I'm thinking of buying a bike.

Hi all, hope there's some experts out there. I'm thinking of buying a new bike, I haven't ridden a
bike for some 40 odd years (pensioner), I used to have what we called a racing bike then with a
single fixed gear (no freewheel) and drop handle bars it was quite light but I can't remember the
make. A few days ago I tried to ride a friend's bike it had 15?? gears, deep broad tyres and flatish
handle bars I think it was probably a mountain bike, I rode it for approx half hour with no spills
or falls. One thing I noticed was that as you pedal up hill the front wheel became very light with a
tendency to lift off the ground, is this a result of the geometry of new bikes? are the centres of
the wheels closer together now than they used to be or is the seat placed further back on the frame,
it seemed to me that my old bike was longer than the one I rode or could it be that my backside is a
lot heavier than it used to be with the result that my body's Of G has moved backwards :-) To cut a
long story short I would like to buy a bike similar to the one I used to have. Can anyone recommend
a place I can go to be "fitted" for a bike,? we only have a Halfords near here, are they any good or
are they just staffed by cluless kids as seem to be the trend in most shops these days. Is there an
informative web site anyone can recommend?

Thanks Erdefen
--
(Antispam, drop pants to EMail) All outgoing Emails checked for Virus with Norton.

"Erdefen" <lopantsdiehr@clara.co.uk> wrote in message news:3F1B965B.A4CAF049@clara.co.uk...
> Hi all, hope there's some experts out there. I'm thinking of buying a new bike, I haven't ridden a
> bike for some 40 odd years (pensioner), I used to have what we called a racing bike then with a
> single fixed gear (no freewheel) and drop handle bars it was quite light but I can't remember the
> make. A few days ago I tried to ride a friend's bike it had 15?? gears, deep broad tyres and
> flatish handle bars I think it was probably a mountain bike, I rode it for approx half hour with
> no spills or falls. One thing I noticed was that as you pedal up hill the front wheel became very
> light with a tendency to lift off the ground, is this a result of the geometry of new bikes? are
> the centres of the wheels closer together now than they used to be or is the seat placed further
> back on the frame, it seemed to me that my old bike was longer than the one I rode or could it be
> that my backside is a lot heavier than it used to be with the result that my body's Of G has moved
> backwards :-) To cut a long story short I would like to buy a bike similar to the one I used to
> have. Can anyone recommend a place I can go to be "fitted" for a bike,? we only have a Halfords
> near here, are they any good or are they just staffed by cluless kids as seem to be the trend in
> most shops these days. Is there an informative web site anyone can recommend?

An indication of your location would help.

As would an idea of what sort of riding you think you will be doing. For example country lanes, bike
paths & bridleways, TT & racing etc.

Some more information on you, your fitness & interests would also help. And an indication of budget.

I am sure much helpful advice will be forthcoming -- but a bit more base data will allow the advice
to be more carefully targeted.

T

Tony W wrote:

>
> An indication of your location would help.

Mid Wales

>
>
> As would an idea of what sort of riding you think you will be doing. For example country lanes,
> bike paths & bridleways, TT & racing etc.

Bit old for TT and racing :-), country lanes I think tar mac surfaces mainly.

>
>
> Some more information on you, your fitness & interests would also help.

Bike is neccesary to increase fitness, would eventually hope to tour in France.

> And an indication of budget.

Budget not that important within reason, say Max approx 1000 Pounds but would hope to pay less.

>
>
> I am sure much helpful advice will be forthcoming -- but a bit more base data will allow the
> advice to be more carefully targeted.
>
> T

Many thanks for replying so promptly, yes you are quite right I should have offered more
information. Regards Erdefen

--
(Antispam, drop pants to EMail) All outgoing Emails checked for Virus with Norton.

Erdefen wrote:
> Tony W wrote:
>
>
>>An indication of your location would help.
>
>
> Mid Wales
>
>
>
>>
>>As would an idea of what sort of riding you think you will be doing. For example country lanes,
>>bike paths & bridleways, TT & racing etc.
>
>
> Bit old for TT and racing :-), country lanes I think tar mac surfaces mainly.
>

what, you're over 80 years old?

--
Pete

interchange 12 for 21 to reply

Erdefen wrote:
> Tony W wrote:
>
>
>>An indication of your location would help.
>
>
> Mid Wales
>
>
>
>>
>>As would an idea of what sort of riding you think you will be doing. For example country lanes,
>>bike paths & bridleways, TT & racing etc.
>
>
> Bit old for TT and racing :-), country lanes I think tar mac surfaces mainly.
>
>
>>
>>Some more information on you, your fitness & interests would also help.
>
>
> Bike is neccesary to increase fitness, would eventually hope to tour in France.
>
>
>> And an indication of budget.
>
>
> Budget not that important within reason, say Max approx 1000 Pounds but would hope to pay less.
>

That's easy then, you want a tourer, probably a Dawes Galaxy, at least something similar. I think
you will find it significantly more stable than the MTB you borrowed (which is almost certainly a
bit short in the wheelbased as you guessed).

Next!

James

"Erdefen" <lopantsdiehr@clara.co.uk> wrote in message news:3F1BA14C.13B69793@clara.co.uk...
>
> Many thanks for replying so promptly, yes you are quite right I should
have
> offered more information.

You may be best starting with a reasonable quality hybrid bike. You will not need the extra weight
and complexity of suspension for the sort of thing you are describing and a reasonable quality
hybrid can be obtained for a reasonably modest amount of money. I haven't tried one but Ridgeback
seem a good name.

This might not be the best option if you want to go for multi-day tours in France (or anywhere
else). Again, you would have to think what type of touring. Would you be camping (lots of kit),
credit card touring (minimal baggage), going on supported tours (where someone else moves your
baggage about) or finding a nice gite and taking day tours.

If you want to recapture your youth (don't we all -- well, our own youth if not yours) and prefer
drop bars a 'tourer' or 'Audax' bike may be better. (An Audax won't have as much luggage capacity
but will be lighter -- it would be good for day tours, supported tours and light weight touring).
These will be less 'sit up & beg' than a hybrid. I find my tourer is my most comfortable, most
general purpose and most often used bike.

Dawes is a good name for tourers.

Others will produce alternatives and possible conflicting information.

Have fun.

T

"Erdefen" <lopantsdiehr@clara.co.uk> wrote in message news:3F1B965B.A4CAF049@clara.co.uk...
> Hi all, hope there's some experts out there. I'm thinking of buying a new bike, I haven't ridden a
> bike for some 40 odd years (pensioner), I used to have what we called a racing bike then with a
> single fixed gear (no freewheel) and drop handle bars it was quite light but I can't remember the
> make. A few days ago I tried to ride a friend's bike it had 15?? gears, deep broad tyres and
> flatish handle bars I think it was probably a mountain bike, I rode it for approx half hour with
> no spills or falls. One thing I noticed was that as you pedal up hill the front wheel became very
> light with a tendency to lift off the ground, is this a result of the geometry of new bikes? are
> the centres of the wheels closer together now than they used to be or is the seat placed further
> back on the frame, it seemed to me that my old bike was longer than the one I rode or could it be
> that my backside is a lot heavier than it used to be with the result that my body's Of G has moved
> backwards :-) To cut a long story short I would like to buy a bike similar to the one I used to
> have. Can anyone recommend a place I can go to be "fitted" for a bike,? we only have a Halfords
> near here, are they any good or are they just staffed by cluless kids as seem to be the trend in
> most shops these days. Is there an informative web site anyone can recommend?
>
> Thanks Erdefen
> --
> (Antispam, drop pants to EMail) All outgoing Emails checked for Virus with Norton.
>
>

Hey!,

Welcome back to the wonderful world of cycling!! I took a 20 year break and oh my, how it'd all
changed when I came back to it, just as you say.

Technology has moved on somewhat, some good and worth the extra money, some a bit gimmicky and not.

If money is no object, or at least not too restrictive, it's probably worth getting down to a local
bike shop, or possibly not so local if you're in Mid-Wales ;-). Discuss requirements, get a feel for
if they know their subject and then take their advice, getting fitted properly.

Alternately, I live in the West Midlands and there are a LOT of second hand racers advertised at
very reasonable prices. Not neccessarily the latest sooper-dooper high-tech Tour de France guided missiles, but
they do for day to day riding. They might need new tyres, or brake cables, minor maintenance, but
are generally worth buying and can be had for as little as under £50. My current roadbike is an old
bottom of the range (in its day) Raleigh Sun Solo 'racer'. 25 years old, chromed wheels, brake
blocks with leather inserts to help stop in the rain (not very effective!!) and Sachs Huret gearset
(10 gears) with downtube shifting. I completed the John O' Groats to Lands End run on it in March as
well as using it on a daily basis, with no service or check before hand, just a new Brooks saddle.
It managed it with no real problems, so treated it to what was probably its first service in 25
years at the end of the E2E run. The bike shops verdict, following the service - " no problems mate,
it'll go forever that...". I bought the bike for £25 last July.

Racers aren't as popular with 'the kids' these days, generally speaking. This has 2 advantages.
Second hand prices on old racers are very low and nobody nicks an old racer (again, generally
speaking ;-).

If you know anyone into cycling, it'd be worth taking them along if you look at anything second
hand. Alternately, get it into a bike shop for assessment before purchasing.

HTH and good luck,

Dave.

Erdefen wrote:
> A few days ago I tried to ride a friend's bike it had 15?? gears, deep broad tyres and flatish
> handle bars I think it was probably a mountain bike, I rode it for approx half hour with no spills
> or falls. One thing I noticed was that as you pedal up hill the front wheel became very light with
> a tendency to lift off the ground, is this a result of the geometry of new bikes? are the centres
> of the wheels closer together now than they used to be or is the seat placed further back on the
> frame, it seemed to me that my old bike was longer than the one I rode or could it be that my
> backside is a lot heavier than it used to be with the result that my body's Of G has moved
> backwards :-)

It's certainly true that modern road bikes have far shorter wheel bases than older bikes, but
mountain bikes still have relatively long wheel bases. The rest of the geometry and also handlebar
position may have something to do with it (it's so easy to pull back hard on the bars), but it's
mainly down to the low gears. I bet you didn't use such low gears on your old bike.

Did you otherwise enjoy the mountain bike? The problem of the wheel lifting could be solved -
mainly by just getting used to the bike. I suggest giving it another go just to make sure you don't
like that type of bike. I had the same initial experience of wheelying by accident when I first
tried them.

> To cut a long story short I would like to buy a bike similar to the one I used to have. Can
> anyone recommend a place I can go to be "fitted" for a bike,? we only have a Halfords near here,
> are they any good or are they just staffed by cluless kids as seem to be the trend in most shops
> these days.

Some Halfords shops with "Bike Hut" departments are quite decent. It will be worth travelling to the
nearest old fashioned bike shop as well.

For the bike, a tourer might do well, or you could even track down an old second hand frame of
exactly the type you had (or even same model) and rebuild it with modern components. That would be
expensive (although cost would be reduced by using another used bike for parts) but you might be
happier with the final result. Just an idea.

~PB

I came back to cycling at about 60.

Thoroughly recommend a tourer type. Dawes Horizon is good IMHO, but Edinburgh bike co-op, do same
bike as an own label, a bit cheaper.

My wife and I crossed from Biarritz to Perpiganan last autumn, staying in logis and classy B & Bs.
Credit card touring is great.

You could keep an eye on e-bay to see what is on offer, and cycling plus is also a good source of
second hand road / tourers.

If closeness of experience ( age / touring France) is of any relevance do make direct contact.

Roger "Erdefen" <lopantsdiehr@clara.co.uk> wrote in message news:3F1BA14C.13B69793@clara.co.uk...
> Tony W wrote:
>
> >
> > An indication of your location would help.
>
> Mid Wales
>
>
> >
> >
> > As would an idea of what sort of riding you think you will be doing.
For
> > example country lanes, bike paths & bridleways, TT & racing etc.
>
> Bit old for TT and racing :-), country lanes I think tar mac surfaces
mainly.
>
> >
> >
> > Some more information on you, your fitness & interests would also help.
>
> Bike is neccesary to increase fitness, would eventually hope to tour in
France.
>
> > And an indication of budget.
>
> Budget not that important within reason, say Max approx 1000 Pounds but
would
> hope to pay less.
>
>
> >
> >
> > I am sure much helpful advice will be forthcoming -- but a bit more base data will allow the
> > advice to be more carefully targeted.
> >
> > T
>
> Many thanks for replying so promptly, yes you are quite right I should
have
> offered more information. Regards Erdefen
>
>
>
> --
> (Antispam, drop pants to EMail) All outgoing Emails checked for Virus with Norton.

"James Annan" <still_the_same_me@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:3F1BA82C.6010506@hotmail.com...

> That's easy then, you want a tourer, probably a Dawes Galaxy, at least something similar.

On the premise that Dawes Galaxy is rarely the wrong answer to "which bike" I will agree :-) Also
check Edinburgh Cycle Co-Operative, Orbit and Thorn, all of whom are turning out nicely specified
and reasonably priced bikes.

--
Guy
===

WARNING: may contain traces of irony. Contents may settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.com

In message <d3c1d901.0307210844.42f2b5e3@posting.google.com>, Eric Nolan <hivemind@pobox.com> writes
>Since nobody else seems to have done this I thought I'd post the url for Dawes web site.
>http://www.dawescycles.com/
>

Here are a couple more suppliers of what might be suitable kit.

http://www.orbit-cycles.co.uk/ http://www.sjscycles.com/

--
Michael MacClancy

Since nobody else seems to have done this I thought I'd post the url for Dawes web site.
http://www.dawescycles.com/

Have a look at that and you should get an idea of what types of bikes are available. Buying over the
web is probably not a good idea if you don't know _exactly_ what you are looking for. A local bike
shop is a much better resource, although it's a good idea to go to a couple of different ones and
give your business to the one that gives you the best impression. Not all LBSs are created equal.
There's no harm doing a bit of research before you go.

As most of the other posters said, a touring bike sounds like the sort of thing you are looking for.
These will be very similar in design and handling to your old bike I would think. Modern racing
bikes tend to be a lot more skittish and not generally suitable for loading up with things like
mudguards and bags. An audax bike is kind of a halfway house between the two. It compromises between
the speed of a racer and the comfort and flexibility of a tourer. Hybrid bikes are a compromise
between a mountain (all all terrain) bike and a racer/tourer. They are better designed for road
travel than an ATB but have the wide tyres and low gears that make them better able to handle the
occassional excursion away from any sort of pavement.

Maybe I'm wrong but I kind of got the impression that you were dubious about the amount of gears on
the MTB you tried out. You can get fixed gear bikes these days but they are for fairly specialised
purposes, I wouldn't think about that if I were you. Gear changing levers are very easy to use
nowadays and having a wide array of them should mean you can ride at a fairly comfortable pace in
almost all wind conditions and/or gradients. It won't take you long to get used to having them.

Eric.

"Dave" <no-one@nowhere.org> wrote in message
news:SLOSa.14442$Df6.13603@news-binary.blueyonder.co.uk...

<snip>

> Racers aren't as popular with 'the kids' these days, generally speaking. This has 2 advantages.
> Second hand prices on old racers are very low and nobody nicks an old racer (again, generally
> speaking ;-).
>

<snip>

...and just to back up my words, I've just picked up a very nice Raleigh Pursuit. Seems to be very
similar set-up to my Raleigh Sun Solo. I believe at the time they were entry level, but that still
puts them head and shoulders for quality above todays entry level models. Same wheels, gears, frame,
brakes....weren't a lot of variety back in them days. It cost £15 and an additional tenner got me 2
folders, 1 x Hercules Compact and 1 x unidentifiable but very similar to the Hercules, unfortunately
butchered severely. £25, three bikes and hours of fun to be had ;-) If you're interested in the
racer, let me know

Cheers,

Dave.

Erdefen wrote:

Thank you all for your input, much appreciated

Cheers

Erdefen

--
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