What bikes should I be test riding?
View Full Version : What bikes should I be test riding?
Hi,
Having convinced myself I can afford a second bike and
cycled enough miles to have a general opinion on what I want
I'm hoping you can recommend a few bikes to try out.
I received some good advice here last year and turned my old
mountain bike into a commuter machine with slicks, mudguards
etc and it's still serving that purpose well. What I'd like
now is something I can stretch my legs on a bit more.
Something fast that will make longer rides more fun.
My priorities are long distance comfort and speed. I plan to
do all of my riding on roads or well maintained canal paths.
My maximum trip mileage this year will be about 200 miles in
two days which I will be training up to. As I will keep the
mtb commuter practicality isn't a major concern but I would
like it to take mudguards. My budget is about £500. I don't
care much about brand names but I'd like to buy local so
that means main stream. I'm prepared to try drops or flat
bars but I'm guessing drops fit my requirements better.
Having looked around the web the sort of bike that I think
would fit the bill would be a fast hybrid, e.g. a discovery
or sirrus, but with drop bars instead of flats. If Audax
bikes were a bit cheaper they'd probably be perfect, it
seems that consumer demand means you get more bang for your
buck with a hybrid.
Any ideas ?
Thanks, Ivan
On Wed, 31 Mar 2004 20:27:41 +0100, Ivan <ivan@fakeaddress.com> wrote
in message <ivan-BB18A9.20274031032004@newsfe2-gui.server.ntli.net>:
>My priorities are long distance comfort and speed. I plan
>to do all of my riding on roads or well maintained canal
>paths. My maximum trip mileage this year will be about 200
>miles in two days which I will be training up to. As I
>will keep the mtb commuter practicality isn't a major
>concern but I would like it to take mudguards. My budget
>is about £500.
A second hand Dawes Galaxy and £250 left over for some
really good beer ;-)
--
Guy
===
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after
posting. http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk (http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk/)
88% of helmet statistics are made up, 65% of them at
Washington University
In article <rpam601b2rc5trshpni5oljaodmn1m126o@4ax.com>,
"Just zis Guy, you know?" <outlook.bugs@microsoft.com> wrote:
> On Wed, 31 Mar 2004 20:27:41 +0100, Ivan
> <ivan@fakeaddress.com> wrote in message <ivan-BB18A9.20274031032004@newsfe2-
> gui.server.ntli.net>:
>
> >My priorities are long distance comfort and speed. I plan
> >to do all of my riding on roads or well maintained canal
> >paths. My maximum trip mileage this year will be about
> >200 miles in two days which I will be training up to. As
> >I will keep the mtb commuter practicality isn't a major
> >concern but I would like it to take mudguards. My budget
> >is about £500.
>
> A second hand Dawes Galaxy and £250 left over for some
> really good beer ;-)
I'm a Guinness man so I guess that makes my bike diesel
powered :-).
Second hand would be good, I've been keeping an eye on
the small ads but haven't seen much. Maybe it's the wrong
time of year.
Ivan
Ivan wrote:
> Hi,
>
> Having convinced myself I can afford a second bike and
> cycled enough miles to have a general opinion on what I
> want I'm hoping you can recommend a few bikes to try out.
>
> I received some good advice here last year and turned my
> old mountain bike into a commuter machine with slicks,
> mudguards etc and it's still serving that purpose well.
> What I'd like now is something I can stretch my legs on
> a bit more. Something fast that will make longer rides
> more fun.
>
> My priorities are long distance comfort and speed. I plan
> to do all of my riding on roads or well maintained canal
> paths. My maximum trip mileage this year will be about 200
> miles in two days which I will be training up to. As I
> will keep the mtb commuter practicality isn't a major
> concern but I would like it to take mudguards. My budget
> is about £500. I don't care much about brand names but I'd
> like to buy local so that means main stream. I'm prepared
> to try drops or flat bars but I'm guessing drops fit my
> requirements better.
>
> Having looked around the web the sort of bike that I think
> would fit the bill would be a fast hybrid, e.g. a
> discovery or sirrus, but with drop bars instead of flats.
> If Audax bikes were a bit cheaper they'd probably be
> perfect, it seems that consumer demand means you get more
> bang for your buck with a hybrid.
>
> Any ideas ?
>
> Thanks, Ivan
I know this is a bit out of your budget, but maybe not all
that much, and if you can find someone doing a 2/3year old
model you may get a good enough discount on it...
I really like my Audax bike, it's a Dawes, with the 531c
(lighter than normal 531 steel tubing) frame. They're making
them with aluminium frames now I think.
I know I saw ads for the model from the year I got a few
months back in one of the cycling magazines (possibly an ad
in the CTC mag?) - which would be 2 or 3 years back - new,
just stock that's not sold cos people insist on having the
coming year's colour or something ;-)
Lovely bike, light, fast (would be even faster if it
didn't have all the junk I've added to it). Comes with
mudguards but you can whip them off if you fancy, and I
think takes slightly bigger tyres than the shipped 25's,
maybe bigger again without mudguards. Shimano Tiagra 3x9
gear and gubbins, rx100? brakes. Will take front and rear
pannier racks.
Velvet
In article <6uHac.453$Ur.3016975@news-text.cableinet.net>,
Velvet <velvet@not.a.valid.domain> wrote:
> Ivan wrote:
[snip ..]
>
> I know this is a bit out of your budget, but maybe not all
> that much, and if you can find someone doing a 2/3year old
> model you may get a good enough discount on it...
>
> I really like my Audax bike, it's a Dawes, with the 531c
> (lighter than normal 531 steel tubing) frame. They're
> making them with aluminium frames now I think.
>
> I know I saw ads for the model from the year I got a few
> months back in one of the cycling magazines (possibly an
> ad in the CTC mag?) - which would be 2 or 3 years back -
> new, just stock that's not sold cos people insist on
> having the coming year's colour or something ;-)
>
> Lovely bike, light, fast (would be even faster if it
> didn't have all the junk I've added to it). Comes with
> mudguards but you can whip them off if you fancy, and I
> think takes slightly bigger tyres than the shipped 25's,
> maybe bigger again without mudguards. Shimano Tiagra 3x9
> gear and gubbins, rx100? brakes. Will take front and rear
> pannier racks.
>
> Velvet
It looks exactly like the kind of bike I'm thinking
about but as you say, new ones are out of my budget.
There are a some local shops doing Dawes, I'll ask what
they have in store.
Ivan
In article <1080774050.80750.0@despina.uk.clara.net>,
"Jon Senior" <jon@restless_REMOVE_lemon.co.uk> wrote:
> "Ivan" <ivan@fakeaddress.com> wrote in message news:ivan-BB18A9.20274031032004@newsfe2-
> gui.server.ntli.net... Where is local for you? If it
> includes Edinburgh, Aberdeen or Newcastle, then I'd
> recommend taking one of their own-brand machines out for
> a spin. Their city bike (The "Courier") has had some
> pretty good reviews over the years and ISTR that their
> higher class racer (Sora / Tiagra equipped) was within
> your budget.
>
> They can be found at www.edinburgh-bicycle.co.uk
>
> Jon
>
>
Hi Jon, local for me is Northern Ireland, preferrably
Belfast. I am thinking about a weekend break to Edinburgh on
the ferry some time soon so I'll have a look at their stuff
but given the choice I'd still rather buy local.
Ivan
Ivan wrote:
> Hi Jon, local for me is Northern Ireland, preferrably
> Belfast. I am thinking about a weekend break to Edinburgh
> on the ferry some time soon so I'll have a look at their
> stuff but given the choice I'd still rather buy local.
But it is possible to test abroad and order locally when you
are sure of the specifics. I'm about to do just that in the
UK, where there is a much wider range of bikes available
than here in France.
EFR Ile de France
"Ivan" <ivan@fakeaddress.com> wrote in message
news:ivan-95B31F.22252231032004@newsfe2-gui.server.ntli.net...
> Second hand would be good, I've been keeping an eye on the
> small ads but haven't seen much. Maybe it's the wrong time
> of year.
If you are not a member of the CTC, I ruge you to join.
There are a Several of touring bikes advertised in the back
pages of every copy of the magazine. In addition to all the
other benefits.
Also, locally I found FreeAds had lots of bikes, but mostly
mountain bikes of course.
--
Guy
===
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after
posting. http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk (http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk/)
88% of helmet statistics are made up, 65% of them at
Washington University
Ivan wrote:
>>
> It looks exactly like the kind of bike I'm thinking about
> but as you say, new ones are out of my budget. There are
> a some local shops doing Dawes, I'll ask what they have
> in store.
>
Spa Cycles in Harrogate often have discounts on last years
Dawes. I know you said local and Harrogate is local to me !
Is it to you ? You didn't say where you are !
In article <c4gipi$28uovf$1@ID-151936.news.uni-berlin.de>,
"Just zis Guy, you know?" <outlook.bugs@microsoft.com> wrote:
> "Ivan" <ivan@fakeaddress.com> wrote in message news:ivan-95B31F.22252231032004@newsfe2-
> gui.server.ntli.net...
>
> > Second hand would be good, I've been keeping an eye on
> > the small ads but haven't seen much. Maybe it's the
> > wrong time of year.
>
> If you are not a member of the CTC, I ruge you to join.
> There are a Several of touring bikes advertised in the
> back pages of every copy of the magazine. In addition to
> all the other benefits.
>
> Also, locally I found FreeAds had lots of bikes, but
> mostly mountain bikes of course.
That's handy, I joined the CTC a few days ago so hopefully
my first mag will arrive in the post soon.
In article <c4gklb$2hof0n$1@ID-207671.news.uni-berlin.de>,
"MSeries" <skankmartin@hotmail.com> wrote:
> Ivan wrote:
> >>
> > It looks exactly like the kind of bike I'm thinking
> > about but as you say, new ones are out of my budget.
> > There are a some local shops doing Dawes, I'll ask what
> > they have in store.
> >
>
> Spa Cycles in Harrogate often have discounts on last years
> Dawes. I know you said local and Harrogate is local to me
> ! Is it to you ? You didn't say where you are !
>
>
>
I should have said, local to me means Belfast.
Ivan wrote:
> In article <c4gklb$2hof0n$1@ID-207671.news.uni-berlin.de>,
> "MSeries" <skankmartin@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>>Ivan wrote:
>>
>>>It looks exactly like the kind of bike I'm thinking about
>>>but as you say, new ones are out of my budget. There are
>>>a some local shops doing Dawes, I'll ask what they have
>>>in store.
>>>
>>
>>Spa Cycles in Harrogate often have discounts on last years
>>Dawes. I know you said local and Harrogate is local to me
>>! Is it to you ? You didn't say where you are !
>>
>>
>>
>
>
> I should have said, local to me means Belfast.
If you can't find one locally, there used to be a couple of
places online that did dawes at quite a discount (and other
ones too) - though that doesn't help with the test riding,
of course - and you'd be relying on it fitting when it turns
up, which can be a bit hit and miss to get exactly right I
think, they all seem to be slightly different sizes even if
they're called the same thing, cos of the difference in the
way they measure them and stuff.
Velvet
In article <7LZac.247$cR3.5749884@news-text.cableinet.net>,
Velvet <velvet@not.a.valid.domain> wrote:
> Ivan wrote:
> > In article <c4gklb$2hof0n$1@ID-207671.news.uni-
> > berlin.de>,
[snip]
> >
> > I should have said, local to me means Belfast.
>
> If you can't find one locally, there used to be a couple
> of places online that did dawes at quite a discount (and
> other ones too) - though that doesn't help with the test
> riding, of course - and you'd be relying on it fitting
> when it turns up, which can be a bit hit and miss to get
> exactly right I think, they all seem to be slightly
> different sizes even if they're called the same thing, cos
> of the difference in the way they measure them and stuff.
>
> Velvet
This brings up a question I've occasionally wondered about.
How much assembly do bikes ordered over the internet
usually require ?
I'm confident enough with most minor jobs and adjustments
that don't require special tools but I don't see the point
in losing the lion's share of an online discount by paying
my LBS 50 quid to put it together.
Ivan
Ivan wrote:
> In article <7LZac.247$cR3.5749884@news-
> text.cableinet.net>, Velvet
> <velvet@not.a.valid.domain> wrote:
>
>
>>Ivan wrote:
>>
>>>In article <c4gklb$2hof0n$1@ID-207671.news.uni-
>>>berlin.de>,
>
> [snip]
>
>>>I should have said, local to me means Belfast.
>>
>>If you can't find one locally, there used to be a couple
>>of places online that did dawes at quite a discount (and
>>other ones too) - though that doesn't help with the test
>>riding, of course - and you'd be relying on it fitting
>>when it turns up, which can be a bit hit and miss to get
>>exactly right I think, they all seem to be slightly
>>different sizes even if they're called the same thing, cos
>>of the difference in the way they measure them and stuff.
>>
>>Velvet
>
>
> This brings up a question I've occasionally wondered
> about. How much assembly do bikes ordered over the
> internet usually require ?
>
> I'm confident enough with most minor jobs and adjustments
> that don't require special tools but I don't see the point
> in losing the lion's share of an online discount by paying
> my LBS 50 quid to put it together.
>
> Ivan
No idea, I wanted mine sooner rather than later and was
still not 100% about the sizing so I ordered through a shop
in the end, so they put it together for me.
Velvet
> Having looked around the web the sort of bike that I think
> would fit the bill would be a fast hybrid, e.g. a
> discovery or sirrus, but with drop bars instead of flats.
> Any ideas ?
Have a look at ebay - sjscycles have got a few bikes listed
that could well be exactly what you're after, eg: Thorn
Brevet http://tinyurl.com/3ckl9 Cannondale T800
http://tinyurl.com/2xv7p
d.
> Interesting. My experience of France was that there was
> a better
selection.
> I guess it depends what you're looking for. The places
> I've seen in France appeared to be dominated by road bikes
> (My thing!), while they often come
a
> poor second in general bike shops here.
What are prices like in France?
d.
> Thorn Brevet
> http://tinyurl.com/3ckl9
> Cannondale T800
> http://tinyurl.com/2xv7p
Dawes Super Galaxy http://tinyurl.com/2hbs7
> in message <ivan-BB18A9.20274031032004@newsfe2-gui.server.ntli.net>,
> Ivan ('ivan@fakeaddress.com') wrote:
My maximum trip
> > mileage this year will be about 200 miles in two days
> > which I will be training up to.
Hi Ivan,
Sounds like you may be a BorderTrekker. As far as local
places to try road bikes is concerned there's a couple of
places with websites that have received good comments for
their mailorder service on this group that are local to you.
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com (http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/) is somewhere out
Ballyclare way I think. I don't know if they have an actual
shop though. http://www.bikedock.co.uk (http://www.bikedock.co.uk/) is out along the
Shore Road (Newtownabbey?). I was once in Madigans in
Carrickfergus and it seemed to have some very nice higher
end road stuff alongside more usual LBS fare. Don't know if
they'd have cheaper road bikes though. I have never actually
bought anything from any of these places (local to me is
Dublin) so I don't know if they're any good. If it is the
BorderTrek you're building up to I'll see you there. It's a
great ride - really well organised, scenic, long enough to
be a real challenge (for me anyway), in a good cause, and of
course it never, ever rains.......
tony R.
In article <7Yxcc.3459$qP2.10580@news.indigo.ie>,
"tony R" <hesiod3@hotmail.com> wrote:
> > in message <ivan-BB18A9.20274031032004@newsfe2-
> > gui.server.ntli.net>, Ivan ('ivan@fakeaddress.com')
> > wrote:
>
> My maximum trip
> > > mileage this year will be about 200 miles in two days
> > > which I will be training up to.
>
> Hi Ivan,
>
> Sounds like you may be a BorderTrekker. As far as local
> places to try road bikes is concerned there's a couple of
> places with websites that have received good comments for
> their mailorder service on this group that are local to
> you. http://www.chainreactioncycles.com (http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/) is somewhere out
> Ballyclare way I think. I don't know if they have an
> actual shop though. http://www.bikedock.co.uk (http://www.bikedock.co.uk/) is out along
> the Shore Road (Newtownabbey?). I was once in Madigans in
> Carrickfergus and it seemed to have some very nice higher
> end road stuff alongside more usual LBS fare. Don't know
> if they'd have cheaper road bikes though. I have never
> actually bought anything from any of these places (local
> to me is Dublin) so I don't know if they're any good. If
> it is the BorderTrek you're building up to I'll see you
> there. It's a great ride - really well organised, scenic,
> long enough to be a real challenge (for me anyway), in a
> good cause, and of course it never, ever rains.......
>
> tony R.
>
>
Hi Tony,
Thanks for the references, I'll check them out.
You're right about it being the BorderTrek. A friend pulled
a sly move on me a while back by waiting until I had a few
pints before asking me if I'd be up for it. At that stage of
the night I would have probably gave it a go there and then.
I haven't tried it before but it sounds good fun and well
worth it. I'll see you there.
Ivan
"Ivan" <ivan@fakeaddress.com> wrote in message
news:ivan-9F6F1E.22204306042004@newsfe1-win.server.ntli.net...
> In artic
>
> Hi Tony,
>
> Thanks for the references, I'll check them out.
>
> You're right about it being the BorderTrek. A friend
> pulled a sly move on me a while back by waiting until I
> had a few pints before asking me if I'd be up for it. At
> that stage of the night I would have probably gave it a go
> there and then. I haven't tried it before but it sounds
> good fun and well worth it. I'll see you there.
>
> Ivan
I'll be the one on an oldish black Evans tourer. Sligo's a
great wee town if you're in need of a few pints to fortify
you for the return leg!
tony R.
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