The Mrs needs a new bike....

seveniron said:

She is looking for a "hybrid" or such for pleasure cycling around the area,
Leicestershire.
Will be looking around tomorrow but need some help in deciding the type etc.
Cost can be anything reasonable, just don't want somrthing that is heavy or
rusts at the first sign of rain.
A low gear for those hills will be a bonus.
First call will be Rutland Water cycle shop.

The market's wide open with those specs, so try things out and see
how they're liked. I'd avoid suspension forks, only really much
point on serious off-road kit and/or if you're paying Serious Money
for Serious Engineering. Similarly, disc brakes pretty pointless
unless you're sepnding lots.
Mudguards and a rack make low-intensity recreational riding
potentially nicer: no spary of cack of wet roads, and somewhere to
put stuff you take along with you rather than hang it off your back
to help it get sweaty.

You tend to get what you pay for, with the law of diminishing
returns starting to cut in at, say, £500 and the law of pay
peanuts, get monkeys goes at, say, £180. So probably spend > £180,
but if a nice machine is over £500 and the money's there anbd it
pushes buttons, be willing to spend it.
The Big Names have very good value quality machinery in this area
(note: Raleigh is not a "big Name" any more, Trek and Giant are).
Dawes, Ridgeback, Claud Butler, Specialized also good to look at.

HTH, Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

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

Quoted message said:

seveniron said:

She is looking for a "hybrid" or such for pleasure cycling around the
area, Leicestershire.
Will be looking around tomorrow but need some help in deciding the type
etc.
Cost can be anything reasonable, just don't want somrthing that is heavy
or rusts at the first sign of rain.
A low gear for those hills will be a bonus.
First call will be Rutland Water cycle shop.

The market's wide open with those specs, so try things out and see how
they're liked. I'd avoid suspension forks, only really much point on
serious off-road kit and/or if you're paying Serious Money for Serious
Engineering. Similarly, disc brakes pretty pointless unless you're
sepnding lots.
Mudguards and a rack make low-intensity recreational riding potentially
nicer: no spary of cack of wet roads, and somewhere to put stuff you take
along with you rather than hang it off your back to help it get sweaty.

You tend to get what you pay for, with the law of diminishing returns
starting to cut in at, say, £500 and the law of pay peanuts, get monkeys
goes at, say, £180. So probably spend > £180, but if a nice machine is
over £500 and the money's there anbd it pushes buttons, be willing to
spend it.
The Big Names have very good value quality machinery in this area (note:
Raleigh is not a "big Name" any more, Trek and Giant are). Dawes,
Ridgeback, Claud Butler, Specialized also good to look at.

HTH, Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

Thanks Pete, plenty of info to guide me there.
Rog

Hi Rog, Peter's views about suspension forks are sound but I have a sprung
seat stem (if that's the correct description), and it works very well,
ironing out lots of vibration.

Regards,

Geoff.

"seveniron" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:460edf65.0@entanet...

Quoted message said:

Hi All
She is looking for a "hybrid" or such for pleasure cycling around the
area, Leicestershire.
Will be looking around tomorrow but need some help in deciding the type
etc.
Cost can be anything reasonable, just don't want somrthing that is heavy
or rusts at the first sign of rain.
A low gear for those hills will be a bonus.
First call will be Rutland Water cycle shop.
Any suggestions?
Thanks, Rog

Geoff. Hayward said:

Hi Rog, Peter's views about suspension forks are sound but I have a
sprung seat stem (if that's the correct description), and it works
very well, ironing out lots of vibration.

I think springs in seats are a good thing on fairly upright bikes, which
includes many hybrids. With the more forward position of race bikes, with
more weight carried directly on legs and arms, sprung saddles are less
useful.

I can't see much wrong with the 100 year old Brooks (and others) solution;
put coil springs in the corner of the saddle. However, as most saddles
don't do this (Brooks excepted), the sprung seatpost is the alternative.
If you can find a Brooks which is the right size for your behind, a sprung
Brooks will cost less than many sprung seatposts. The "aged" models are
softer straight from the box.

- Nigel

Quoted message said:

"seveniron" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:460edf65.0@entanet...

Quoted message said:

Hi All
She is looking for a "hybrid" or such for pleasure cycling around the
area, Leicestershire.
Will be looking around tomorrow but need some help in deciding the
type etc.
Cost can be anything reasonable, just don't want somrthing that is
heavy or rusts at the first sign of rain.
A low gear for those hills will be a bonus.
First call will be Rutland Water cycle shop.
Any suggestions?
Thanks, Rog

--
Nigel Cliffe,
Webmaster at http://www.2mm.org.uk/

Nigel Cliffe said:

Geoff. Hayward said:

Hi Rog, Peter's views about suspension forks are sound but I have a
sprung seat stem (if that's the correct description), and it works
very well, ironing out lots of vibration.

I think springs in seats are a good thing on fairly upright bikes, which
includes many hybrids. With the more forward position of race bikes, with
more weight carried directly on legs and arms, sprung saddles are less
useful.

Yup. I have a B66 on the (quite upright) freight bike. It used to
grace my drop bar tourer and certainly wasn't a problem there, but
it does come into its own more on the 8 Freight. We're off to NL
Real Soon Now, where I expect I will see rather a lot of them!

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/