Hi new to forum and to cycling

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Black knight

Active Member
Hi all,

Been browsing a couple of days and finally got registered.

Not entirely new to two wheels, been riding motorcycles for a few years and on quite a few forums too.

Bought a cheap bike of mate for £20. A Raleigh Pro Race road bike. Quite old and a bit tired but I though I'd try before I buy. Took it to Chaineys in Milton Keynes for a service. Had cables, tyres and front pads iirc. £70 and as smile, seemed a good bunch.

Anyway, since then I've decided to try going without a car. I've had a ood read though the sticky but I'll hopefully get some further advice on here.

1. I've a 3 mile commute on reasonable quality cycle tracks though they are poor in places. I'm white collar so need to think about whether I can do this without turning up looking a mess.

2. The drop bars are moving in the yolk/stem? I took it to Evans and they said the bolt had sheared. They didn't have parts to repair. Quill stem I think he said. - Further to this I'm quite tall and seem to be bearing down on the front a lot. Is there any options for improving this part?

3. I work away from home so planning on buying a bike for when i'm at home (York). Questions are whether flat or drop bar, new or used etc. I can get cycle to work but I wonder if I'm wasting my money buying a bike more capable than I am in the say £500-600 range. There seem some great value bikes in the classified section on here. My concerns are getting the right size and buying something that needs a lot of maintaince.

4. I think thats it!

Thanks all.

Rick.
 

rusky

CC Addict
Location
Hove
Welcome to the form!

3 miles is nothing! take it easy & you shouldn't get too sweaty. Change into your work gear when you get to work. Baby wipes are a good thing to have at work.

My commuting bike is a Marin Muirwoods 29er, a tad over £500, go to your LBS, Chaineys seem a good bunch & get them to recommend a few bikes & go from there.
 

Debian

New Member
Location
West Midlands
Hi

A warm welcome to the forum.

First, we're a friendly bunch even if we do sometimes bicker amongst ourselves. :evil: Ask any questions you like on here and we'll do our best for you.

First thing is don't use your current bike without getting the handlebars sorted. If they're loose then it's dangerous. Your LBS should be able to sort that with no problem.

Second, three miles really is nothing once you get going, 10 - 15 minutes? My commute is to two locations, one is 7 miles and one is 2 miles. I commute to the 2 miler dressed in my work clothes - a pair of cycle clips and a light waterproof jacket is all that's needed. Plus lights if you travel during darkness. However, mine is all tarmac and you say yours is on cycle paths, muddy ones? If so then perhaps you need to invest in some overtrousers and keep your posh shoes at the office. At my longer commute destination I keep full changes of clothes there and commute in shorts, trainers and t-shirt, I shower and change when I get there.

For a three mile commute more or less any bike will do so long as it's in decent nick. I sometimes take my 20 year old Peugeot Alpina on the short commute.

Get your handlebars sorted and try your commute. Maybe try it on a weekend so that it doesn't matter how you look when you get there. Then you'll have a better idea of how long it'll take you and how dirty you'll get.

Best of luck. You'll soon be inventing detours so that you can have a longer commute, especially with the better weather coming along - I know I do :biggrin:
 
OP
OP
B

Black knight

Active Member
Hi,

Thanks for the warm welcome.

I work nights a lot (casul wear) so have been commuting for the last 7 days. The ride takes me 20min maximum.

I am lucky to have good facilities at work. Shower, drying rooms and a locker. I've brought a spare pair shirt and trs in with me tonight so if for some reason I ever end up completely filthy i do have something to change into!

The cycle track are pretty good, all tarmaced and away from the road. I only cross two roads in my 3 mile commute.

I like the idea of overtrousers, I'll look into that some more.

I did buy a proper pump today, went from 40psi to 120psi. Great advice, thanks.

I need to buy a helmet and a decent lock next. Wary of the helmet issue as a close friend had a prang last summer and sadly even now is barely able to open his eyes.

Is the Cycle to work scheme at 40% or so discount better value than a well maintained used bike with a spending limit of say £250-300?

Thanks again.
 

swee'pea99

Legendary Member
Hi and welcome! That's a perfectly reasonable bike to get back into cycling on - especially for a 3mile commute. If it is the bolt that's sheered - rather than the female thread on the stem itself - a decent LBS (Local Bike Shop) should be able to sort you out for pennies. Even if it's the stem, a basic replacement shouldn't be more than a tenner or so. I'd say get that sorted and stick with it for a few months and see how you get on. And use 'search' to find threads on here if you decide to go for a new bike - 'which bike should I buy' is quite a popular theme...
 

Spinney

Bimbleur extraordinaire
Location
Back up north
Black knight said:
3. I work away from home so planning on buying a bike for when i'm at home (York). Questions are whether flat or drop bar, new or used etc. I can get cycle to work but I wonder if I'm wasting my money buying a bike more capable than I am in the say £500-600 range. There seem some great value bikes in the classified section on here. My concerns are getting the right size and buying something that needs a lot of maintaince.

From what I have read on here, the £500 bike won't be 'more capable than you are' for long! Unless you are absolutely certain that the only cycling you are ever going to do is your commute. You'll start wanting to go out for a spin on a sunny weekend, and the short spin will (over the year) end up being a 50 mile ride...

:biggrin:
 

Debian

New Member
Location
West Midlands
Spinney said:
From what I have read on here, the £500 bike won't be 'more capable than you are' for long! Unless you are absolutely certain that the only cycling you are ever going to do is your commute. You'll start wanting to go out for a spin on a sunny weekend, and the short spin will (over the year) end up being a 50 mile ride...

:biggrin:

+1 :biggrin:

CTW Scheme? Given the funds I'd go with that any day over an unknown quantity of a secondhand bike. But that's only because it's so nice to get a new bike! Having said that I did pick up an absolute steal on Ebay a few months back for a practically brand new bike so there are bargains out there.
 

Moodyman

Legendary Member
"I did pick up an absolute steal on Ebay a few months back for a practically brand new bike so there are bargains out there"

Yes there are bargains out there, but you really need to know what you're looking for. Hairline cracks in the frame, fatigued handlebars & stem, worn drivetrain.

If you're relatively new to cycling, I would encourage a new bike. Simply for the peace of mind that everything's new and will last.

I bought a reasonable condition used bike and was forever fixing things. It took the joy out of the cycling.
 

swee'pea99

Legendary Member
Moodyman said:
"I did pick up an absolute steal on Ebay a few months back for a practically brand new bike so there are bargains out there"

Yes there are bargains out there, but you really need to know what you're looking for. Hairline cracks in the frame, fatigued handlebars & stem, worn drivetrain.

If you're relatively new to cycling, I would encourage a new bike. Simply for the peace of mind that everything's new and will last.

I bought a reasonable condition used bike and was forever fixing things. It took the joy out of the cycling.
All true, and if you really have no idea about maintenance, the new bike might be the better option, however...

If you can handle the basics, you can get a helluva lot more for your money by buying (carefully) second hand than new.
 

Moodyman

Legendary Member
Having said that, I learnt some really useful stuff with my old bike. I knew nothing about maintenance this time last year, and by forever fixings things on it, I got to learn so much.

Online videos and sites like this are invaluable.
 

Debian

New Member
Location
West Midlands
Moodyman said:
"I did pick up an absolute steal on Ebay a few months back for a practically brand new bike so there are bargains out there"

Yes there are bargains out there, but you really need to know what you're looking for. Hairline cracks in the frame, fatigued handlebars & stem, worn drivetrain.

If you're relatively new to cycling, I would encourage a new bike. Simply for the peace of mind that everything's new and will last.

I bought a reasonable condition used bike and was forever fixing things. It took the joy out of the cycling.

I know you have to be careful but in this case I was fairly confident. The bike was a Specialized FSR XC, owned by, in the nicest possible sense, a guy with more money than sense. He'd had the bike 4 months at the time, had hardly used it and simply felt it wasn't right for him so he was offloading and getting something different.

He had the receipt, we had a long sequence of email exchanges about it during which I became very confident (you can tell from the tone of an email conversation I think) in his genuine-ness. There were good photo's that showed it as in near perfect and factory fresh condition.

I won it for quite a bit less than half the new price and when I got it there was hardly a mark on it. The grips were a little soiled and there was some light scuffing on the crankarms but that was the only way you could tell it wasn't new. I was a bit chuffed! :smile:
 
OP
OP
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Black knight

Active Member
Thanks for the replies.

Dropped my current bike off for the stem repair and had a good chat with the guys in the shop about my needs and whats available. Looked at a Roam and a CRS town bikes and sat on a few road bikes.

Hoping to use a friends cycle to work allowance. They do it at my place but only open it for 2 weeks a year! Cant wait that long!
 
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