A little bit of help please

[Godfarmer]

Hi all,

I don't know my arse from my elbow as far as bikes are concerned. Despite this I've agreed to do a 250 odd mile cycling 'holiday' this summer around East Anglia, averaging about 60 miles a day.
I'm confident I can't do this (particularly as my friends are pretty accomplished cyclists) on my old mountain bike, so I'd like to buy a Hybrid/Road bike that can have pannier bags on. I think I can do up to about £800 on this. My local shop has a very enthusiastic chap running it and he's primarily selling Merida bikes.
I was hoping that someone could advice me if this is a decent enough make? and if not what would you recommend.

Cheers

 

[Alan Whicker]

Merida are a well respected brand. They also make (or made) Carrera frames for Halfords and I think frames for Specialized and Giant. They seem to be quite rare here in London though. You've got a huge amount of choice for £800!

 

[Moodyman]

Alan's spot on.

Merida are the world's second biggest bike company after Giant. They make bikes for the more stylised brands and made Halfords (respected) Carrera brands for a while.

At £800, you will have plenty of choices so go out there and try a few out.

The Merida S'Presso i8 was on my shortlist when I was looking for a fast, low-maintenance commuter bike.

 

[xpc316e]

£800 will get you a very nice hybrid, but if it is not properly prepared by a decent bike shop it will soon be wrecked. Make sure your bike is well set-up with correctly adjusted (and greased) bearings - get your experienced pals to check out your machine - and it will last for ages.

You ought to be able to manage 60 miles a day without too much trouble, and I hope you enjoy my part of the world.