Thinking of a new bike - suggestions?
Discussion
I'm under orders from my therapist to do some cycling to aid my recovery from knee surgery. An exercise bike would be fine, but I'd prefer the real thing.
I dug out my old (but in good condition) mountain bike (a 1998 Orange O2) a couple of days ago, and went for an hour and a half ride, which I felt went quite well, and got me quite enthused about going cycling regularly.
I'm toying with the idea of getting a new bike, as it has been quite a while since I bought one, but I'm struggling to know which type to get. I don't intend to go 'proper' mountain biking like I used too, but my village is on the canal network. and the ride I did on Monday was 60% muddy rutted tow path and 40% road.
My village is well used by cyclists as there are miles of quiet country roads in the area, so I wonder if I should keep my mountain bike for mixed surface rides, and get a road bike for some road riding? Or get a new mountain bike, given things have moved on in the 20 years since I bought mine? A third option might be a gravel bike - something I'm unfamiliar with, but might be adequate on the tow path but better on the road than a mountain bike? - or is this a worst of both world's scenario?
I like the look of some bikes by Planet X which seem good value:
https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBPXFMAPEX1/planet-x...
https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBFBPXLDNAPEXMECH/pl...
Or I can use Cycle2work for my options (Planet X don't use this scheme though).
Thoughts welcomed!
I dug out my old (but in good condition) mountain bike (a 1998 Orange O2) a couple of days ago, and went for an hour and a half ride, which I felt went quite well, and got me quite enthused about going cycling regularly.
I'm toying with the idea of getting a new bike, as it has been quite a while since I bought one, but I'm struggling to know which type to get. I don't intend to go 'proper' mountain biking like I used too, but my village is on the canal network. and the ride I did on Monday was 60% muddy rutted tow path and 40% road.
My village is well used by cyclists as there are miles of quiet country roads in the area, so I wonder if I should keep my mountain bike for mixed surface rides, and get a road bike for some road riding? Or get a new mountain bike, given things have moved on in the 20 years since I bought mine? A third option might be a gravel bike - something I'm unfamiliar with, but might be adequate on the tow path but better on the road than a mountain bike? - or is this a worst of both world's scenario?
I like the look of some bikes by Planet X which seem good value:
https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBPXFMAPEX1/planet-x...
https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBFBPXLDNAPEXMECH/pl...
Or I can use Cycle2work for my options (Planet X don't use this scheme though).
Thoughts welcomed!
Thanks for the advice so far. I can access a cycle to work scheme, the cut-off for this is 27th November, so I’ve got a bit of time to think about it.
I’m sure I could make do with my existing bike, but I’m quite tempted to try something different - a new bike every 20 years doesn’t feel that extravagant!
I’ll be keeping the Orange regardless.
I’m sure I could make do with my existing bike, but I’m quite tempted to try something different - a new bike every 20 years doesn’t feel that extravagant!
I’ll be keeping the Orange regardless.
Just to close this off, I ended up buying a gravel bike, a Scott Speedster Gravel. Used a cycle to work scheme, and managed to get a useful discount up front too.
Really enjoying it so far, I’ve only had it for about a month, but I’m finding that I’m making quick progress with improving my fitness, and have found some nice routes to ride on too.
Really enjoying it so far, I’ve only had it for about a month, but I’m finding that I’m making quick progress with improving my fitness, and have found some nice routes to ride on too.
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