what bike to buy for £500

I would like to buy a new bike and I don't know what I should be getting or looking for.

Can anyone suggest what I should be buying.

I want a comfort type bike I think, general road and track riding nothing too extreme.

One Bike I like is the Giant EZB anyone have any comments on it.

My budget is around £500.00 but I could do with a suggestion around £300 too.

Thanks

Rob

 

"Robert" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> I would like to buy a new bike and I don't know what I should be getting
or
> looking for.
>
> Can anyone suggest what I should be buying.
>
> I want a comfort type bike I think, general road and track riding nothing too extreme.
>
> One Bike I like is the Giant EZB anyone have any comments on it.
>
> My budget is around £500.00 but I could do with a suggestion around £300 too.

Please tell us a bit more about what you want to do on the bike. By 'track' I assume you mean
bridlepath and cycle track rather than velodrome & competition.

Can we assume you want to do 20 to 50 mile rides on nice summer days or are you thinking of touring
or all year round cycling?

There are lots of options out there. Ultimately, you need to find a bike that's comfortable & that
you are happy with.

T

 

Robert wrote:
> I would like to buy a new bike and I don't know what I should be gettin=
g or
> looking for.
>=20
> Can anyone suggest what I should be buying.
>=20
> I want a comfort type bike I think, general road and track riding nothi=
ng
> too extreme.

> My budget is around =A3500.00 but I could do with a suggestion around =A3=
300
> too.

Probably a goodish hybrid, or a not quite so good, but still quite=20 acceptable hybrid on the lower
budget... I'd start at Dawes Discovery=20 and Ridgeback Velocity ranges, but they certainly won't be
the only=20 shows in town. Probably not worth getting suspension (seatpost sus=20 possibly excepted)
on this sort of thing IMHO.

But beyond that, don't forget that the budget might reasonably be spent=20 on stuff beyond the bike:
a good set of lights, clothes for nasty=20 weather, panniers (and maybe a rack to put them on) if
you'll be=20 carrying anything, some basic tools, a pump, and so on.

> One Bike I like is the Giant EZB anyone have any comments on it.

I'm not convinced, though with the caveat that I'm not convinced on=20 paper, haven't actually
ridden one (but I have ridden the R&M Equinox,=20 similar layout but rather pricier and more
sophisticated, see=20 http://kinetics.org.uk/html/equinox.html, and wasn't convinced by that=20 in
the flesh)... Though in theory it gives you "visibility benefits of the upright=20 position, with
the comfort and efficiency of a recumbent posture", in=20 practice the visibility benefits of an
upright posture are widely held=20 to be overestimated by those of us on full recumbents, and
having ridden =

the Equinox I know that putting a backrest behind a conventional saddle=20 isn't anywhere *close* to
as comfortable as a full recumbent with a=20 proper seat. And it's also the case that the more
upright recumbents=20 like the Spirit and BikeE don't actually give you particularly great=20
aerodynamics in any case, so I'm not sure what "efficiency" they're=20 banging on about. The list is
=A3595, and if I were looking for a very comfy new general=20 purpose bike at this price I'd much
sooner spend =A3500 on an HPV Wavey=20 (http://kinetics.org.uk/html/wavey___streamer.html) than the
Giant. But =

neither would be much use on tracks, to be frank: a good hybrid with a=20 fairly upright position
and a good saddle won't actually be that much=20 different in comfort to the EZB, will work much
better on tracks (you=20 can shift your weight around if you need to) and it'll be much easier to =

get a selection of things like lights that will actually fit. It'll=20 also likely be a much better
"one bike does all" machine.

For the traditional crowd the EZB is a bit strange for little (any?)=20 gain, and for the recumbent
crowd it isn't really different *enough*,=20 still having things we don't like like all your weight
on a relatively=20 uncomfortable cutaway stool. Looks okay as a city bike for people that=20 would
like a Spirit or Cannondale Recumbent but can't afford one...

Pete. --=20 Peter Clinch University of Dundee Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Medical Physics,
Ninewells Hospital Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK net [email protected]
http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

 

"Robert" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> I would like to buy a new bike and I don't know what I should be getting
or
> looking for.
>
> Can anyone suggest what I should be buying.
>
> I want a comfort type bike I think, general road and track riding nothing too extreme.
>
> One Bike I like is the Giant EZB anyone have any comments on it.
>
> My budget is around £500.00 but I could do with a suggestion around £300 too.

I always suggest a look at Marin's - I have had 4 and each was (is) a gem. They start at reasonable
prices and 2002 models are in Bonthrone at knock down prices.

John

 

"Peter Clinch" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
Robert wrote:
> I would like to buy a new bike and I don't know what I should be getting
or
> looking for.
>
> Can anyone suggest what I should be buying.
>
> I want a comfort type bike I think, general road and track riding nothing too extreme.

> My budget is around £500.00 but I could do with a suggestion around £300 too.

Probably a goodish hybrid, or a not quite so good, but still quite acceptable hybrid on the lower
budget... I'd start at Dawes Discovery and Ridgeback Velocity ranges, but they certainly won't be
the only shows in town. Probably not worth getting suspension (seatpost sus possibly excepted) on
this sort of thing IMHO.

But beyond that, don't forget that the budget might reasonably be spent on stuff beyond the bike: a
good set of lights, clothes for nasty weather, panniers (and maybe a rack to put them on) if you'll
be carrying anything, some basic tools, a pump, and so on.

> One Bike I like is the Giant EZB anyone have any comments on it.

I'm not convinced, though with the caveat that I'm not convinced on paper, haven't actually ridden
one (but I have ridden the R&M Equinox, similar layout but rather pricier and more sophisticated,
see http://kinetics.org.uk/html/equinox.html, and wasn't convinced by that in the flesh)... Though
in theory it gives you "visibility benefits of the upright position, with the comfort and efficiency
of a recumbent posture", in practice the visibility benefits of an upright posture are widely held
to be overestimated by those of us on full recumbents, and having ridden the Equinox I know that
putting a backrest behind a conventional saddle isn't anywhere *close* to as comfortable as a full
recumbent with a proper seat. And it's also the case that the more upright recumbents like the
Spirit and BikeE don't actually give you particularly great aerodynamics in any case, so I'm not
sure what "efficiency" they're banging on about. The list is £595, and if I were looking for a very
comfy new general purpose bike at this price I'd much sooner spend £500 on an HPV Wavey
(http://kinetics.org.uk/html/wavey___streamer.html) than the Giant. But neither would be much use on
tracks, to be frank: a good hybrid with a fairly upright position and a good saddle won't actually
be that much different in comfort to the EZB, will work much better on tracks (you can shift your
weight around if you need to) and it'll be much easier to get a selection of things like lights that
will actually fit. It'll also likely be a much better "one bike does all" machine.

For the traditional crowd the EZB is a bit strange for little (any?) gain, and for the recumbent
crowd it isn't really different *enough*, still having things we don't like like all your weight on
a relatively uncomfortable cutaway stool. Looks okay as a city bike for people that would like a
Spirit or Cannondale Recumbent but can't afford one...

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

Oh no ! Not the Hybrid again ! Whatever you do don't buy a Hybrid, buy a road bike or a mountain
bike or even better both. Check this link for decent cheap bikes.

http://www.edinburgh-bicycle.co.uk/catalogue/item.cfm?ID=2892

Hope that helps.

Graham