So..... cycling

[LeperousDust]

How much are you willing to spend? Anything around entry level bikes 300-600 probably won't benefit so much, because you're tied to certain shops (evens cycles for instance) which have inflated prices. So you save VAT on a bad deal. Whereas if you shop around you could get the same bike "off" the scheme for probably the same price. I don't think i'm doing my explanation any justice though

[camerajuan]

Put simply I don't have the cash to buy even an entry level bike right now as my work refuse to up my hours past 23 per week.

In one of the shops that I'm tied to theres an awesome lookin bike I found for £315. That plus lock, pump & muds would be perfect for my commute. If my work decides its a good idea then I can go for that.

Other option - I need to sell my heavyweight on wheels & trawl gumtree & ebay to get a decent lightweight bike for under £100 if I can. Got the Scott Yecora for £70(MUG sold me it)but I imagine that to be a flash in the pan!

[LeperousDust]

Originally Posted by camerajuan

Put simply I don't have the cash to buy even an entry level bike right now as my work refuse to up my hours past 23 per week.

Ha I hear you! I average about 21.5 hours a week it seems

Other option - I need to sell my heavyweight on wheels & trawl gumtree & ebay to get a decent lightweight bike for under £100 if I can. Got the Scott Yecora for £70(MUG sold me it)but I imagine that to be a flash in the pan!

I'd be watching gumtree, the price of bikes on gumtree seems a little inflated around Edinburgh compared to what i'd get in Liverpool (hence why i bought my last bike in Liverpool and brought it up on the train). But you see some lovely old school racers got from between £20-£100 fairly often on gumtree. Waiting it out and getting a decent second hander would be my choice. I have a slight problem with buying new though

In related news, i've finally taken the bike i bought over a month ago out, and it's smoooooooooth. I'm in love. Just need to buy a fahgettaboudit (maybe mini) and some light clips (use the same lights as my mountain bike). Woohooooo

[camerajuan]

Originally Posted by LeperousDust

I'd be watching gumtree, the price of bikes on gumtree seems a little inflated around Edinburgh compared to what i'd get in Liverpool (hence why i bought my last bike in Liverpool and brought it up on the train). But you see some lovely old school racers got from between £20-£100 fairly often on gumtree. Waiting it out and getting a decent second hander would be my choice. I have a slight problem with buying new though

Yeah seen a few on there around my area - which right now is Hampshire! I bought my Scott Yecora on there and hopefully someone will be as generous and stick up a Marin/Saracen for £60 ono!

Couple of racers seen on there which I've thought about but aren't they a bit fragile? I ride 5 miles to work and its not the smoothest terrain, in fact the last part has a cabbage patch to go through as a shortcut!

Just gotta wait until payday then sell the Boheimath & get something!

[LeperousDust]

My last racer was a tank compared to modern racer bikes. "Carbolite" something Peugeot ; weighed a ton ! But i wouldn't be cyclocrossing on it! A reall cyclocross bike would do you well though! If it's off road defo cheaper to stick to MTB, but depends my last racer suffered loooooong stretched of cobbles every day of its life!

[Jonny69]

^^^ what he said was right!

A pure road bike will start to suffer if it has to deal with too much rough stuff. It won't just the be the forks that take the punishment, the tyres will be too narrow to soak up th ebumps and the rims will start to get hit. Cyclocross bikes have many of the advantages of a road bike but are a bit tougher and have clearance for bigger tyres, so you can take them off road. Something else to consider is a rigid frame mountain bike, i.e. no suspension. I took on on my off-road event and had a massive advantage most of the time. I had a huge adventage unless it was high speed downhill stuff on really rough ground, where I really had to hold on tight and took a battering but the suspension bikes soaked it up. For most of the rest of the event, suspension just looked like added weight and was slowing people down by soaking up their pedalling power. Ideally I'd go for front suspension only, that can lock off, so on the roads you don't have the spring sapping all your energy.

[camerajuan]

Well its a 5 mile ride, very up and downy, through residential streets and up a VERY long shopping high street, then through an even worse up and down council estate with a 200m ride through a dirt tracked farm to reach the overpass, uphill & down the other side to my work. If I get my new job, it'll be the same with a mile flat road to the new location. (B&Q to Delta Force Paintball. Step UP!).

All the roads are fairly even tarmac except the council estate, where I pick my route to avoid the bad-golfer-esque divots in the road. The Scott Yecora handled all terrains awesomely. It had front suspension only and a very light frame(pics further back in this thread). Looking for something similar to that in Hampshire, Dorset, Wiltshire, Berkshire or London. Need wheels for work!

[Jonny69]

I was a bit gutted to lose my trusty Gore Windstopper gloves the other week. The closest I could find to replace them were some Louis Garneau Sotchis. Really nice but £45!!!

I managed to score a pair on eBay for £27 delivered and I'm dead chuffed

[LeperousDust]

Not quite getting on my my cheapo cages, and the compact frame geometry is definitely stranger to ride. I never would have thought i'd say that. Hard to put a finger on what it is, but i find it eternally harder to balance stopped at lights, not helped by the fact i hate these cheap cages as mentioned! But otherwise my little bike is a dream Perfect for scooting about town again. I seem to be far to lazy to walk anywhere (it just takes too damn long!)

[camerajuan]

My gumtree bike turned out to be a lemon.

Apollo XC26, rusty in parts which didn't bother me. Seat had paint splatter on it, didn't bother me. Front sus worked fine, wheels spin true and brakes nice & tight. £35.

Fortnight in, sus stopped working, back tyre flat overnight and back wheel loosens if I cycle too far. Strip. Tighten. Respray. Clean. Sell.

Paid on the 30th & buying the nicest thing I can find on gumtree for £100 or less. Unless my new "employer" gets registered with cyclescheme tonight and I can score a shiny new Scott Sportster from Hargroves. Hoping this will be the end of my woes!