Recommend me a budget bike (ex-cyclist coming back)
Discussion
I used to cycle a lot, before I could drive. I always had road bikes then because mountain bikes were stupidly heavy at the time, and I didn't see the point as I did all my cycling on the road.
The last bike I had a Reynolds 531 frame with mainly Shimano 105 bits, although the crankset was a lovely Shimano 600 item, to give you some idea. It got stolen, anyway. I hope whoever took it at least got a decent amount for it.
I now find myself wanting a bike again, but my needs have changed somewhat. I would like to commute on it a few days a week, or more accurately ride it home. (My wife can drop me off with the bike in the morning meaning I don't get to work cold, wet or sweaty). I'd also like to ride a few trails, but nothing too hardcore as I don't have time for all that - if I go cycling apart from commuting I'd probably have a kid along with me, so anything too strenuous off-road is out for a few years, and perhaps forever as my knees are borked from too much football. We're probably talking about riding along canals and old railway lines - nothing that needs a brute of a mountain bike, and to be honest probably the sort of thing I'd have ridden on my road bike with care and some worry as to how true the wheels would be at the end.
Also, I live in a hilly city. My house and my work have a hill in between them, so which ever way I go it's pretty much half uphill and half downhill. And the roads here are badly maintained.
So I've decided I should get a hardtail mountain bike and stick some slicks on it. Does that sound reasonable? I guess lots more gears (my old bike had 12, and I had to fit a smaller chain ring to get up some of the hills here) will make up for the fact that the bike will probably weigh more than my old road bike did, and even a cheaper bike will be easily able to cope with tow-paths and, should I get chance, something a bit tougher.
Any views on the Rockriders at Decathlon? The 5.1 and 5.2 look reasonably priced, but for that much would you look second-hand? Any advice much appreciated.
The last bike I had a Reynolds 531 frame with mainly Shimano 105 bits, although the crankset was a lovely Shimano 600 item, to give you some idea. It got stolen, anyway. I hope whoever took it at least got a decent amount for it.
I now find myself wanting a bike again, but my needs have changed somewhat. I would like to commute on it a few days a week, or more accurately ride it home. (My wife can drop me off with the bike in the morning meaning I don't get to work cold, wet or sweaty). I'd also like to ride a few trails, but nothing too hardcore as I don't have time for all that - if I go cycling apart from commuting I'd probably have a kid along with me, so anything too strenuous off-road is out for a few years, and perhaps forever as my knees are borked from too much football. We're probably talking about riding along canals and old railway lines - nothing that needs a brute of a mountain bike, and to be honest probably the sort of thing I'd have ridden on my road bike with care and some worry as to how true the wheels would be at the end.
Also, I live in a hilly city. My house and my work have a hill in between them, so which ever way I go it's pretty much half uphill and half downhill. And the roads here are badly maintained.
So I've decided I should get a hardtail mountain bike and stick some slicks on it. Does that sound reasonable? I guess lots more gears (my old bike had 12, and I had to fit a smaller chain ring to get up some of the hills here) will make up for the fact that the bike will probably weigh more than my old road bike did, and even a cheaper bike will be easily able to cope with tow-paths and, should I get chance, something a bit tougher.
Any views on the Rockriders at Decathlon? The 5.1 and 5.2 look reasonably priced, but for that much would you look second-hand? Any advice much appreciated.
Cyclocross bikes look lovely, but they seem to start at £700. Or 'half-the-price-of-my-car' as I like to think of it.
Am I looking in the wrong places?
Hybrid bikes look to me a bit like a modern version of the sort of bike you'd expect a batty academic to crash into you in some Oxford back alley - my wife loves them. I don't!
Am I looking in the wrong places?
Hybrid bikes look to me a bit like a modern version of the sort of bike you'd expect a batty academic to crash into you in some Oxford back alley - my wife loves them. I don't!
Mr E said:
Ah now that's ok - the Decathlon hybrids are all a bit weird looking. I'd feel weird about it only having one chain ring though, but I suppose 8 gears would be enough.I hadn't thought to look for cyclocross bikes before though, and now I'm scouring eBay for them.
How much stronger would a mountain bike be than a cyclo cross bike of a similar spec?
blugnu said:
How much stronger would a mountain bike be than a cyclo cross bike of a similar spec?
I'd imagine the wheels would be tougher (and more massive) on an equivalently priced MTB, but for the sort of riding you're thinking about both would probably be sufficient.There is no kill like overkill, however....
Mr Will said:
Sounds like you need a Cyclocross bike to me...
Damn you, Sir.Had a look in Edinburgh Bike Co-Op on the way home last night.
A Cyclocross bike is exactly what I want - thank you. They even have one at £475, or £650 with discs. It's quite heavy, though. They have a beautiful brushed aluminium model from last year that's lighter for £700 though.
My budget was about £250- £300 though. Might have to do some man-maths around fuel savings. Does anyone know the rules about claiming back VAT on bikes you commute on if you're self-employed and VAT registered? Or if I can claim it as a business expense at all?
Cheers.
Haha cyclocross bikes do that to budgets.
I was looking for something to commute on, then found about about cyclocross and after a bit of reading about I've just (actually just back at my desk from seeing the finance lady) signed the forms to order one on the cycle to work scheme and I've already signed up for a race!
I would say that you should surely be able to claim the VAT back, and if you stick to the C2W scheme rule that at least 50% of it's use must be for commuting it shouldn't be an issue. I considered going self employed before the sprog came along and I needed some stability and I would have been getting everything possible VAT free, that's one of the main perks isn't it?
I was looking for something to commute on, then found about about cyclocross and after a bit of reading about I've just (actually just back at my desk from seeing the finance lady) signed the forms to order one on the cycle to work scheme and I've already signed up for a race!
I would say that you should surely be able to claim the VAT back, and if you stick to the C2W scheme rule that at least 50% of it's use must be for commuting it shouldn't be an issue. I considered going self employed before the sprog came along and I needed some stability and I would have been getting everything possible VAT free, that's one of the main perks isn't it?
I don't seem to get anything VAT free apart from this laptop, sadly. I just have to send HMRC slightly more than I earn every three months, which is a bit grim to be honest.
I'd seen that about it being used 50% + for commuting but didn't know how that worked for being self employed. Also, does it count as commuting use if I'm only going one way? I'd stick it in the back of the car in the morning so I get to work clean and cool then thrash it home as fast as I could - when I used to commute in my youth I knew it had been a good ride home when I had to lean against the side of the house for a bit before I could get off the bike. I was always aiming for an overall average of over 20mph but never did it because of the many, many traffic lights. I did 19.8, but never 20. What worked for making me fit when I was 19 will surely still work 19 years later. Won't it?
To be honest I'm tempted to put the whole thing through as a business expense anyway. I only employ one full time member of staff and she's welcome to use it if she wants (she won't) so that makes it available to all employees and therefore fair game. Possibly overkill for going to the postbox 400 yards away, but never mind!
I'd seen that about it being used 50% + for commuting but didn't know how that worked for being self employed. Also, does it count as commuting use if I'm only going one way? I'd stick it in the back of the car in the morning so I get to work clean and cool then thrash it home as fast as I could - when I used to commute in my youth I knew it had been a good ride home when I had to lean against the side of the house for a bit before I could get off the bike. I was always aiming for an overall average of over 20mph but never did it because of the many, many traffic lights. I did 19.8, but never 20. What worked for making me fit when I was 19 will surely still work 19 years later. Won't it?
To be honest I'm tempted to put the whole thing through as a business expense anyway. I only employ one full time member of staff and she's welcome to use it if she wants (she won't) so that makes it available to all employees and therefore fair game. Possibly overkill for going to the postbox 400 yards away, but never mind!
pembo said:
Haha cyclocross bikes do that to budgets.
I was looking for something to commute on, then found about about cyclocross and after a bit of reading about I've just (actually just back at my desk from seeing the finance lady) signed the forms to order one on the cycle to work scheme and I've already signed up for a race!
I would say that you should surely be able to claim the VAT back, and if you stick to the C2W scheme rule that at least 50% of it's use must be for commuting it shouldn't be an issue. I considered going self employed before the sprog came along and I needed some stability and I would have been getting everything possible VAT free, that's one of the main perks isn't it?
Congratulations on the bike, by the way. What are you getting?I was looking for something to commute on, then found about about cyclocross and after a bit of reading about I've just (actually just back at my desk from seeing the finance lady) signed the forms to order one on the cycle to work scheme and I've already signed up for a race!
I would say that you should surely be able to claim the VAT back, and if you stick to the C2W scheme rule that at least 50% of it's use must be for commuting it shouldn't be an issue. I considered going self employed before the sprog came along and I needed some stability and I would have been getting everything possible VAT free, that's one of the main perks isn't it?
Thanks for the suggestion of a 29er, but now I've seen cyclocross bikes my mind is made up. A bike that was more like an MTB would feel heavy and unresponsive to me I think and it'd put me off, bearing in mind my last experience of cycling was as a fitter and much younger man on a road bike: whatever I ride will feel slow I suppose, but a cyclocorss will feel less slow. Plus I never really liked flat bars - when I used to borrow my brother's MTB in the winter (an early 90's Specialised Hard Rock Comp) I was always looking for the drops.
The Norco A3 disc at Evans seems quite decent. When I'm closer to having the required budget I'll bother them for a test ride.
The Norco A3 disc at Evans seems quite decent. When I'm closer to having the required budget I'll bother them for a test ride.
My bike was delivered last week, had a few rides on it and slowly getting used to having my feet clipped in.
I got a Genesis Vapour for £700 from Winstanleys it's nice and simple and I'm really enjoying it but the OH can't understand how I could spend that much on a bike that just looks plain black until you look up close.
I got a Genesis Vapour for £700 from Winstanleys it's nice and simple and I'm really enjoying it but the OH can't understand how I could spend that much on a bike that just looks plain black until you look up close.
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