Enjoying cycling, buying new bike! Advice!

Waynester wrote:

Now I’m really confused lol! Well I guess disc brakes would be nice after my Carrera, but I suppose anything nowadays is better than what I have now, just want good brakes in wet and odd bit of snow, what is 105??

Hydraulic brakes are the best by far.  Most manufacturers are selling hydraulic brake bikes around a £1000.  Example the Boardman ADV8.9 is £1k where as the ADV8.8 is £750with cable disc brakes.  

Cable disc brakes can vary in performance from good to down right rubbish-hydraulic is consistent best perforamance.  Ive converted my new Genesis bike from cable to hydraulic immediately, because all my bikes are hydraulic and know the benefits of them.  

Are you practical in bike maintainance?

You could get the ADV8.9 with discount from Halfords down to £900-(British cycling membership)

I would look for a 2018 bike with hydraulic brakes. lots of people buy a new bike ride it a few times then it goes in the garage, to be sold.

Shimano do different quality/design on their groupsets(gears, derailleurs, shifters etc)

Claris, Sora,105,Ultegra, and Dur-ace.  All are very good and will work well.  They get lighter and more expensive.  Most folk get bikes with 105 or Ultegra (not alot in qualitydifference).  High end bike have Dur-ace, budget Claris/Sora-nothing wrong with these, they work well.

alansmurphy wrote:

Disagree with bikeclis - I had cable only discs on an £800 Spcialized Claris bike then got the GT I linked to with the cable hydro and they are awesome (oh and the bike has 105).

Fair one Alan - mine is 105 as well. I wonder if I've had pad contamination or something. I've been really disapointed with them from day one and I think I'll be upgrading to full-hydraulics before next autumn.

To be fair, this is the first bike I've ever owned with disc brakes and I've only ever tested others in dry conditions so I'm no expert. I might be a bit biased because I'm comfortable setting up and maintaining rim brakes wheras these mo-fo's are witchcraft to me.

Waynester wrote:

So.... a bike on my budget with full hydraulic brakes? Not gonna happen? Good braking comfort and speed is what I’d like.. Christ aren’t bikes expensive now lol!!!?!!

It's a bit of a stretch. And yes, bikes have got expensive. Base prices have gone up considerably in the last couple of years and disc-braked drop-bar bikes are fashionable at the moment so prices are firmer on those than on rim brakes.

Modern rim brakes will be much better than what you've got on your Carrera - mine are perfectly capable of hauling my considerable bulk up for the occasional emergency stop - certainly enough to try and chuck me over the bars.

Discs win in the wet and also for year-round riding because you don't destroy your rims with road grime but they do need a lot of fettling to keep everything running smoothly - particularly cable-operated ones. I've got one disc brake bike and one rim brake and I'd say I feel more confident on the rim brakes.

Go and try a rim-brake model with 105-level or above brakes, you might be surprised how good they are.

Waynester wrote:

So as a complete idiot who doesn’t really know about bikes, benefit of disc brakes are?

My caliper type are Pretty crap.. might be able to stretch to £800 for a bike but ideally £700 to £800 and no more, preferably I’ll put down £250 and pay rest over 12 or 24 months interest free if anyone's doing this? 

- easier to modulate brake pressure

- less effort required from the hands.

- better wet performance

- no wear to the wheel rims

- keeps heat generated under braking away from the tyres

Waynester wrote:

So as a complete idiot who doesn’t really know about bikes, benefit of disc brakes are?

Good disc brakes are supposed to give more power (when wet), better modulation, less susceptible to crap on the roads and don't wear your pretty wheels out.

I'd just point out that my Ultegra (previous and current generation) rim brakes are awesome. I got a GT grade with the cable-hydraulic hybrid type dic brakes last year and they're rubbish. Even before the pads got covered in a film of gunk from the industrial roads I ride in on, they were no better than rims. My mates who did this and then upgraded to full hydraulic say that the difference is night and day. At your budget, I think I'd prefer decent rim brakes over cheap discs. If you can get full hydraulics though, then that would be a winner.

Waynester wrote:

Hi chaps, well I’ve had the Carrera for years, it’s not a bad bike.. but looking for someat a bit swifter, nicer to ride, comfort is a must.. I’m not at all very handy with bikes and repairs, got a local chap whose awesome and reasonably priced... I play keyboards in a Bon Jovi Tribute Band 100 shows a year, so not very “bikey” lol! 

This would be a good upgrade

https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBFBPXXLAAPEXMECH/planet-x-xla-sram-apex-1...

Great for the commute and if you want to go and do say the Swindon -> Marlborough off road.

The thing with disc brakes is that they limit your choice quite a bit at your budget.

Waynester wrote:

I play keyboards in a Bon Jovi Tribute Band 100 shows a year, so not very “bikey” lol!

Outstanding.

Having just bought a new bike and looked at the C2W schemes, my advice is not to bother, unless you're definitely staying with the same company for 5 years.

If not, then the savings are negligible (7% if you do it only for 1 year), as you'll be hit by the final fees when you leave the company, as the scheme isn't portable and you won't actually own the bike until you pay that even if you do stay with the company. There's a handy calculator here:

https://www.cyclescheme.co.uk/calculator

Anyway, there looks to be some good bikes at your price point - I was looking at the Boardman (Halfords) and Arkose (Evans) models.

Look out for sales on old models - you might get lucky, especially if you don't mind the odd component sacrifice now that you can upgrade later. That's what I got in the end.

Waynester wrote:

Yeah I cycle to work in all weathers, a fair bit of A road and a cycle track that definitely needs fixing by Swindon Borough council!! Holes and bits of trees on a big stretch of the journey to work... I’ll look into the cycle to work scheme, trouble is I’m on a zero hours contract with travis Perkins, I work 3 days a week 8 hours a day.. wonder if I could get some help?

Definitely want disc brakes yeah 

 

heres a pic of my current bike 

 

 

As long as you're employed, pay tax, and they're a member of a C2W scheme you should be eligible. You'll save about 25% on the price but bear in mind that a lot of places will either charge an admin fee (£100 at PlanetX I believe) or not let you buy a discounted bike on the scheme. Good time to be buying now though as retailers are clearing down stock ready for the 2019 models so it might be a case of chasing down a bargain and not bothering with C2W.

I think your sweet spot would be a Tiagra 10-speed bike, space for 35mm tyres including mudguards, and either full hydro or TRP HY/RD brakes.

Well worth hopping on the train to Reading and checking out the Tribans in Decathlon - the RC520 is bang on your budget and has better spec than what I've suggested, or you can go for the RC500 and save yourself a couple of hundred quid. Just checked and they've got 1 XL 520 in stock - you might get on with a L, just depends on whether proportionally your height is in your legs or torso.