Bike advice please

Quoted message said:

Looking for something which will mainly be on road but also good at mild

off

Quoted message said:

road (canal towpaths, bridle paths, rough gravel tracks, that sort of
stuff). Must come with or be able to have fitted, mudguards and rack.

Have a look at http://www.ridgeback.co.uk you should find something to your
taste there.

I have an older Ridgeback hybrid and it meets all of your needs, cant see
why the more recent models woan't.

Quoted message said:

up to £400 but could go higher if there is a convincing reason for SWMBO.
Is suspension at this price worth it or not?

Mine doesn't have suspension and it copes with all of the surfaces that you
want to ride on.

vernon levy said:

Quoted message said:

Looking for something which will mainly be on road but also good at
mild off road (canal towpaths, bridle paths, rough gravel tracks,
that sort of stuff). Must come with or be able to have fitted,
mudguards and rack.

Have a look at http://www.ridgeback.co.uk you should find something
to your taste there.

I have an older Ridgeback hybrid and it meets all of your needs, cant
see why the more recent models woan't.

Quoted message said:

up to £400 but could go higher if there is a convincing reason for
SWMBO. Is suspension at this price worth it or not?

Mine doesn't have suspension and it copes with all of the surfaces
that you want to ride on.

I wouldn't say you need suspension for any of the terrain the OP's thinking
of riding on, but my mate's £200 Ridgeback Hybrid has a suspension seatpost,
which IMO is quite a nice thing to have.

Quoted message said:

I wouldn't say you need suspension for any of the terrain the OP's

thinking

Quoted message said:

of riding on, but my mate's £200 Ridgeback Hybrid has a suspension

seatpost,

Quoted message said:

which IMO is quite a nice thing to have.

Casting my mind back, I did the C2C which has all of the surfaces metioned
by the OP on a road bike with no ill effects to me or the bike.

I can't comment on a suspension seat post. I rely on ample padding that's
an anatomical feature of my frame :-)

in message <[email hidden]>, Tumbleweed

(') said:

Looking for something which will mainly be on road but also good at
mild off road (canal towpaths, bridle paths, rough gravel tracks, that
sort of stuff). Must come with or be able to have fitted, mudguards
and rack. Budget up to £400 but could go higher if there is a
convincing reason for SWMBO. Is suspension at this price worth it or
not?

Probably not for the sort of thing you plan to do, unless you plan to do
it very fast. There are some suspension forms which are designed for
limited travel suspension - just a little bit to take the edge off -
but they're quite expensive. Mountain bike style suspension would be
overkill and would have weight penalties and possibly efficiency
penalties. Fairly large section tyres, however, would be a good idea.

Try a good hybrid.

Of course, if you *want* an excuse to spend more, look at the Cannondale
Street Rohloff:
<URL:http://www.cannondale.com/bikes/04/ce/model-4SS5K.html>

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; ... exposing the violence incoherent in the system...

Doki said:

I wouldn't say you need suspension for any of the terrain the OP's thinking
of riding on, but my mate's £200 Ridgeback Hybrid has a suspension seatpost,
which IMO is quite a nice thing to have.

We have Ridgeback Adventures and they're comfortable to ride. Suspension
forks and seatpost.

Tumbleweed said:

Looking for something which will mainly be on road but also good at mild off
road (canal towpaths, bridle paths, rough gravel tracks, that sort of
stuff). Must come with or be able to have fitted, mudguards and rack. Budget
up to £400 but could go higher if there is a convincing reason for SWMBO.
Is suspension at this price worth it or not?

I bought a Dawes Tanami for Mrs C-F. She is delighted with it.

It has guards, rack, suspension seat-post.
--

Cheers,

Al