On Mon, 28 Jun 2004 22:51:24 +0100, Moorish <[email hidden]>
wrote in message oh1Ec.153$7I6.14@newsfe1-win: said:Yeah I intend to go and try some out. Halfords stock both
Raleigh & Diamondback by the look of it, so I'd like to
take a look at the two models mentioned in my initial post.
I'm leaning toward the Diamondback FS20 because it has
front disc brakes, which I'm told are a lot better.
Cheap disc brakes are every bot as good as cheap rear
suspension -
i.e. not very. V-brakes are so powerful you'll not need to
worry except in the most extreme circumstances,
especially if you fit Kool Stop pads. Discs are for
serious downhill, or maybe all weather commuting. Do
not buy a bike with Magura Julie disc brakes, as they
suck badly (DAMHIKIJKOK).
I would say the hierarchy might be:
- last year's model of a good bike knocked down to your
price band
- a lightly-used trade-in
- a bike from a good manufacturer (Dawes, Trek, Giant
etc.) ditto
Second hand bikes in proper bike shops are rarely hopelessly
out of date, they wil be reasonably recent models on which
the owner has given som Actual Cash in trade-in. Some shops
do specialise in second-hand bikes, but those are probably
not the shops you are visiting.
My Claud Butler Ravana (see chapmancentral.co.ukchapmancentral.co.ukOpen ↗
- it's the one with the mud) cost £150 IIRC, list was £225.
It was unmarked, the bloke had ridden it twice and traded it
for a full-sus thing. I've had it for about four or five
years and ridden 50 miles towing a trailer bike on it; it
currently has a couple of thousand miles under its wheels
and is still in good shape. Great value.
A cheap new bike tends to be cheap because everything on it
is cheap, especially the frame. A slightly more expensive
bike will almost always have a better frame, but cheaper
components. Which you simply replace as they wear out (if
they ever do).
Also, don't forget that you'll need a few quid left over for
essentials:
- lights
- lock
- mudguards
- rack
- panniers
- tools
- waterproofs
- gloves
- bottle & cage
For a commuting bike a hybrid is a good choice, for a
leisure bike for sustrans paths and such a rigid MTB has a
slight edge. Look for named brand components. You'll see
levers with "Shimano V-Brake" and then the bike has Tekro
brakes on it - perfectly normal, but the genuine Shimano V-
brakes are Much Better if you can find them. That sort of
thing. See if it has a rivetted chainset, or one where ou
can replace individual rings (cheap bikes are usually
rivetted). Does it have Shimano hubs and cassette? Shimano
front & rear mech? Are they at least Acera, or just "SIS"
(which is, as the Sheddi would have it, penc[1]).
Enough already.
[1] The joys of ROT13.
Guy
--
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after
posting. chapmancentral.co.ukchapmancentral.co.ukOpen ↗
88% of helmet statistics are made up, 65% of them at
Washington University
