Newbie Member

[jackm]

Hi All, recently started cycling again after a break of about 30 years. Unfortunatley I bought the bike before looking at any magazines or forums, or talking to anybody else first!!! So, yes, I bought a mountain bike to use mostly on the road...... beginning to see the error of my ways now.

But now I do see why a good road bike costs so much, a couple of months ago £200 seemed plenty to spend, but now I can think of so many reasons for spending lots more. Just have to convince her indoors, hmmmmm

I'm afraid that I only get out about 3 times a week, can't commute to my job as I work IN the car!!

Look forward to chats and info

Cheers

Jack

 

[threebikesmcginty]

Hi and welcome.

You don't need to spend a fortune to get a good road bike, plenty of bargains about or maybe second-hand.
Best to try before you buy though if you're not exactly sure what's going to work for you.

 

[accountantpete]

Hi Jack and welcome - MTB's are always useful for occasional travel and off-road stuff so money not wasted and you would have probably bought a road bike on the rubbish side of the norm anyway.

 

[Globalti]

Enjoy the MTB and spend the next few weeks researching, test riding and understanding about different frame materials, road bike types, makes etc. If cash is short you need to be sure before you buy.

That said you will probably walk into a shop this week, fall in love and buy something..... keep away from the Boardman bikes at Halfords; they are dangerous.

 

[numbnuts]

Hi &

 

[guitarpete247]

Hi .
Before going for a road bike try several for frame sizing as it is different from your MTB. My MTB is a 19" frame and road bike 22". Look at several as frame sizing is different from different makers. If money is tight try your local LBS as they some times have second hand. You can also try the local police auctions. As several folk will tell you check out reviews and level of equipment on particular models. Bicycle buyer could be a useful start. Also a good source of bike porn . I keep looking on ebay to see what's going and what prices they are going for.

 

[davefb]

go off road a bit, then you'd see why you need an MTB .

 

[jackm]

Many thanks for the welcomes and replies.
Will still be getting plenty of use from thr MTB, it's already helping to get me fitter than I have been for years, and I do intend going off road (the Forest of Dean is very close)
When I'm ready to buy, will probably start by looking at the Bay of E.

By the way, what's the problem with Boardman bikes??

Cheers

Jack

 

[Globalti]

By the way, what's the problem with Boardman bikes??

Cheers

Jack

They are dangerously tempting; great value, great looking and they sit there whispering "Buy me... buy me now!"

 

[Toshiba Boy]

Hi Jack and . You'll soon find the number of bikes you need is always n+1 where n = the number you already have.

 

[Firestorm]

They are dangerously tempting; great value, great looking and they sit there whispering "Buy me... buy me now!"

You found a Halfords which whispers......The damn Boardmans scream at me before I have even seen where the shop is.

The thing I have found is that being out of the loop for so long all of the bikes look soooo tempting, although the Dawes entry level thing someone tried to sell me the other day looked rough on closer inspection. The sales assistant tried to tell me that the frame mounted changers were the latest in the "retro look", but he couldn't explain why a 3 year old quadraplegic chimp had been allowed to do the welding though.

 

[mcshroom]

Hi and

What sort of mountain bike is it and what sort of tyres have you got on it? A hardtail with slick tyres makes a good utility cycling machine so you can get used to the bike again and start eyeing up your next (formula for bikes is ideal = n+1 )

 

[jackm]

They are dangerously tempting; great value, great looking and they sit there whispering "Buy me... buy me now!"

Aha, irony.......I was wondering why I thought they were so luverley and thought I had missed a blindingly obvious fault that everybody else and their dog knew about

 

[jackm]

Hi and

What sort of mountain bike is it and what sort of tyres have you got on it? A hardtail with slick tyres makes a good utility cycling machine so you can get used to the bike again and start eyeing up your next (formula for bikes is ideal = n+1 )

Its an Apollo (Halfrauds Special), front and rear suspension
I'm sure I can put some slicks on it though!

 

[jackm]

n+1, hmmmm that sounds familiar. Same formula works for camera, lens, memory cards, tripod etc etc etc.

Oh yeah, also road cars!!!