Hybrid for a poor man

[Warnie]

I've been studying these 2 bikes for taking the kids out down the canal towpaths, and for a little use on the roads at the weekend, so thought a hybrid would be the best way to go.

With me having no idea at all and a very limited £200ish budget I've come up with these 2 below. Would one of you mind having a quick look at the running gear of them as I have no idea which is best. Or if any of you have any other ideas or old bikes you'd like to shift on please let me know


http://www.rutlandcycling.com/159207/products/nott...
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/...

[Pulse]

The Subway is fantastic for the price. I'd recommend it.

[TheLemming]

I wouldn't touch anything Viking branded with a 200foot pole....
I'd echo the other comments about the subway not being terrible though.

How tall are you BTW?

[Gizmoish]

There's nothing wrong with the Subway at all. It's cheap and simple, and probably far better than anything new at that price.

Secondhand might be worth looking for a Trek FX on EBay.

[Warnie]

TheLemming said:

I wouldn't touch anything Viking branded with a 200foot pole....
I'd echo the other comments about the subway not being terrible though.

How tall are you BTW?

Thanks for the heads up about the viking

I'm 6ft 4, so thought I'd need the 22" frame with was £80 more, but having sat on the 20" carrera today, it looks as though I can get away with it easily. I was really suprised at how much bike there is for the money, and was even more suprised that despite me being far from an expert on bikes, I actually knew slighlty more than the store manager by just doing a couple of hours reshearch

Anyway it looks as though I'll be going with the subway and will probabley pick one up tomorrow.

[TheLemming]

Warnie said:

Thanks for the heads up about the viking

I'm 6ft 4, so thought I'd need the 22" frame with was £80 more, but having sat on the 20" carrera today, it looks as though I can get away with it easily. I was really suprised at how much bike there is for the money, and was even more suprised that despite me being far from an expert on bikes, I actually knew slighlty more than the store manager by just doing a couple of hours reshearch

Anyway it looks as though I'll be going with the subway and will probabley pick one up tomorrow.

Don't forget your british cycling discount (10% - if youre not a member then join!) Which stacks on top of every other offer at halfords..

Ok youre a bit big. I've got a couple of carreras looking for new homes lol, too big for me but too small for you!

[Warnie]

Brought the subway yesterday and already it's a massive upgrade on any previous bike I've had, in fact it's got me thinking about how good these £1k+ bikes must be. One complaint though is that for a bike that has 21 gears, why make the top gear so easy? on even a slight decline I feel I need a longer gear as my legs are hitting their red line!.

Brought the wife a bike yesterday as well, so off we all went with the 2 kids down the canal towpaths, and within 20mins I was on my way back walking with a rear puncture, I finally get back to find the 2 kids with flat front tyres who'd gone on ahead with the wife. If that wasn't bad enough, I get up this morning to find my front one flat as well. So that's 4 flat tyres on one 20 minute ride for me to repair, not to mention having to clean the st off 4 bikes

[Gizmoish]

The P fairy visits everyone from time to time.

Make sure you've got the tyres pumped up good and hard, and note where on the tube you're getting them. On the 'inside' means that a spoke is poking through, which for a new bike you should discuss with the shop.

And carry a puncture kit. Levers, self-adhesive patches, mini pump.

As for 'spinning out' downhill... the biggest ring at the front is a 48 and I'll assume that the smallest at the back is a 12 or 13. That gearing translates to 28/30mph at 90 pedal rpm, 37/40mph at 120rpm. As you're new to cycling... I politely suggest that you're simply not moving your legs fast enough.

[Warnie]

Gizmoish said:

The P fairy visits everyone from time to time.

Make sure you've got the tyres pumped up good and hard, and note where on the tube you're getting them. On the 'inside' means that a spoke is poking through, which for a new bike you should discuss with the shop.

And carry a puncture kit. Levers, self-adhesive patches, mini pump.

As for 'spinning out' downhill... the biggest ring at the front is a 48 and I'll assume that the smallest at the back is a 12 or 13. That gearing translates to 28/30mph at 90 pedal rpm, 37/40mph at 120rpm. As you're new to cycling... I politely suggest that you're simply not moving your legs fast enough.

I collected a mini puncture/toolkit kit this morning from Halfords, those self adhesive pads though were a pain in the arse to remove from the clear backing. I found I had to put the patch on, and then remove the backing. Nothing like as easy as the youtube how to, made by Halfords.

I take on board about the gearing , I reckon my red line is that of a lazy V8 then that of a v-tec like I imagined;). Different kind of fitness though is this cycling lark...

[Gizmoish]

I don't bother removing the backing