Yet another MTB thread... choosing a bike
 

Need to pick the brains of the bike experts...

I freely admit to knowing absolutely b*gger-all about bikes, so I bought a cheap MTB from Halfords (a Raleigh, down from £250 to about £130) a few months ago. Although it's been fun, I'm fed up with the gears shifting if and when they feel like it, the chain popping off every time I try to use the smallest front cog, and the crashy ride which leaves me with a numb ar*e after every time I take it off nice, smooth tarmac. The brakes don't exactly inspire confidence either.

So, either I can start pulling bits off and changing them, or stick the whole thing on Ebay and treat myself to the bike I probably should have bought in the first place :lol1:

That's all well and good, but there's hundreds of different models out there and I have no clue where to start looking. I guess that really I need to actually ride a few to see how I get on - are there many shops that can actually offer that service?

Failing that, how on earth do I go about choosing from amongst all the different options out there? At a given price point, are bikes of a similar type even all that different from each other? It's likely to be used for the few miles on tarmac getting me to and from shops and pubs, and longer runs along cycle paths (concrete, gravel, occasional mud). No serious commuting or steep hills!

(Sorry for the dumb question, but we never had bikes at home when I was a kid... it's a minor miracle I can even ride the damn thing at all :lol1:)

A MTB doesn't sound like the bike for you. A Hybrid type bike would probably suit your needs a little more.
What's your budget?

Paul.

What I learnt on my trawl was that 'suspension' on sub £700 bikes may not be very effective. Having said that you may want to pop Scott Sportster P2 into E-Bay and find the 2008 one delivered for £450 or so. Will be streets ahead of what you currently have. D

You're probably right - let's say around £500.

Andy,

Scott prodice some excellent bikes for the money.

eg, a hybrid

Evans Cycles | Scott Sportster P3 2009 Hybrid Bike | Online Bike Shop

or a hardtail mtb

Evans Cycles | Scott Reflex 20 2008 Mountain Bike | Online Bike Shop

I've got the previous years model and its been great for the price. Gets good reviews too

Scott Reflex 20 Disc Review - BikeRadar

Quite like the Sportster P3 :) Not too sure about the belt drive orange thing, though :lol:

Is there anywhere (pref. in the Hants / Surrey area) where I can actually try one out - or at least, other similar bikes - before parting with hard-earned cash only to find I've bought a bike that's the wrong size or just plain uncomfortable?

There should be an Evans near you - they do the full Specialied range.

Andy

Although you're stuck with the crashy ride, the other symptoms could easily be because the bike isn't set up right.

If you just put it together quickly when you took it out of the box or the students in Halfords did that for you then there's a good chance you could make some improvements just by adjustment. There are a lot of "how-to's" on youtube if you want to have a go.

Sorry if you've already had a go. Time to flash the cash in that case.

Thanks for the tip - I did find a couple of very clear videos and did the best job I could of adjusting the settings. It made no difference.

So then I took it back to the shop and asked them to have a go at fixing the gears, and an apparently knowledgable member of staff set about it right there and then. That would have been great, but when I went to pick it up this morning the b*stard on the desk actually told me that I'm expected to do my own maintenance, and would I consider buying a service plan :cuckoo:

Ten minutes later I'm riding the bike into town and the chain pops off again :mad: :mad: :mad: - so that'll be a 'no' to the service plan idea. (My actual feelings at this point are probably against the new forum T&C's to express...)

At least this helps me with the decision to go out and buy a new bike, which is how I've spent the day. Special mention must go to Bob at Pedal On in Tadley (Hants) - friendly, informative able to offer meaningful test rides on a good range of bikes (and also one of the few people I spoke to all day who had no trouble stringing together a coherent sentence :D)

So thanks to Bob I'm now the proud owner of a 2009 Kona CinderCone, which promises to be a whole lot more fun and a good deal less hassle :D

I was working for a client last Saturday. Its their little boys 5th birthday.
The father went to the local Raleigh shop and paid £150 for a basic kids bike. The shop built it for him there and then and he drove home with it.

The kid could not ride it.....Back wheel was badly set and moved all over the show . Front brakes had "locked on" as they had wrapped the cable around the frame causing it to tighten fully. Bike stand badly fitted so hit Crank etc

They found out after the shop had closed.

Imagine the boys delight at seeing his new bike. Then his sadness when he could not ride it.

Enter "me" in full on "park tools" mode And 10 mins later he is a happy "birthday Boy"

wonder how it went when 6.5 feet /17 stone of mad Aussie father went today to talk to bike shop owner ? !!