The background: I've been using a Brompton on a VERY occassional basis, and am thinking about buying something new for weekend leisure riding, ie road and track (but not naked mountainsides...). I'd like something nice, but budget limits me to about £500 in the UK. I'm also very tall (but have lived with that for the past half century), though still fairly slim (and a GSOH, but that's on a different site I think!).
The questions: any ideas for bikes? I've had Giant in the past, and liked them, but there ar so many brands, and no real way of comparing them comprehensively (I can't find any good all round magazines, for instance). I think a hybrid would probably be better than a 'real' mountain bike, but am prepared to be convinced otherwise. Size is celarly an issue, but so is suspension, disc or V brakes, and so on. I'm also tempted by hub gears, but need to know a) whether they really are more reliable and maintenance free, and b) the range of ratios (not the percentage and cogs, but how it feels compared to a derailleur) they cover: I don't need 27 ratios, but I may need the same range of ratios.
Ideas welcome! Feel free to contact me directly on [email protected]
Many thanks
Jonj
The questions: any ideas for bikes? I've had Giant in the past, and liked them, but there ar so many brands, and no real way of comparing them comprehensively (I can't find any good all round magazines, for instance). I think a hybrid would probably be better than a 'real' mountain bike, but am prepared to be convinced otherwise. Size is celarly an issue, but so is suspension, disc or V brakes, and so on. I'm also tempted by hub gears, but need to know a) whether they really are more reliable and maintenance free, and b) the range of ratios (not the percentage and cogs, but how it feels compared to a derailleur) they cover: I don't need 27 ratios, but I may need the same range of ratios.
Ideas welcome! Feel free to contact me directly on [email protected]
Many thanks
Jonj
