Best beginners bike for under £300

[loopydoo]

Please could some of you more experienced members give me some advice - I am going round in circles.

I pretty much decided that I liked the look of the specialized myka bike - it seems to get good reviews as a beginners bike.

I want a bike for mainly family bike rides so not much off road but I need it to be able to do very stony bridle paths and a bit rougher ground as well.

I can get the myka 2010 standard ht for £200. the sport ht for £245 and the comp ht for £330. Ideally I would only pay £200 but really dont want to regret not spending more and I read so many reviews saying a good bike should have an rrp of at least £500! I cant afford £500 but would stretch to the £330 for the comp if it was really worth paying the extra.

Just dont know if the comp is beyond my needs! Sorry for waffle but any help would be appreciated

THanks
lou

 

[cyberknight]

If you can get the basic for £200 sounds like a good deal.

The bike i was going to suggest is £250 new.


Depends how often you are going o use it tbh , you can pick up a front suss bike from decathlon for £139
http://www.btwincycle.com/EN/rockrider-five-white-89175082/

Their bikes tend to get good reviews offering good value for money .

 

[xpc316e]

I work on many different bikes as part of my job, and a few quid extra spent at time of purchase usually makes a lot of sense. On really cheap bikes the components are made of cheese, and gears, brakes, etc. are not easy to keep in good adjustment. A known brand like Specialized should be a good bet, although I am not familiar with the exact models you cite. Get your dealer to explain exactly what the differences are between the models.

 

[accountantpete]

Hi Loopydoo - Basically it's a matter of compromise.

On road you want the lightest possible bike and thin slick tyres to make the job as easy as possible (esp the hills).

If you go off-road a bit then the same bike but with wider tyres will fit the bill.

A hybrid is going to be your best bet for the above situation.

If the off-road rides are very bumpy then you might want front shocks and knobbly tyres as on the myka - but this pushes the weight up considerably and makes the bike less user friendly on the road (the Myka comes in at 30lb) especially if you are in a hilly part of the country.

I'd have a think on how much off-roading you will be doing and weigh up the pro's and cons of the two choices.

+1 for a major brand like Specialized.

Hope this helps.

 

[loopydoo]

Great, thanks for the replies. I will also check out the other brand you mentioned.

In terms of the specialized I cant work out the difference between the ht and the sport except a lot of the component parts are different (presumably slightly better quality) and its slightly lighter (13.18kg for ht and 12.79kg).

The main difference between the others and the comp is that the others have v brakes and the comp has:
Front Brake:Avid BB5, mechanical disc, 160mm G2 Clean Sweep rotorRear Brake:Avid BB5, mechanical disc, 140mm G2 Clean Sweep rotor

but I want a low maintenance bike so do I need brake discs? would it be more costly to maintain the mechanical disc one

 

[loopydoo]

Oh, just spotted your reply accountant pete.

I did consider a hybrid but somehow have the impression they are not as sturdy and would get trashed - presumably if I wanted thicker tyres on a hybrid that would bump up the cost a bit?

I will have a look at the hybrids, thanks

 

[loopydoo]

Sorry pete misunderstood your post - I get what you are saying now about mountain bike vs hybrid

 

[loopydoo]

Also forgot to say the myka comp has a lock out - I assume this means I can turn off the front suspension when on the road. Would that make much difference to how user friendly it is on staight road work?

 

[accountantpete]

Also forgot to say the myka comp has a lock out - I assume this means I can turn off the front suspension when on the road. Would that make much difference to how user friendly it is on staight road work?

A bit I would imagine but basically it is the weight - it probably weighs more than my road frame & forks put together - and the wide tyres that work against you on the road.

Hybrid bikes although lighter are incredibly strong and the wheel rims/frame clearance can usually accommodate a range of tyre widths to suit your requirements.

 

[loopydoo]

Ok I think its gonna be a hybrid then. Thanks for all the advice.

Lou

 

[PhunkPilot]

Hi and Welcome to the forum Lou,

I currently own a Cube Sl cross race (hybrid) and a Specialised hardrock (MTB) which is the mens equivelant of the specialised you mentioned. I use the hardrock ( v brake model ) for my commute to work as things get quite rough at times. It is significantly heavier than the Cube but cost far less! So I dont have to worry about leaving it locked at work or getting it dirty!

I'm sure the cube would happily cope with my journey as would most hybrids I just felt I personally needed something with front suspension to cope with poor surfaces and speed bumps on my route. As previous responses suggest its all a matter of how and where you wish to ride. Its actually a lot more difficult to by a 'bad' bike these days than it used to be. Just find the one that suits your needs.

Despite being the base model hardrock the bike is superb the gears shift quickly and smoothly and despite its weight it handles very well. I think for the price the bike is excellent.

I love both my bikes but use them for different purposes, I hope this helps,

Have fun and welcome once again.

 

[Norm]

Hybrid bikes although lighter are incredibly strong and the wheel rims/frame clearance can usually accommodate a range of tyre widths to suit your requirements.

Sorry but wrong... and right... and not necessarily. And the reason that I despise the word hybrid, which manages to be meaningless, useless and positively harmful at times. These three are all described as "hybrids" and they range from the Spec Crosstrail, a rigid mountain bike which would be good on all surfaces, to the Charge Mixer, which would struggle on even rough tarmac.

You should be looking at a rigid or hardtail mountain bike for the off-road work, IMO. If I was choosing, I'd go for something without any suspension. Big tyres (over about 2") have enough give in them unless you are getting into significant off road work or travelling quickly. Suspension, especially on cheaper bikes, is generally pretty heavy stuff which doesn't do a wonderful job at keeping the front tyre on the ground anyway.

If you do get front suspension, lock outs could be useful but I never use mine.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Hi
I'd tend to go for a fat-tyred Hybrid much like the Speciallized Sirrus as an example.

Another option would be the Carerra Subway from Halfords (avoid their other offerings apart from the Boardman Range!) which is a fat-tyred road-based hybrid that would do well over trough ground. In my opinion cheap front suspension bikes are heavy cumbersome bikes on-road and not brilliant off-road either. People these days are unaware how tough and versatile the basic bike really is. Few NEED mountain bikes or style-alikes. Even skinny wheeled lightweight road bikes can take-on surprisingly rough terrain!

 

[cyberknight]

Hi
I'd tend to go for a fat-tyred Hybrid much like the Speciallized Sirrus as an example.

Another option would be the Carerra Subway from Halfords (avoid their other offerings apart from the Boardman Range!) which is a fat-tyred road-based hybrid that would do well over trough ground. In my opinion cheap front suspension bikes are heavy cumbersome bikes on-road and not brilliant off-road either. People these days are unaware how tough and versatile the basic bike really is. Few NEED mountain bikes or style-alikes. Even skinny wheeled lightweight road bikes can take-on surprisingly rough terrain!

The subway 1 was the bike i was going to suggest initially

 

[Ivan Ardon]

Edinburgh Bikes have their sale on at the moment. Their "Revolution" bikes are highly regarded, and they are fine to deal with.

You'd have to go a long way to beat this at £299 if you do need a mountain bike:
http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/ebw...QRY=C437&f_SortOrderID=1&f_bct=c003155c018340

Hydraulic disks and Acera shifters, Conti tyres, 120mm fork with lockout. All nice stuff.


Of course, there are lots of decent hybrids from £179 upwards in their sale which would do the job nicely as well.