infinityleague
Member
- Location
- London
Oh dear, completely forgot about the tyres and punctures. Thank you.
£300 set budget for a new bike - suggestions?
- Thread starter infinityleague
- Start date
Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
Oh dear, completely forgot about the tyres and punctures. Thank you.
Dogtrousers
Kilometre nibbler
Here's what I see, scanning this. Other people will have different priorities.
Bottom gear is 34/34. That's adequately low. Not super low but it won't bring you back to the forum asking how to lower it. (But see note on wheel size below)
It's an aluminium framed gravel bike. That gives an idea of the style of the bike. Unlikely to give problems with an uncomfortable riding position. Also suited for off road as the name suggests.
It has rack/ mudguard mounts. This is A Good Thing.
It comes with 650B wheels. Those are smaller than the standard road bike wheels. (584mm vs 622mm). That will lower the effective gearing, so your bottom gear is even lower. That's good (IMO)
TBH I've never ridden a bike with 650B wheels so apart from that I don't have an opinion.
32 spokes front and rear. Good. Some more racy bikes come with low spoke count wheels which worry me.
It comes with 47mm tyres. Those are quite fat. Good for comfort and also gives you the better off road possibilities. But note that tyres are always a good opportunity for the suppliers to cut cost, so the supplied ones might be a bit flimsy.
Cable actuated disc brakes. Not my area. No opinion. I don't even know what "post mounted" means. It does mean something tho.
Shimano Claris 8 speed. Perfectly good. Some might say a bit clunky. Others wouldn't.
All in all it looks interesting, No big red flags for me. Not a lightweight speedster (probably a bit of a lump weight-wise) but more likely to be comfortable and versatile.
Last edited:
N0bodyOfTheGoat
Senior Member
- Location
- Hampshire, UK
Those of us around 5'10" are typically right on the border between medium and large frames, but the correct size will depend on the brand and the model.
It gets more complicated if you don't have typical leg and torso dimensions for your given height.
For example, I have the legs of someone typically around 5'5" or so (I have top of saddle ~72cm to middle of bottom bracket), but I have the torso of someone more like 6'1" or so. Consequently, I look for road bikes with a seat tube of 48-54cm and a longer top tube of 56-59cm.
vickster
Squire
You just pay a fiver for membership in store
You don’t need rear discs if you haven’t got front discs. The front brake on a road bike is the one that stops you, the rear just adds some control.
vickster
Squire
A good bike for winter training and fine for L2B. If/when the cycling bug bites, you've still got time to save up for upgrades ahead of the Dragon ride (check what the weather is usually like, if wet as often in Wales, you might want to budget £100+ for a waterproof!)
Jameshow
Guru
Definitely £300 is the boarder country of bso rubbish ripoff and decent bikes discounted. Beware!!
biggs682
Itching to get back on my bike's
- Location
- Northamptonshire
They look quite attractive at that price if you ask me
On paper that looks pretty viable - the gearing range is good.
Negatives for me, are mechanical (Not hydraulic) disc brakes - having had two bikes with these, I found them to be worse them rim brakes, and harder to work with. I'd get them adjusted perfectly, and then within a week they would be out of whack again, it was really frustrating. This was on a flat bar bike - a set of sealed callipers and levers I fitted transformed that bike into what it always should have been.
Suitable levers and brakes for a drop bar bike are way more pricey, and wouldn't be an option.
The other thing that would put me off is the 650c wheels - the odds are when you buy your next bike it will be 700c wheels, and any tubes/tyres you may have will not be compatible - that would irritate me, but perhaps not an issue for you.
How did the shops visit go?
Perhaps give yourself a bit more time, do some more research and explore the 2nd hand angle - there are some shops and or community places that take in old or gifted bikes, refresh them, service them and sell them on - that could be a good way to get a 2nd hand bike but with some kind of guaranteed recent servicing, plus you'd have somewhere to go back to for servicing and advice.
How about this place: Forward motion
Random example of fb marketplace (not near you, and too small I think) of what I would consider a potentially decent buy:
Last edited:
Reynard
Guru
- Location
- Cambridgeshire, UK
If you're on a budget, rim brakes will be fine. They're the easiest to maintain, and just make sure you clean rims and brake pads after a mucky ride to minimise the wear to the wheel rims. Not counting the two bikes currently in pieces, I've three with rim brakes (road bike with the standard calipers, steel MTB with cantilevers and a recently acquired hardtail with V-brakes), and one bike with mechanical discs. They're all fine for me for what I do, and I've had no issues with any of them.
I can't advise on bikes, as I ride junior frames (the downside of being an undertall lady rider), but in order to check for size, stand over the bike and make sure the top bar isn't in imminent danger of whacking one's sensitive anatomy. Ideally, you want a good inch or so of clearance. As for reach, put the tip of the saddle against your funny bone and if the tip of your index finger hits the middle of the headset, then you're good to go there too. Anything else can be solved with minor tweaks.
Leave the shorts for now. Not everyone rides padded - I don't. If your saddle is comfortable, spend the shorts money on something else. Like tools as someone else has said. A pump (Topeak Pocket Rocket is a good one), a multi-tool (again Topeak Hexus is a good one) and some basic spares (tube, puncture repair kit, spare quick link for the chain).
P.S. Other than the road bike, which I *did* buy new, all my other bikes were bought secondhand. My hybrid was bought from another member here on cyclechat, and my two mountain bikes were bought from the sales area at the local tip, albeit they've both needed varying degrees of work, which I've done myself. Of the bikes currently in pieces, one was bought S/H from my LBS, and the other was a skip find.
I can't advise on bikes, as I ride junior frames (the downside of being an undertall lady rider), but in order to check for size, stand over the bike and make sure the top bar isn't in imminent danger of whacking one's sensitive anatomy. Ideally, you want a good inch or so of clearance. As for reach, put the tip of the saddle against your funny bone and if the tip of your index finger hits the middle of the headset, then you're good to go there too. Anything else can be solved with minor tweaks.
Leave the shorts for now. Not everyone rides padded - I don't. If your saddle is comfortable, spend the shorts money on something else. Like tools as someone else has said. A pump (Topeak Pocket Rocket is a good one), a multi-tool (again Topeak Hexus is a good one) and some basic spares (tube, puncture repair kit, spare quick link for the chain).
P.S. Other than the road bike, which I *did* buy new, all my other bikes were bought secondhand. My hybrid was bought from another member here on cyclechat, and my two mountain bikes were bought from the sales area at the local tip, albeit they've both needed varying degrees of work, which I've done myself. Of the bikes currently in pieces, one was bought S/H from my LBS, and the other was a skip find.
infinityleague
Member
- Location
- London
apologies for being late but here’s the update :
Been to Decathlon, Halfords and Gooutdoors. Each place I had liked something basic between £150 and £247 (Bikes on sale).
The biggest confusion I’m facing right now is this : Having been to all the above places and zeroing on a starter bike, the sales team would come in and push the higher range bikes. I’m more confused than I was at the beginning.
I had liked the Carrera hell cat, vengeance - Halfords
rockrider & Van Rysel gravel (coaxed by the sales team) - decathlon
triban - go outdoors.
A basic triban & carrera were in my range as they were on sale with some defect in the lower frame paint work.
Think I will just wait out for a couple of weeks & try my luck again whilst keeping an eye on the second hand markets.
PS : the gravel bike caught my attention - van rysel
https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/micro...own/_/R-p-348802?mc=8881852&c=coriander brown
anyone think this is good with the features & specifications listed under?
not buying but I just wanted to know about this bike as I just loved the way it felt when I rode it in the store. Smooth handling.
Been to Decathlon, Halfords and Gooutdoors. Each place I had liked something basic between £150 and £247 (Bikes on sale).
The biggest confusion I’m facing right now is this : Having been to all the above places and zeroing on a starter bike, the sales team would come in and push the higher range bikes. I’m more confused than I was at the beginning.
I had liked the Carrera hell cat, vengeance - Halfords
rockrider & Van Rysel gravel (coaxed by the sales team) - decathlon
triban - go outdoors.
A basic triban & carrera were in my range as they were on sale with some defect in the lower frame paint work.
Think I will just wait out for a couple of weeks & try my luck again whilst keeping an eye on the second hand markets.
PS : the gravel bike caught my attention - van rysel
https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/micro...own/_/R-p-348802?mc=8881852&c=coriander brown
anyone think this is good with the features & specifications listed under?
not buying but I just wanted to know about this bike as I just loved the way it felt when I rode it in the store. Smooth handling.
N0bodyOfTheGoat
Senior Member
- Location
- Hampshire, UK
£900 for that spec isn't great IMO, no hydraulic disc brakes and I'm wary of trying a Microshift drivetrain.
For similar money, I'd look at...
https://www.paulscycles.co.uk/bikes...-gravel-adventure-bike-2025-nightblack__13507 for £959
https://www.halfords.com/bikes/grav...--s-m-l-xl-frames-240699.html?plpPlacement=21 for £960 (but British Cycling membership and other cards will give you 10% off Halfords bikes)
Reynard
Guru
- Location
- Cambridgeshire, UK
I think it's a case of err in haste, repent at leisure.
Don't buy a bike because you wanted one yesterday. Take the time to find the right one for you. And for your budget. The one you link to is three times your original budget. Would you be happy spending that? How much wiggle room do you have?
You mention the sportives etc. But what kind of cycling do you *really* want to do? You sound like you're not one of those wannabe head down, arse up types on a bike. In fact, you sound more like me. Go out for a bimble whenever you've the time to keep up a basic level of fitness, stop, forage in a hedgerow, pop to the shops, do cycle-train-cycle for work or leisure, go visit a friend, have the odd bicycular away day.
Oh, and if you plan on going and doing stuff by bicycle, then you'll also need to budget for a decent lock.
Don't buy a bike because you wanted one yesterday. Take the time to find the right one for you. And for your budget. The one you link to is three times your original budget. Would you be happy spending that? How much wiggle room do you have?
You mention the sportives etc. But what kind of cycling do you *really* want to do? You sound like you're not one of those wannabe head down, arse up types on a bike. In fact, you sound more like me. Go out for a bimble whenever you've the time to keep up a basic level of fitness, stop, forage in a hedgerow, pop to the shops, do cycle-train-cycle for work or leisure, go visit a friend, have the odd bicycular away day.
Oh, and if you plan on going and doing stuff by bicycle, then you'll also need to budget for a decent lock.
infinityleague
Member
- Location
- London
Yeah, I thought the same but I only tried the bike because the sales team were wanting me to “feel the bike.” That sounded bad…
Halfords suggested me this one
https://www.halfords.com/bikes/gravel-bikes/voodoo-limba-adventure-bike---s-m-l-frames-452942.html
AndyRM
XOXO
- Location
- North Shields
It can be tricky, but ignore the sales peeps. They're just after a higher commission, or if they've been targeted to sell a certain brand/model will push something completely inappropriate.
In a way I feel for them because it's a horrible job to have (IMO), but at the end of the day it's your money and you have to be firm.
Jumping from a £300 budget to £900 is (again IMO) nuts.
In a way I feel for them because it's a horrible job to have (IMO), but at the end of the day it's your money and you have to be firm.
Jumping from a £300 budget to £900 is (again IMO) nuts.
