gingerbread-lady
New Member
Hello,
This is my first post so I thought it ought to go on the welcome mat.
I've been thinking for a long time about buying a new bike; currently I am surviving on an increasingly poorly 2nd hand old raleigh that has not had the attention it deserves, and the price of fixing it up into any state of suitability would far surpass the tiny price I paid for it several years ago.
So...I've narrowed it down to 3 bikes.
1. Whyte Portobello 2012 - this was the bike that I first came across where I thought "wow that ticks all my boxes".
2. Ridgeback Ultra Flight 2011 - tempted because of the reduced price, from £850 to £599.
3. Giant Dash 4 Triple 2012
I don't really know a huge amount about bikes - I've had to learn as much as I can by researching on the internet, because I had no idea the amount of different types and specifications available.
I basically established that the things important to me were:
- Primarily using as a commuting bike, a few miles to work on some pretty steep hills.
- Wanted to have the capability of using cycle paths that were rougher terrain, but I'm not (yet) into proper off-road so that doesn't matter.
- Weight, and gears, for dealing with said hills.
- Pannier/mud-guards feasible, for commuting/touring.
- Tyres 28mm, I wasn't sure how much of a difference the tyre thickness made. I know the ones I have at the moment (Gatorskings - about the only reliable thing on my current bike!) are fine, and they are 28mm. I wasn't sure if 35mm would make a noticeable difference to rolling resistance, or at the other end whether 25mm (as on the Giant and Ridgeback) would restrict me to tarmac...
So any thoughts on this would be very much appreciated - I know everyone has their own opinion and I am planning to try all three out at a cycle shop anyway, but it's good to canvas knowledgable people for things I might not pick up...
This is my first post so I thought it ought to go on the welcome mat.
I've been thinking for a long time about buying a new bike; currently I am surviving on an increasingly poorly 2nd hand old raleigh that has not had the attention it deserves, and the price of fixing it up into any state of suitability would far surpass the tiny price I paid for it several years ago.
So...I've narrowed it down to 3 bikes.
1. Whyte Portobello 2012 - this was the bike that I first came across where I thought "wow that ticks all my boxes".
2. Ridgeback Ultra Flight 2011 - tempted because of the reduced price, from £850 to £599.
3. Giant Dash 4 Triple 2012
I don't really know a huge amount about bikes - I've had to learn as much as I can by researching on the internet, because I had no idea the amount of different types and specifications available.
I basically established that the things important to me were:
- Primarily using as a commuting bike, a few miles to work on some pretty steep hills.
- Wanted to have the capability of using cycle paths that were rougher terrain, but I'm not (yet) into proper off-road so that doesn't matter.
- Weight, and gears, for dealing with said hills.
- Pannier/mud-guards feasible, for commuting/touring.
- Tyres 28mm, I wasn't sure how much of a difference the tyre thickness made. I know the ones I have at the moment (Gatorskings - about the only reliable thing on my current bike!) are fine, and they are 28mm. I wasn't sure if 35mm would make a noticeable difference to rolling resistance, or at the other end whether 25mm (as on the Giant and Ridgeback) would restrict me to tarmac...
So any thoughts on this would be very much appreciated - I know everyone has their own opinion and I am planning to try all three out at a cycle shop anyway, but it's good to canvas knowledgable people for things I might not pick up...
