New Bike Advice

[Marc Jennings]

I am about to buy a bike again after a number of years. I would plan to use it to get a little
exersise and would be cycling on roads and off road cycle paths etc. so nothing too demanding max
10-15 miles a week.

I have looked in my local bike shop and seen a Raleigh Mountain bike (Max Aero). This is a basic
Mountain bike with ridged forks and a Chromeoly ?? frame. Parts all look reasonable quality (Shimano
gears, EZ rapid fire shifters, Pro Max Brakes) and although it is obviously an old model it
apparently had a UK RRP of 190 pounds. It is on offer for 90 pounds in a sale.

Is this a good buy for a novice like me to start with? I've tried it for size etc. and it feels ok.
In all honesty I can't afford to spend a great deal and all of the other bikes in this price range
were makes I had never heard of.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Marc

 

[Zog The Undenia]

Marc Jennings wrote:

> I am about to buy a bike again after a number of years. I would plan to use it to get a little
> exersise and would be cycling on roads and off road cycle paths etc. so nothing too demanding max
> 10-15 miles a week.
>
> I have looked in my local bike shop and seen a Raleigh Mountain bike (Max Aero). This is a basic
> Mountain bike with ridged forks and a Chromeoly ?? frame. Parts all look reasonable quality
> (Shimano gears, EZ rapid fire shifters, Pro Max Brakes) and although it is obviously an old model
> it apparently had a UK RRP of 190 pounds. It is on offer for 90 pounds in a sale.
>
> Is this a good buy for a novice like me to start with? I've tried it for size etc. and it feels
> ok. In all honesty I can't afford to spend a great deal and all of the other bikes in this price
> range were makes I had never heard of.

I bought a £200 Raleigh, when £200 was what £300 is today. It was certainly good fun but weighed
nearly 40lb and everything quickly corroded, proved to be unsealed against mud or just fell apart.

You need to spend more than that for anything that's going to be used off-road or in bad weather on-
road. If your budget doesn't stretch to a new bike, try the classifieds in Cycling Plus etc for a
s/h bike. Bikes depreciate almost vertically, so there are bargains to be had.