Need some advice please!

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fossy_boy

New Member
Hi all,

Im looking at taking up cycling, nothing too serious but I really want to get into it.

I've been riding bikes all my life but have never had a racer, and am currently looking for my 1st. I'm 18 years old. 5'9" and around 70 Kilos if thats any help. Im willing to pay anything up to about £200 and I don't mind second-hand etc.

Would anyone be able to point me in the right direction on what sort of thing to buy? And also what sort of other kit I want to be looking to getting to begin with.


Ive seen this being sold on ebay: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RALEIGH-EQUIP...K_Bikes_GL&hash=item4ceff6195b#ht_3337wt_1157 is that a good bike to start out with??



Many thanks in advanced, and I would be very great full for a quick reply. Thanks!
 

StuartG

slower but further
Location
SE London
First thing is size. The important measure is your inside leg, not height. You may best fit a 52cm rather than a 55cm frame. Best get around to a bike shop or try somebody else's and see what size you are most comfortable with ...

The leg should be almost straight on the downstroke pedal side. The saddle should be just about level with the handlebars if you are a long distance tourer but much, much higher if you are genuinely pushing for speed.

Beg, borrow (but please don't steal) till you find a comfortable fit. Then go buy.
 

battered

Guru
OK so you want a road bike. No prob. The one you link is the entry level item, nothing wrong there bt you can do better.

As a guide a well maintained fairly recent (ie not totally worn out following 20 years of hard use!) bike fetches half its new cost after 2-3 years. After that the value falls more slowly as it's still a decent bike.

I'll leave it for now but hopefully someone else willl give some advice soon.
 

battered

Guru
Oh, and it's not "great full", it's "grateful", as the root of the word is "full of gratitude" ie grat (e) ful (l). There y'go. :-)
 
If you can test ride before you buy or do as said visit a few shops first. This could be completely wrong sized for you but at my 1st guess I'd say 55cm is about right for you fossy. I'm 5foot 9 1/4 inch and bike fits have suggested 56cm frames and I ride a 55cm, a 54cm and an effective 54cm.
 

fossyant

Ride It Like You Stole It!
Location
South Manchester
Oh this is gonna get confusing - two Fossy's....... ;)

Like they said - good second hand, or a Decathlow B-Twin road bike or a Carrera Road bike - second two may be slightly out of budget.
 

ASC1951

Guru
Location
Yorkshire
battered said:
Oh, and it's not "great full", it's "grateful", as the root of the word is "full of gratitude" ie grat (e) ful (l). There y'go. :-)
Correcting people's spelling on forums isn't big and it isn't clever. Grow up.
 

gbb

Legendary Member
Location
Peterborough
Hello fossy boy...
If you go second hand...there's a couple of points i'd look out for personally.
Wear and tear on the transmission is normal...but as the amount of gears increases, it happens faster and gets more expensive.
Take my old (and new) bikes
8 speed...went on and on, never complained, only replaced a chain once in roughly 5 or 6 years.
9 speed...i was surprised how much quicker the chain wore. The cassette showed wear as well....more expense.
10 speed...i dont even get a year out of the chain and just replaced the cassette, both chainrings and chain of course. Cost me about £100. Didnt need to do it all, but wear was quite evident.

Buy a second hand bike...you need to be as sure as you can there's not a load of expense waiting for you.
 
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