It's summer and I need some advice!

[RedStork]

Hi Guys, I've spent the past hour trying to find a good cycling forum. I've been through this forum's posts and everyone seems very knowledgeable and helpful so I decided to register to see if anyone can offer me some advice.

It's now summer and I want to get back into cycling to work. I have a Carrera Vulcan at the moment that I got about 8 years ago. I got it from Halfords and the gears never really worked very well. Occasionally my pedals would just lock up and not move. I took the bike to a local bike shop last year and they claimed they had sorted the issue. But during last years attempt to get into cycling to work I almost got ran over 2/3 times because of my gears/pedals locking up (leaving me stranded on cross roads/T-Junctions!).

I've put road tyres on the bike instead of the mountain bike tyres that came with it, but that's the only change I've ever done to the bike.

Basically, getting to the point, I really want to start cycling to work every day (it's only 5 miles through the center of town). My question is, should I invest in a new bike, or should I try again to get the gear issue rectified? How easy are the gears to replace/fix? I've tried a number of times to realign them myself, but to be truthful I haven't a clue what I'm doing apart from turning my pedals around by hand trying to get each gear to click into place... and if a proper cycling shop cant do it, are the gears actually shot?

 

[spandex]

First welcome and thank you for picking CC

2nd Your bike! if it was me I would put the bike to bed and leave it there. Then go to your LBS (local bike shop) and have a look at what they have I would look at spending £150+ on a new one. That way if you have any problems you can take it back there and get them to fix it for you.

Good luck

 

[spandex]

BTW Where are you as there may be some one on here that can recommend a LBS to you.

 

[stumpy]

First welcome and thank you for picking CC

2nd Your bike! if it was me I would put the bike to bed and leave it there. Then go to your LBS (local bike shop) and have a look at what they have I would look at spending £150+ on a new one. That way if you have any problems you can take it back there and get them to fix it for you.

Good luck

+1

Agree totally. sometimes it's just best to admit defeat and start over. Welcome by the way. and enjoy

 

[xpc316e]

I have no idea how much your bike originally cost you, but to me it seems a shame to walk away from it and buy another machine. £150 isn't going to buy you a decent bike these days, so you will soon be in the same boat again. I'd let a decent bike mechanic have a look at it - you could of course look at the huge amount of info on the web and DIY.

 

[RedStork]

Thanks for the replies! The original bike was £300 (a 13th birthday present!). I'm now 21, so I think the frame may be a bit tiny for me anyway...

I may have a go at the DIY again, but after getting a proper bike shop to look at the gears, I get the feeling there's nothing that can really be done, save actually changing the gears themselves, which may be pointless considering the bike is slightly too small for me.

I'm in Grantham, nr Nottingham if anyone knows of a decent LBS?

 

[summerdays]

I would have thought the bike was too small for you now if you recieved it as a 13th birthday pressy.... new bike time Welcome

 

[RedStork]

In that case, what bike should I go for? A road bike or a hybrid? What sort of price should I expect to pay? £300, £400... more?

I want to be able to bike to and from work every day and go out on occasional more relaxing bike trips with my missus.

I've already got a decent helmet, lights and other associated gear, so the only thing I really need is the bike.

 

[spandex]

£300 should get you something that will be fast enough for you

 

[RedStork]

Just been doing some research and having a look at other forum posts... am I right in thinking I should go for a hybrid over a road/race-style bike? I don't fancy the idea of properly hunching over my bars... and race-style bikes seem skinnier (therefor skinnier seat), so wont that make the ride more uncomfortable over rough bits?

Grantham's roads are awful in places, especially my road as it's an estate that's still being built.

 

[marinyork]

There should be plenty of LBS recommendations in the LBS thread for that area. There's an Evans in the centre of Nottingham but there'll be something a lot closer. Personally, I'd steer clear of the whole hybrid thing unless you're using it as a hackbike.

 

[eldudino]

Does your work do a cycle to work scheme? I used Cyclescheme to get my bike. I started out having only cycled on a dodgy old Townsend until I was 16 when I got a moped so I was fairly unknowledgeable about bikes. I got a sport urban (whatever that means!) bike which, as far as I can figure out, is a hybrid but a bit more focussed to going quickly, though not as full-on as a flat-bar road bike. To be honest, it's been great as it's a really good bike for commuting as it's fairly sturdy so it can take potholes and kerbs easy enought though I now want something quicker and sexier for the weekends!

 

[jack the lad]

Personally, I'd steer clear of the whole hybrid thing unless you're using it as a hackbike.

A bit of a sweeping statement I think.

Personally I would go to a big bike shop that stocks all sorts of bikes, like Evans. Once you've sussed the right kind of bike at Evans, shop around to find the nicest one and best value.

Sit on a few and find what's comfy for you. Basically you've got a choice of upright, leaned over or head down. These will be roughly equivalent to riser bars, flat bars or drop bars.

Once you've decided on that, you need to decide what sort of terrain you will ride on. If exclusively smooth roads you can do thin racer type tyres, for rougher roads and cycle paths you need middle size hybrid ones, for off road you want chunky tyres.

You only need suspension forks or disc brakes for serious off-road riding, on the road it is unecessary weight and complication and for any given price will mean a corner has been cut somewhere compared to a bike without them.

Then find a bike with the right combination of riding position and tyre size that you like the look of in your price range. It might have 26 inch or 700c wheels. That doesn't matter very much, if at all.

If you live somewhere flat and don't carry much weight you won't need as wide a range of gears as if you live somewhere hilly and plan to carry a load of stuff around with you. Once you've got the gear range right for your use, buy as many steps in between (the number of gears) as you can afford.

If it matters to you make sure that the bike you choose has mounting points for mudguards and racks.

You'll probably end up with some sort of hybrid, which is a term that covers a wide range of very different kinds of bike. This is fine if you only have the one bike - a jack of all trades is all most of us really need.

Happy cycling

 

[peanut]

I shouldn't worry too much about getting the saddle right because the saddles on cheap bikes are going to be absolute rubbish. The cheapest thing they can source to keep the price down.
The saddle is possibly one of the most important parts of a bike. I would advise you to accept that you are going to have to buy better quality more suitable saddle after you have bought your bike so that the saddle doesn't compromise your choice of bike or limit your options.

If you buy at a local bike shop (lbs) they should be happy to change the saddle on any bike to your choice with a small surcharge.

 

[RedStork]

That's some good advice thanks! I will definitely see if they'll swap the saddle.

My work doesn't have a cycle scheme, however I'm not sure I like the idea of having to pay monthly and then buy it off them at the end of the loan period anyway. I'd rather buy it in one go and own it straight away. I've got enough cash around for a £300 bike now anyway.

What are some good brands? I've found the Scott Sportster P6 2009 Hybrid Bike which I like the look of (and it's only £292.99 from Evans)... but 27lbs seems quite heavy? Or is that about right?