Looking for a cheap comfortable lightweight mount

[John H White]

I'm now well into my 80th year, but I still like to to take part in the annual Randonnee around the Isle of Wight, where I now live in retirement. For me, this involves just over 70 miles including the ride down to my nearest starting point at Yarmouth, and quite a number of steepish hills. My present "Sunday best" machine consists of a frame I bought for £3 at Claude Butler's 1955 sale, to which my eldest son fitted a number of more up to date components when he renovated it a few years back. These include Shimano gearing with triple clanger and narrow gauge wheels with 700x25 tyres. Each time I complete the Randonnee I feel I don't want to sit down for some time!
What I'm looking for is a really lightweight cycle with a full range of gears, a really comfortable saddle and flat handlebars, as I never seem to get comfortable with drops.
My maximum budget would be around £300, to be saved out of my old age pension. I've seen quite a few inexpensive bikes advertised on the Internet by various firms including Evans for around £200 to £300 that might suit my specification. Of course, I'm not after a bespoke mount from a British hand built maker (Yes,I know its nice to own a Rolls Royce or a Jag but an Elderly Mini or Renault 5 can still get you around!) I'm quite happy to put up with a cheap Oriental import, although I can see some of the more well heeled enthusiasts on this forum throwing up their hands in horror.
Cheers,
John.

 

[TheBoyBilly]

You're spoilt for choice, John, even in this price bracket. Major manufacturers have all got a 'hybrid' flat-bar or two to consider - some even fully equipped with racks and mudguards such as the Ridgeback Flight. The aluminium frames should be much, much lighter than your present bike and will easily fulfill your requirements. The Kona Smoke is available for £300 from Rutland Cycles and is great value at that price.

Bill

 

[threebikesmcginty]

My present "Sunday best" machine consists of a frame I bought for £3 at Claude Butler's 1955 sale

John, that's fantastic! I bet there's no-one else on this forum, or (m)any for that matter, still riding the same frame for the last 55 years.

Both suggestions as above would be a good bet - there's plenty of decent bikes for that sort of money. Hope you find what you're looking for!

Keep riding!

 

[montage]

I hope I can do the randonee around the IOW when I'm 80!.....I've been round the island once and it is deceptively hilly....combine that with a killer headwind (I'll never forget that long slog into a monster of a headwind up military road) and it is quite some route!
That must be some special claud butler...anyhow, regarding the new bike, I would say have a test ride first, which requires a trip down to the local bike shop. Definately worth it as the wrong wheels or tyres on a bike may make it freel sluggish and slow

 

[John H White]

I hope I can do the randonee around the IOW when I'm 80!.....I've been round the island once and it is deceptively hilly....combine that with a killer headwind (I'll never forget that long slog into a monster of a headwind up military road) and it is quite some route!
That must be some special claud butler...anyhow, regarding the new bike, I would say have a test ride first, which requires a trip down to the local bike shop. Definately worth it as the wrong wheels or tyres on a bike may make it freel sluggish and slow

 

[John H White]

Many thanks, gentlemen, for your kind replies.
I've noticed a Dawes Discovery in a local shop window without any price tag on it. I wonder how it compares in weight, gearing and comfort to The Kona Smoke or the Globe Vienna, Falcon Adventure, Bianchi Milano Parco, Saracen Venturer, Claude Butler urban etc, etc that I've seen offered by various online cycle dealers. By the way, I'm not expecting an aluminium frame to last another 55 years--- that would take me well beyond my sell by date!
What I'm looking for is light weight, comfort and a wide enough range of gears to get me up the steepest hills, whilst still enabling me to do "evens" along the flat. It would be nice to find a web site where they compared the various comfort models in my price range.
Cheers,
John.

 

[RecordAceFromNew]

John your post has made my day - it gives me the inspiration and hope that I might be able to do what you do when I am 80!

It is true that aluminium frames/carbon forks are lighter than steel ones, but frame plus fork represents only around 30% of a bike's weight. The rest matters just as much; actually the wheels/tyres/tubes matter most.

I am no expert of 1955 Claude Butler's, but I have a 25" (i.e. LARGE) steel Raleigh that I bought new nearly 30 years ago. It was around 27lbs then with original components. Now it is under 22lbs with lighter (new and vintage) components. I am mentioning this because I read on bikeforums.net that the Kona Smoke, while a decent bike, weighs over 30lbs.

Actually I am not surprised - like most "hybrids", it is kitted out with a lot of mtb components which are intrinsically heavier than road components, and the components are lowish end, heavier ones to achieve the price tag. The Smoke seems to come with 700x47 tyres - you would be better off sticking with your 700x25s.

AFAIK the Boardman Comp Hybrid is considered one of the lightest at its (£500) price. A medium size one is advertised as weighing 24lbs (without pedals!).

Do you know how heavy is your current bike (when similarly equipped)?

I also feel as I get older that a more upright riding position becomes more attractive, and of course if one rides more upright then the comfort of the saddle becomes even more important. I am however not sure if a new bike will necessarily give you a more comfy saddle. I would suggest saddle selection and bike selection are separate subjects.

 

[John H White]

John your post has made my day - it gives me the inspiration and hope that I might be able to do what you do when I am 80!

It is true that aluminium frames/carbon forks are lighter than steel ones, but frame plus fork represents only around 30% of a bike's weight. The rest matters just as much; actually the wheels/tyres/tubes matter most.

I am no expert of 1955 Claude Butler's, but I have a 25" (i.e. LARGE) steel Raleigh that I bought new nearly 30 years ago. It was around 27lbs then with original components. Now it is under 22lbs with lighter (new and vintage) components. I am mentioning this because I read on bikeforums.net that the Kona Smoke, while a decent bike, weighs over 30lbs.

Actually I am not surprised - like most "hybrids", it is kitted out with a lot of mtb components which are intrinsically heavier than road components, and the components are lowish end, heavier ones to achieve the price tag. The Smoke seems to come with 700x47 tyres - you would be better off sticking with your 700x25s.

AFAIK the Boardman Comp Hybrid is considered one of the lightest at its (£500) price. A medium size one is advertised as weighing 24lbs (without pedals!).

Do you know how heavy is your current bike (when similarly equipped)?

I also feel as I get older that a more upright riding position becomes more attractive, and of course if one rides more upright then the comfort of the saddle becomes even more important. I am however not sure if a new bike will necessarily give you a more comfy saddle. I would suggest saddle selection and bike selection are separate subjects.

 

[John H White]

I've just been on a weighing session with our spring luggage balance. My renovated 1955 Claude Butler turned out to be 28lb minus mudguards but including lightweight aluminium pannier carrier. My spare bike, a Ventura Nexus 7 with 7 speed Shimano hub gear larger wheels and thick heavy tyres, that my eldest son purchased at the bargain price of £60 at a closing down sale in his home town of Cheltenham, weighed in at 32lb.
I'd like to aim for an all up weight of around 20lb but, for easier riding I believe revolving weight should be taken into account, so I'd like to go for aluminium alloy rims. I think, for comfort, 26x1 1/4", or 28X1 3/8" tyres would suit me without slowing me up too much. As for gears; I'd like the bottom to be under 30" to cope with IOW hills and the top to be over 100", so that I can do "evens" on the flat without having to pedal too fast. This would probably involve a triple clanger coupled with 7 or 8 rear sprockets. A lightweight aluminium frame, flat bars and a well padded or sprung saddle together with centre pull brakes would complete the picture. I wonder if there is a machine out there that fits the above specification in my price range of up to £300?
Cheers,
John.

 

[- Baz -]

I've just been on a weighing session with our spring luggage balance. My renovated 1955 Claude Butler turned out to be 28lb minus mudguards but including lightweight aluminium pannier carrier. My spare bike, a Ventura Nexus 7 with 7 speed Shimano hub gear larger wheels and thick heavy tyres, that my eldest son purchased at the bargain price of £60 at a closing down sale in his home town of Cheltenham, weighed in at 32lb.
I'd like to aim for an all up weight of around 20lb but, for easier riding I believe revolving weight should be taken into account, so I'd like to go for aluminium alloy rims. I think, for comfort, 26x1 1/4", or 28X1 3/8" tyres would suit me without slowing me up too much. As for gears; I'd like the bottom to be under 30" to cope with IOW hills and the top to be over 100", so that I can do "evens" on the flat without having to pedal too fast. This would probably involve a triple clanger coupled with 7 or 8 rear sprockets. A lightweight aluminium frame, flat bars and a well padded or sprung saddle together with centre pull brakes would complete the picture. I wonder if there is a machine out there that fits the above specification in my price range of up to £300?
Cheers,
John.

Hi John - Yes, there is - and no doubt you'll get some further recommendations, but there's the Ridgeback Velocity at slightly over your budget, however, I went for a Ridgeback Speed - £300 from Evans. I'm 54 and got mine for a 14 mile round trip commute each day, and it's performed flawlessly (touch wood) in the three months I've had it. Has mudguards and a rack, which I need, but still very responsive and fairly light (aluminium frame and wheels) but now that I'm getting a bit fitter and pushing higher gears, it can be surprisingly quick, too. The supplied saddle is comfy and not too soft (although I've found it a bit too soft now my nether regions have adapted and I've replaced it with a Charge Spoon). Gearing would be about right for you too, I think - I've never run out of gears and find they have a nice spread - and it comes complete with triple clanger!

Ridgeback Speed 2010

Anyway, let us know what you decide - and let's see a pic when you get your lycra kit!

 

[RecordAceFromNew]

There must be a lesson somewhere, when your 55 year old Claude Butler weighs similar to my steel tourer when it was new 30 years ago, and once minus your alloy pannier rack (which typically weighs around 750g, or just under 2 lbs including fittings) your bike is only a pound or so heavier than the Boardman Comp Hybrid (including pedals), which is considered a fairly light and fast new bike today.

Perhaps others could comment and correct me, but unfortunately I don't think it is possible to find a similar bike weighing 20 lbs for £300 new. For example the Pro Ltd, the top of the range Boardman flat bar bike (also shown in the link in my earlier post) weighs over 21 lbs with pedals (and no racks or mudguards) and costs around £1000 new. The cost to reduce weight goes exponential as weight drops.

It is perhaps conceivable that a secondhand one can be found for £300.

Of course alternative options exist. If I had £300 to spend, and taking a lot of liberty in guessing what the existing set up is, I might spend most of it on a light set of wheels/tyres/tubes IF my existing wheels/tyres/tubes are middle of the road components.

For the rest of the money, I would then spend them on a light flat alloy bar (model dependent on the existing stem) and a set of flat bar brake/shift levers. To keep the cost and weight down I would probably go for these sti 2x8 levers and put a 11-32 8 speed cassette on the new wheels. With 700cx23 or 700cx25 tyres, I will get 30-100 inches with this cassette as long as my small chain ring is no larger than 36T and my large chain ring is no smaller than 42T. I imagine I might actually be able to ditch one of the chain rings and some chainring bolts on a triple chainset to save weight.

The resulting bike will probably be 3 lbs lighter, whether it is more or less will be dependent on the existing components at present. If the saving is indeed 3 lbs, the bike is now a 23 lb bike compared to the Boardmans on a like for like basis. With better wheels/tyres/tubes, and a wider spread of gearing, I would expect I would notice the difference the changes make.

But before setting the budget I might also look at what I will take off to see if they are worth anything on ebay. I sold a pair of vintage Weinmann brake levers that I nearly put into the bin recently for £20, and I found an 80's Campag Gran Sport chainset I bought for £20 4 years ago now goes for £70. You might be sitting on some components others want desperately for their retro build.

Sales proceeds might usefully go towards a comfy saddle?

 

[John H White]

Hi John - Yes, there is - and no doubt you'll get some further recommendations, but there's the Ridgeback Velocity at slightly over your budget, however, I went for a Ridgeback Speed - £300 from Evans. I'm 54 and got mine for a 14 mile round trip commute each day, and it's performed flawlessly (touch wood) in the three months I've had it. Has mudguards and a rack, which I need, but still very responsive and fairly light (aluminium frame and wheels) but now that I'm getting a bit fitter and pushing higher gears, it can be surprisingly quick, too. The supplied saddle is comfy and not too soft (although I've found it a bit too soft now my nether regions have adapted and I've replaced it with a Charge Spoon). Gearing would be about right for you too, I think - I've never run out of gears and find they have a nice spread - and it comes complete with triple clanger!

Ridgeback Speed 2010

Anyway, let us know what you decide - and let's see a pic when you get your lycra kit!

 

[John H White]

Many thanks, Baz, for that tip. I shall definitely investigate the spec. and any special offers on the Ridgeback Speed 2010. As for the liquorice kit, or whatever you call it, I got that from Wiggle a couple of years back on the recommendation of my middle son, but only bother with it on longish rides when training for the Randonnee, there being no pockets or fly in it.
Cheers,
John.

 

[RecordAceFromNew]

Hi John - Yes, there is - and no doubt you'll get some further recommendations, but there's the Ridgeback Velocity at slightly over your budget, however, I went for a Ridgeback Speed - £300 from Evans. I'm 54 and got mine for a 14 mile round trip commute each day, and it's performed flawlessly (touch wood) in the three months I've had it. Has mudguards and a rack, which I need, but still very responsive and fairly light (aluminium frame and wheels) but now that I'm getting a bit fitter and pushing higher gears, it can be surprisingly quick, too. The supplied saddle is comfy and not too soft (although I've found it a bit too soft now my nether regions have adapted and I've replaced it with a Charge Spoon). Gearing would be about right for you too, I think - I've never run out of gears and find they have a nice spread - and it comes complete with triple clanger!

Ridgeback Speed 2010

Anyway, let us know what you decide - and let's see a pic when you get your lycra kit!

Is your Ridgeback Speed much lighter than the OP's Claude Butler? I believe unlikely looking at the spec.

If weight reduction (and increasing bike efficiency) is not the key objective, the OP can achieve the other objectives much more simply and cheaply than what I suggested above by:
1) replacing the quill stem (shorter horizontally and/or longer vertically) to achieve a more upright posture
2) replacing the freewheel/cassette for a wider range one for those hills
3) replacing the saddle

 

[threebikesmcginty]

Worth taking a look at The Edinburgh Bicycle Co-operative. The 'Revolution' bikes are meant to be good ...

http://www.edinburgh...5c018333c018337