Bike Nicked - suspension bikes any good ?

[Scraggles]

Been on pub crawl and went to shop when some scrote swiped the bike. Has faults like naff brakes and a bump or two in the wheel. phone the plod who suggested waiting where I was for the local car who was sent first to my house and then to the shop where it happened and not to where I was waiting...

Bike had no suspension, what are the bikes with partial or full suspension like ? thinking of a cheap halfords one - apollo or something. Area is mostly flat with 1 hill, generally off road or cycle path biking. Current muscles are a bit sore and got sore bum, will speak to insurance company next week when can find the cost that I paid or the current value.

Maybe the scrote will find the brakes are bad and get run over
edit - bike is d-locked to an external wall and replacement would be in the £100-150 price range

Edited by Scraggles on Sunday 27th April 12:50

[Zippee]

Bearing in mind a decent set of suspension forks would cost upward of £200 alone that should tell you something about the quality of kit fitted to a £100-150 bike. The shocks will be heavy, will flex and have little or no rebound for that cost.
Steer clear and buy one without.

[Pooh]

Cheap ones are rubbish, what about a decent 2nd hand one?

I have been very happy with my full suspension Whyte and Kona and would not go back to a non suspension bike.

Edited by Pooh on Sunday 27th April 13:44

[Scraggles]

will look at second hand for sure, but as there is no space in the house and the gardens are communal, ie anyone can get to them, not really want to buy a bike where the forks alone are worth £200 and the bike is worth £3-500 as it will be too tempting a target

mate commented that suspension bikes tend to make the cycling harder which does make sense, so suspect will go for a hybrid bike of some sorts...

[choc]

cheap full-sussers are just that.... cheap! you will get a far more satisfying ride from a similarly priced hard-tail. Your looking at paying £500+ to get a semi-decent full-susser, or keep an eye on the 2nd hand market!

[Scraggles]

cheers, will see what insurance company say, but suspect will end up paying £190 for a hybrid bike with mudguards, pannier shelf, aluminium frame and 18 speed ?

£500 bike on the external wall would result in the d-lock getting cut, might put another one on the wall as well - area open to anyone that wants to get to it and so far been ok, next time bike gets locked

[thehappyotter]

A hybrid bike and a hardtail mountain bike are totally different. What type of terrain will it be used on?

You can get a reasonable hardtail, brands like Focus spring to mind, for three hundred quid.

Don't touch a full susser for that money with a bargepole though.

[jerwatt]

You mentioned the area is pretty flat. If the stuff you cycle over is smooth then go for a rigid bike, will get better value and won't really need any suspension. Avoid a full sus, but possibly if it's pretty rocky then go for a hardtail, and you should get something pretty decent second hand if you want to go that route.

[Scraggles]

looking at a raleigh brand hybrid, there is one hill in the area as it is edge of a river valley, the rest is flat and mostly cycle paths and roads

aluminium frames seem to cost more, but think they will be worth the extra due to being lighter, cycle king was the place bought it from, will go for a rigid bike. halfords do similair, but u have to fit mudguards and rear rack post purchase, not see the need to get mud and stuff up my back to save a few quid

by hills, I mean a few hundred feet

[dave_s13]

Personally I wouldn't consider anything over 150 quid if it's not locked away and out of sight. I couldn't live with leaving my bike locked up outside, it would be cruel.

TBH you're very limited to something very bottom of the range given the security issue, unfortunately.

[dave_s13]

You can get a 26" front sus bike from Tesco for £80 btw....my misses just bought one for a school prize and I put it together.

Utter pile of $hit, made of cheese. It'll be in a land fill site in 2 months I reckon.

So don't get one of them!!

[wildoliver]

If the bike lives outside buy something comfortable and nice to ride but totally undesirable. To be honest an old nail of a commuter would suit you better even a brand new bike will look tired after a few months of living outside, or consider a moulton/folding bike and bring it in with you on a night, they look ridiculous (my dad has one) but are surprisingly good to ride, and will do light off road work with ease. Also NO and I do mean NO bike thief would be seen dead on one.

Failing that a pink racing bike with tassles should be pretty theft proof

[Scraggles]

bike has been fine for 7 years outside with a wall mounted d-lock

just that several pints of beer makes it easy to forget stuff

really a choice of naff steel frame no-name bike or a similar one from raleigh with an aluminium frame

sort of £90 or £180, suspect it will be the latter and in future will lock it up all the time

[M400 NBL]

I used to hang my bike on the entrance hall in my old place because my cats used to find it amusing to scratch and pierce my tyres.

Luckily I had very high ceilings so it was high enough to be well out of the way.

Maybe worth a thought!