What bike?

[LiamMD]

Afternoon all,

I'm currently looking at buying a new hybrid bicycle to work on my fitness. I previously bought a road bike (carrera virtuoso) and do not get on with it at all, I can't get comfortable riding with drop bars and such no matter how hard I try.

I've visited my local indy bike store and have come away way 2 bikes in mind and am having trouble deciding between the two so thought I'd ask around here.

The bikes are a Giant Roam 1 and a Merida Crossway 300.

The specs are as follows:

Giant Roam 1 - £549 (sale from £649)



Size M
Colours White/Red
Frame ALUXX-Grade Aluminum
Fork SR Suntour NEX MLO, 63mm Travel, lockout
Shock N/A
Components
Handlebar Giant Sport, Low Riser 31.8mm
Stem Giant Sport
Seatpost Giant Sport
Saddle Giant Connect Upright
Pedals Resin anti slip, steel cage
Drivetrain
Shifters Shimano Deore 30 speed
Front Derailleur Shimano Deore Trekking
Rear Derailleur Shimano Deore Shadow
Brakes Tektro HDC300 hycdraulic disc, 160mm
Brake Levers Tektro HDC300
Cassette Shimano HG62 11-36
Chain KMC X10 w/ Missing Link
Crankset Shimano T521 48/36/26
Bottom Bracket Shimano Hollowtech II
Wheels
Rims Giant CR70
Hubs Formula alloy disc hubs
Spokes Stainless steel
Tires Giant S-RX4, 700x40mm


Merida Crossway 300 - £575 (sale from £649)



SIZE 46cm
FRAME Butted and heat treated 6061 aluminium tubing with hydroformed top tube.
COLOR matt anthracite(green)
FORK SR NEX 63mm with lockout
SHOCK n/a
DERAILLEUR FRONT Shimano M390 48
DERAILLEUR REAR Shimano SLX-9
SHIFTERS Shimano Acera-X Rapidfire
BRAKE LEVERS attached
BRAKES Tektro HDC Hydraulic Disc 160 mm
CHAINWHEEL SR Suntour XCR 48A-38-28 CG
BB-SET Shimano Cartridge
CHAIN KMC Z99 9s
HUBS Alloy Disc QR / Shimano M475 Disc
RIMS Merida Comp D
FREEWHEEL Shimano CS-HG20-9 11-34
SPOKES black stainless
TIRES Merida Speed 40 Reflex
HANDLEBAR Merida Comp OS 620 R25
STEM Adjustable Pro OS A-Head
HEADSET Conoid semi Neck
SEATPOST Suspension One D 27.2 mm
SADDLE Cross Sport
PEDALS Lite Alloy SIZES 46cm
FRAME Butted and heat treated 6061 aluminium tubing with hydroformed top tube.
COLOR matt anthracite(green)
FORK SR NEX 63mm with lockout
SHOCK n/a
DERAILLEUR FRONT Shimano M390 48
DERAILLEUR REAR Shimano SLX-9
SHIFTERS Shimano Acera-X Rapidfire
BRAKE LEVERS attached
BRAKES Tektro HDC Hydraulic Disc 160 mm
CHAINWHEEL SR Suntour XCR 48A-38-28 CG
BB-SET Shimano Cartridge
CHAIN KMC Z99 9s
HUBS Alloy Disc QR / Shimano M475 Disc
RIMS Merida Comp D
FREEWHEEL Shimano CS-HG20-9 11-34
SPOKES black stainless
TIRES Merida Speed 40 Reflex
HANDLEBAR Merida Comp OS 620 R25
STEM Adjustable Pro OS A-Head
HEADSET Conoid semi Neck
SEATPOST Suspension One D 27.2 mm
SADDLE Cross Sport
PEDALS Lite Alloy


I'm leaning towards the Giant currently but have been back and forward. I prefer the look of the Merida and it seems to have more comfort features (sprung seat post, more adjustment on the bars) whereas the Giant has a better drivetrain from what I've been told.

As to the type of riding I'll be doing, most of it will be roads or paved pathways. There is the possibility of the occasional (once a month or so) trip to the local woods where I would be riding the main trails of heavily trodden dry dirt, nothing too adventurous.

Any input would be appreciated.

[WinstonWolf]

If you really can't get on with drops (if you've got a belly they're a bit tricky. Not saying you have, obviously...) have you considered fitting flats and turning your roadie into a hybrid?

[LiamMD]

Good idea but I don't get on with the current bike at all to be honest. I picked it up cheap second hand and I'm not a fan of it, so much so that it's not been used for about 6 months.

I'm hoping to recover most of what I paid for it selling it on again so this seemed a better choice as I can look into cycle to work scheme etc too. Also by the time I changed the bars, brakes, pedals, seat post/saddle things could be getting quite expensive.

Right on the money about the belly though!

[WinstonWolf]

I had my suspicions Been there, done that, pedalled the miles and lost the belly. It gets lots easier riding with drops once you're cycle fit again... Not trying to get you to keep it or anything

[LiamMD]

Haha nice try but an old motorbike injury means I'll probably be avoiding drop bars for a fair while at least!

That's also a factor in what makes the front suspension on these hybrids appealing as I know a lot of people go barmy about the idea of suspension for a bike that will mainly be used on roads.

[anonymous-user]

Buy one without suspension forks, it will be a good deal lighter and have far more responsive steering, you honestly dont need suspension forks on a hybrid, especially not cheap ones with a quoted 63mm of travel (actual travel achieved will be about 50mm).

Just find a sweet spot for tyre pressure that suits your weight and teh surfaces you are cycling on. If you like Giant, the Rapid range is worth a look.

[LiamMD]

I appreciate that the front suspension is a compromise but due to injuries to my wrist and shoulder I think I'd struggle to do much riding without them.

[anonymous-user]

I appreciate the need for comfort but from experience I found that the suspension forks fitted on bikes around your budget were poor. The compression and rebound characteristics are far from linear and adjusting them to suit is difficult because the forks are fitted with coil springs not air dampers. Make sure you play around with the settings before you make your decision and potentially try a rigid bike as a comparison

The wide 40mm tyres on the Roam will soak up a lot of road buzz and small bumps without you realising, especially if in the past you were riding around on skinny 23mm road tyres in the past

Edited by anonymous-user on Monday 22 September 14:21

[LiamMD]

Sounds like I need to start looking all over again then!

I've had someone recommend then GT Tachyon 1 which is currently on sale in my price range.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/gt-tachyon-1-2014


To be honest I barely know what I'm looking for when it comes to bike specs, mainly it comes down to what I think looks shiny!

[anonymous-user]

To be honest, specs at the same price point vary very little.

The GT is a capable looking bike and would be ideal, the Kona Dr Dew is a nice bike with slightly wider tyres which will compliment the rougher roads but there is nothing stopping you from finding tyres that suit on the Eastway
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/kona-dr-dew-via-centro-201...
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/eastway-fb40-x5/

IMHO too many people think they need suspension forks on a bike without appreciating that the quality and performance of suspension forks fitted to a £500 bike will be commensurate with the spec level of the rest of the components...... but where having a drivetrain commensurate to a £500 bike isnt an issue for most people, having lower spec components that have a direct influence over comfort and riding like suspension forks is a big issue.
Break it all down and the forks that you are relying on for comfort can be found for £50 online, I cant believe that they will offer anything like the level of perforamnce you are hoping for.

[LiamMD]

Baring in mind what I've been told about the evils of front suspension I'm currently looking at a Ridgeback x3

http://www.pedalscyclecentre.co.uk/m1b0s18p4834/Ri...

(not necessarily from this site)

Unfortunately none of my local stores stock them so it looks like I'll have to try and figure out sizing myself and order online. A shame really as I was hoping to buy local to avoid this and to minimise any issues with build/setup, support etc but my local stores seem to only stock front suspension models. How hard/easy should it be for someone with very little knowledge or spannering skills to assemble things correctly?

Would this be capable of handling the occasional trips to the local woods/fields?

Any other thoughts?

Apologies for all the questions. I really appreciate all the input as I'm feeling a bit blind whilst looking at spending what to me is a very large amount so want to make sure I don't end up regretting it!

Edited by LiamMD on Tuesday 23 September 20:31

[LiamMD]

Thanks everybody for your help. Just picked up a Ridgeback x3 and fell in love on the ride home!

[Kell]

You could always get riser bars (XC style).

I don't like the look of them myself, but they do take the sting out of bumps - certainly more so than flat bars - without much (if any) weight penalty.

Alternatively, (showing my age here a bit), do Pro-flex (or a modern-day equivalent) still make suspensions stems?

Edited by Kell on Thursday 2nd October 16:00

[HereBeMonsters]

Lovely machine. Great value for money imo.