Cycle query

[NikNak]

Hi all...

I'm after info/opinions re cycles please..... i'm looking to get myself a pushbike for general riding and exercise mainly. I'm (sort of) looking at the Carrera's that seem to be only available from Halfords. But then looking on Gumtree and ebay there seem to be 'other' makes come up that also grab my eye... in particular 'Scott'. Does anyone have any knowledge or first hand experience of these..?

I'm not looking to buy 'new', but a good quality 2nd hand one would be nice.

Any thoughts or views please....

As always.... thanks in advance

Nick

 

[mseries]

I don't know much about Carrera other than they are cheap Halfords own brand. Scott are a better brand but they have the ability to make cheap and rubbish stuff I suppose. It's the components that let cheap brands down. Cheap frames will not be very light but for general riding and exercise it probably doesn't matter much to you initially. You will get unhappy if the brakes are poor or the gears are difficult to set up perfectly though - resulting in dropped chains or failure to shift of shifting when you don't want it to. There are many brands out there and all price points, then second hand is a whole new sphere. It's hard to give general advice especially with no knowledge of your price range. It's like tools, some people are happy to pay higher prices for quality items, some wish they could but can't afford and some can afford but can't justify the expense so don't. You might be better asking in a cycling forum such as yacf

 

[Glynne]

When you say general riding, do you mean roads, tracks, cross country etc.....or a mixture of some or all of these?
What you want to do should determine the type of bike you need before you even look at brands.
As was said, Carrera are Halfords as are Boardman and you will need to go into the pricier models to get a reasonable bike but you need to know is it a road bike, mountain bike (MTB) or a hybrid you're after?
As miseries says, have a look at some cycling forums as many will do detailed reviews. I've just bought a new MTB, a Vitus Sentier. You won't see any of these in the shops as they are only supplied by Chain Reaction Cycles but it won the best MTB under £1000 for 2 years on the trot and I bought on the basis of the tests and reviews. Coincidentally I've just come back from a ride!

 

[Droogs]

I had a Scott 60 MTB (got stolen the day i got back to Aberdeen, having ridden from marakesh), which was a fantastic general cross country and toodling bike. I also have a giant road bike (racer in old speak) and a ridgeback hybrid all very good bikes. SWMBO has a dutchman sit up and beg style for Sunday and commuting use. All bought for under £500 each over the years. any of these bikes can be had for a good price on Gumtee. It's best to decide what your main type of riding will be and then look at bikes made for that type of riding. also go to the shops and gt yourself "fitted" so you at least know what frame size you need as getting the wrong one gets to be a really big pain in the a****, as you will never feel really comfortable while using it.

 

[NikNak]

All excellent replies and recommendations....

mseries.... i hear what your saying re quality of product. I tend to stick to Makita if i'm buying tools... because i work with/use them, so i've got a shed full. I'd like to think they're sort of upper end of tools(?). But as this is an 'unknown' at the moment, i dont want to spend too much only to find it doesn't get the use it deserves. And yes the idea of looking through Cycling formus never even crossed my mind #-o

Glynne.... yeah a bit of everything really, as where i live i can get to do a (little) bit of off road too. So maybe a 'hybrid'..?

Droogs.... again, never even crossed my mind to go and get measured for a bike, but i can totally understand it all makes sense tho.


Nick

 

[mseries]

I have three bikes and until recently used to ride alot, like 10,000 miles per year, all on the road. My stuff is not top end but not rubbish either. it works very well and I know how to keep it working well. It's been over 25 years since I bought a complete bike from a shop, my ones since then have either been specced by me and assembled by the shop or bought as parts and built myself so it's hard to say what they cost me. I have swapped parts from older bikes, bought secondhand parts etc etc. Thus I don't know what's on the market these days so can't advise specifically. Boardmans are pretty good for the price, quite popular with the cycle to work folks since Halfords do the scheme and sell them (they own the brand now) and some models are priced to fall under the £1000 threshold.

EDIT; Carrera bikes are like Toolzone or Parkside tools - IMO. They look OK, are not expensive and will do the job but after a while you'll be either put off the activity or be wanting something better to overcome their limitations.

 

[doorframe]

I'm no expert, but I've had my share of cycles. Most expensive (not very expensive in scheme of things) was a Claud Butler. On the shelf price of £500+. Absolutely horrible, as is every other road bike. Sitting on a razor blade while feeling every tiny bump in the road is only to be recommended to proper enthusiasts.

I now exclusively ride a very cheap full suspension mountain bike. Plus a sprung seat post plus a comfy seat. I just change the tyres to suit the event. At the moment for the daily commute it's got 1" road tyres. In 2 weeks time I'll be doing the London - Southend off road event for BHF so the big thick nobblies will go on. When the next road event comes along I'll put on the super skinny tryes, and inbetween it's back to the 1" roadies. I can't try to compete with the razor blade brigade, but I put my comfort (and my old back) first.

 

[rafezetter]

Mostly good advice here, although each is obviously subjective to personal experience. I also have a claud butler and I've done many many many hard miles on it in the 15 or so years I've owned it (including cycling 60 miles per week to work and back for 10 years), but I did change a few things over the years. First of which was the seat - I bought a modern version of a sprung seat, which is wider and gives much better support so you are sitting on your buttocks instead of your difference. I also changed the gear switching to proper metal shimano normal clickers at the handlebars instead of the twistgrip changers, as unless the bike comes with a top spec one, they are prone to break as the parts inside are plastic instead of metal.

I also changed the tyres to slim ones - they are still semi offroad, but have a slimmer footprint and the difference the first time I rode it after that simple change was phenomenal, it was like I was suddenly supercharged - because the reality was I had lost 50% of the road friction. I didn't need to change the rims to slimmer ones from the standard offroad ones you get on a mountain bike.

A stainless steel chain will also help a lot as they don't rust, so chain friction is also minimized.

I would also say unless you are planning to be doing racing style downhill offroading, avoid a full suspension bike as the suspension in the rear makes the bike more demanding to ride; due to the suspension system absorbing some of the downward effort of peddaling - if you see a person riding a full suspension on the road watch closely and you'll see them very gently bouncing up and down and sudden acceleration (for getting out of danger maybe) is diminished.

My previous bike to this was made by GT around the £400 mark and was also good (until it got stolen), but had an oversized frame. My personal opinion is I wouldn't look at anything under £300 - 400 if it's going to be a daily user - and at least £200 to get something that will last a few years for more gentle hobby riding.

 

[woodpig]

A good compromise is a hard tail mountain bike with a semi road tyre. Enough grip off road without too much drag on road. You can get a far bigger range of spares for mountain bikes than hybrids so keep that in mind.

 

[david123]

we have Treck hybrid bikes which we have toured on. Changed the gears for hills and put Brooks saddles on them, brilliant bikes IMHO. Not cheap but they do stand the test of time
Be warned, spend good money on securing it, some of the cheap and nasty locks are no problem for some of the toerags today.

Good luck with your search and have fun

 

[NikNak]

well..... i've 'found' one, going to collect tomorrow, i'll post back more later

 

[david123]

Brilliant p, let us know what you end up with.

 

[doorframe]

I would also say unless you are planning to be doing racing style downhill offroading, avoid a full suspension bike as the suspension in the rear makes the bike more demanding to ride; due to the suspension system absorbing some of the downward effort of peddaling - if you see a person riding a full suspension on the road watch closely and you'll see them very gently bouncing up and down and sudden acceleration (for getting out of danger maybe) is diminished.

You do see plenty of full suspension bikes bobbing up and down on a flat road, but this is completely due to either the suspension spring is not tensioned correctly, or the piston not pumped up enough (on better bikes than mine), or the rider is a great big heavyweight and the poor bike has no chance of coping with that. I keep mine tensioned such that there is no bounce until there needs to be.

 

[dickm]

SWMBO and self both ride 20-30m per week, roads and tracks. All bikes (Muddy Fox, Claud Butler, Dawes) are non-suspension - why carry the extra weight, but all have sprung seatposts. These make a big difference, and don't add too much weight.
One other piece of advice - get some proper cycling gloves/mittens with gel or well-padded palms. Otherwise, the effect is a bit like using a Kango for long stretches and plays hell with palm tendons.
(Even with using gel palms, still have to go in for Dupuytrens surgery tomorrow )

 

[NikNak]

Well i managed to 'bag' a Scott Sportster P1.... off of the 'bay. Local to me, just 6 miles up the road.

Here's the picture and description i went by....





Scott's Sportster P1 is loaded with features for your pedaling delight! The light, efficient aluminum frame, fast-rolling 700c wheels and natural flat-bar riding position let you enjoy rides more than ever. Plus, the smooth-riding SR/SunTour suspension fork means you'll float over rough roads and trails. Other highlights include the awesome Shimano Deore/XT drivetrain, sure-stopping hydraulic-disc brakes, quality Continental tires and plush Scott seat.

Frame & Fork
Frame Construction TIG-welded
Frame Tubing Material Aluminum
Fork Brand & Model SR Suntour NCX-D, 50mm
Fork Material Aluminum, single crown
Rear Shock Not applicable

Component Group Commuter Mix
Brakeset Magira HS11 Firm Tech brakes, Magira HS11 Firm Tech levers
Shift Levers Shimano SL-M570
Front Derailleur Shimano FD-M570
Rear Derailleur Shimano Deore XT
Crankset Shimano FC-M540, 26/36/48 teeth
Pedals Wellgo 998S
Bottom Bracket Shimano BB-ES30
BB Shell Width Unspecified
Rear Cogs 9-speed, 11 - 32 teeth
Chain Shimano CN-HG73, 1/2 x 3/32"
Seatpost Scott Comp
Saddle Velo 1125 SCT
Handlebar Scott X-Rod
Handlebar Extensions Not included
Handlebar Stem Rocket Comp SCT
Headset 1 1/8" threadless VP 41 ACE


Wheels
Hubs Front: aluminum, Q/R, Rear: Shimano FH-M510
Rims Alesa DP 2000
Tires 700 x 35c Maxxis Mimo Larsen CX
Spoke Brand DT Swiss stainless steel, 15ga. (1.8mm) straight gauge
Spoke Nipples Unspecified


To be honest.... i've not got a scooby-Doo what most of it means :shock: but i think i've got quite a 'nice' bike for the money paid \/


Here's some pics....


























Collected it this morning then spent a few hours in my 'man cave' giving it a clean (its been left languishing in a garage for a few years as the owner bought himself a Cannondale upgrade). I think it's all ok.... cant go and give it a proper test as the tyres need pumping up. And as i dont have the right fitting for this type of valve, i'll have to go and get one tomorrow. I think possibly the only thing that could do with looking at is the chain, as it feels a little slack/worn, and is showing signs of a little rust. Plus as i have no experience of these fangled hydraulic brakes i may need to do a bit of 'You Tube(ing)' and find out how to check them (hammer)

What do you all think..? not too bad eh..?

 

[doorframe]

Very nice. Not jealous at all.... much!

That seat looks like a nut-buster! :shock:

 

[paulrockliffe]

The bits on that are moderately old, but they all look in very good condition and where pretty top-end when they were new. Looks a very nice bike.

With the Magura brakes (which are ace compared with all other rim brakes btw), check the pads are properly ligned up with the rims and that the contact is perpendicular to the surface, with a couple of degrees of toe-in. Then if the brakes feel OK and they stop you, there's nothing else for you to check. Looking at the pictures they look fine though. You may have an adjuster on the lever that winds the pads in and out a bit, or you may not. If you do, set the pads to 2mm from the rim. Wind them back a bit if the wheel rubs.

 

[Droogs]

Think you'll be more than chuffed, happy peddling

 

[david123]

Nice, well done

 

[bertikus_maximus]

Looks good! If the valves are presta, I'd recommend dropping some money on a proper track pump. The first time I encountered presta valves, I tried to be cheap and just get an adapter but it makes it really difficult to get the tyre pressure right. In the end, I bought one of these bad boys and it is excellent:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/lifeline-essential-track-pump/