Comparing Bike Costs

AMO said:

Thanx for all those that replied to my previous post regarding buying a
bike.

In summary, people are telling me:
a) Don't buy from Sterling House as they are a bunch of cowboys.
http://www.sterlinghouse.co.uk/Default.asp?Action=ViewProduct&ID=499
b) To get a decent bike you need to spend really above £200
c) Supermarket bikes should generally be avoided as they are unknown brands
and bike shops don't stock the parts to repair them and don't like them.

A few more questions.

1) I have been looking at various bike guide websites such as...
http://www.rutlandcycling.co.uk/correct%20bike.htm
it looks like as well as Mountain Bikes, I can also go for Hybrid Bikes
which appear to suit well for what I want it to do.
From what I can tell, if I go for a Hybrid bike, it may suit me better and I
will more likely get a bike that is less likely to fall apart.
If I go for a Mountain Bike, because they are more widely manufactured and
have more complex features, I am more likely to get features that are not
that great but at the same time get better value through sheer volume of
mountain bikes sold.
Is this correct?

2) Where can I go to compare bike prices other than the usual Kelkoo? I
mean, for DVDs and games there are dedicated websites for comparison. I
would have thought that there would be one for bikes.

I only really want a bike to travel around the Rutland Water area about once
a week for 12 weeks per year.

I can up my budget to around £100-120 but not really much more than that.

Any suggestions on good deals? I would have thought that an £150 bike on
sale (£30 discount or something) would hit the mark.

For 100-120 pounds you're not going to get much of a bike at all, but
you will definitely not get any sort of useable mountain bike. Some
kind of hybrid is more likely. Bike prices are generally pretty much
the same from all retailers, for various reasons. What you could do is
wait until about December or January and look out for retailers
offloading 2005 models at discount to make way for 2006 models. Better
still, save up a few quid while you're waiting, because about £200 might
put you in the market.

--
Brian G

Brian G said:

AMO said:

Thanx for all those that replied to my previous post regarding buying a
bike.

In summary, people are telling me:
a) Don't buy from Sterling House as they are a bunch of cowboys.
http://www.sterlinghouse.co.uk/Default.asp?Action=ViewProduct&ID=499
b) To get a decent bike you need to spend really above £200
c) Supermarket bikes should generally be avoided as they are unknown
brands
and bike shops don't stock the parts to repair them and don't like them.

A few more questions.

1) I have been looking at various bike guide websites such as...
http://www.rutlandcycling.co.uk/correct%20bike.htm
it looks like as well as Mountain Bikes, I can also go for Hybrid Bikes
which appear to suit well for what I want it to do.
From what I can tell, if I go for a Hybrid bike, it may suit me better
and I
will more likely get a bike that is less likely to fall apart.
If I go for a Mountain Bike, because they are more widely manufactured
and
have more complex features, I am more likely to get features that are not
that great but at the same time get better value through sheer volume of
mountain bikes sold.
Is this correct?

2) Where can I go to compare bike prices other than the usual Kelkoo? I
mean, for DVDs and games there are dedicated websites for comparison. I
would have thought that there would be one for bikes.

I only really want a bike to travel around the Rutland Water area
about once
a week for 12 weeks per year.

I can up my budget to around £100-120 but not really much more than that.

Any suggestions on good deals? I would have thought that an £150 bike on
sale (£30 discount or something) would hit the mark.

For 100-120 pounds you're not going to get much of a bike at all, but
you will definitely not get any sort of useable mountain bike. Some
kind of hybrid is more likely. Bike prices are generally pretty much
the same from all retailers, for various reasons. What you could do is
wait until about December or January and look out for retailers
offloading 2005 models at discount to make way for 2006 models. Better
still, save up a few quid while you're waiting, because about £200 might
put you in the market.

Sorry, just read your other post where you say you want the bike now and
can't go above £120, so my suggestions won't help.

--
Brian G

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

Quoted message said:

Thanx for all those that replied to my previous post regarding buying a
bike.

In summary, people are telling me:
a) Don't buy from Sterling House as they are a bunch of cowboys.
http://www.sterlinghouse.co.uk/Default.asp?Action=ViewProduct&ID=499
b) To get a decent bike you need to spend really above £200
c) Supermarket bikes should generally be avoided as they are unknown
brands
and bike shops don't stock the parts to repair them and don't like them.

A few more questions.

1) I have been looking at various bike guide websites such as...
http://www.rutlandcycling.co.uk/correct%20bike.htm
it looks like as well as Mountain Bikes, I can also go for Hybrid Bikes
which appear to suit well for what I want it to do.
From what I can tell, if I go for a Hybrid bike, it may suit me better and
I
will more likely get a bike that is less likely to fall apart.
If I go for a Mountain Bike, because they are more widely manufactured and
have more complex features, I am more likely to get features that are not
that great but at the same time get better value through sheer volume of
mountain bikes sold.
Is this correct?

2) Where can I go to compare bike prices other than the usual Kelkoo? I
mean, for DVDs and games there are dedicated websites for comparison. I
would have thought that there would be one for bikes.

I only really want a bike to travel around the Rutland Water area about
once
a week for 12 weeks per year.

I can up my budget to around £100-120 but not really much more than that.

Any suggestions on good deals? I would have thought that an £150 bike on
sale (£30 discount or something) would hit the mark.

Thanx

AMO

You requirements are very basic and on such a budget you dont have many
options or decisions to make.

You'd be better simply going to some shops (inc halfords and asda) and just
finding one you like.

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

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

For 100-120 pounds you're not going to get much of a bike at all, but you
will definitely not get any sort of useable mountain bike. Some kind of
hybrid is more likely. Bike prices are generally pretty much the same
from all retailers, for various reasons. What you could do is wait until
about December or January and look out for retailers offloading 2005
models at discount to make way for 2006 models. Better still, save up a
few quid while you're waiting, because about £200 might put you in the
market.

Sorry, just read your other post where you say you want the bike now and
can't go above £120, so my suggestions won't help.

--
Brian G

Hi Brian, thanx for your help. I've decided to rent a bike each time I go
to Rutland Water and then at the start of next year if I find a suitable
bargain, then I'll buy it. As I've not ridden a bike for years, I want to
try a few out anyway.

Thanx again.

AMO

Hire shops often sell off 1 season old stock and you may get a basic
mtb (no front suspension) for around your 120 budget. Like for example
the Trek 800 (£200 when new).
I had a Trek 800 about 15 years ago and
found it good enough for light off road like forestry tracks.
Unlike supermarket bikes the quality is good enough that
bits won't break, will work OK, and the gears will stay in adjustment.

Iain

AMO said:

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

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

For 100-120 pounds you're not going to get much of a bike at all,
but you will definitely not get any sort of useable mountain bike. Some
kind of hybrid is more likely. Bike prices are generally
pretty much the same from all retailers, for various reasons. What
you could do is wait until about December or January and look out
for retailers offloading 2005 models at discount to make way for
2006 models. Better still, save up a few quid while you're
waiting, because about 200 might put you in the market.

Sorry, just read your other post where you say you want the bike now
and can't go above 120, so my suggestions won't help.

--
Brian G

Hi Brian, thanx for your help. I've decided to rent a bike each time
I go to Rutland Water and then at the start of next year if I find a
suitable bargain, then I'll buy it. As I've not ridden a bike for
years, I want to try a few out anyway.

Thanx again.

Sounds like a pretty sensible decision to make. If you do come across
anywhere to get one secondhand before then, it might be worth investigating.
But getting used to what OK bikes feel like should be a pretty good start.
And when you buy, you'll know when you take the test ride if something feels
as good to ride as the one that you hired. Just make sure you buy from
somewhere which lets you ride first.

Also, thanks for posting a question then listening to the answers. You
wouldn't believe how rare it is that someone actually does this when they
ask about cheap bikes.
--
Ambrose

AMO said:

Thanx for all those that replied to my previous post regarding buying
a bike.

In summary, people are telling me:
a) Don't buy from Sterling House as they are a bunch of cowboys.
http://www.sterlinghouse.co.uk/Default.asp?Action=ViewProduct&ID=499
b) To get a decent bike you need to spend really above £200
c) Supermarket bikes should generally be avoided as they are unknown
brands and bike shops don't stock the parts to repair them and don't
like them.

A few more questions.

1) I have been looking at various bike guide websites such as...
http://www.rutlandcycling.co.uk/correct%20bike.htm
it looks like as well as Mountain Bikes, I can also go for Hybrid
Bikes which appear to suit well for what I want it to do.
From what I can tell, if I go for a Hybrid bike, it may suit me
better and I will more likely get a bike that is less likely to fall
apart.
If I go for a Mountain Bike, because they are more widely
manufactured and have more complex features, I am more likely to get
features that are not that great but at the same time get better
value through sheer volume of mountain bikes sold.
Is this correct?

2) Where can I go to compare bike prices other than the usual Kelkoo?
I mean, for DVDs and games there are dedicated websites for
comparison. I would have thought that there would be one for bikes.

I only really want a bike to travel around the Rutland Water area
about once a week for 12 weeks per year.

I can up my budget to around £100-120 but not really much more than
that.

Any suggestions on good deals? I would have thought that an £150
bike on sale (£30 discount or something) would hit the mark.

Thanx

AMO

Can I just say that I got a Stirling House MTB for £45 last year? Sure, the
chain snapped on me about 100 miles in and had to be replaced, and some bits
are starting to wear a little now. BUT it's now done several hundred miles,
including my sponsored cycle over Bodmin Moor. I use it a couple of times a
week for 30 mile trips. It has served to show me how much I like cycling,
and to teach me a little about what I think I'd like in my next bike. I'm
now looking to upgrade, when I find the right bike, but in the meantime, it
continues to serve me pretty well. I don't figure that £45 was a bad outlay
for that.

krys

in message <[email hidden]>, AMO

(') said:

Thanx for all those that replied to my previous post regarding buying
a bike.

In summary, people are telling me:
a) Don't buy from Sterling House as they are a bunch of cowboys.
http://www.sterlinghouse.co.uk/Default.asp?Action=ViewProduct&ID=499
b) To get a decent bike you need to spend really above £200
c) Supermarket bikes should generally be avoided as they are unknown
brands and bike shops don't stock the parts to repair them and don't
like them.

Good summary.

Quoted message said:

A few more questions.

1) I have been looking at various bike guide websites such as...
http://www.rutlandcycling.co.uk/correct%20bike.htm
it looks like as well as Mountain Bikes, I can also go for Hybrid
Bikes which appear to suit well for what I want it to do.

Yup. Mountain bikes are for this sort of thing:
<URL:http://www.flattyresmtbroutes.com/images/PaulBdescendingtheslab.jpg>
(that's my local track; yes, it really is that steep). If you don't want
to do that sort of thing, you don't want a mountain bike.

Quoted message said:

From what I can tell, if I go for a Hybrid bike, it may suit me better
and I will more likely get a bike that is less likely to fall apart.
If I go for a Mountain Bike, because they are more widely manufactured
and have more complex features, I am more likely to get features that
are not that great but at the same time get better value through sheer
volume of mountain bikes sold.
Is this correct?

No. Reasonable mountain bikes cost (new) from about £500 to more than
£5,000; with full suspension, from £800 upwards. As you say, they have
more complex engineering than other bikes, which is why they're
expensive. This more complex engineering makes them able to cope with
very difficult terrain (a landrover could not have managed more than
10% of the route I rode today) but they don't make them any more
efficient on level tracks - on the contrary.

The things which are sold as 'Mountain Bikes' by the likes of Sterling
House are just complete rubbish and not fit for any purpose.

Quoted message said:

2) Where can I go to compare bike prices other than the usual Kelkoo?
I
mean, for DVDs and games there are dedicated websites for comparison.
I would have thought that there would be one for bikes.

There are. For mountain bikes there's <URL:http://www.mtbr.com/> which
is reasonably good; more generally there's
<URL:http://www.bikemagic.com/> which I don't use much but has seemed OK
when I have.

Quoted message said:

I only really want a bike to travel around the Rutland Water area
about once a week for 12 weeks per year.

If that's what you want, seriously consider renting. Then you'll get a
half-decent bike that's reasonably looked after, and won't have it
cluttering up your shed.

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

'graveyards are full of indispensable people'

Simon Brooke said:

No. Reasonable mountain bikes cost (new) from about £500

They will if you're a 'fashion biker'... 😉

Or please tell us what makes a £500 bike reasonable and a £150-£200
bike unreasonable?

Quoted message said:

The things which are sold as 'Mountain Bikes' by the likes of Sterling
House are just complete rubbish and not fit for any purpose.

They will get you from A to B most of the time, and cope with some
trail riding. Though spending a bit more can get much better value for
money.

cheers,
Pete.

Pete C said:

Simon Brooke said:

No. Reasonable mountain bikes cost (new) from about £500

They will if you're a 'fashion biker'... 😉

Or please tell us what makes a £500 bike reasonable and a £150-£200
bike unreasonable?

Quoted message said:

The things which are sold as 'Mountain Bikes' by the likes of Sterling
House are just complete rubbish and not fit for any purpose.

They will get you from A to B most of the time, and cope with some
trail riding. Though spending a bit more can get much better value for
money.

Well given that 150 pounds is probably about 300 oz bike dollars. (Bike
dollars are different from exchange dollars IMO as bikes here seem a
teeny bit cheaper.) and that 300 dollars is about where real [censored] ends
and okish [censored] begins thats probably a fair statement.

Mind you they will cope with trail riding only to the extent that my
fairly good road bike copes with trail riding. Probably worse in fact
and they will most likely ( in addition to giving you an exiting time )
break

Quoted message said:

cheers,
Pete.

in message <[email hidden]>, Pete C

(') said:

Simon Brooke said:

No. Reasonable mountain bikes cost (new) from about £500

They will if you're a 'fashion biker'... 😉

Or please tell us what makes a £500 bike reasonable and a £150-£200
bike unreasonable?

I wouldn't choose to ride a £500 bike; my current mountain bike cost
£1,700 and was worth every penny (and has had a lot more money spent on
it since).

Two primary things justify that sort of money: weight, and reliability.
If you're riding a bike up a mountain, weight is exactly what you don't
want, and if something critical breaks when you're ten miles of mountain
from the nearest road, that isn't even remotely amusing. Suspension
which is tuned to the weight of the rider is pretty important too, but
not as important as the first two.

As one famous bicycle designer said: 'light, strong, cheap: choose two'.
Mountain bikes have to be both light and strong, therefore they can't be
cheap (and that's before you start thinking about suspension).

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

The things which are sold as 'Mountain Bikes' by the likes of Sterling
House are just complete rubbish and not fit for any purpose.

They will get you from A to B most of the time, and cope with some
trail riding. Though spending a bit more can get much better value for
money.

/If/ they were fine for quiet trail riding, and /if/ they were sold as
'Quiet Trail Bikes', I wouldn't complain so much. But the Sterling House
bikes I have worked on have not been fit even for quiet trail riding.

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

IMHO, there aren't enough committed Christians, but that's care
in the community for you. -- Ben Evans

Simon Brooke said:

Two primary things justify that sort of money: weight, and reliability.
If you're riding a bike up a mountain, weight is exactly what you don't
want, and if something critical breaks when you're ten miles of mountain
from the nearest road, that isn't even remotely amusing. Suspension
which is tuned to the weight of the rider is pretty important too, but
not as important as the first two.

As one famous bicycle designer said: 'light, strong, cheap: choose two'.
Mountain bikes have to be both light and strong, therefore they can't be
cheap (and that's before you start thinking about suspension).

Aaah, fashion biker! 🙂))

You should learn a bit about the early history of mountain biking.
Hint - it was mostly about having fun and not a big money spending
competitive thing.

cheers,
Pete.

Pete C said:

You should learn a bit about the early history of mountain biking.
Hint - it was mostly about having fun and not a big money spending
competitive thing.

Rough Stuff Fellowship were going to barking places for a *long* time
before MTBs existed. However, just because you can get to places on an
old tourer doesn't mean they're the best machines for the job.

If you want to get back to a fun ethos rather than a best tool for the
job ethos then stop pratting around with bikes and get one of these...

http://www.personal.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/Muni.jpg

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 said:

If you want to get back to a fun ethos rather than a best tool for the
job ethos then stop pratting around with bikes and get one of these...

http://www.personal.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/Muni.jpg

I've got one of those. I've just failed to learn to ride it. Any tips
gratefully accepted.

--chris

in message <[email hidden]>, Pete C

(') said:

Simon Brooke said:

Two primary things justify that sort of money: weight, and reliability.
If you're riding a bike up a mountain, weight is exactly what you don't
want, and if something critical breaks when you're ten miles of
mountain from the nearest road, that isn't even remotely amusing.
Suspension which is tuned to the weight of the rider is pretty
important too, but not as important as the first two.

As one famous bicycle designer said: 'light, strong, cheap: choose
two'. Mountain bikes have to be both light and strong, therefore they
can't be cheap (and that's before you start thinking about suspension).

Aaah, fashion biker! 🙂))

You should learn a bit about the early history of mountain biking.

I've been riding bikes off road since long before the californians
started racing down fire-roads.

Quoted message said:

Hint - it was mostly about having fun

Exactly. And it's more fun - much more fun - with the right kit.

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

Error 1109: There is no message for this error

Chris Gerhard said:

I've got one of those. I've just failed to learn to ride it. Any tips
gratefully accepted.

Practice Practice Practice. I'm not much good, but I can get about.
The real breakthrough came when I was forced by decorating circumstances
to move away from all walls, so rather than grab at support when I
needed it I had to either balance or eject. I got a lot better at
balancing...

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/

Chris Gerhard said:

Peter Clinch said:

If you want to get back to a fun ethos rather than a best tool for the
job ethos then stop pratting around with bikes and get one of these...

http://www.personal.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/Muni.jpg

I've got one of those. I've just failed to learn to ride it. Any tips
gratefully accepted.

--chris

I learnt outside on mine - using the local pars fence as a helpful
handle. The only key is don't put any pressure on the pedals!! Really -
Force 99% of your weight thru your [censored] into the seat.
That and practice, a lot. - it took me 4 solid days to go from nothing
to hop on and ride anywhere. Even used to ride to uni on mine, but the
hills where a bit hard (down more so than up)

--
Kinesin

(clear the weather to reply)

In article <[email hidden]>, "Pete C"
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Simon Brooke said:

Two primary things justify that sort of money: weight, and reliability.
If you're riding a bike up a mountain, weight is exactly what you don't
want, and if something critical breaks when you're ten miles of mountain
from the nearest road, that isn't even remotely amusing. Suspension
which is tuned to the weight of the rider is pretty important too, but
not as important as the first two.

As one famous bicycle designer said: 'light, strong, cheap: choose two'.
Mountain bikes have to be both light and strong, therefore they can't be
cheap (and that's before you start thinking about suspension).

Aaah, fashion biker! 🙂))

You should learn a bit about the early history of mountain biking.
Hint - it was mostly about having fun and not a big money spending
competitive thing.

And if you just want to rattle down a trail then you can knock a bike
together for not a lot of money if you know what you're doing. But
technology has advanced: if you want to do some of the mad
downhill/jumping that mountainbikers do these days then you _need_ to
invest in that technology to have fun without breaking things. Do
you really think that riding a bike is less fun if it's competitive?

Simon Brooke said:

in message <[email hidden]>, Pete C
([email hidden]'😉 wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

You should learn a bit about the early history of mountain biking.

I've been riding bikes off road since long before the californians
started racing down fire-roads.

Sure sure, nearly every kid rides off road on whatever they have.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Hint - it was mostly about having fun

Exactly. And it's more fun - much more fun - with the right kit.

Bit subjective really. Are you ten times happier than the rider of a
£200 bike?

cheers,
Pete.