dawes discovery 501 or ridgeback velocity?

[dantheman]

hi everyone, am a newbie looking for advice on new hybrid.

i wish to get a (more) decent hybrid, and have seen good deals on a ridgeback velocity (2007) for 200 pound, from 300, and a dawes discovery 501 (2007)for 300 pound, was 450.

i have found a few reviews for the ridgeback, and it sounds good, and i like the look of it. but have found no reviews of the dawes.

wondering if there is anyone with experience of these bikes that could tell me if the dawes is worth the extra hundred.
I will be riding the bike to work everyday, which is 6-8 miles either way, almost all on road (but many potholes in my area)
would be very thankfull for any advice..

 

[Gerry Attrick]

Mrs Attrick has a Ridgeback Velocity ladies model of which she is very proud. Seems to be a good honest well built bike albeit a bit heavy. But hey it is a hybrid and is well up to moderate rough stuff.

 

[HLaB]

I use a Ridgeback velocity for my commute and rides with the SPOKES group. Ive had it for just over a year and its been great I like the way it handles in traffic. The aheadset was a bit noisy at first and it took a bit of greasing. In spurts I can get a reasonable speed but it is a bit heavy, therefore hopefully robust. My commute is only 3-5 miles oneway depending on my route and the SPOKES ride are a very laid back affair 30-40miles usually and only a a max average of 11.5mph with a few longer rides thrown in in the summer (I think 80 was the max). £200 sounds a good price to me for the the kit, I paid £299 for the same model.
I've no experience of the Dawes however.

 

[Cathryn]

I've had a Dawes Discovery (albeit 201) and loved every second of owning it. It's a fantastic series of bikes and I'd heartily recommend it. I used my 201 (cheaper version, much more basic) for cycling round town and touring up some decent sized hills across Europe (not Alps admittedly) and it NEVER let me down. I never even got a puncture!!! I'd buy a 501 without missing a heartbeat.

I've not used a Ridgeback so can't compare, but hope that helps anyway. Slightly biased, me

 

[Muddyfox]

Of the 2 you mention i think i'd go for the Dawes 501

But just to muddy the water .. what about a 2007 Mongoose Crossway 850 ?

Simon

 

[MarkF]

Hi Dan, I have a 2007 501, paid a good amount more than £300 though

Like Cathryn I had a 201 too, it got me started cycling again and I abused it badly for over a year and found it very durable. When I splashed out on a new bike I fancied a change but the durabilty of the Dawes nagged away and I bought a 501 and am very pleased with it. I do (rough) towpath riding and road riding, did a 50 mile ish trip Tuesday and found it comfy and did 150 miles over last weekend without too many aches from my nether regions.

TBH I'd like a MTB and a dedicated tourer but space and costs are an issue so the Hybrid makes perfect sense for me. I sold on the Ergon pads as I found them uncomfy, put on some padded grips, long bars, a decent rack and panniers and it's ready for anything! Great value at £300

PS I put on some Marathon Plus tyres to make punctures a thing of the past, I hope, and TBH I can't tell the difference on the road between those and the tyres that came with it, Delta Cruisers I think.

 

[dantheman]

Thanks for all the help so far, I've got till next wednesday to decide (pay day), so any more help before then is much appreciated. At the moment, i think i may spend the extra and get the dawes (Mark F's comments swinging it at the mo)

the mongoose looks okay, they were originally a thought, but LBS dealer discouraged me, and also, if i were to get this model, the suspension forks would almost definitely always be on lockout, which surely means its extra weight for no reason??

i am pretty heavy (about 16 stone) and wondering if the dawes will be able to take larger (up to 38mm?) tyres on standard rims as ive been advised that i may get problems on thinner ones, not sure what size it comes with as some sites say 28mm, others say 32mm.

thank you all, i was a bit dubious about joining one of these forum sites, but am impressed and will definitely let you all know how i get on, whatever bike i get. (for anyone that may care).

 

[Cathryn]

Oh we care. We love it when people get bikes. Especially bikes we love.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Hi dantheman and welcome.
Hybrids not my thing, but both Dawes and Ridgeback have good reputations, Dawes being an old British company gets some extra brownie points from me, Mrs FF has a 25 y/o Dawes and it's still in great shape.
On the subject of tyres, if you're 16 stone, then I'm pretty sure that 28mm and 32mm will be fine. I'm 13 stone and run 23s with absolutely no problems on lightweight aero wheels. Whatever you choose, I hope ypu enjoy as much as we sad addicts do here. Keep asking questions, lots of knowledge exists!

 

[markyboy22]

Help

Hi,

I was just wondering if anyone had any advice for someone who knows little about bike maintenance and the correct/best parts to fit to make improvements.

I bought a Ridgeback MX5 about 4 months ago, it's a 21 inch frame and until recently has been perfect, however 6 of the spokes recently snapped, I had new spokes fitted and 2 days later another 2 have snapped. Any idea if this is a common problem with this bike? I am quite a big bloke so I wondered whether this had taken its toll on the back wheel? I'm about 6ft 4 and 18 stone, so I guess not your usual bike riders build. Any stronger parts that can be fitted to handle my size would be good, especially as I'm due to do 2 50+ charity bike rides over the next few weeks and plenty of miles of training.

Cheers

 

[HLaB]

Its unusual for me I had my first spoke snap on my Ridgeback on sunday past and these were replacement wheels the originals done over 5500 miles no problem but I'm only 5ft9 and 10 stone. You could investigate a dearer handbuilt wheel, from others experiences they seem to be popular when it comes to coping with load.

For improvement wise the best place IMO is to start is the tyres, narrower and slicker for speed, wider for comfort.

 

[Sittingduck]

Apparently when 1 goes, this is very often followed by another breaking

I had 1 go - then another broke soon after. Had the stock rear wheel swapped out under warranty for another identical Alex rim. Within 2 weeks *ping* another spoke busted on the rear. Took it to my LBS and had it swapped out with a Mavic hand built wheel. No problems since!

p.s. I'm something of a pie-eater so it probably was weight related

 

[markyboy22]

Cheers

Thanks for the replies, sounds like it might be worth looking into a completely new wheel, at the moment I have road tyres fitted and the rims are fairly slimline so I guess that might be part of the problem.

Cheers for the advice

 

[markyboy22]

Wheel

Hi,

ok I have been looking into this and have also spoken to the guy that I got my bike from originally and he has suggested the wheel shown on the following link;

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/MWheel_Shimano_Deore_Disc~Mavic_XC717_Disc_Rear_Wheel/5300003668/

Any ideas whether this is likley to be any better/stronger than the original factory built wheel?

It's only 32 spokes, 36 on my old bike, but if the rim is stronger would that be to much of a problem?

 

[gwhite]

If I were you I'd have a look at the 36 spoke touring wheels sold by Spa Cycles. For someone of your weight you really need something really substantial and I wouldn't consider anything other than a 36 spoker. If you want to buy and forget, then a wheel built for tandem use would be the way to go. Proper build is essential and I know that Spa has a good reputation for build quality.