As some of you know i am doing a mini tour de france challange at the gym, i am enjoying it.
have just done 35k (21.7 miles) in 47 min 50seconds which is an average speed of 27.4mph. (and i am not the fastest person 
)
and plenty of people here said i should get outside and do it. (try and trip a couple of speed cameras 
)
so the question is any recommendations on a bike ideally sub £250.
think it will be mainly road use, plenty of hills around Blackburn.
look on the second hand boards.. you'll get a lot more for your buck..
try www.bikemagic.com
Go for a second hand premium bike not a halfords special. My friend made this mistake and bought a £300 halfords pogo stick bike instead of the 2nd hand Marin that I pointed him at. He found the bike hard work on hills and couldn't believe the difference when I let him ride mine.
If you are hitting that sort of speed don't go for a new sub 250. Get something in the £400+ range.
As said don't go for Halfords cheapos (e.g. Apollo) I have been through enough of them to realise how silly I was.
Have a word with work and see if they do the cycle to work scheme then you pay before NI & Tax deductions which knocks off alot when you factor in
inflation too.
Road, mountain or hybrid?
If your thinking Hybrid - Scot Sub 30 (Now at £249) is awesome:
http://www.evanscycles.com/product.jsp?style=5114
I do about 40 miles a week commuting on one and average about 22mph.
Pat...
Wonder if I would ever get to talk bikes on this forum (real bikes). To be honest there is not a lot knocking around for sub £250 what's decent.
In my opinion spend around £250-400 on a good second hand. Coming from a racer I would recommend a Specialized Allez or Trek 100 upwards with
Shimano drivetrain. The most important thing though is the sizing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! U2U me and I can give you all the help in the
world!!!
Any of you guys think it's a bit obsessive I have a £3k bike with a pair of wheels more expensive than 99% of four alloy wheels?
Not if you justify it with mileage!
Pat...
thanks for that, i will look at upping my budget i think to about £400
was thinking about a hybrid bike, I have also found out that my bosses son is a bike mechanic for leisure lakes bikes
http://www.leisurelakesbikes.com/
and so have asked for some advice from him and discount of course.
Don't go hybrid. 99% of people get mountain bikes and hybrids and end up using them 100% on the roads and I can't fathom why they just
don"t go get a road bike? If you can stretch tis good value for new:
Link
I know someone who went the hybrid route and regrets not getting a road bike with proper drop handlebars and they just leisure cycle.
.... lost my reply so I'll keep this one simple.
Try Ribble Cycles in Preston. Get them to size you up and look for a bargain on last years model range.
Road bikes are so much easier/faster that unless you intend to ride canal paths or true offroad you don't need anything else.
And if you can average 27mph on your first road ride then we should get you into the England squad .
Whatever you choose - enjoy it
You need to go to a good bike shop and be fitted properly. You will appreciate this later.
quote:
Originally posted by Daimo_45
Don't go hybrid. 99% of people get mountain bikes and hybrids and end up using them 100% on the roads and I can't fathom why they just don"t go get a road bike? If you can stretch tis good value for new:
Link
I know someone who went the hybrid route and regrets not getting a road bike with proper drop handlebars and they just leisure cycle.
bl00dy L - 27mph??? I regularly do a 15m commute & average about 18, that's on a decent road bike with SPDs. Got to agree, get a road bike or
you're throwing away 2mph at least. Following another bike I could up the average 3 or 4 mph, I guess that's how the racers average 30mph
over 50 or 60 miles (also they don't have to stop at junctions).
Hopefully it will not be raining tomorrow & the old bike will be out again. Obviously the running gear is all new: the original bike was £50 2nd
hand, last year I spent a ton on some trick brake levers with indexed gear levers when you push the levers inwards - fantastic kit...
Bob
It's only 27mph because there is less resistance on a spinner bike than on a road. I'm a racer and can do a 10 mile TT in around 25mins so
I AV around 25mph. When I road race the peleton speed is around 25-30mph. Getting the right size is the KEY! Ribble are very good!
Don't know if anyone is bothered but I met ALL 9 MEMBERS OF TEAM CSC WHO ARE RACING THE TOUR ON SAT TODAY!!!!
Did you score any EPO?
we are on these bikes not spinning bikes.
http://www.technogym.co.uk/BUSINESS/_vti_g3_prodExc.aspx?id=3&rpstry=11683_
i am enjoying it and can see a differance in my fitness already, and so would like to do some outdoor riding for leisure.
and the speed is only so high because i am not moving my own body weight,
[Edited on 6/7/07 by Aboardman]
quote:
Originally posted by Daimo_45
Wonder if I would ever get to talk bikes on this forum (real bikes). To be honest there is not a lot knocking around for sub £250 what's decent. In my opinion spend around £250-400 on a good second hand. Coming from a racer I would recommend a Specialized Allez or Trek 100 upwards with Shimano drivetrain. The most important thing though is the sizing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! U2U me and I can give you all the help in the world!!!
Any of you guys think it's a bit obsessive I have a £3k bike with a pair of wheels more expensive than 99% of four alloy wheels?
I'll admit I'm a fair weather cyclist and didn't go mad on the outlay but I have a Giant hybrid which cost £200 from J E James in a sale and it is a good all round bike set up more for road use with 700C road tyres which makes it a lot easier than mountain bike to ride on road. I did have a bike with knobbly tires but changed them for slick style. On the local roads I'm lucky to average 15mph but my top whack downhill is 47mph. Get some gloves and a helmet in with your outlay.
What is it with 47mph???
I know a few guys including me that have all hit 47.
It must be like the sound barrier or something.
Pat...
I've hit 55mph. I'm going back to the same hill but this time with my deep section carbon aero wheels and bigger balls. Looking to hit 62mph so then I can say 100kph.
I've only ever hit around 33mph, but that was on a old steel framed mountain bike.
Certainly for me (18 stone +) a mountain bike is good for road + bits of off road. Its fast enough for me, but big enough to take abuse too.
Having hydraulic disks certainly is much better for me than rubber blocks. They are more consistent, progressive, don't squeak and don't
need changing every 3 months. 