Is this bike any good?

[Accy cyclist]

http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Ridgeback-R..._medium=Product_Search&utm_campaign=Froogle02 It's for sale at £595 in my local bike shop. I wouldn't be doing any serious touring on it i want it mainly for the coming winter months and for more general use than i could use a road/race bike for.


Thanks for any replies!

 

[vernon]

Ridgeback bikes are robust and reliable. Seems like a decent reduction in price. There's also s £500 Edinburgh Bike Co-op bike worth considering - The Country Traveller.

There's also the Decathlon B'Twin Riverside 7 at £599 but for that you get front suspension that can be locked out, hub dynamo lighting and hydraulic rim brakes.

 

[Accy cyclist]

Ridgeback bikes are robust and reliable. Seems like a decent reduction in price. There's also s £500 Edinburgh Bike Co-op bike worth considering - The Country Traveller.

There's also the Decathlon B'Twin Riverside 7 at £599 but for that you get front suspension that can be locked out, hub dynamo lighting and hydraulic rim brakes.

Thanks, i haven't looked at the 1st one but the second one looks good apart from it doesn't have drop handlebars.

 

[vernon]

Thanks, i haven't looked at the 1st one but the second one looks good apart from it doesn't have drop handlebars.

Drop andlebars aren't everything.

I found myself having to buy a flat barred bike in France when my Dawes Galaxy fractured its frame at the rear drop out. I was worried about how i'd find a flat bared bike when I bought a Decathlon Flatt barred tourer as its replacement. I needn't have worried. The bike proved to be as comforable and as fast as the drop barred Galaxy.

I have subsequently bought a bespoke touring/expedition bike with flat handlebars and I'm delighted with the ride quality.

The obsession with drop bars seems to be peculiarly British. You see very few of them in mainland Europe unless they are out and out road bikes. Tourers and utility bikes tend to be flat barred. You won't get better value for money.

 

[Hitchington]

Looks like a decent bike to me. Nice price!

 

[Hitchington]

Drop andlebars aren't everything.

I found myself having to buy a flat barred bike in France when my Dawes Galaxy fractured its frame at the rear drop out. I was worried about how i'd find a flat bared bike when I bought a Decathlon Flatt barred tourer as its replacement. I needn't have worried. The bike proved to be as comforable and as fast as the drop barred Galaxy.

I have subsequently bought a bespoke touring/expedition bike with flat handlebars and I'm delighted with the ride quality.

The obsession with drop bars seems to be peculiarly British. You see very few of them in mainland Europe unless they are out and out road bikes. Tourers and utility bikes tend to be flat barred. You won't get better value for money.

I like the drops on my tourer because it gives me scope to change my hand positions when on a long haul and this helps to combat fatigue in my arms and shoulders.

 

[vernon]

I like the drops on my tourer because it gives me scope to change my hand positions when on a long haul and this helps to combat fatigue in my arms and shoulders.

Bar ends do the same job on flat barred bikes.

 

[Hitchington]

Bar ends do the same job on flat barred bikes.

True

 

[Blue Hills]

also useful on rough ground/mildish off-road - recently been on such tracks fully loaded - I felt like I needed my hands a fair way apart from each other to steady the bike. I wouldn't have liked to have done it on drops or with my hands on the hoods of a drip bar bike.

 

[Yellow7]

I use euro-bars, of which also offer a wide hand spacing, along with a decent ergonomic curve to rest your palms on. My brake levers & grip-shift are on the bar closest to the head-set for 'in town' / upright position and when out of town's cruising along rest my forearms on the bar furthest away for a slightly more aerodynamic position but without being too low to commence neck ache.

The bike in question does look quite nice and seems well priced.
I think drop-bars are an English thing, they do give the bike a certain look of style but being practical is my main concern, not aesthetics. Also few English bikes don't have stands fitted, I so hate seeing a touring bike laying on the floor, almost disrespectful to the very beast that enables one to do the tour, & laying down crushes food / goods in the panniers whilst also scuffing the panniers. A friend of mine said “there’s always somewhere to rest your bike” ?... maybe so in the greenery of Europe, & even then not so true.

 

[Accy cyclist]

I prefer drops because as a tall person i see myself as being a bit too upright with flat ones. I also like the sporty look of drops and i've always had them so i'll stick with 'em!
Anyway, i've bought the Ridgeback and i'm happy with that choice. I've also decided to keep the rat traps though i've gone for some posh chrome and leather ones instead of the plastic ones. I might even buy myself a Brooke's saddle as well.
A serious question. would clipless peddles be better, and is the saddle an unnecessary extravagance?

 

[defy-one]

Clipless - depends on what sort of riding and use the bike is intended for? Commuting,general duties .... Might be better to avoid clipless so you can wear any shoes.
Saddle - give the original saddle a couple of weeks and a couple of hundred miles before deciding if an expensive replacement is required. I have found most hybrid saddles to be comfortable. Maybe look at buying some padded shorts or underpants?

 

[Yellow7]

I've never fancied clip pedals, for racing then yes.

I'd never use any other saddle than a [sprung] Brooks (B67). Both my touring bike & 26" town bike has one. For short tours then padded shorts are ok but on longer ones they're not too hygenic, especially in humid countries. A sprung saddle dampens the load of the heavy bit [the rider] minimising fatigue / stress on frame & wheels but with the advantage of little to go wrong, unlike with a suspension system.

Accy cyclist, Where are you touring?

 

[ColinJ]

Clipless - depends on what sort of riding and use the bike is intended for? Commuting,general duties .... Might be better to avoid clipless so you can wear any shoes.

SPD is the best of both worlds! If you want to do more walking than is comfortable in most SPD shoes, buy Shimano M324 pedals (flat one side and SPD the other) so you have the option of what type of footwear to use on any given ride.

 

[Crankarm]

Winter bike you need disc brakes, far better and you don't have the endless chore of cleaning wheel rims to stop them wearing out prematurely if you are riding everyday. Plus the crud from the brake blocks gets everywhere. I've been riding a disc braked bike every day 35-40 miles a day since March and I wouldn't go back to rim brakes for every day riding in all weathers.

Btw I'd ditch the crappy Blackburn rack as they are not up to the job IME.