Help a newb pls? No idea what bike to get!

[Leccy]

Hi all, just joined and after some advice.

My current bike is a cheap full suspension bike (think teenage boys style!), I bought this years ago to ride the 5 mins from my house to the train station and back each day as a tiny part of my commute. This was a long time ago now and my needs have changed.

Firstly I want to ride the bike longer than 5 minutes. I take my son to school with it, sometimes with him in a bike trailer, occasionally he'll walk or sit on the seat whilst I push the bike along. As he gets older I'll ride with him to the school on his own bike (10min journey). After dropping him off I normally bike a further 10k just for the exercise/fun of it. I also use the bike for shopping and visiting friends, occasionally day long pub rides, picnics etc. Mainly roads but needs to be capable of riding on grass/gravel/mud etc but nothing too extreme.

I keep getting told I need a hybrid but I'm not really sure if thats true or just the current trend? I'm not looking to take up cycling in a serious way - no competitions or racing etc, its just a practical mode of transport for where I live and my life style.

As I search I keep coming across this bike -http://www.bikes2udirect.com/B3861.html which seems like a total bargain and would fit my needs, but I know nothing about bikes and brands etc - I know its cheap but is there a reason for it? I don't want to buy this only to then have to buy another after a short time!

Any advice or suggestions please fire away, if you need more info from me please feel free to ask. I need your help!

 

[biggs682]

go and befriend your local bike shop and see what they have to offer once you have told them what you want it for .

where are you in uk as a local cycle chat member might be local and happy to help if you wanted them to ?

welcome aboard

 

[Zakalwe]

It's going to be heavy that one, that'll be the only issue. Should be nice and low maintenance. Depends on your area, do you have many hills? Do you like to get places in a hurry? If no then that sort of thing should do nicely, you need to wear a beautiful big floaty flowery print dress on a bike like that though to complete the look.

 

[Zakalwe]

Near in mind the 3 gears it has too, will that be enough?

 

[Leccy]

Thanks for the reply, unfortunately the bike shop local to us has closed recently leaving us with just a Halfords full of spotty teenagers who couldn't care or know any less I'm afraid!
I'll have a google and see how far away I need to venture

 

[Leccy]

Hi Zakalwe, you replied whilst I was replying, you're all quick on here!
I did wonder if it would be heavy, yes there are hills (although I avoid them if possible!) so needs to be hill worthy. I'm not really sure about how many gears I'd need. My current bike has 21 I believe but I'm pretty sure I've only ever used about 5 of them!
I love the style of this bike - will invest in some suitable floppy/floaty attire - but it needs to be practical as well as pretty. Miss Marple eat your heart out!

 

[Zakalwe]

You'll probably only need a few in most circumstances, I certainly only use 3 or 4 regularly on my road bikes, the others are there for more extreme hills either up or down them.

With a halfords nearby you could go and have a look at the line of bikes Victoria Pendleton recently launched, the Somerby looks similar to the one you linked. Pricier though.

 

[Leccy]

I had seen that one, looks nice, but again I know nothing about brands and build quality etc, and seemingly neither does my local Halfords! I don't want to inadvertently buy the Robin Reliant of the cycling world!

 

[Milo]

You cant go wrong with the carrea subways from what i have seen of them. The Carrea brand is the stuff worth having from Halfords. Avoid Appolo like the plague. That viking bike is likely to be a bit pants I would try and budget at least £250 if possible.

 

[Zakalwe]

Not very ladylike though, is Carrera. The Pendleton bikes should be of good quality ,I doubt our vicky, nations sweetheart, would put her name to any old junk. Unfortunately I don't know too much about that sort of bike. I do know that Pashley were very fashionable at one time.

 

[Milo]

For example something like this would make an ideal starting bike IMO. http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_840933_langId_-1_categoryId_165534
If it was me I would try to find a local bike shop if possible who will be more knowledgeble in regards to sizing

 

[Leccy]

Thanks all, i've heard good things about the Carrera's but as Z said it's not very lady like, I'm after something step through (have to wear a skirt for work sometimes!) and baskets for shopping/school bags etc.

I'll go for a long drive tomorrow interrogating bike shop staff!

 

[Zakalwe]

Have a good browse in bike shops and halfords, lift up the bikes and see how heavy they are, ask if you can test ride. Online bike prices are always temptingly low but you'll have to put the bike together yourself and trouble shoot any problems you might run into - the great thing about buying from a shop is they'll do all that for you as well as a once over after its had a run in for a few weeks. You'll pay a bit more but you get some nice peace of mind. Just don't feel coerced into anything, they're there to assist and inform you not direct you in any particular direction.

 

[Leccy]

Fab thanks for all the advice, will see what tomorrow brings - must not buy the first one I see!

 

[Globalti]

I know you said you sometimes wear a skirt but.... step-through frames are the worst possible. Because they lack the top tube (or crossbar) to brace them, the frame is always trying to fold up, if you can see what I mean. This means a step through frame has to be built much stronger and is consequently a lot heavier and stiffer and certainly less forgiving to ride. A traditional two-triangle frame with a simple non-suspension front fork is your best chance of getting a reasonable weight. The advice to buy a hybrid was good advice and do budget at least £250.