Advise for beginner

davek said:

Imagine going into a car dealership and saying you wanted a "road
car". Would you expect them to be able to deduce your requirements
from that statement?

No, you'd need a certified Sith Temple for one of those:
http://www.rhoadescar.com

IGMC

--
Guy
===
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

Victory is ours! Down with Eric the Half A Brain!

you know? said:

Wot Pete said. £200 is pretty much the minimum you can expect to pay for a
serviceable bike, anything less is generally horrible.

It's all true. Mine cost £150 and it's pretty poor. Bits of it are
going out of true, and it hasn't even been ridden that much. It feels
like it rides OK to me, cos it's all I'm used to, but then if I ride
my partner's bike (£200 5 years ago) I can feel a difference.

I didn't know any better when I bought it, and finances won't allow
for a replacement right now, but I am looking forward to The Day I
can get a decent bike.

A x
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you know? said:

Wot Pete said. £200 is pretty much the minimum you can expect to pay for a
serviceable bike, anything less is generally horrible. If you can't afford
£200 for a new bike, spend what you can afford on a seocnd hand bike that
originally cost not less than £200 at today's prices.

So, the cutoff point between "cheap" (i.e. [censored]) and "low cost" (i.e. good
value functional bike) is £200, in my estimation.

Hi Guy

My old and extremely battered rigid Trek 4300 has done many a mile; I
use it for shoppng trips and used to use it for longer trips (60+
miles) before I bought my Orbea. IIRC, the Trek cost just under £300
and it has served me extremely well over the years.

Of course, over the years I have spent a bit more than £300 on the
bike. A couple or three years ago I had to replace the front forks,
front wheel, headset, stem - pretty much everything that might be
damaged in a head on crash with a not particularly hyperthetical
parked car, in fact. The only piece that has worn out (excluding tyres
and chain-related bits) has been the bottom bracket. That item fell
apart on me when I was pulling away from a set of traffic lights.
Click, groan, grunge, rapid pedal spinning - aaarrggghhh!!!! my groin
hurts.

£300 well spent, IMO.

James