheaper types?

I called into Decathlon this afternoon. The Riverside 3M is £99
Looks a fine bike to me for the purposes you describe.
I didn't pick it up to test the weight, but the tubes look reasonably thin
(which is a good thing on a bike).
Rear derailleur is marked Shimano, I couldn't see a type on it.
I inspected the V-brake arms, which are metal. Cheapo Sterling House type
bikes often have plastic or very flimsy metal, which are bad.

I think it would be worth a trip to your nearest Decathlon.
I would offer to get any items from Decathlon for people on this group,
on receipt of the amount plus P+P, but I think a whole bike is pushing it!

Peter B said:

Which is approx 32.78 pounds. Twice as heavy as a top class road racing
bike but not much heavier than some of the budget priced "proper" mtbs
tested by UK magazines, so not the end of the world.

Peter, the bike is a flat-bar hybrid type. Let's not obsess about the
weight.
In fact, I'd venture to say a steel frame is a plus here as the ride
will be more confortable.
A lot like what people used to describe as 'a bicycle' really.

The only distinguishing thing on it is the front suspension,
which seems to be the limited travel type designed to take out roadshock,
not the chunky attempts at full-travel suspension on cheap mountain bikes.

"John Hearns" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Peter B said:

Which is approx 32.78 pounds. Twice as heavy as a top class road racing
bike but not much heavier than some of the budget priced "proper" mtbs
tested by UK magazines, so not the end of the world.

Quoted message said:

Peter, the bike is a flat-bar hybrid type. Let's not obsess about the
weight.

Sorry if I've given the impression I'm obsessing about the weight, I was
trying to point out that although it weighs twice what a top end road racing
bike weighs it's only a little heavier than a "proper" mtb, i.e. one taken
seiously enough to be tested and deemed acceptable by mainstream mtb
magazines and did in fact state: "so not the end of the world".
I wouldn't expect it to weigh anything like as little as a 3000 GBP bicycle,
nor I hope would the prospective purchaser, and was trying to pre-empt
anyone who would sneer at its weight. It seems I've failed to make myself
understood :-(
--
Pete
http:[email hidden]/P

Peter B said:

Sorry if I've given the impression I'm obsessing about the weight, I was
trying to point out that although it weighs twice what a top end road
racing bike weighs it's only a little heavier than a "proper" mtb, i.e.

And sorry on my part if I was too combative in my answer.
You make a perfectly valid point.
'Most people' just want a bicycle to potter around on, at least the first
time they buy a bike as an adult.
They might want it for some fitness rides off-road, and I would say they
are looking for flat handlebars and an upright riding position.
Venturing into dangerous territory here, I would say that women are
looking for a more upright position, and a comfy saddle.

That's why every time I visit my local Decathlon I see people looking over
the bikes, and every time at least one person wheeling a new bike out to
te car park. I helped someone yesterday get the QR off his front wheel.
A combination of undoing the V-brakes, and a funny little safety-clamp
doobrie which serves to keep the wheel on if the QR comes loose.

But I digress - Decathlon are doing well because they're selling the types
of bikes that beginners want.

I agree totally with that you say about MTBs - I've been told tales of
people being sold them as beginners bikes.

in message <[email hidden]>, Peter B

(') said:

"John Hearns" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Peter B said:

Which is approx 32.78 pounds. Twice as heavy as a top class road
racing
bike but not much heavier than some of the budget priced "proper"
mtbs tested by UK magazines, so not the end of the world.

Quoted message said:

Peter, the bike is a flat-bar hybrid type. Let's not obsess about the
weight.

Sorry if I've given the impression I'm obsessing about the weight, I
was trying to point out that although it weighs twice what a top end
road racing
bike weighs it's only a little heavier than a "proper" mtb,

What? The bike my mate Gareth is winning everything in the Scottish Cross
Country series this year (and coming 6th in the UK championship) weighs
18lbs. My full suspension bike weighs (now) 26lbs (and will weigh under
25 soon). OK, so neither of these are 'budget priced' (Gareth's is a
scandium frame with carbon suspension forks, and has the granny ring
removed to save weight). But a bike you ride /up/ hills as well as down
has to be light if it's going to be any good.

But I agree that a 32 lb bike is not the end of the world. My second
mountain bike, which I rode for fifteen years and which my ex-wife's
boyfriend is riding still, weighs a tad over 32lbs. Less is of course
better but costs more.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

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