Bikes!

[yaruar]

So, i've finally pulled my finger out and i'm getting a new bike as soon as work cough up the cash.

I'm working on 400-450 for the bike itself, the only problem is that i have to buy it at halfords and my local one sucks.

I just wondered if any of you cycle jockeys had any opinions on..

Kona Fire Mountain

GT Agressor XC2
They had some of last years bikes on sale too at 1/3 off but i can't for the life of me remember the make/model... Any hints and tips.
I'm looking for somethign versatile which can handle roads/tracks/XC and general off road exploring.

 

[Tom]

Forget Halfords.

For that budget, you want a hardtail. Don't worry about disc brakes, just get rim brakes and upgrade later - disc brakes with a bike at that price will be a bit rubbish.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Categories.aspx?CategoryID=163

Thats teh best online place for bikes and bike stuff - although I would recommend visiting a proper bike shop and being measured up.

 

[yaruar]

Forget Halfords.

For that budget, you want a hardtail. Don't worry about disc brakes, just get rim brakes and upgrade later - disc brakes with a bike at that price will be a bit rubbish.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Categories.aspx?CategoryID=163

Thats teh best online place for bikes and bike stuff - although I would recommend visiting a proper bike shop and being measured up.

I'd love to buy a bike elsewhere, we have a great cycle shop in greenwich just round the corner from me. unfortunately i'm buying this through cycle2work in order to get the tax breaks on the purchase and we're forced to use halfords.

 

[Tom]

Forced by whom though?

 

[dysfunction]

Probably by their company.

When there was a computer scheme, now no longer a valid tax break, our work did a deal with PC World...

 

[yaruar]

Forced by whom though?

Work unfortunately, we apparantly signed up to cycle2work through halfords. The 50 odd percent discount is too good to ignore.. I'ts a shame they didn't go with evans as at least they know about bikes, but unfortunately i don't think the organisers of the scheme care that much.

 

[Tom]

How shit.

 

[Gumbo]

I once worked for Halfords, don't hate me. It was in the Parts Dept. and for the garages though mainly, only a few months on bikes, out of necessity.

In your position Yaruar, and assuming you don't have the no-how to set the bike up yourself, I would probably buy the bike, in the box from Halfords. Then take it to a respected local bike shop and pay them 30 or 40 quid to build it properly. Maybe even go into the LBS prior to purchase, explain the situation to them and set up the build a shiny bike deal.

There's nothing inherently bad about the bikes themselves, assuming you are buying a recognised brand from Halfords. It's just the level of knowledge, advice, and experience which will be lacking.

 

[Will]

Yaruar : When you say XC and commuting, what sort of thing will you be doing, XC-wise? I can give you a better idea of your choices once I've got an idea.

 

[JBP|]

Well given the choice of the two bikes i would go for the Kona, it'll be a good bike to start on.

But i really wouldn't expect too much from a sub £1000 mountain bike no matter who made it.

 

[Furr]

Yeh i just got into biking as well, i got this info from a mate to get me started, basically because i was bord of sitting in the gym watching a wall during aerobic work. Now i cycle for hours on end as its fun!

As a start, here are some good websites for buying/looking at bikes

www.chainreactioncycles.com
www.wiggle.co.uk
www.bikemagic.com

All depends on what your budget is, but I'll make some assumptions and say you are looking at spending 3-400quid.

At this kinda price you wanna be looking at front suspension bikes (called hardtails as well), avoid full suspension as the bike will be compromised elsewhere spec wise. Other good things to look for are brand name disk brakes, and brands like Shimano and SRAM on the gears. Spec wise, buy a bike where the money has been spent on the frame/wheels/drivetrain and not things like tyres/grips/seats/pedals, these are pretty much disposable once you start riding and are likely to be replaced fairly quickly.

I could ramble for hours on this, but a good place to start would be a good local independent bike shop, they are likely to be bikers and will be able to give you advice and sell you things till the cows come home.
Avoid Halfords and all the bullshit places like that.

err, this all has a terrible lack of structure, but also check out some mountain bike mags. What Mountain Bike and Singletrack magazine are good, and you can get them easy from WH Smith. avoid MBR and Mountain bike UK as they are a bit immature.

Prob the most important thing when going to buy a bike is the fit and feel of the thing. If a bike is a bargain, but feels shit to sit on and ride, dont buy it. The fit of the bike is key to you enjoying it and riding it lots! a good rule of thumb is that you should have at least a couple of inches clearance from the top tube then you stand over it with feet on the floor, this will stop you damaging the family jewels if you fall off, and the rest of the bike should be then be close to the right size.

phew! what else? errm, yes, GET A HELMET and some gloves, if you start riding off road you WILL NEED THEM. Concussion is not pretty, and I am a walking testament to the effectiveness of a bike helmet!

Ended up with a kona lana'i, i skimped out on the disk breaks... my reasoning is that im no doubt going to destroy this bike as i learn and that when i get more proficient and more money then i'll spend prooper money and i'll get a new one

 

[TdC]

get yourself sized right though yaruar. I'm 5'8" and ride a 16" size "english" design (ie long virtual top tube) bike. Will's about 3' taller than me and rides an 18" iirc

also, I have a streetbike you can have for 700 squids it's teh sex. though that kona may keep you pleased till you work out if you want to keep at it.

 

[yaruar]

Yaruar : When you say XC and commuting, what sort of thing will you be doing, XC-wise? I can give you a better idea of your choices once I've got an idea.

I'm kind of looking for something general purpose. I haven't ridden that much since i came to london 8 years ago and i want to get back into it again (well i started again a couple of years ago but some scrotes stole all the detatchable bits of my bike leaving me with cheap frame...) I suspect most of what i will be doing is exploring the rivers and waterways of london with a camera strapped to my back, which from experience can go from nice towpaths to mud and rocks. Also now that i can drive i fancy going and finding some woodland to ride through to get away from it all. I don't want anything too fancy, just something which will do the job and be able to handle most things i throw at it and something which will allow me to explore new and potentially non paved areas.

 

[Will]

If I had to choose something out of the Halfords online store for your budget, I'd probably go for the Kona. Best forks and frame out of the choices you have there.

Though I'd be tempted by a cyclocross bike if you aren't so bothered about suspension. It depends how biased you want it to be between XC and commuting. They are tough road frames with knobbly tyres. Then again, in your budget, I can only think of one, and its fixed, which isn't everyones cup of tea. There are actually ways to order non-Halfords bikes, though its a bit more of a hassle.

 

[yaruar]

If I had to choose something out of the Halfords online store for your budget, I'd probably go for the Kona. Best forks and frame out of the choices you have there.

Though I'd be tempted by a cyclocross bike if you aren't so bothered about suspension. It depends how biased you want it to be between XC and commuting. They are tough road frames with knobbly tyres. Then again, in your budget, I can only think of one, and its fixed, which isn't everyones cup of tea. There are actually ways to order non-Halfords bikes, though its a bit more of a hassle.

Yeah, i did check about ordering other bikes, they can do it, but it involves getting quotes and then getting halfords to order them in and i can't be arsed the wait. I was thinking the Kona was the best as it looks nice and solid too.

It's a shame though as i would love to buy through these guys as they are 2 minutes walk from my front door but the scheme is extremely restrictive, which sucks, there must be backhanders involved at some point!

 

[Tom]

lol

 

[yaruar]

lol

They've got one of those in the window with a back tyre about twice as fat as that... It's so silly it's borderline cool