Don't want to spend much but......

[tatakau]

Hi all

It's recently become apparent to me that it will be very difficult to get what is classed as a 'decent' bike, unless I spend somewhere in the region of £300 upwards.

This has been reinforced by my experience with the Apollo Phaze which I bought from Halfords about two years ago for approx £190 and recently sold for £50.

Sorry to babble but I think the main reason I hated that bike and barely rode it was because of the front suspension, having never ridden a bike with suspension before, I didn't give the specs much thought and believed it would be fine, but over time I realised that it was waaaay to soft, and that cycling over long distances (mostly roads but also mostly hills - travelling from Moseley to Handsworth in Birmingham) completely drained all of my energy - or rather the energy I put into it didn't really go anywhere, and the 'Pogo' effect was ridiculous - I couldn't even ride it no handed.

I want a new one now, it's not really for commuting (I presently commute from Birmingham to Worcester so highly unlikely ), but I do want to be able to throw it around and not feel like everything I do on it will be a chore. By the way I'm aware that I'm unfit, but feel there's more to it than that. Anyway I've been looking at the following bikes.

Tuff Trax Comp 2013/14 - A decent entry level bike apparently (Been trying to find an older model with no luck for reasons of price) - I'm also considering the disc version.

Jamis 2015 Trail X Comp - Did some reading and this is marketed as a cross country and thus has stiffer (or should I say shorter) front suspension and would probably suit my riding style more. The colour scheme caught my eye and it has been reduced to £360 and I'll probably head to Evans this weekend to give it a test ride).
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/jamis/trail-x-comp-2015-275-mountain-bike-ec072066

Basically what I'm saying is this, If I try to fall back to the same price range as my terrible terrible phaze, will I suffer as I did before? Or should I just bite the bullet and go for one of the ones above?

Again sorry for the long winded story, I tend to get carried away when I type, I need to channel that energy elsewhere.

Hope that all makes at least some sense!

 

[annirak]

Do you ride off road a lot? If not, you might consider a hybrid or even a road bike.

 

[vickster]

As above, if ride mostly on the road, don't waste your money on suspension

Evans have a wide range, there are plenty of other retailers too

http://www.evanscycles.com/categori...om=197;price_to=382;on_sale=;sort=popularity;

 

[Heigue'r]

Another option with great reviews, agree with the above though, if on the road, I would not have suspension
http://m.gooutdoors.co.uk/calibre-two-two-alloy-hardtail-mountain-bike-p275612

 

[mjr]

There are two ways to cut the costof decent bikes:

1. End of season sales, if you can wait that long nnow.

2. Second hand but you need to mentally add the cost of a very thorough service+check+parts (£150ish?) or be able to do the work yourself and there is a chance you might buy a lemon.

Apart from a few that will get good reviews and recommendations - and even then have some ccompromises like wheels that might not last long which only some reviews will mention - big box store discount bikes are generally a false economy.

 

[sidevalve]

If you don't ride off road much forget the suspension [at low prices it's fun to play with - I have an Apollo full sus bike and it's a great laugh. Easy and cheap to fix - a great little toy, not a serious downhill tool but still fun]. Even if you do ride a fair bit off road a rigid frame can still be pretty ok. I would go second hand. There are hundreds of bikes out there that have had almost no use and are virtually as new. Sorry but to buy a lemon either you haven't looked at it [ and it must look pretty bad] or you've only paid a fiver at most. £150 for a refurb ??!! As in what ? New tyres chain and sprockets would cost way less than that at your level and no they just aint hard to fit, loads of info either here or on U Tube. This is a bicycle we're talking about here not a saturn five moonrocket.

 

[Cyclist33]

I wuvv the Jamis brand and their commitment to a broad range of bike types and materials. I wouldn't suggest the one you've mentioned though - it will still have cheap-ass suspension (though still in a different league to the stuff on the Apollo) which will slow you down, sap your energy and be heavier so you will have less chance of "chucking it around" as you describe it. It will also divert cost of the bike away from bits that you should spend the money on, eg the gearing will be of lesser quality if the price is the same as for a bike without the suspension.

Jamis do some great cheap runabouts that are fixed fork but with a wide range of gears and plenty of frame clearance for fitting wider tyres.

Aluminium or steel - the choice is yours. The alu will be lighter and probably stiffer. The steel, heavier but more comfortable.

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/jamis/allegro-sport-2015-hybrid-bike-ec072058

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/jamis/coda-sport-2015-hybrid-bike-ec072063

Stu

 

[tatakau]

Thank you everyone for your responses.

To be honest I hadn't even considered the Hybrid option, which definitely seems to be the way to go....minus the suspension.

So back to the research for me although obviously my focus has now shifted somewhat.
I've revisited the second hand route, and the results seem a lot more promising in terms of hybrids, I saw a Pinnacle lithium four going for £300 - that said I don't want 29in tires.

I'll let you know how I get on, ideally I want a bike that is stocked by *******.co.uk (not sure I'm allowed to directly advertise) as they do that cycle to work thingy and do some pretty decent discounts plus interest free finance (but that still doesn't mean I want something really expensive, I'm still getting used to the idea that under £500 is cheap!)

I'll let you know what I find, and will come back with some suggestions, everyone's advice so far has been really helpful, it's greatly appreciated.

 

[vickster]

29" tyres are the same size as 700c, which is what you find on flat bar rigid fork hybrid bikes

There's nothing to stop you mentioning in a retailer, may give some idea of what should be suggested

 

[Cyclist33]

Or you could just get one of the jamis hybrids I told you about earlier.

 

[annirak]

You might also want to consider a flat-bar road bike. They're generally lighter and faster than hybrids, still have flat bars, and are not as expensive as full-on road bikes.

 

[vickster]

What's the difference to a non suspension hybrid?!

 

[tatakau]

29" tyres are the same size as 700c, which is what you find on flat bar rigid fork hybrid bikes

There's nothing to stop you mentioning in a retailer, may give some idea of what should be suggested

Thanks Vickster, I'm still getting used to a few things and thus showing my ignorance, for some reason I was thinking that 700c was smaller than 29 inch.

I've looked again at the links yourself and Cyclist33 posted and am still deciding.

 

[tatakau]

I very nearly went for the Giant Escape 2 (2016?) model last night, but had some trouble making the purchase, It's exactly the same price as the 2015 model for some reason - just seems that they are no longer the aluminium alloy, anyway I have some time to think more on it.

I did notice today that one of my housemates has what looks like the Giant Escape 1, so I have a better idea of it looks now.

I'm heading into Brum city centre soon, so will pop into Evans and take a look at the Jamis hybrids you posted Cyclist33, trouble is they don't have a massive selection and it's a hassle asking them to get them delivered just for a test ride. That said it was nice to see some brighter colours other than the simple black and grey's of the Giant's.

I'll let you know how I get on.

 

[tatakau]

You might also want to consider a flat-bar road bike. They're generally lighter and faster than hybrids, still have flat bars, and are not as expensive as full-on road bikes.

Thanks annirak, but I feel a road bike is a bit too much down the serious route for me, a hybrid will withstand a bit more aggression I imagine.