I've bought the wrong (for me) bike - What to do?
Discussion
At the end of the summer I decided to treat myself to a nice road bike. I had visions of getting out and about with my wife (she has a decent hybrid type bike) whilst the grandparents looked after the kids sometimes, or maybe selfishly getting out on my own. So I treated myself to a nice Fuji Grand Fondo - link here
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/fuji/gran-fond...
Now, this is the nicest and most expensive bike (by some margin) I have ever owned but the reality is I have never had a chance to get out and use it. Maybe it was foolish buying it at the end of summer as I am definitely a fair weather cyclist. But I think the biggest issue is that I have bought the wrong sort of bike as a dedicated road bike is probably not right for me at the moment. I just can't see me disappearing for 2 - 4 hrs on a weekend. I think I would have been better off with either hybrid or more likely a mountain bike as that would allow me to at least get out with the kids. There is a dedicated mountain bike trail not too far from where I live and my thought is that I could take my girls there and do some cycling away from the road.
I have literally done a mile on the bike just to try it out and it has sat there ever since, so it seems such a waste, as it really is a lovely bike - I was wondering what my realistic and best options are.
Should I :
a) Try and take it back to Evans where I purchased it from and see if they'll do some sort of exchange (I'm not sure they would be open to this, but may be worth a try)
b) Should I try and sell it privately? If so where is best to do this? As I said I am a fair weather cyclist rather than an enthusiast so I don't subscribe to any forums, magazines etc.
c) try to exchange for another bike privately ? again I wouldn't know where best to look for this. I've looked at various swap sites, but nothing seems relevant
Any help or pointers would be very welcome
Thanks
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/fuji/gran-fond...
Now, this is the nicest and most expensive bike (by some margin) I have ever owned but the reality is I have never had a chance to get out and use it. Maybe it was foolish buying it at the end of summer as I am definitely a fair weather cyclist. But I think the biggest issue is that I have bought the wrong sort of bike as a dedicated road bike is probably not right for me at the moment. I just can't see me disappearing for 2 - 4 hrs on a weekend. I think I would have been better off with either hybrid or more likely a mountain bike as that would allow me to at least get out with the kids. There is a dedicated mountain bike trail not too far from where I live and my thought is that I could take my girls there and do some cycling away from the road.
I have literally done a mile on the bike just to try it out and it has sat there ever since, so it seems such a waste, as it really is a lovely bike - I was wondering what my realistic and best options are.
Should I :
a) Try and take it back to Evans where I purchased it from and see if they'll do some sort of exchange (I'm not sure they would be open to this, but may be worth a try)
b) Should I try and sell it privately? If so where is best to do this? As I said I am a fair weather cyclist rather than an enthusiast so I don't subscribe to any forums, magazines etc.
c) try to exchange for another bike privately ? again I wouldn't know where best to look for this. I've looked at various swap sites, but nothing seems relevant
Any help or pointers would be very welcome
Thanks
Standard n+1 answer is just to keep it and buy a cheap second MTB so you can go out with the kids.
Unless Evans play ball you'll likely take a big hit on the sale/exchange so you might as well keep it and see if Summer brings you the kind of riding you were hoping for.
Even if it sits there for a few months and you ride the MTB instead, if the experience of me and many others is anything to go by you'll be wanting a road bike before long anyway
Unless Evans play ball you'll likely take a big hit on the sale/exchange so you might as well keep it and see if Summer brings you the kind of riding you were hoping for.
Even if it sits there for a few months and you ride the MTB instead, if the experience of me and many others is anything to go by you'll be wanting a road bike before long anyway
They'll not take it back.
So you may as well try it out for a few weeks, get some kit, ride it, see how you feel, can always sell later in spring and probably for better money than it would fetch now.
I don't view riding alone as selfish btw. It's my way of keeping fit, physically and mentally, for the good of me and my family. 4hrs/week = a round of golf or a couple of gym visits, or 2000 cals burnt exploring country lanes in the fresh air and returning sweaty with the glow of slightly burning legs and many happy freshly released endorphins.
Then get an mtb too when it's warmer and the kids want to ride and you'll be fitter for it
So you may as well try it out for a few weeks, get some kit, ride it, see how you feel, can always sell later in spring and probably for better money than it would fetch now.
I don't view riding alone as selfish btw. It's my way of keeping fit, physically and mentally, for the good of me and my family. 4hrs/week = a round of golf or a couple of gym visits, or 2000 cals burnt exploring country lanes in the fresh air and returning sweaty with the glow of slightly burning legs and many happy freshly released endorphins.
Then get an mtb too when it's warmer and the kids want to ride and you'll be fitter for it
loudlashadjuster said:
Standard n+1 answer is just to keep it and buy a cheap second MTB so you can go out with the kids.
Unless Evans play ball you'll likely take a big hit on the sale/exchange so you might as well keep it and see if Summer brings you the kind of riding you were hoping for.
Even if it sits there for a few months and you ride the MTB instead, if the experience of me and many others is anything to go by you'll be wanting a road bike before long anyway
This. I last rode my road bike in October and it will stay in the garage until the sun shines and the rain stops while I ride my old mountain bike. Get on eBay and pick one up for a couple hundred quid. Unless Evans play ball you'll likely take a big hit on the sale/exchange so you might as well keep it and see if Summer brings you the kind of riding you were hoping for.
Even if it sits there for a few months and you ride the MTB instead, if the experience of me and many others is anything to go by you'll be wanting a road bike before long anyway
Thanks for the replies guys. Good advice, I guess what you guys are saying is man up and get on the bike :-)
I suspect I would take a big hit if I tried to move it on in one shape or form as you say. I've never paid over a thousand pound (or owned a carbon framed bike) in my life, it's a lovely machine and it's such a shame not to be using it and I'm worried that it won't get the use it probably deserves. I suppose I need to be more aggressive at carving some time out to get on my bike as it were. Also part of me was thinking that I shouldn't use it if i'm thinking of moving it on as it may be worth more unused - Although the difference is probably negligable anyway.
I suspect I would take a big hit if I tried to move it on in one shape or form as you say. I've never paid over a thousand pound (or owned a carbon framed bike) in my life, it's a lovely machine and it's such a shame not to be using it and I'm worried that it won't get the use it probably deserves. I suppose I need to be more aggressive at carving some time out to get on my bike as it were. Also part of me was thinking that I shouldn't use it if i'm thinking of moving it on as it may be worth more unused - Although the difference is probably negligable anyway.
AC43 said:
Road bikes aren't for everyone. If you're not into it sell it on Bike Radar, take the hit and get a MTB sharpish. Cycling around the woods with your kids is priceless.
To be honest this hits the nail on the head for me. I think that cycling in the woods with the kids would be far more enjoyable than getting out on my own. I'm not sure that road bikes are my thing, but will hang on to it until the weather gets better and give it a go. Edited by AC43 on Friday 8th January 15:46
Join a local club, meet new like minded people, discover new roads & feel the immense self satisfaction of climbing that big f
k off hill.
There is something about road cycling that nothing else comes close too but if my kids were still young then i'd probably want to go out with them too.
Best wishes OP
k off hill.There is something about road cycling that nothing else comes close too but if my kids were still young then i'd probably want to go out with them too.
Best wishes OP
Black can man said:
Join a local club, meet new like minded people,
I went on a couple of club rides, the people who attended were nothing like me. Maybe its me but most of the shops in my area and most of the club runs I have bumped into are a very clicky set and very introvert bordering on weird. Find your own family and friends to ride with, people who you know you already get along with, spending 4 hours with people you don't like is no fun. Similar to golf, I hate playing in roll ups and comps as getting paired with a lunatic for 4 hours is pure hell.I am probably the weirdo lunatic
tuffer said:
Black can man said:
Join a local club, meet new like minded people,
I went on a couple of club rides, the people who attended were nothing like me. Maybe its me but most of the shops in my area and most of the club runs I have bumped into are a very clicky set and very introvert bordering on weird. Find your own family and friends to ride with, people who you know you already get along with, spending 4 hours with people you don't like is no fun. Similar to golf, I hate playing in roll ups and comps as getting paired with a lunatic for 4 hours is pure hell.I am probably the weirdo lunatic
I started with a MTB, loads of friends had roadies and I thought it was selfish to bigger off for hours on end and not see the family. But I succumbed and got one and can honestly say it's one of the best decisions. As you can cover lots of ground I just cycle to wherever we are going and meet the wife and kids there, or the group of guys do and meet all the wives and kids - even better. In summer just get out once the kids are in bed. We do 7-10 when the light allows, including the obligatory pint.
Still love mtbing though, go out with my lad on the canal and round the park, as well as a few trails when I have days off and when the rest are at work/school.
I suppose it can also depend on type of job. I work shifts so can easily find 'selfish' time. It usually involves riding when I have a list of 'jobs' to do - hard choice.
What I think I'm saying is try push through it, have a go and see if it works for you and it's such a rewarding activity to do alone or with mates (I kind of agree with the whole 'club' thing though - not for me)
Still love mtbing though, go out with my lad on the canal and round the park, as well as a few trails when I have days off and when the rest are at work/school.
I suppose it can also depend on type of job. I work shifts so can easily find 'selfish' time. It usually involves riding when I have a list of 'jobs' to do - hard choice.
What I think I'm saying is try push through it, have a go and see if it works for you and it's such a rewarding activity to do alone or with mates (I kind of agree with the whole 'club' thing though - not for me)
My experiences, for what they're worth....
I have a nice, light road bike, a CX bike (which is my main commuter, as it's fitted out with discs, mudgards & panniers) and two mountain bikes.
I also have kids aged 13, 10 & 7.
Last year, I rode just over 2,000 miles. Of that, just under 600 miles was on the mountain bikes, and the remaining 1,500 or so on tarmac. With the exception of one 30 mile ride with a mate, however, the entirety of my road riding was commuting to work, so effectively "free" time, as I'd be spending it commuting to work, give or take 15 minutes or so, regardless of my means of travel.
The mountain biking? That is all time I have to carve out of other demands on my time. A lot of it has been with mates, but over 200 miles of it has been trail riding with my 10yr old, and those have been some of the absolute highlights of my year.
Personally, I'm a very confident rider in traffic. I'm perfectly comfortable riding into Central London and back in the rush hour, in all weather conditions at all times of the year. Taking my kids anywhere near anything other than totally empty side streets turns me into a gibbering, paranoid nervous wreck though.
I'm far less confident off road. I didn't start riding mountain bikes until I was in my thirties, so by then I'd already discovered I wasn't immortal, and for all that I like to imagine myself as one of the Atherton brothers clearing 15 foot gaps on a World Downhill course, the reality is that I'll probably never get the wheels more than 6 inches off the ground, as I'm a complete chicken. The feeling of happiness and pride I get watching my 10yr old (his siblings ride as well, but he's the one who's really got the bug) getting faster and more confident over the bumpy stuff every time we ride is immense!
I suspect that by the time he's 13, he'll be faster than me, and by the time he's 16, I won't be able to stay in touch, but that's the natural order of things, and hopefully he'll still enjoy waiting around for his decrepit old man to catch up well into his adulthood.
Setting aside the traffic, the other big difference between road and mountain biking is that the latter - at least when you're riding singletrack trails rather than a long cross country loop - is that the latter is far more egalitarian without ruining your fun. Going out on the road in a group can quickly become immensely frustrating if you're not all able to ride at roughly the same speed, but that's a complete non issue with mountain biking. When I'm out with mates, we go into trails in order of fastest to slowest rider. The slower riders improve by trying to stay in touch with the faster riders, but everyone then just groups up again at the end of the fun section, ready to trundle on to the next fun section as a sociable group. When I'm with the kids, I tend to count a minute then follow them into a trail so that I'm not way ahead of them if they come off, but the principle is the same - we all get to have fun at our own pace on the fun bits of trail, then catch up again as a family at the end.
If I could only choose one single bike for the rest of my life, then without any shadow of a doubt, it would be a fairly long travel hardtail mountain bike with lockout forks and a second set of wheels so that I could have knobbly tyres on one and slicks on the other, then just swap them over for commuting duties. Fortunately, the thousands of pounds in train fares that I've saved over the years have been enough to allow me to buy myself a pretty comprehensive stable of bikes, but it's the mountain bikes that I will always turn to for fun, and for not having to carve time selfishly out of family life, seeing as I can take the family with me!
My advice would be to head to somewhere like Swinley Forest in Bracknell or Bedgebury in Kent, both of which have bike hire and marked out mountain bike trails and give it a go to see if you like it. If you do, then sell the road bike and put the money towards a decent MTB. If you don't, then it'll only take a day and £20 or so to find out.
I have a nice, light road bike, a CX bike (which is my main commuter, as it's fitted out with discs, mudgards & panniers) and two mountain bikes.
I also have kids aged 13, 10 & 7.
Last year, I rode just over 2,000 miles. Of that, just under 600 miles was on the mountain bikes, and the remaining 1,500 or so on tarmac. With the exception of one 30 mile ride with a mate, however, the entirety of my road riding was commuting to work, so effectively "free" time, as I'd be spending it commuting to work, give or take 15 minutes or so, regardless of my means of travel.
The mountain biking? That is all time I have to carve out of other demands on my time. A lot of it has been with mates, but over 200 miles of it has been trail riding with my 10yr old, and those have been some of the absolute highlights of my year.
Personally, I'm a very confident rider in traffic. I'm perfectly comfortable riding into Central London and back in the rush hour, in all weather conditions at all times of the year. Taking my kids anywhere near anything other than totally empty side streets turns me into a gibbering, paranoid nervous wreck though.
I'm far less confident off road. I didn't start riding mountain bikes until I was in my thirties, so by then I'd already discovered I wasn't immortal, and for all that I like to imagine myself as one of the Atherton brothers clearing 15 foot gaps on a World Downhill course, the reality is that I'll probably never get the wheels more than 6 inches off the ground, as I'm a complete chicken. The feeling of happiness and pride I get watching my 10yr old (his siblings ride as well, but he's the one who's really got the bug) getting faster and more confident over the bumpy stuff every time we ride is immense!
I suspect that by the time he's 13, he'll be faster than me, and by the time he's 16, I won't be able to stay in touch, but that's the natural order of things, and hopefully he'll still enjoy waiting around for his decrepit old man to catch up well into his adulthood.
Setting aside the traffic, the other big difference between road and mountain biking is that the latter - at least when you're riding singletrack trails rather than a long cross country loop - is that the latter is far more egalitarian without ruining your fun. Going out on the road in a group can quickly become immensely frustrating if you're not all able to ride at roughly the same speed, but that's a complete non issue with mountain biking. When I'm out with mates, we go into trails in order of fastest to slowest rider. The slower riders improve by trying to stay in touch with the faster riders, but everyone then just groups up again at the end of the fun section, ready to trundle on to the next fun section as a sociable group. When I'm with the kids, I tend to count a minute then follow them into a trail so that I'm not way ahead of them if they come off, but the principle is the same - we all get to have fun at our own pace on the fun bits of trail, then catch up again as a family at the end.
If I could only choose one single bike for the rest of my life, then without any shadow of a doubt, it would be a fairly long travel hardtail mountain bike with lockout forks and a second set of wheels so that I could have knobbly tyres on one and slicks on the other, then just swap them over for commuting duties. Fortunately, the thousands of pounds in train fares that I've saved over the years have been enough to allow me to buy myself a pretty comprehensive stable of bikes, but it's the mountain bikes that I will always turn to for fun, and for not having to carve time selfishly out of family life, seeing as I can take the family with me!
My advice would be to head to somewhere like Swinley Forest in Bracknell or Bedgebury in Kent, both of which have bike hire and marked out mountain bike trails and give it a go to see if you like it. If you do, then sell the road bike and put the money towards a decent MTB. If you don't, then it'll only take a day and £20 or so to find out.
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