£300 set budget for a new bike - suggestions?

[vickster]

How do we tell if a bike is stolen or if it is a legit used bike for sale?

Ask lots of questions if the seller about the bike like the frame number, history etc… if they get shifty or arsy walk away, ditto if they won’t let you come to their house/registered business and want to meet in a car park or whatever. trust yout gut
To be honest I reckon this guy is openly selling lots of decent bikes with good pictures and details, he’s been on gumtree for years, he’s not flogging at a boot sale or in an urban area with high bike theft.

 

[vickster]

Zero skills but I can learn with DIY YouTube videos. Concern being if I damage something whilst doing any.

I just pay the trusted local bike shop to do the maintenance. Unless you’re commuting in all weathers, leaving it out etc, bikes really don’t need that much maintenance. Just learn how to remove the wheels and fix a puncture (even those don’t happen that much unless very unlucky)

 

[Reynard]

Zero skills but I can learn with DIY YouTube videos. Concern being if I damage something whilst doing any.

We all had to start somewhere. And unless you're looking at hydraulic brakes or electronic shifting, a bicycle is made up of parts that use basic mechanical principles. Things may look complicated, but usually they end up being more straightforward.

There's always good guidance to be had on here. Failing that, the Park Tools website has some excellent tutorials, as has www.sheldonbrown.com - the latter, despite the site being a bit old, gives you a real shedload of good, sound and basic advice.

Some of the best things I've learned when it comes to working on my bikes are to take photos as you dismantle stuff, and then you have an instant guide for reinstallation. To use those plastic trays from blueberries or mushrooms etc to lay out all the bits you take off - first you can see what you have, and secondly you are far less likely to lose any. For components containing small parts or springs, if you can, dismantle inside / over a plastic bag as there's far fewer chances of sproings and pingfeckits. And lastly, cats and bar tape do not mix. DAMHIKT

 

[Dogtrousers]

use those plastic trays from blueberries or mushrooms etc to lay out all the bits you take off - first you can see what you have, and secondly you are far less likely to lose any.

But beware: I remember working on a bike once, cleaning up bits with white spirit or similar, and putting the bits into something that came to hand, yoghurt pots I think. Anyway I picked up a pot of ball bearings and the bottom fell out. Bearings all over the floor. The cleaning stuff had dissolved the pot.

 

[Reynard]

But beware: I remember working on a bike once, cleaning up bits with white spirit or similar, and putting the bits into something that came to hand, yoghurt pots I think. Anyway I picked up a pot of ball bearings and the bottom fell out. Bearings all over the floor. The cleaning stuff had dissolved the pot.

Whoops! A glass jam jar is the best receptacle in those instances.

P.S. I'm trying not to laugh!

 

[Ratchet Cat]

Clothing and accessories need not be expensive. Aldi, Lidl and Decathlon do reasonable quality stuf. Keep a check on their sales.
i use a lot of their stuff.

 

[bonzobanana]

The limba from my experience is a heavy old bike.

One bike I would buy at £300 would be a Boardman cx. It has a lightweight butted frame disk brakes etc. Clean second hand ones can had for £300.

The Limba is a heavier bike but then its got 'never fail' steel forks and is generally much stronger with higher weight limits than Decathlon bikes for example. It's a much more abusable bike suitable for a beginner. What I don't like it about though is the mechanical disc brakes, they look to be single piston which I'm not a fan of, they do their job but you have to keep adjusting the fixed pad which can be annoying but this is the same for most budget bikes with disc brakes. You can get semi-hydraulic disc brake mechanisms from Aliexpress relatively cheaply though to replace them. However I do think the Limba is a great option overall for its price point in today's market for new bikes.

300 pounds was probably a reasonable price point 3 years ago but really the entry level decent bikes now with reasonable components including a freehub drivetrain are probably more around 400-500 with the occasional offer below it. I remember getting a Vertigo Carnaby from Tesco online for 62 pounds I think it was.

Also bear in mind Decathlon go very cheap on their entry level frames nowadays and don't even have removable gear handers so once you've fallen off you bike a few times and bent the derailleur hanger it will get weak and could break off. Something perfectly acceptable I guess on a steel road bike which is much denser and stronger but certainly not ideal for an aluminium frame. They seem to have followed Walmarts example of cheapness.

 

[N0bodyOfTheGoat]

https://www.halfords.com/bikes/hybrid-bikes/voodoo-marasa-mens-hybrid-bike---l-frames-452902.html

Is the newer version of my Marasa bought in summer '20 for commuting, when I somehow sheared the drive side crank on my Voodoo Wazoo fatbike after just over four years.

The Marasa has been the general cycling goto bike at the budget end for at least ten years, usually decent components/build and I've only known it as having hydraulic disc brakes. The newer version is 2x9 (30/46 chainrings with 11-36 cassette), whereas mine is 3x9 (26/36/48 I think with 12-36 cassette) and weights ~12.5Kg as it came from the store. After five years, all I've changed is the rear derailleur cable; cassette; chain; tyres; tubes.

It's £350 in their current sale, the rrp and sale price is a little more than five years ago, Halfords accept a few different membership discounts including 10% off bikes with British Cycling.

Only large left in some stores, maybe they are bringing out a newer model, should be fine if you have typical torso for someone 5'10" and arms longer than those of a T Rex.