Kenny Pride
Member
Hi all...
I've never had a full size bike before, only rode a bmx, but have started doing food deliveries (just at weekends) on my mate's Bianchi Camaleonte hybrib type affair.
I need to get my own (second hand) bike for the deliveries, but have no clue where to start. I don't even know what brands are good. The Bianchi is nice but too expensive (£500-£600 I think). I'm so wary of it getting nicked, I need something cheaper, not esp. desireable to theives, but still reliable. I ride in a pretty flat area of London, I tend to use all 8 gears via the middle chainring - occasionaly I'll swap to the larger chainring for downhill. It has calliper brakes which are fine. (I don't knowingly go out in the rain.)
I do hate the thin tyres on the Bianchi, I'm used to big chunky things that will get me up and down steps without a clang. I'm also not jazzed on the height of the crossbar. I'm 5'8" and the Bianchi frame is 21" which I think is about right for riding, but constantly getting on and off with a backpack full of food is cumbersome, esp with what feels to me like ridiculously large wheels, it's like trying to get on a frikkin penny farthing.
So I wonder if something more mountain bike-ish would suit me better? I really don't know where to start. I look on Gumtree/eBay but don't even know what I'm looking at or how much I should be spending. Any help appreciated!
I've never had a full size bike before, only rode a bmx, but have started doing food deliveries (just at weekends) on my mate's Bianchi Camaleonte hybrib type affair.
I need to get my own (second hand) bike for the deliveries, but have no clue where to start. I don't even know what brands are good. The Bianchi is nice but too expensive (£500-£600 I think). I'm so wary of it getting nicked, I need something cheaper, not esp. desireable to theives, but still reliable. I ride in a pretty flat area of London, I tend to use all 8 gears via the middle chainring - occasionaly I'll swap to the larger chainring for downhill. It has calliper brakes which are fine. (I don't knowingly go out in the rain.)
I do hate the thin tyres on the Bianchi, I'm used to big chunky things that will get me up and down steps without a clang. I'm also not jazzed on the height of the crossbar. I'm 5'8" and the Bianchi frame is 21" which I think is about right for riding, but constantly getting on and off with a backpack full of food is cumbersome, esp with what feels to me like ridiculously large wheels, it's like trying to get on a frikkin penny farthing.
So I wonder if something more mountain bike-ish would suit me better? I really don't know where to start. I look on Gumtree/eBay but don't even know what I'm looking at or how much I should be spending. Any help appreciated!