which bicylce

meshe said:

hi
I would like to get a bicycle. I will mostly be using it to ride up
and down the promenade, as I live on the southcoast. Just a bit of
fun/exercise. Maybe much later I may be brave enough to ride on the
road, but unlikely. Quite honestly though the last bike I had was 43
years ago, had three wheels and a barrel on the back for toys.

I have had half hearted attempts at riding a bike and not been very
successful, but that was on a pavement in Croydon with everyone
watching and the owner running behind saying watch what you are doing
with my bike.

But now I have a nice long flat prom to ride along which is fairly
empty this time of year and later in the day, I feel I might just
master bike riding. Thing is there is a bewildering array of types,
i.e. gears, mountain bikes, city bikes, road bikes, foding bikes
(don't think I want one of those), town and trail, suspension.

Thanks for any help.

Find the local CTC group (bound to be one), get in touch, and get some local
advice on good/bad bike shops.
They might also let you have a bit of practise or know someone who does
tuition to get the necessary skills to ride - tuition should be worth the
money.
And they may know where you can pick up a good cheap second hand bike (as
opposed to a bad worn out s/hand bike which costs a fortune to put right)

CTC here:
http://www.ctc.org.uk/

And bike training list here - click through to "find an instructor":
http://www.ctc.org.uk/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabID=3529

Then go shopping.

Do not buy from cheap sources, catelogues and supermarkets - bikes
advertised as "bargain £70" are really rubbish. Often dangerous rubbish.
There are reasonably well built new bicycles from a bit over £120 if someone
can point out the terrible from the good value.

- Nigel

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

meshe said:

hi
I would like to get a bicycle. I will mostly be using it to ride up
and down the promenade, as I live on the southcoast. Just a bit of
fun/exercise. Maybe much later I may be brave enough to ride on the
road, but unlikely. Quite honestly though the last bike I had was 43
years ago, had three wheels and a barrel on the back for toys.

I have had half hearted attempts at riding a bike and not been very
successful, but that was on a pavement in Croydon with everyone
watching and the owner running behind saying watch what you are doing
with my bike.

But now I have a nice long flat prom to ride along which is fairly
empty this time of year and later in the day, I feel I might just
master bike riding. Thing is there is a bewildering array of types,
i.e. gears, mountain bikes, city bikes, road bikes, foding bikes
(don't think I want one of those), town and trail, suspension.

If you want to bob up and down the prom but are unsure of what to go
for, I would recommend one of a couple of options:

1) if money is not a problem, go for a good quality city bike. You do
not need suspension to pootle up and down the prom. Indeed, you will
probably find any more than three gears excessive.

2) if money is an issue, look for a simple, well cared-for second-hand
bike. Again, don't worry about suspension but consider that you may well
be more comfortable with chunky tyres than with narrow road-bike tyres.

If there is a Freecycle group in your area, you may well be able to
obtain a reasonable bike at no expense.

HTH.

cheers,
Luke

--
Red Rose Ramblings, the diary of an Essex boy in
exile in Lancashire <http://www.shrimper.org.uk>

On Fri, 9 Nov 2007 20:42:46 -0000, "Nigel Cliffe" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

And bike training list here - click through to "find an instructor":
http://www.ctc.org.uk/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabID=3529

This has an alternate list of instructors.

http://www.bikeability.org.uk/what_is_bikeability__/bikeability_near_you.php

meshe said:

hi
I would like to get a bicycle. I will mostly be using it to ride up
and down the promenade, as I live on the southcoast. Just a bit of
fun/exercise. Maybe much later I may be brave enough to ride on the
road, but unlikely. Quite honestly though the last bike I had was 43
years ago, had three wheels and a barrel on the back for toys.

I have had half hearted attempts at riding a bike and not been very
successful, but that was on a pavement in Croydon with everyone
watching and the owner running behind saying watch what you are doing
with my bike.

But now I have a nice long flat prom to ride along which is fairly
empty this time of year and later in the day, I feel I might just
master bike riding. Thing is there is a bewildering array of types,
i.e. gears, mountain bikes, city bikes, road bikes, foding bikes
(don't think I want one of those), town and trail, suspension.

Thanks for any help.

Sheila

Sheila, it's true that buying a bike can be a minefield but as you are
mainly going to ride along the promenade (Brighton?) you aren't going
to need loads of gears. You won't need suspension either. A rack might
make life easier should you need to do a bit of shopping too. Might I
suggest a Dawes Haarlem Womens Hybrid which is priced at ?259.99 from
Evans Cycles who have stores everywhere it seems. It has just the 3
Sturmey Archer gears which should be plenty on the flat route you
describe and will need little maintenance. It's hard to see a cheaper
bike offering more value. Don't forget a decent lock though.

Quoted message said:

Sheila, it's true that buying a bike can be a minefield but as you are
mainly going to ride along the promenade (Brighton?) you aren't going
to need loads of gears. You won't need suspension either. A rack might
make life easier should you need to do a bit of shopping too. Might I
suggest a Dawes Haarlem Womens Hybrid which is priced at ?259.99 from
Evans Cycles who have stores everywhere it seems. It has just the 3
Sturmey Archer gears which should be plenty on the flat route you
describe and will need little maintenance. It's hard to see a cheaper
bike offering more value. Don't forget a decent lock though.

A Revolution Courier Nexus (from Edinburgh Bicycle Cooperative) might
also be worth a look. It has hub gears too but no rack.

Cheers,
Luke

--
Red Rose Ramblings, the diary of an Essex boy in
exile in Lancashire <http://www.shrimper.org.uk>

Quoted message said:

Sheila, it's true that buying a bike can be a minefield but as you are
mainly going to ride along the promenade (Brighton?) you aren't going
to need loads of gears. You won't need suspension either. A rack might
make life easier should you need to do a bit of shopping too. Might I
suggest a Dawes Haarlem Womens Hybrid which is priced at ?259.99 from
Evans Cycles who have stores everywhere it seems. It has just the 3
Sturmey Archer gears which should be plenty on the flat route you
describe and will need little maintenance. It's hard to see a cheaper
bike offering more value. Don't forget a decent lock though.

A Revolution Courier Nexus (from Edinburgh Bicycle Cooperative) might
also be worth a look. It has hub gears too but no rack.

Cheers,
Luke

--
Red Rose Ramblings, the diary of an Essex boy in
exile in Lancashire <http://www.shrimper.org.uk>