What bike for a beginner

[lrddsk]

Hello,

So for about 9 months now I've been having a Hawk Trakatak bike with the idea of using to to cycle to work (around 2 miles ) and then use it for the occasional cycle around the city and some parks (e.g. very light off-road stuff). However first I had burst tyres, then the pedals broke and my rear wheel's axle broke to an extent where I had to buy a completely new wheel and all of those expenses bumped the price of the bike x2 times. In hindsight I believe I would have been better of had I bought a better (and more expensive bike).

So now I'm looking for advice about what bike to buy. I'm looking at mainly using it on roads (city cycles) and only occasional off-road biking. I guess my budget is somewhere around 250-300 pounds (the Hawk one cost 120 to buy but as of now all in all i have spent aroun 250 on it). Do you think I should be looking at a hybrid bike or a mountain bike? I live in Cambridge, UK so if you know good shops which might advice me do tell

 

[jack smith]

I cant comment on what exact bike but definatley a hybrid over mtb for the type of riding you decribe

 

[vickster]

Hybrid if mostly on roads

You could do worse than a Carrera Subway, the more rugged end of Hybrid, smaller fatter tyres, but rigid fork

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_810737_langId_-1_categoryId_165534

Bike theft is absolutely rife in Cambridge by all accounts so spend what's left on a good lock (D locks from Abus or Kryptonite) and adding the bike to your home insurance

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

Hi and from a fellow Trakatak owner.

I'd also suggest a "hybrid" type bike for the kind of riding you describe. The Carrera Subway mentioned above has quite a few fans on here as it's robust and well specced for the money (provided you buy when it's in one of the very frequent sales). Otherwise you have a good choice of entry level bikes from reputable manufacturers at that price level, so really it's a case of looking round and seeing what takes your fancy.

On your budget I'd suggest avoiding bikes with suspension as it tends to be heavy and not especially effective until you spend quite a bit more.

 

[lrddsk]

I can see that the subway one is "on sale" so I will check it out tomorrow. Also do you think it is worth doing any upgrades to the subway bike if I decide to buy it e.g. is it worth investing in it (lighter tyres in the future, better cassette etc.). Also is there a very big difference between 2 chain rings and 3 chain rings in terms of performance?

 

[the snail]

Cheap tyres don't have good puncture protection, so if you get punctures a lot it's worth changing them. Decent brake pads are often a good cheap upgrade. But just ride it and see how you get on. A triple chainset will make steep hills easier than a double.

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

I think that @the snail has pretty much summed it up. I'd probably run the tyres until they wore out or started getting regular punctures then upgrade. I like Continental TourRide as a relatively inexpensive puncture-resistant upgrade or Schwalbe Marathon is a good step up from that.

As mentioned, the triple will give a better spread of gears which will you'll notice most when hill climbing. I wouldn't even consider fitting a double on a bike like the Subway as there would be no benefit.

If performance is what you're looking for from your new bike you might be better looking at a drop bar bike of some sort instead. It's a bit over your stated budget but if you decided to look for something along those lines, the Triban 500SE from Decathlon is the latest incarnation of CycleChat's favourite entry-level road bike.