Looking for bike for casual usage - under £350

[KieranC]

nothing wrong with carrera as a brand , good entry level bikes the only short coming is some staff at the store can be a bit hit and miss in experience.
My current commuter is a carrera vanquish disc 2 years old now and apart from replaceable parts like chains, brake pads etc theres never been an issue with it and it does 100 miles a week .

Wouldn’t 3X7 gearing be better than 2X8 for hills?

 

[vickster]

Wouldn’t 3X7 gearing be better than 2X8 for hills?

Depends on the gearing, the 2x8 could have a lower bottom gear.
I’d say try to find as light a bike as possible for your budget especially if on the heavier side yourself

 

[cyberknight]

Depends on the gearing, the 2x8 could have a lower bottom gear.
I’d say try to find as light a bike as possible for your budget especially if on the heavier side yourself

indeed its the lower combination so the bigger back number with a smaller front number of teeth in your gears

eg i did a hilly ride last weekend and i had a lowest gear of 36 front 28 back and i wish i had stuck the standard 34 front on to make the hills a bit easier !

 

[cyberknight]

i looked at the pinnacle and it does indeed have low gears for hills if thats what your after and its based on 700 c wheels rather than subway 27,5 which is more of a mtb style wheel so the pinnacle would roll better ?
the upside of the subway is it does have a higher fast gear but you really need to be shifting to spin out so i doubt it will be an issue

 

[MichaelW2]

Mudguards - No immediate plans to cycle in muddy areas, or on wet days. But will keep in mind.
Rack
Pump - Yep
Spare inner tube and repair kit.
Lock - Self explanatory - also needs to be silver rated for specialist insurance.
Lights - No immediate plans to cycle on evenings, but will keep in mind in medium term, I.e few months down the road towards winter if we have a nice winter lol.
Helmet - Self explanatory that one
Mitts - as above

Trying to start with the basics, bike, lock, helmet.

If I enjoy it a lot, then I’ll start looking into winter / bad weather accessories and then probs towards next summer get things like bike racks as I know they are one of the more expensive addons.

If you want to restyle your physique you will need to ride all year round, which is easy to do in the UK, baring a week or two of icy weather and the occasional storm.

Mudguards are for wet roads which are far more commonly encountered than rain. Water on the road is dirty and leaves a trail of dirt on your clothes. It forces you to wear a waterproof when it is not raining.
Mudguards let you ride in dry confort, wearing a windproof top, on cold damp days with wet roads. Riding without 'guards in winter is just making life hard for yourself.

Some companies make mudguards that can be clipped on or held with rubber bands but those are both hack solutions for when you can't fit SKS Chromoplastic bolt-on guards. If you buy a bike that can fit bolt-on guards, you have option to fit anytime later.
Same with rear luggage rack , you dont have to fit them and many people dont. Should you get the urge to go bicycle touring, you just bolt a standard rack to your standard rack eyelets and you have expanded your cycling capabilities hugely. Without the eyelets you are reduced to hack solutions.

 

[BoldonLad]

32” isn’t that short legged for 5’10? Mine are long at 33-34”.
Clearly he needs to ride it but stand over is less important than reach.
His height is in the middle of what is suggested for Large

Agree with your take on height vs leg (I am 5'10" with 31" inside leg), also stand-over height.

In my experience, different manufactures size charts give different size recommendations. Not sure, but, bike style may also be relevant. I have Giant and Specialized Hybrids, in both cases, their size chart suggested 'Medium' which has proved correct (for me).

 

[DRM]

Definitely have a look at Carrera bikes at Halfords, it’s a shame you can’t get up to Decathlon at the Team Valley for a look as their bikes are a lot of bang for the buck, as for gearing look for a higher number cog at the back, with a smaller one on the front, for example on a road bike you might expect a 50 & 34 tooth on the chainrings and an 11 to 28 tooth cassette on the back, a gravel bike might have 48 & 32 tooth chainrings with an 11 to 34 tooth cassette which is easier to pedal

 

[KieranC]

Definitely have a look at Carrera bikes at Halfords, it’s a shame you can’t get up to Decathlon at the Team Valley for a look as their bikes are a lot of bang for the buck, as for gearing look for a higher number cog at the back, with a smaller one on the front, for example on a road bike you might expect a 50 & 34 tooth on the chainrings and an 11 to 28 tooth cassette on the back, a gravel bike might have 48 & 32 tooth chainrings with an 11 to 34 tooth cassette which is easier to pedal

Not sure if of relevance, but I’d only get home delivery for Halfords as the build and collect in store has a set time slot only,

 

[KieranC]

i looked at the pinnacle and it does indeed have low gears for hills if thats what your after and its based on 700 c wheels rather than subway 27,5 which is more of a mtb style wheel so the pinnacle would roll better ?
the upside of the subway is it does have a higher fast gear but you really need to be shifting to spin out so i doubt it will be an issue

I prefer comfort over speed. Don’t particularly fancy going 20-30mph as if you crash, even with a helmet at that speed it’s going to hurt quite a bit and likely result in some bad scuffs at least to the bike.

 

[vickster]

Not sure if of relevance, but I’d only get home delivery for Halfords as the build and collect in store has a set time slot only,

Can’t you book one of those? Or go into / call the store and see if they can offer another time?

 

[KieranC]

Can’t you book one of those? Or go into / call the store and see if they can offer another time?

Yes, but it says you can not amend a time once booked.

 

[vickster]

Yes, but it says you can not amend a time once booked.

Why would you need to? Just go into a store and order there rather than online and arrange a time?
If you’ve decided on the bike

 

[KieranC]

Why would you need to? Just go into a store and order there rather than online and arrange a time?
If you’ve decided on the bike

Don’t believe they stock them in store or something? It’s a 5-7 day lead time online at my nearest store, with a one much further away been around 3-4 days

 

[vickster]

Don’t believe they stock them in store or something? It’s a 5-7 day lead time online at my nearest store, with a one much further away been around 3-4 days

But you should be able to order into the store?
A week is a short lead time. Over the last couple of years there have been big shortages of bikes with waits of many months.
Can you not plan to collect at a particular time.
If you don’t know about bikes, don’t get for home assembly. Let the store set it up and show you how it all functions, help with size set up etc.
Do you have tools, a pump already?

 

[biggs682]

North East

Ok not local to Northamptonshire then .
Currently I only have road bikes with drop bars