Can anybody recommend a robust bike for £500?

[HMS_Dave]

Hello fellow peddlers of cycles.

As I have posted previously I'm on a weight loss journey I'm down at around 20 - 21 stones and currently ride a second hand chinese generic mass produced fat bike. Whilst it was hilarious at first the road noise has become horrific from the tyres and unbearable. The constant vvvrruummmmmm has worn out its welcome. It is also rather heavy. I'm looking for a hybrid tourer type bike with a relaxed position with a steel frame. I understand wheels are going to be an issue and my budget is around £500 give or take for this. I did see the Genesis smithfield 2020 on offer for £499 which is steel and a relaxed riding position but I've not heard terribly good things about the jalco rims that it comes with which are XCD22'S. It will be used on a light offroad canal path. Any suggestions?

Thanks.

 

[vickster]

Flat or drop bars?

is the path flat? Do you need gears?

 

[HMS_Dave]

Flat bars and i need some gears for sure im a lot fitter than i was 12 months ago but still a lot of weight to push.

 

[vickster]

Something like a used Charge Plug?
eg
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Charge-plug-road-bike/153881029703?hash=item23d4062c47:g:7q8AAOSwGylebhvt

not steel, but something like a used Specialized Sirrus or Trek FX would do the trick

 

[HMS_Dave]

That's a lot of bike for the money given the specs, thanks for the suggestion. Sadly, the used market would have to wait but then im in no rush.

 

[HLaB]

Check out BTwin from Decathlon you get good bang for buck there. I have one of their drop bar bikes and a colleague has similar with a flat bar. I'd really rate them for the money

 

[MichaelW2]

You need 36 spoke wheels that have been correctly built or tuned by a shop to correct tension.
Most hybrid bikes come with suspension forks. These have the advantage of protecting the bike from peak impulse when you hit an unexpected bump. Wide tyres do similar but you can use 35-38mm 700c with no problems.

The Smithfield used twin tubes for the top tube, like mixte frames. These lack stiffness for a heavy rider.

I would consider a 29" mtb front sus. for heavyweight trail riding. I wouldn't worry about aluminium vs steel. You need a frame with max stiffness.

 

[HMS_Dave]

Check out BTwin from Decathlon you get good bang for buck there. I have one of their drop bar bikes and a colleague has similar with a flat bar. I'd really rate them for the money

Yes i do like the decathlon bikes. My better half got a Elops 520. She's had absolutely no issue with it at all and enjoys riding it and is comfortable for her. The only trouble is the weight limits are really on the low side (for me) 100kg which is around 15 and a half stone. I think that could be pushing it well and truly over it's limits.

 

[HMS_Dave]

You need 36 spoke wheels that have been correctly built or tuned by a shop to correct tension.
Most hybrid bikes come with suspension forks. These have the advantage of protecting the bike from peak impulse when you hit an unexpected bump. Wide tyres do similar but you can use 35-38mm 700c with no problems.

The Smithfield used twin tubes for the top tube, like mixte frames. These lack stiffness for a heavy rider.

I would consider a 29" mtb front sus. for heavyweight trail riding. I wouldn't worry about aluminium vs steel. You need a frame with max stiffness.

Well im down nearly 7 stone so with the added expense of specialised wheel builds it may just be best to keep going with what i have rather than going down that route. There's nothing special about the fat bike i have mind, they are just 4 inch wide 26 inch alloy rims but that's still a lot of alloy i guess... It's quite disorientating losing a lot of weight. I feel light, i feel like i could jump on any bike and be no issues. Like travelling at high motorway speeds for a long time, when you slow to like 20 or 30mph it can sometimes feel as if you could get out and walk but of course, you can't... Maybe im just not quite there yet. I thought maybe id be on the upper end of a half decent bike rather than the fat bike i have which i have grown to hate. Ah well....

 

[wafter]

I think getting a decent new steel bike in-budget is going to be a tall order tbh.

Price-wise steel seems to be a bit of an odd one; still fairly prevalent at the low end if the amount of "Professional" branded and similar bikes I see around is anything to go by. Beyond that there don't appear to be a whole lot of mid-range offerings, with availability picking up again as prices rise as you get into the more specialist brands and finally the boutique frame builders.

IMO your choice of frame material is limiting the range of available gear significantly, however as someone who's in the process of buying a new steel bike I can appreciate your reasons.

The Smithfield you link to look nice for what it is (and a good price too) however I'm not sure the frame format would be ideal given your weight. Some of their other models would probably suit you very well (Croix de Fer, Tour de Fer; both have flat bar options if this is your thing) however come in well over-budget. As I've found recently used prices appear pretty stiff too; although the odd more-sensibly priced example does crop up.

On a final note, have you considered fitting tyres with less prominent tread to the fat bike (ideally slicks if you can get them)? Should help greatly with the noise and rolling resistance..

 

[Spiderweb]

Wow 7 stones lost, well done!
I’d stick with what you’ve got for now, I don’t know if you can get slicker tyres for the fat bike?
The speed you are losing weight you’ll soon be able to choose any bike you want.

 

[vickster]

Maybe look for a cheap old skool rigid MTB of the type @SkipdiverJohn is so fond.
flog or on at minimal loss when you’ve reached your target weight

something like this maybe
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mountain...907419?hash=item3424b16edb:g:HzwAAOSwy11ecOTL

 

[vickster]

Or a Carrera Subway, solid bikes, plentiful on ebay or gumtree

 

[Spiderweb]

It is difficult buying used with the current Covid situation but when this all goes away what @vickster said up thread would be perfect.
I have an old Trek 830, rigid steel frame, wheels with high spoke count and slick tyres for a smoother ride with less rolling resistance.

 

[Cycleops]

An old SKool steel framed bike as suggested above would be perfect I’d have thought, you might need to spend a few bob on tyres and new cables but it still wouldn’t cost you much.
Have a look on Gumtree, you’ll be surprised what you can find. Don’t know how far Leicester is from you but how about this cargo bike? Should certainly be able to carry you and a bit different too:
https://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/...p_ios&utm_medium=social&utm_source=ios_social