Claud butler Urban-Dawes dicovery or what?



A

anon

Guest
Hi,

I'm looking to dump the car and travel to work by bike. I've tried a
mountain bike but the hills in my area mean I end up peddling like a
lunatic due to the gearing.

My days of leaning down into racing style handlebars are gone and i'm
ashamed to admit it but I would like something aesthetically pleasing.
:)


So I'm looking for MTB style handles, a bike for almost entirely road
use, faster gears and decent speed.


your advice would be appreciated greatly.

:)

Budget approx £250.


K
 
On Mon, 26 Jul 2004 13:09:11 +0100, anon wrote:


>
> So I'm looking for MTB style handles, a bike for almost entirely road
> use, faster gears and decent speed.
>
I think the current buzzword for that type is 'flatbar racer'.
 
anon wrote:

> On Mon, 26 Jul 2004 13:14:10 GMT, Jeremy Collins
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
>>http://www.wheelies.co.uk/2003bikesNew/2003bikeType.asp?BikeTypeID=8
>
>
> :)
>
> Any preference about which model from my list or another
> manufacturer?

My /personal/ preference is for Specialized - I ride a Crossroads
Sport. This is mainly because I got to try it out and knew it
was "right" for me.

The only brand on that page that I have a /dislike/ of is
Claud Butler, mainly because of usenet opinion, and partly
because a friend has had persistent problems with her Claud
Butler MTB.

The best thing you can do is go to a local bike shop and
try the various bikes out. You can search the archives
of this group if you want to pre-arm yourself with a
bit of knowledge (for example the dubious benefits of
suspension at this price point).

--
jc

Remove the -not from email
 
On Mon, 26 Jul 2004 13:09:11 +0100, anon <[email protected]> wrote:
>Hi,
>
>I'm looking to dump the car and travel to work by bike. I've tried a
>mountain bike but the hills in my area mean I end up peddling like a
>lunatic due to the gearing.
>
>My days of leaning down into racing style handlebars are gone and i'm
>ashamed to admit it but I would like something aesthetically pleasing.
>:)
>
>So I'm looking for MTB style handles, a bike for almost entirely road
>use, faster gears and decent speed.

Sounds Hybrid to me, maybe one of those new-fangled racers. I recently
wanted something similar and plumped for a Dawes Discovery hybrid...

>Budget approx £250.

And that's about as much as I spent on a Discovery 201, a set of
puncture proof tyres, chunky lock, drinks bottle+cage, compact hand
pump, bar ends and a simple computer (about 270 I think for that lot).
It's light and nippy enough for me.

If it's for work you may want to budget for a rack+panniers if you need
to carry books/folders etc (skip some of the extras above if you need
to). You can get away with a rucksack but sweaty backs aren't very nice.
And a set of mudguards if you're going out with it in the wetter
weather.

As always, though, go to a Local Bike Shop (post where you live and
someone should know a good one nearby), have a look, and get out on
the thing for a spin before buying.

Frink

ps Have you checked at work about provision for cyclists ie showers and
cubicles to keep changes of clothing in, and security for cycles?

--
Doctor J. Frink : 'Rampant Ribald Ringtail'
See his mind here : http://www.cmp.liv.ac.uk/frink/
Annoy his mind here : pjf at cmp dot liv dot ack dot ook
"No sir, I didn't like it!" - Mr Horse
 
anon wrote:

> So I'm looking for MTB style handles, a bike for almost entirely road
> use, faster gears and decent speed.
> your advice would be appreciated greatly.

I think the best bet is whichever of the hybrids meeting your budget, in
stock at your LBS, fits best. For that price you should get a perfectly
acceptable bike. I've never been disappointed by a Dawes, but I also have
two Claud Butlers whihc are good. Just about everybody makes a decent
hybrid these days, so you should be spoilt for choice :)

Don't forget to budget for a SON before the winter ;-)

Guy
--
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk
 
On Mon, 26 Jul 2004 16:58:27 +0100, "Just zis Guy, you know?"
<[email protected]> wrote:


>Don't forget to budget for a SON before the winter ;-)
>
>Guy


A son in being assembled and should be delivered in November.

:)


K
 

>
>The best thing you can do is go to a local bike shop and
>try the various bikes out. You can search the archives
>of this group if you want to pre-arm yourself with a
>bit of knowledge (for example the dubious benefits of
>suspension at this price point).


I did just that, one shop seemed to be pushing me into the Trek 721
Another pushed me towards the Ridgback velocity.

I must admit I liked the look of the velocity and it felt comfortable
but it is more expensive and needs mudgards on top of the increased
price.


Any comments?


K
 
anon wrote:

>>The best thing you can do is go to a local bike shop and
>>try the various bikes out. You can search the archives
>>of this group if you want to pre-arm yourself with a
>>bit of knowledge (for example the dubious benefits of
>>suspension at this price point).
>
>
>
> I did just that, one shop seemed to be pushing me into the Trek 721
> Another pushed me towards the Ridgback velocity.
>
> I must admit I liked the look of the velocity and it felt comfortable
> but it is more expensive and needs mudgards on top of the increased
> price.
>
>
> Any comments?

No direct experience with either, but they seem to have pretty
good components for their respective price range. I doubt you'd be
unhappy with the Trek, and you'd have about 50 quid left from
your budget for other bits like a pump, lights etc.

Just make sure you get the right frame size, and consider previous
year's models as a way of saving a few quid. For example the 2003
Velocity on offer here at £4 over your budget:

http://www.awcycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m1b120s18p1973

With a lighter frame and more gears than the Trek, it would
certainly make the riding experience easier.

--
jc

Remove the -not from email
 
I know this is not exactly what you're looking for, but I have recently been using a Ridgeback Cyclone. It has slightly higher gears than a straight MTB, and feels a bit like a road bike to actually ride. I suspect very few mountain bikes or indeed hybrids could keep up with one.
 
cd667 said:
I know this is not exactly what you're looking for, but I have recently been using a Ridgeback Cyclone. It has slightly higher gears than a straight MTB, and feels a bit like a road bike to actually ride. I suspect very few mountain bikes or indeed hybrids could keep up with one.
Click to expand...
Totally missed one of the points I wanted to make...
A 700c wheel on a £250 hybrid is not going to be particularly strong, you may find that using 26" wheels will save you a bit of maintenance.
 
On Mon, 26 Jul 2004 14:04:32 GMT, Jeremy Collins
<[email protected]> wrote (more or less):

>anon wrote:
>
>> On Mon, 26 Jul 2004 13:14:10 GMT, Jeremy Collins
>> <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>
>>>http://www.wheelies.co.uk/2003bikesNew/2003bikeType.asp?BikeTypeID=8
>>
>>
>> :)
>>
>> Any preference about which model from my list or another
>> manufacturer?
>
>My /personal/ preference is for Specialized - I ride a Crossroads
>Sport. This is mainly because I got to try it out and knew it
>was "right" for me.
>
>The only brand on that page that I have a /dislike/ of is
>Claud Butler, mainly because of usenet opinion, and partly
>because a friend has had persistent problems with her Claud
>Butler MTB.

My Edinburgh Bicycle Coop Contour 100 of '94 vintage is actually a
rebadged Claude Butler MTB of the period. I think it's been a fine
bike throughout the peroid (other than the thumb-shifter failure I've
discussed before). There are /masses/ of them floating around
Edinburgh.

And EBC gets recommendations to this day on this group. (though I
think they compile their own collections of components these days,
rather than rebadging Claude's).


>The best thing you can do is go to a local bike shop and
>try the various bikes out. You can search the archives
>of this group if you want to pre-arm yourself with a
>bit of knowledge (for example the dubious benefits of
>suspension at this price point).

--
Cheers,
Euan
Gawnsoft: http://www.gawnsoft.co.sr
Symbian/Epoc wiki: http://html.dnsalias.net:1122
Smalltalk links (harvested from comp.lang.smalltalk) http://html.dnsalias.net/gawnsoft/smalltalk
 
Gawnsoft [email protected] opined the
following...
> And EBC gets recommendations to this day on this group. (though I
> think they compile their own collections of components these days,
> rather than rebadging Claude's).

The EBC road bikes were (And AFAIK still are) rebadged Dawes Giro
frames. The componentry is EBC's though.

Jon
 
On Tue, 27 Jul 2004 05:15:01 +1000, cd667
<[email protected]> wrote:

>
>I know this is not exactly what you're looking for, but I have recently
>been using a Ridgeback Cyclone. It has slightly higher gears than a
>straight MTB, and feels a bit like a road bike to actually ride. I
>suspect very few mountain bikes or indeed hybrids could keep up with
>one.

Thanks for that, I'm taking your advice and goiing to order a
ridgeback Cyclone from "The Bike peddlar" in the next couple of days.



:)

K
 
I've got a Claud Butler Urban 300 that I'm very happy with. No
problems apart from what would be expected due to normal wear and
tear. I know a few people with Dawes Discoveries of various types up
to 401 and they are pretty similar. The Dawes bikes seem a bit
lighter but the CB seems to fit me better. The main reason I would
get a CB again is that the saddles are much better than the ones on
the cheaper Dawes (ie: anything less than a 601).

Too late I know but as someone earlier said, it really looks like you
want a flat bar road bike like the Dawes Giro 200
http://www.dawes-cycles.co.uk/giro200.asp

This is slightly out of your price range at about £300 if you shop
around.
 
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