Bike for the wife.

[Activeady]

Hi all, this is my first thread. My wife is looking for a budget road bike to see if she likes road cycling. Due to the fact that it has to be brought with Halfords vouchers, on a budget, we are looking closely at the Carrera Zelos at £329. We have had a good look at the bike, the wife likes the look and feel. The only concern I have is the bike is only 14 speed, as opposed to 16. Should this be of concern, as we live in quite a hilly area? Just to add it is a double compact.

 

[defy-one]

The gearing ratio rather than the number of gears would be more important. Ifthis bike has suspension on the front forks, i would look again at one without. Suspension will be heavy on a bike at that pricepoint, and she will struggle to get up the hills with a heavy bike

 

[festival]

Firstly this is another halfords sneaky price trap. They increase the price for just long enough to ensure its legal to reduce it for long periods back to what its worth, and about £329 is about what its worth.
You don't get much quality or wear and tear for less than £600 but its OK to get started and if you are tied to halfords.
More importantly, are sure this type of bike will encourage the wife to ride more?
You say your only concern is the number of gears but what does "like the look and feel" mean? Are you really confident the bike fits properly and the rider position suits her?
Would a flat bar road bike be a better bet to help her get going?
As for the gears, if you find a 28t on the rear combined with a 50/34 chainset, this is low enough for general hill riding.

 

[Boris Bajic]

The number of gears can be a red herring, as suggested above. There was a time when 14 gears (7 on the cassette) was considered a lot.

My fixie had a 7-speed block when it was new and this was considered quite zappy at the time.

The bike you mention sounds ideal.

The advantages offered by lower weight, closer gear ratios, a wider spread or ratios and all that malarkey will be most keenly felt once the rider is more experienced.

For all the reasons you give and more besides, I'd go for that machine. I am not a fan of Halfords, but they have their place and some of their outlets are quite good.

There is a bit of a fascination these days (particularly among people relatively new to cycling) with gear ratios. Most bikes will get you up most hills. Pedalling slowly when you run out of gears is not a crime. Compact chainsets have their place in cycling's broad church, but I wouldn't go that way for a novice cyclist.

She likes the bike and likes the fit and feel of it. It is cheap and you have vouchers for that shop. She will love it. Buy it.

 

[machew]

It sounds like a fair swap

 

[sidevalve]

It sounds like a fair swap

May be OK. Put up a picture and we'll take a look.
Seriously don't worry about the number of gears [my old Dawes has 14 and even I, a seriously unfit old g-t can get more or less anywhere I want on it]. As above however I would perhaps think about avoiding the suspension, as said at these prices it will be very low tech and pretty much weight for it's own sake, although some of the rigids can be a bit "porky".
However if she likes the bike then go for it, [after all it will be her bike not yours] but for that money I would try one of the bigger bike shops [Evans etc] and get a few test rides on other bikes too, and check put the second hands on E Bay etc

 

[Activeady]

Hi again. Many thanks for all your helpful replies. Basically the wife got £300 worth of halfords vouchers from work a few months ago and she has been saying she would like a road bike ( we both have Merida hybrirds and I also have a Orbea road bike) So the Carreras in our price range are the TDF at £299 or the zelos at £329. I understand about the sale thing but the TDF has been £499 and the Zelos £599 for quite some time. ( I've had my eye on them) So we went to our local store and had a good look at them both. The wife preferred the look of the Zelos and I thought it was worth the extra £29. But I thought it was strange only having 14 gears ( the label on the bike says 16 gears but it is 14) It's got a complete shimano tourney A070 group set, not too bothered about spec. As for the carrera products I owned a vulcon mtd for almost 6 years, it cost me £279.99 and I used it for its intended purpose with no problems whatsoever. I sold it for £100 about a month ago so I'm quite a fan for the price you pay anyway. Well thats a bit more about the story Just to say that I've been reading Cycle Chat for ages but I did not want to post another" what bike to buy" as our options are limited and we cycle for pleasure. Many thanks to you all.

 

[biggs682]

It sounds like a fair swap

that was my reply too

 

[DCLane]

If she can stretch to a Carrera Virtuoso then that's even better - I've run one and they're decent bikes.

Again, they'll be on sale a lot - and probably about £349; http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/... Bike 2011/2012 - Medium 51cm&source=shopping

 

[RWright]

Halfords has the Electra Townie 21D listed at 479. It is a 21 speed. I have the men's version and I really like it, it is long and not light but it is a lot of fun to ride, it has a front suspension but it doesn't really bother me. It really isn't a touring bike and it is not fast but it got me into riding and I still ride it a lot. I am about 2 MPH slower on it than on my Trek 2.3 at this stage of my career. It has a granny gear too, I set my front limit screw to not even go on the small ring now because it is so easy to pedal. Electra has other bike styles too. Just something to look at.

Edit: I see they are a Halfords "Web Exclusive" that might mean they don't have any on the floor to look at.

 

[Activeady]

The Virtuoso we did have a look at them nice just a bit more than she wants to pay. There £379 at the minit but I've seen them for £349 in the sale. Sorry it was £250 worth of vouchers not £300 so were putting £79 in for the zelos. Thats about as far as she wants to go because it's only for her to have a go with a road bike.

 

[Activeady]

Thanks RWright. We never saw any of them in the shop must be web only and as weve got to use the vouchers I think is has to come from the shop.

 

[mrmacmusic]

The Virtuoso we did have a look at them nice just a bit more than she wants to pay. There £379 at the minit but I've seen them for £349 in the sale. Sorry it was £250 worth of vouchers not £300 so were putting £79 in for the zelos. Thats about as far as she wants to go because it's only for her to have a go with a road bike.

Just a thought.... if you reserve online before Wednesday you'll get £20 off, then you can pay in-store with the vouchers (plus cash balance). Also, if you spend £24 on a British Cycling membership, you'll be able to print a voucher that entitles you to a further 10% off the web-reserved price

 

[Porty bike]

Just a thought.... if you reserve online before Wednesday you'll get £20 off, then you can pay in-store with the vouchers (plus cash balance). Also, if you spend £24 on a British Cycling membership, you'll be able to print a voucher that entitles you to a further 10% off the web-reserved price

If you check on page 180 of the "Found a bargain" thread at the top of the page, you can get membership for £12, possibly even £2 if the Quidco link can be included.

 

[mrmacmusic]

If you check on page 180 of the "Found a bargain" thread at the top of the page, you can get membership for £12, possibly even £2 if the Qidco link can be included.

Forgot about quidco – I used that to get £10 off when I joined earlier this year