The Mrs needs a new bike....

[seveniron]

Hi All
She is looking for a "hybrid" or such for pleasure cycling around the area,
Leicestershire.
Will be looking around tomorrow but need some help in deciding the type etc.
Cost can be anything reasonable, just don't want somrthing that is heavy or
rusts at the first sign of rain.
A low gear for those hills will be a bonus.
First call will be Rutland Water cycle shop.
Any suggestions?
Thanks, Rog

 

[Peter Clinch]

seveniron wrote:

> She is looking for a "hybrid" or such for pleasure cycling around the area,
> Leicestershire.
> Will be looking around tomorrow but need some help in deciding the type etc.
> Cost can be anything reasonable, just don't want somrthing that is heavy or
> rusts at the first sign of rain.
> A low gear for those hills will be a bonus.
> First call will be Rutland Water cycle shop.

The market's wide open with those specs, so try things out and see
how they're liked. I'd avoid suspension forks, only really much
point on serious off-road kit and/or if you're paying Serious Money
for Serious Engineering. Similarly, disc brakes pretty pointless
unless you're sepnding lots.
Mudguards and a rack make low-intensity recreational riding
potentially nicer: no spary of cack of wet roads, and somewhere to
put stuff you take along with you rather than hang it off your back
to help it get sweaty.

You tend to get what you pay for, with the law of diminishing
returns starting to cut in at, say, £500 and the law of pay
peanuts, get monkeys goes at, say, £180. So probably spend > £180,
but if a nice machine is over £500 and the money's there anbd it
pushes buttons, be willing to spend it.
The Big Names have very good value quality machinery in this area
(note: Raleigh is not a "big Name" any more, Trek and Giant are).
Dawes, Ridgeback, Claud Butler, Specialized also good to look at.

HTH, 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 protected] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

 

[seveniron]

"Peter Clinch" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> seveniron wrote:
>
>> She is looking for a "hybrid" or such for pleasure cycling around the
>> area, Leicestershire.
>> Will be looking around tomorrow but need some help in deciding the type
>> etc.
>> Cost can be anything reasonable, just don't want somrthing that is heavy
>> or rusts at the first sign of rain.
>> A low gear for those hills will be a bonus.
>> First call will be Rutland Water cycle shop.
>
> The market's wide open with those specs, so try things out and see how
> they're liked. I'd avoid suspension forks, only really much point on
> serious off-road kit and/or if you're paying Serious Money for Serious
> Engineering. Similarly, disc brakes pretty pointless unless you're
> sepnding lots.
> Mudguards and a rack make low-intensity recreational riding potentially
> nicer: no spary of cack of wet roads, and somewhere to put stuff you take
> along with you rather than hang it off your back to help it get sweaty.
>
> You tend to get what you pay for, with the law of diminishing returns
> starting to cut in at, say, £500 and the law of pay peanuts, get monkeys
> goes at, say, £180. So probably spend > £180, but if a nice machine is
> over £500 and the money's there anbd it pushes buttons, be willing to
> spend it.
> The Big Names have very good value quality machinery in this area (note:
> Raleigh is not a "big Name" any more, Trek and Giant are). Dawes,
> Ridgeback, Claud Butler, Specialized also good to look at.
>
> HTH, 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 protected] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

Thanks Pete, plenty of info to guide me there.
Rog

 

[Geoff. Hayward]

Hi Rog, Peter's views about suspension forks are sound but I have a sprung
seat stem (if that's the correct description), and it works very well,
ironing out lots of vibration.

Regards,

Geoff.

"seveniron" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:460edf65.0@entanet...
> Hi All
> She is looking for a "hybrid" or such for pleasure cycling around the
> area, Leicestershire.
> Will be looking around tomorrow but need some help in deciding the type
> etc.
> Cost can be anything reasonable, just don't want somrthing that is heavy
> or rusts at the first sign of rain.
> A low gear for those hills will be a bonus.
> First call will be Rutland Water cycle shop.
> Any suggestions?
> Thanks, Rog
>

 

[Nigel Cliffe]

Geoff. Hayward wrote:
> Hi Rog, Peter's views about suspension forks are sound but I have a
> sprung seat stem (if that's the correct description), and it works
> very well, ironing out lots of vibration.

I think springs in seats are a good thing on fairly upright bikes, which
includes many hybrids. With the more forward position of race bikes, with
more weight carried directly on legs and arms, sprung saddles are less
useful.

I can't see much wrong with the 100 year old Brooks (and others) solution;
put coil springs in the corner of the saddle. However, as most saddles
don't do this (Brooks excepted), the sprung seatpost is the alternative.
If you can find a Brooks which is the right size for your behind, a sprung
Brooks will cost less than many sprung seatposts. The "aged" models are
softer straight from the box.


- Nigel




> "seveniron" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:460edf65.0@entanet...
>> Hi All
>> She is looking for a "hybrid" or such for pleasure cycling around the
>> area, Leicestershire.
>> Will be looking around tomorrow but need some help in deciding the
>> type etc.
>> Cost can be anything reasonable, just don't want somrthing that is
>> heavy or rusts at the first sign of rain.
>> A low gear for those hills will be a bonus.
>> First call will be Rutland Water cycle shop.
>> Any suggestions?
>> Thanks, Rog

--
Nigel Cliffe,
Webmaster at http://www.2mm.org.uk/

 

[Peter Clinch]

Nigel Cliffe wrote:
> Geoff. Hayward wrote:
>> Hi Rog, Peter's views about suspension forks are sound but I have a
>> sprung seat stem (if that's the correct description), and it works
>> very well, ironing out lots of vibration.
>
> I think springs in seats are a good thing on fairly upright bikes, which
> includes many hybrids. With the more forward position of race bikes, with
> more weight carried directly on legs and arms, sprung saddles are less
> useful.

Yup. I have a B66 on the (quite upright) freight bike. It used to
grace my drop bar tourer and certainly wasn't a problem there, but
it does come into its own more on the 8 Freight. We're off to NL
Real Soon Now, where I expect I will see rather a lot of them!

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 protected] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/