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Tom said:

As I am no longer as supple as I used to be I find I now need a step
through frame. I have been looking at a Dawes Discovery 301 which seems
to be a reasonable option, retailing at c250 BP. The only thing is it
has 24 gears. This seems to me to be excessive for my local tootling
about requirements. Any ideas about a similar spec. at a reasonable
price, but with fewer gears would be most welcome.

What about a Carrera Subway 8? As the name suggests, it has 8
easily-changed hub gears. £350 though.

"Tom" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

As I am no longer as supple as I used to be I find I now need a step
through frame. I have been looking at a Dawes Discovery 301 which seems
to be a reasonable option, retailing at c250 BP. The only thing is it
has 24 gears. This seems to me to be excessive for my local tootling
about requirements. Any ideas about a similar spec. at a reasonable
price, but with fewer gears would be most welcome.
--
Joyce

I don't know the bike - but stick it in the middle gear at the front and
only use 8 of the 24 gears. I bet in time you would be using the lot.

John

Tom said:

As I am no longer as supple as I used to be I find I now need a step
through frame. I have been looking at a Dawes Discovery 301 which
seems to be a reasonable option, retailing at c250 BP. The only thing
is it has 24 gears. This seems to me to be excessive for my local
tootling about requirements. Any ideas about a similar spec. at a
reasonable price, but with fewer gears would be most welcome.

You don't have to use all the gears. But riding's more fun of you do.

On Sun, 10 Oct 2004 17:23:58 +0100, Tom <[email hidden]>

wrote in message : said:

As I am no longer as supple as I used to be I find I now need a step
through frame. I have been looking at a Dawes Discovery 301 which seems
to be a reasonable option, retailing at c250 BP. The only thing is it
has 24 gears. This seems to me to be excessive for my local tootling
about requirements. Any ideas about a similar spec. at a reasonable
price, but with fewer gears would be most welcome.

I'd buy the Dawes, not least because I have never been disappointed by
a Dawes bike. The additional weight of the triple on the front is
very low, and you might just want those gears some day :-)

You are, of course, not obliged to use them. Not until you get to
that Hovis hill anyway...

Guy
--
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

88% of helmet statistics are made up, 65% of them at Washington University

Tom said:

As I am no longer as supple as I used to be I find I now need a step
through frame. I have been looking at a Dawes Discovery 301 which
seems to be a reasonable option, retailing at c250 BP. The only thing
is it has 24 gears. This seems to me to be excessive for my local
tootling about requirements. Any ideas about a similar spec. at a
reasonable price, but with fewer gears would be most welcome.

Its probably a reasonable machine (as others have said).

You'll need to add mudguards and other "essentials" to complete it (pump,
rear rack, ...); assume at least another £50 in bits and bobs. Make that
£100 if you want lights for after dark and you should have some change left
over.

--
NC - Webmaster for http://www.2mm.org.uk/
Replies to newsgroup postings to the newsgroup please.

Tom said:

As I am no longer as supple as I used to be I find I now need a step
through frame. I have been looking at a Dawes Discovery 301 which seems
to be a reasonable option, retailing at c250 BP. The only thing is it
has 24 gears. This seems to me to be excessive for my local tootling
about requirements. Any ideas about a similar spec. at a reasonable
price, but with fewer gears would be most welcome.

My main bike is a Dawes. I love it. It has 27 gears - I only really use
9 of those, but that doesn't matter because they are fantastic bikes.

Made in the UK too, which these days is a rarity.

--
Chris

Succorso said:

Made in the UK

You sure? I thought they were made in Taiwan and other places now (Czech for
the Audax model). Not a criticism -- great bikes.

in message <[email hidden]>, Tom

(') said:

As I am no longer as supple as I used to be I find I now need a step
through frame. I have been looking at a Dawes Discovery 301 which
seems to be a reasonable option, retailing at c250 BP. The only thing
is it has 24 gears. This seems to me to be excessive for my local
tootling about requirements. Any ideas about a similar spec. at a
reasonable price, but with fewer gears would be most welcome.

These days, deraileur type systems are a lot cheaper to build than
epicyclic systems, and a 24 speed deraileur system (3x8) is only
marginally more expensive to assemble than an eight speed (one by
eight). If you really want an eight speed deraileur system (you won't
get less on a new bike these days) then Edinburgh Bicycle Co-op's
Revolution Courier is the only one I know of.

Alternatively you can get the Carrera Subway 8 with an eight speed
epicyclic, but that's quite a bit more money (it should be lower
maintenance, though).

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

;; Semper in faecibus sumus, sole profundum variat.

"Just zis Guy, you know?" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I'd buy the Dawes, not least because I have never been disappointed by
a Dawes bike.

Neither have I.

Quoted message said:

The additional weight of the triple on the front is
very low, and you might just want those gears some day :-)

Too many gears? What a strange concept. Even if you only use a few for
most of your cycling it's nice to have the others in reserve.

--
Dave...

Tom said:

has 24 gears. This seems to me to be excessive for my local tootling
about requirements.

Though do bear in mind that "24 gears" doesn't mean 24 gears you
actually /use/ as most will be overlaps in silly configurations. "24
gears" in real terms is about 12 in reality, and it's always nice to
have an extra couple lower than you usually use in case you're going up
your usual steepest hill but there's a headwind as well.

Though I'd agree a hub gear would make more sense for tootling (I use a
3 speed hub on my hack) having a 3 x 8 shouldn't cause you any real grief.

An option might be something like a Dahon, which gives you a step
through frame and rather fewer gears to worry about, plus it folds in
two for easier storage and many models won't break the bank either. The
one rabadged as the Ridgeback Impulse may well fit the bill at £250, and
it comes with mudguards and a rack out of the box too.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

In article <[email hidden]>, Tom
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

As I am no longer as supple as I used to be I find I now need a step
through frame. I have been looking at a Dawes Discovery 301 which seems
to be a reasonable option, retailing at c250 BP. The only thing is it
has 24 gears. This seems to me to be excessive for my local tootling
about requirements. Any ideas about a similar spec. at a reasonable
price, but with fewer gears would be most welcome.

I'm just writing to say thank you for all the advice received. I am now
the proud owner of the Discovery 301 in a lovely shade of blue. (I have
to say that don't I? Most salespeople assume that women find the colour
important). To be fair to Bikes of Lymm I was treated as a serious
cyclist at all times.
Anyway, I picked up the bike this morning before the rain really started
and cycled along five miles of the Trans Pennine Trail from Heatley to
Latchford before being picked up by my husband to go into Warrington for
lunch. I found it a very comfortable ride over admittedly easy terrain,
ex rail track, the bike easy to handle, and now look forward to building
up my fitness levels and enjoying some days out.
Thanks again.
Joyce
--
Joyce