Recommendation Needed for a cycling newbie

Sandi Luney said:

I am looking for what will basically be my first bike
(apart from when I was young - im now coming up to 30!)
and am looking for recommendations.

I have been to Halfords and spotted an Apollo Excelle for
ladies which either works out at £149 or £99 depending on
which model I would want (or so i'm told by the very
helpful lad working there for a minimum wage.)

I would like a mountain bike as I wouldnt want to be
restricted to just road riding but im not sure whether all
the bikes with suspension and stuff are better than those
without - any ideas?

I would like to spend around £150 at most really.

Could anyone here point me in the right direction?

Many thanks

Sandra Luney

here's a good starting point, for education purposes.
bbauer.gomen.orgnewbikeOpen ↗

The Brits may chime in with some specifc recommendations at
some point.

at 30 you are still young.

penny

Sandi Luney said:

I am looking for what will basically be my first bike
(apart from when I was young - im now coming up to 30!)
and am looking for recommendations.

Just a youngster! I started riding when I was 36 (will turn
45 next month). A few of us have the same story.

There are a few here from the UK that are familiar with the
shops there; your best bet is something from a real bike
shop. They're better-made, and almost always better-
assembled and far better-supported. The US equivalent of 150
pounds would be a good entry-level bike (certainly good
enough for occasional trail use).

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Sandi Luney said:

I am looking for what will basically be my first bike
(apart from when I was young - im now coming up to 30!)
and am looking for recommendations.

Do you get chance to ride bikes owned by friends and
family? Thats always a good idea as it gives you a feel
for whats good and you learn what doesnt feel good, so
when you sit astride the bike in the shop you will sense
if it feels right. Even better is a clued up friend who
will show you what it rides like with the saddle too high
or too low, for example.

Quoted message said:

I have been to Halfords and spotted an Apollo Excelle for
ladies which either works out at £149 or £99 depending on
which model I would want

If you Need to buy from Halfords go to a branch which has a
Bike Hut. Even better, go to a proper bike shop.

Quoted message said:

I would like a mountain bike as I wouldnt want to be
restricted to just road riding but im not sure whether all
the bikes with suspension and stuff are better than those
without - any ideas?

At a proper bike shop the staff will ask what sort of riding
you want to do and where. If its to work or to the shops
with an occasional ride on the bridleways (somewhere like
Richmond Park) then a Hybrid bike would suffice. That has
the mountainbike look with the straight handlebars but with
narrower wheels and normal looking tyres. I dont know what
that Apollo bike looks like but you wont need suspension at
the front or rear wheels. But if you feel the urge to ride
up and down steps and to jump over cars then you will need
the suspension and wider knobbly tyres, and a large bank
balance. So later you can buy a second bike for that!

Quoted message said:

I would like to spend around £150 at most really.

For that you aint gonna get much. £300 would be a starting
price for something worthwhile unless you can find a pre
used model. Once you've fathomed out what you need and whats
good out there then thats the time to look around for a
secondhand hand bike at your price level. The Local Bike
Shops are the places to go to ask the questions, they have
the skills and the interest, they get to see bikes coming in
for part exchange and if you buy from them they know you'll
be going back to them for servicing, new parts and upgrades,
so its in their interest to help you. But like anywhere else
if you look dumb they'll take advantage of you, so get The
Knowledge first. Good Luck TW

Hi Sandra,

Tommy top-'em-up here, started last year at 50! Best thing
I've done for a while especially as I convinced the wife
to join me.

Bought my first bike from Halfords (£360) which is still a
cracking ride in my view but I'm sorry to say that you
won't get much, in terms of quality, for 150 smackers -
especially in the full-suspension arena :-). However, if
that's your limit and you want full-sus then I note that
Halfords are selling this bike halfords.comopdOpen ↗
_product_details.asp?id=120&type=0&cat=90 on-line at
£149.99 and it has an aluminium frame rather than the steel
frame of the Apollo. This should make the bike a fair bit
lighter which, in turn will make it easier to ride and to
lift over fences / stiles!

Having said that, my wife was happy for 6 months with a £130
full -us unknown brand job from an LBS (local bike shop)
until, that is, we upgraded her to a circa £400 model from
Halfords. The difference is, according to her, unbelievable.
She used to lag behind now she pushes me!

So you get what you pay for (true for most things in life I
s'pose) but it all depends how often you ride / how serious
you are / type of trails you ride. I've just paid £1,100 for
my second bike (full sus) which only makes it "middle of the
range" as far as the serious boys (and gals ) here are
concerned. Is it a better ride than my Halfords hard-tail?
On the road / easy off-road trails - no, not really -
through the woods on the more technical stuff - no
comparison, it's simply miles better.

Whatever you do though, buy a bike and enjoy it!

Later,

Fred

Really pi$$ed off because family commitments stopped me from
riding this weekend :-(. 10 days holiday starts next weekend
though :-)

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

Quoted message said:

I am looking for what will basically be my first bike
(apart from when I

was

Quoted message said:

young - im now coming up to 30!) and am looking for
recommendations.

I have been to Halfords and spotted an Apollo Excelle for
ladies which either works out at £149 or £99 depending on
which model I would want (or

so

Quoted message said:

i'm told by the very helpful lad working there for a
minimum wage.)

I would like a mountain bike as I wouldnt want to be
restricted to just

road

Quoted message said:

riding but im not sure whether all the bikes with
suspension and stuff are better than those without -
any ideas?

I would like to spend around £150 at most really.

Could anyone here point me in the right direction?

Many thanks

Sandra Luney

Sandi Luney said:

I am looking for what will basically be my first bike
(apart from when I was young - im now coming up to 30!)
and am looking for recommendations.

I have been to Halfords and spotted an Apollo Excelle for
ladies which either works out at £149 or £99 depending on
which model I would want (or so i'm told by the very
helpful lad working there for a minimum wage.)

I would like a mountain bike as I wouldnt want to be
restricted to just road riding but im not sure whether all
the bikes with suspension and stuff are better than those
without - any ideas?

The money that goes in to the cheap gimmicks at this price
range (suspension, disc brakes, etc) detracts from the areas
where the money should really be going (frame, components,
etc). At this price try to get the simplest bike you can.

At the £99 price point a lot of the components are really
quite bad, almost to the point of being dangerous (I should
know, I used to be one of those teenagers on minimum wage at
Halfords!). For example, bad brakes combined with steel
wheels just meant you couldn't stop the bike in the wet.

At that sort of price level, spending even small amounts
more can get you a much better bike. The difference between
a 99 quid bike and one for 200 is enormous.

One thing you should be aware of is that these aren't really
mountain bikes. They're marketed as such, but were never
really meant to be taken off road, apart from the odd canal
tow path. If you're really interested in mountain biking,
then I would suggest looking at more expensive models, sale
items or second-hand.

Oh, and as it's a ladies' Apollo you're looking at, I'm
guessing it has a lowered top tube(?). Unless you're
planning in riding in a skirt / dress, you don't want
one with a lowered top tube because they're
significantly weaker.

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bomba says:

Quoted message said:

At this price try to get
the simplest bike you can.

There are plenty of us out there still riding fully
rigid bikes. Especially the "older" set (I'm 49) who
grew up on them.

Other than that - what bomba said.

Steve

Stephen Baker said:

bomba says:

Quoted message said:

At this price try to get the simplest bike you can.

There are plenty of us out there still riding fully
rigid bikes. Especially the "older" set (I'm 49) who
grew up on them.

To the OP: "fully rigid" means there isn't anything like a
shock absorber on the front fork or the back end. They used
to sell bikes like that back in the old days. :-)

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