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t121anf World Chat Champion
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Nick__C |
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Nick__C World Chat Champion
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Derivative |
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Derivative World Chat Champion
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Nick__C World Chat Champion
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thomp1983 |
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thomp1983 Crazy Courier
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Alpha-9 |
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Alpha-9 Super Spammer
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Rogerborg |
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Rogerborg nimbA
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Posted: 19:12 - 09 May 2012 Post subject: |
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Rear suspension and fat tyres are awful for road use, they sap a lot of your energy. Don't kid yourself about the amount of offroading you're going to do on it.
Speaks the voice of experience, I've essentially inherited my wife's hybrid now - and even that's a bit fat-tyred and heavy for tarmac. ____________________ Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike |
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ninja_butler |
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ninja_butler World Chat Champion
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Posted: 19:20 - 09 May 2012 Post subject: |
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Derivative wrote: | If you're not actually cycling off road don't get a mountain bike, it's utterly pointless.
Fat wheels = more rolling resistance, suspension = more weight and pedaling effort lost.
A good hybrid or road bike is miles better. Like, noticeably miles per hour faster, more coasting, etc.
If you are going off road, ignore everything I just said. |
I agree, MTB's are great but pointless for normal on-road riding. Halfords bikes aren't all that bad, I quite liked their "Real" classic style bikes, but the Apollo bikes are mostly very cheap and tacky.
[img]cdn.mos.bikeradar.com/images/news/2009/04/28/1240931104738-1ph3bbzfknn0y-280-75.jpg[/img]
Secondhand bikes are much cheaper than new ones but you've got to check them carefully for rust; people leave them out in the rain or in a humid shed and the rust sets in and then they clean the rust off and sell them, but a month later the blooms of rust will reappear.
Don't bother with a suspension bike unless you really want one. My suggestion would be something like a Ridgeback or Specialized hybrid (for some reason normal bikes are now called "hybrids"). Try to find one that has a proper HARD gloss coat of paint, the fashionable matt-finish paint jobs scrape and flake off if you so much as breathe on them.
Oh, and MAKE SURE the bike is the exact right size! The reachover to the handlebars is critical. |
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Nick__C |
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Nick__C World Chat Champion
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Posted: 00:00 - 10 May 2012 Post subject: |
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Cheers for the input
I don't think I'm kidding myself as to the amount of off roading i'll be doing.. But I do want to do stuff that I don't think will be great on a road bike with no suspension.. And I'm awful for riding up and down kerbs etc..
It's nice whizzing along with ease but I'd prefer slower without every bump in the road jolting through me . ____________________ '02 GS 500. |
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AndyB1989 |
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AndyB1989 Scooby Slapper
Joined: 04 May 2011 Karma :
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Posted: 00:28 - 10 May 2012 Post subject: |
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if the off road you are going to be doing is mostly light off road on hard packed stuff and nothing particularly muddy then the 10 miles will feel much easier on a "hybrid" with a 29" wheel you will be noticeably faster on the road and there are suspended 29 inch wheel bikes out there.
if you are not just a fair weather off roader and intend on getting out there into some soft sticky mud and having a play about do not even think about a full suspension bike on your budget it will be shite!
As has already been mentioned the size of the bike is important gents tend to be shorter in the leg and longer in the body and the size of bike you need will vary quite a lot from manufacturer to manufacturer giant and scott tend to use what is reffered to as compact geometry so you will see them with more seatpost sticking out of the frame then the equivalent specialized or marin.
One of the best selling hybrid bikes out there at the moment is the giant roam series with a 29 inch wheel a crossover tyre and a front suspension fork they have pretty much halfway between road and mtb gearing aswell.
you will find most of the main players , giant , specialized , scott , marin , trek Start their entry level bikes around the £300 mark and this will get you basic front suspension v brakes and basic finishing kit i would be very careful with really cheap bikes as the wheels tend to be made of cheese, the brake callipers are also usually very thin and flex a worrying amount and they are based around ver old fashioned technology (open bearing headsets , cage bearing bottom brackets , oldschool forks , non replaceable rear dropouts etc)
What i would suggest you do is look around for something second hand from giant , specialized , scott , marin or even merida find one that fits you and budget for some parts of it to be replaced
something like this will be much better then a brand new £150 bike
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mens-Giant-Boulder-09-Mountain-Bike-Large-Frame-Hardly-Used-/230787724812?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item35bc05360c#ht_718wt_1270
if you have any questions or would like an opinion on any bikes you find dont hesitate to pm me im happy to help |
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AndyB1989 |
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AndyB1989 Scooby Slapper
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G |
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G The Voice of Reason
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Posted: 00:57 - 10 May 2012 Post subject: |
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First off, don't buy an 'Apollo'. The better Halfords brands are actually quite good for what they are. Apollo is their basic cheap brand and isn't good.
I'd certainly go second hand.
If you're looking to do very occasional off road, look for a 'hybrid' bike, which is a road bike, but a bit tougher so they can handle the dirt stuff.
For £200 you might just get a second hand bike where the rear suspension is actually a benefit. New and you'll be getting a bike where the rear suspension just detracts from the bike.
If you're stuck on full suspension, something like this:
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/320894811045
Front suspension mountain bike:
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/280876721043
No suspension:
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/140748946887
All those are Halfords bikes as sadly I know the brands (partly because they do offer good value.)
Looking to sort out a road-biased bike myself, but have got a tarty big bouncy bike too. |
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Nick__C |
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Nick__C World Chat Champion
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Wafer_Thin_Ham |
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Wafer_Thin_Ham Super Spammer
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Nick__C |
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Nick__C World Chat Champion
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Posted: 15:26 - 10 May 2012 Post subject: |
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Got to say dropping off kerbs with my hard tail it never felt like teh bum sex..*
* not that I know how teh bum sex feels.. ____________________ '02 GS 500. |
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Derivative |
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Derivative World Chat Champion
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Nick__C |
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Nick__C World Chat Champion
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Posted: 15:45 - 10 May 2012 Post subject: |
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I like using shortcuts/cut throughs, twitchels etc .. up and down kerbs, up and down steps kinda thing.. hence not wanting a road bike ____________________ '02 GS 500. |
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AndyB1989 |
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AndyB1989 Scooby Slapper
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Nick__C World Chat Champion
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Marcg868 |
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Marcg868 World Chat Champion
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Posted: 07:02 - 11 May 2012 Post subject: |
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Nick__C |
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Nick__C World Chat Champion
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Simple |
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Simple World Chat Champion
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Old Thread Alert!
The last post was made 12 years, 27 days ago. Instead of replying here, would creating a new thread be more useful? |
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