On Mon, 28 Jun 2004 22:51:24 +0100, Moorish <[email hidden]>
wrote in message oh1Ec.153$7I6.14@newsfe1-win: said:Yeah I intend to go and try some out. Halfords stock both Raleigh &
Diamondback by the look of it, so I'd like to take a look at the two
models mentioned in my initial post. I'm leaning toward the Diamondback
FS20 because it has front disc brakes, which I'm told are a lot better.
Cheap disc brakes are every bot as good as cheap rear suspension -
i.e. not very. V-brakes are so powerful you'll not need to worry
except in the most extreme circumstances, especially if you fit Kool
Stop pads. Discs are for serious downhill, or maybe all weather
commuting. Do not buy a bike with Magura Julie disc brakes, as they
suck badly (DAMHIKIJKOK).
I would say the hierarchy might be:
- last year's model of a good bike knocked down to your price band
- a lightly-used trade-in
- a bike from a good manufacturer (Dawes, Trek, Giant etc.) ditto
Second hand bikes in proper bike shops are rarely hopelessly out of
date, they wil be reasonably recent models on which the owner has
given som Actual Cash in trade-in. Some shops do specialise in
second-hand bikes, but those are probably not the shops you are
visiting.
My Claud Butler Ravana (see http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk - it's the
one with the mud) cost £150 IIRC, list was £225. It was unmarked, the
bloke had ridden it twice and traded it for a full-sus thing. I've
had it for about four or five years and ridden 50 miles towing a
trailer bike on it; it currently has a couple of thousand miles under
its wheels and is still in good shape. Great value.
A cheap new bike tends to be cheap because everything on it is cheap,
especially the frame. A slightly more expensive bike will almost
always have a better frame, but cheaper components. Which you simply
replace as they wear out (if they ever do).
Also, don't forget that you'll need a few quid left over for
essentials:
- lights
- lock
- mudguards
- rack
- panniers
- tools
- waterproofs
- gloves
- bottle & cage
For a commuting bike a hybrid is a good choice, for a leisure bike for
sustrans paths and such a rigid MTB has a slight edge. Look for named
brand components. You'll see levers with "Shimano V-Brake" and then
the bike has Tekro brakes on it - perfectly normal, but the genuine
Shimano V-brakes are Much Better if you can find them. That sort of
thing. See if it has a rivetted chainset, or one where ou can replace
individual rings (cheap bikes are usually rivetted). Does it have
Shimano hubs and cassette? Shimano front & rear mech? Are they at
least Acera, or just "SIS" (which is, as the Sheddi would have it,
penc[1]).
Enough already.
[1] The joys of ROT13.
Guy
--
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk
88% of helmet statistics are made up, 65% of them at Washington University
