Advice needed on buying a new bike please.

[theinstaller]

I'm looking to replace my old quite heavy cycle with something lighter and more up to date. I recently went on an organised cycle ride along the towpath and in total covered some 18 miles or so. My bike has quite big knobbly tyres and I would like to know if having a thinner tyre would be more suitable for tow path riding. The path was quite smooth and dry in some parts, and other parts wet and soggy.

I want to buy the right kind of bike so any advice much appreciated, thank you.

[anonymous-user]

You'll get a million responses but have a look at flat bar hybrid bikes. They will do what you want. Don't bother with suspension, it's ineffective on anything less than good quality mountain bikes. Plus they are heavy and you don't want to add weight. The pinnacle range at Evans is very good value.
Pinnacle Lithium 3
https://www.evanscycles.com/pinnacle-lithium-3-201...

Thinner tyres will get caught in the ruts and bounce off the stones, they also need to be run at higher pressure so won't be add comfortable as wider tyres which you can run at a lower pressure.

[theinstaller]

Thank you for the advice, certainly given me an idea of what to look for.

I didn't particularly want a suspension bike as the ones I had looked at were heavy, and my old bike doesn't have disk brakes so that is something I'll look at as well.


thanks again.

[Adam Kindness]

thinner/less knobbly tyres will certainly make progress easier.

Look into hybrids, should have enough grip for the times its a bit damp.

[egor110]

How about a cyclo cross bike , if tow path is as off road as your going to get then its the best of both worlds.

[Bunfighter]

Not sure on your budget by why not get a secondhand on one 456 bike?

I've got the ti Evo version. It's perfect for that sort of thing and more.

[theinstaller]

My budget is around £300 to £400 and I have thought of looking at second hand bike but, I'm not in any particular hurry, I just want to make sure I buy the right bike for me.

There are a number of bike shops in my area so I'm sure I'll find something.

Thank you

[Bunfighter]

Bike shops can be great but they also only recommend what they have. The nature of the beast sadly.

[aberdeeneuan]

We did a towpath ride at the weekend, my on my hybrid and my wife in her mountain bike. My bike was fine until it got a bit muddy, then the treads got blocked and it was hopeless. It's my commuter so also has mudguards, that didn't help as they got clogged up. My wife's bike was totally fine in that.

However, my commute is partly on a towpath and my hybrid eats that up. It's a well maintained one though, I just pushed the limits of the bike at the weekend. There is a section which is quite rough, but solid track, and it's fine on that.

Mine is a trek 7.5fx, good few years old now but been utterly reliable.

[greenamex2]

I use these tyres on my tow path (various states of repair)/road/muddy lane/cycle path commute, about the best compromise I have found so far -

https://www.schwalbe.com/gb/tour-reader/marathon-m...

Would it be worth thinking about the type/size of tyres you need and then working backwards to work out what type of bike you need?

[jamiebae]

My wife got one of these in the summer for very similar usage to what you describe. It's nicely finished, fitted with decent components and a huge improvement on her old front suspension mountain bike.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/verenti-division-3-2016/

Shimano hydraulic discs, proper road bike gears and a range of gearing which means it's happy on road or on loose surfaces. I swapped the tyres as I had some better ones lying around, but the ones it comes with are perfectly fine too.

[theinstaller]

Thank you for all your advice, at least I have some idea of what I'm looking for.