Would I be able to come completely change my tyres or should I just buy a new bike?

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Location
Loch side.
What limits this bike to rides of up to 2 hours ?
Would it be the saddle ????
Or is that just some sort of marketing blurb to encourage people to spend more money on the more serious (expensive) bikes.
I once had to work with a copywriter to put all our stock on an online shop, as well as new signage for the shop etc etc. You should have seen the stuff she came up with for the various bikes. The story describing the difference between three popular wheel sizes for mountainbikes was completely nuts.
I complained a bit but was then asked to do better, at which point I backed off. I am sure much of that copy still exists today.

In reality, it is extremely difficult to differentiate bikes on paper. What do you say?
 

smutchin

Cat 6 Racer
Location
The Red Enclave
I did take it out for about 5mins a couple days after to see if I could still ride a bike...turns out I can probably need a bit of practice though

Well done. You say you've not ridden a bike since you were 12, but if you don't mind me asking, how old are you now? If it's been a long time, it will take some practice to get back into the swing of it, but the first step is the hardest.

Nothing wrong with Decathlon
For the money some of Decathlons bikes are very decent

It's true that £149 will go a lot further at Decathlon than at some other places, but it's still a very cheap bike, and you'd expect it to have quite a few limitations. I really don't like the look of that saddle, for example, and the brakes and brake levers are probably made of cheese. That said, I applaud sensible decisions like the single chainring - keeps the gearing simpler for new cyclists (ie the kind of people this bike is aimed at), and fewer components (no front derailleur, no front shifter) means the budget isn't spread quite as thinly - or means more money to spend on other components, like the quick-release hubs, which are arguably more of a benefit than extra gears.

I don't see what is wrong with the tyres it comes with

I can't comment on the specific tyres the bike comes with but I've never seen tyres on a bike that price that I'd want to actually ride on.

What limits this bike to rides of up to 2 hours ?
Would it be the saddle ????
Or is that just some sort of marketing blurb to encourage people to spend more money on the more serious (expensive) bikes.

It's badly expressed, sure, but I take that to mean something along the lines of "If you're the kind of rider who doesn't expect to be out on their bike for more than two hours at a time, this bike will be just fine for you". I'm sure the bike itself would be happy to keep going all day, but two hours on that saddle sounds like more than enough punishment to me. In which time, you probably won't have covered much distance because those tyres are likely to be very sluggish. That's not necessarily a problem if you're just pottering about in the park or along the canal towpath, or riding a couple of miles to the shops, but if you're interested in longer rides, you probably want something that's going to be less of a chore to ride.

For someone getting back into cycling after a long break, it's probably fine, but the OP may find they want something a bit livelier before too long.
 
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deptfordmarmoset

Full time tea drinker
Location
Armonmy Way
Decathlon use a similar time-based riding measure for some of their clothing. Cycling shorts, for example, may be graded for 1 hour, 2 hours or 3+ hours. It wouldn't surprise me if they did the same with their saddles.
 

vickster

Legendary Member
What limits this bike to rides of up to 2 hours ?
Would it be the saddle ????
Or is that just some sort of marketing blurb to encourage people to spend more money on the more serious (expensive) bikes.
Decathlon often measure their products in this way, be it bikes or cycling shorts. Possibly marketing or to set customer expectations, especially of their cheaper lines
 

snorri

Legendary Member
Now please bear in mind that I haven't rode a bike since I was 12, so any advice/tips will be much appreciated.
Don't spend anymore on the bike meantime, just use the bike as much as time and fitness permits and in a few months you will have gained sufficient experience to know what you really need and don't need to have the bike suit your particular requirements.
 

Lee_M

Guru
if you're asking tis level of question, can I also suggest you research youtube and find out how to fix punctures, otherwise you'll find yourself 2 hours from home and throwing the bike in a hedge when you get stranded
 

smutchin

Cat 6 Racer
Location
The Red Enclave
Just proves a bike is not going to fall apart after 2 hours which is what we are discussing .

Decathlon aren't selling a bike that will fall apart after two hours. HTH.
 

cyberknight

As long as I breathe, I attack.
Decathlon aren't selling a bike that will fall apart after two hours. HTH.
erm yeah thats what i said , nothing to do with riding up ventoux on a boris bike .My point is as you have backed up is that a basic bike is quite capable of being ridden no matter how much it cost .
 
OP
OP
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N00

New Member
Well done. You say you've not ridden a bike since you were 12, but if you don't mind me asking, how old are you now? If it's been a long time, it will take some practice to get back into the swing of it, but the first step is the hardest.




It's true that £149 will go a lot further at Decathlon than at some other places, but it's still a very cheap bike, and you'd expect it to have quite a few limitations. I really don't like the look of that saddle, for example, and the brakes and brake levers are probably made of cheese. That said, I applaud sensible decisions like the single chainring - keeps the gearing simpler for new cyclists (ie the kind of people this bike is aimed at), and fewer components (no front derailleur, no front shifter) means the budget isn't spread quite as thinly - or means more money to spend on other components, like the quick-release hubs, which are arguably more of a benefit than extra gears.



I can't comment on the specific tyres the bike comes with but I've never seen tyres on a bike that price that I'd want to actually ride on.



It's badly expressed, sure, but I take that to mean something along the lines of "If you're the kind of rider who doesn't expect to be out on their bike for more than two hours at a time, this bike will be just fine for you". I'm sure the bike itself would be happy to keep going all day, but two hours on that saddle sounds like more than enough punishment to me. In which time, you probably won't have covered much distance because those tyres are likely to be very sluggish. That's not necessarily a problem if you're just pottering about in the park or along the canal towpath, or riding a couple of miles to the shops, but if you're interested in longer rides, you probably want something that's going to be less of a chore to ride.

For someone getting back into cycling after a long break, it's probably fine, but the OP may find they want something a bit livelier before too long.

I'm 18 turning 19 soon :smile:

And yeah the summer holiday is just around the corner so hopefully I'll be on it more just need to build up confidence to actually ride on the roads, if I'm honest I'm more scared of the drivers than I am of myself falling off the bike, where I'm from drivers aren't so kind, there's always hit and runs at least 3 times a month on my street alone which as even made me question to why I mostly see adults riding on pavements around here, can't say I blame them.

As for the bike I will mostly be using it for commuting place to place although, I would love to cycle further to nearby villages just for fun to take in the scenery and get away from the city for a bit, I feel as though that won't be for a while until I build up some confidence but thanks for all the useful information, I really don't know anything about bikes so it's helped a lot :smile:
 

smutchin

Cat 6 Racer
Location
The Red Enclave
My point is as you have backed up is that a basic bike is quite capable of being ridden no matter how much it cost .

If I repeat myself, maybe you'll pay attention to the pertinent bit of my post this time...
Just because you can do it, that doesn't make it a good idea.

Crazy stuff like riding a Boris bike up Ventoux or doing LEJOG on a gaspipe special are ridiculous examples of what these bikes are "capable" of, but don't exactly constitute helpful advice to people who live in the real world. The OP isn't looking to get an appearance on Ripley's Believe It Or Not, he just wants something to commute on.
 
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