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Sub £1000 bike for local commuting and keeping fit

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  • December 2, 2019 at 5:56 pm #30313
    Bryans58

    I’m an unfit git 60+ and just wanting to get back to cycling after stopping as soon as I could afford alternative transport at 18!

    I will be doing local journeys to the shops and longer stints (say around 1 hour round trips, some of it on steep hills) for keep fit; I may join a local club once I can get on a bike without immediately falling off.

    I’ve been to a couple of local bike shops, Specialize were not very helpful – just said a Crosstrail with hydraulic forks should be fine (with no real explanation), cost £575, and another independent actually spent 30 mins with me and suggested a Merida Crossway Urban 100 Gents 2019 model at £700,

    Does anyone have any suggestions?  I’m leaning towards the Merida because I like to support local independent shops, but would be interested to hear what more experienced cyclists say.

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  • December 3, 2019 at 12:07 pm #953409
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    schlepcycling

    How about the Planet X London

    How about the Planet X London Road, you can have a flat bar version with hydraulic disc brakes and mounts for muguards and a rack for £799.99

    https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBPXLDNFLATAPEX1/planet-x-london-road-sram-apex1-flat-bar-road-bike

    December 3, 2019 at 11:17 am #953407
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    chocim
    Judge dreadful wrote:
    https://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-rc-520-disc-road-bike-navy-105-id_8554421.html

     

    a nice bit of kit, with a decent spec, and a lifetime warranty on frame and forks.

     

    https://www.decathlon.co.uk/rr-900-af-road-bike-black-105-id_8529249.html

     

    or this if you want a more ‘road’ than ‘gravel / adventure’ type bike.

     

    Or, if you want a flat-bar hybrid, go for something like the Riverside 920:

     

    https://www.decathlon.co.uk/riverside-920-hybrid-bike-id_8405267.html

    December 3, 2019 at 6:40 am #953405
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    Judge dreadful

    https://www.decathlon.co.uk

    https://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-rc-520-disc-road-bike-navy-105-id_8554421.html

     

    a nice bit of kit, with a decent spec, and a lifetime warranty on frame and forks.

     

    https://www.decathlon.co.uk/rr-900-af-road-bike-black-105-id_8529249.html

     

    or this if you want a more ‘road’ than ‘gravel / adventure’ type bike.

    December 3, 2019 at 6:27 am #953403
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    Xenophon2
    CyclingInBeastMode wrote:
    I’d say you’d have to be absolutely clueless to buy a bike 2nd hand that doesn’t fit you or work, you get on it, you try the brakes and gears, if they don’t work you walk away and look elsewhere, not rocket science!

     

    I’m calling BS on that.  OP hasn’t ridden nor owned a bike in 40 years.  It’s very easy to buy a lemon new let alone second hand if you don’t know exactly what to watch out for.  Unless you know what you’re doing or bring along a friend who does, I wouldn’t advise purchasing second hand.  It’s not cheap if it doesn’t fit well or if you incur significant repairs a month after buying.

    To the OP:  stay away from suspension forks, especially cheap ones, you don’t need them.  The Merida looks nice.  You can get cheaper but if you don’t want to learn bike maintenance I’d invest some cash in a local dealer who already took 30 minutes to explain the basics.

    December 3, 2019 at 6:09 am #953401
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    Mungecrundle

    Tbh unless a £1000 is back of
    Tbh unless a £1000 is back of the sofa money for you, I’d advise you to keep an eye out in the local paper or eBay for something near enough to go look at before bidding. Like CIBM says it’s not rocket science to throw a leg over and check it works. There are a lot of very lightly used bicycles around for not a lot of money.

    I’d suggest some sort of hybrid style bike, flat bar, upright riding position, wider tyres, comfy seat, low gearing for any hills and not worry too much about method of braking or whether it has suspension or not. Hopefully you can find some nice cycle paths or singletrack locally away from traffic. You don’t even really need special cycle clothing, just dress appropriately for the weather and go out to regress into a 10 year old boy again enjoying the freedom and thrill of a bicycle.

    December 3, 2019 at 12:17 am #953399
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    Anonymous

    I’d say you’d have to be

    I’d say you’d have to be absolutely clueless to buy a bike 2nd hand that doesn’t fit you or work, you get on it, you try the brakes and gears, if they don’t work you walk away and look elsewhere, not rocket science!

    December 2, 2019 at 11:51 pm #953397
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    SilverBugle

    Unless you are farily

    Unless you are farily knowledgeable about bikes, I would suggest you are more likely to buy something unsuitable second hand.

    Of what you have been offered so far the Specialized is the bottom of their suspension fork hyrbid range and is expensive for what it is.

    The Merida looks nice and comes with muguards fitted but also looks expensive for what it.

    Halfords (Boardman, Voodoo and Carrrera) do a good range of good value hybrids with choice of rigid and suspension front forks.  In ascending order of price.  The Carreras may be a bit cheap but still good value.  The Voodoo Marasa is very good value and gets good reviews.  Boardman do MTX with front suspension and HYB with rigid forks.

    F W Evans own brand Pinnacle hybrids are also very good value.  The Cobalt range with front suspension and Lithium with rigid forks.

    Don’t automatically rule out a suspension fork.  They do add weight, but definiely smooth out poor quality roads.  They would also set you up nicely for some casual gravel/light off roading.

    A lot of hybrids have very similar gearing to road bikes.  So where a road bike might be 50/34 at the front and 11 – 32 at the rear, a hybrid may be 48/32 at the front and 11 – 32 or up to 36 at the back.  At 60+ and unfit, unless you are hiding a potential athlete in think you will find those overgeared.

    I am a fit 50+ and have just bought a Boardmand MTX with a 48/32 and 11-36.  I rarely use the top chainring.

    I suggest you consider a bike with triple chainset.  Some people say they are devils spawn and too complicated but if you can read an instruction manual you should be fine.  They will give a wider range of usable gearing.

    Definitely get one with disc brakes.

    With your bugdet I would suggest you look at Cobalt 4 (double chainset but low ratio) and Cobalt 3 (triple chainset) both suspension forks, and Lithium 4 (triple chainset) with rigid forks.  All 20% of at the moment.

    At Halfords look at the Voodoo Marasa (triple chainset rigid forks), Subway 3 (triple chainset suspension fork), Boardmain HYB 8.6 (double chainset, rigid forks), and MTX 8.6 (triple chainset, suspenion fork, and MTC 8.8 (double chainset, suspension fork).

     

    December 2, 2019 at 9:36 pm #953395
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    Simon E

    Suspension is unnecessary

    Suspension is unnecessary weight and complexity on a bike used mainly on hard surfaces. Unless you want to visit a third store to get another option – if you have a Halfords nearby you could see if they stock the Boardman. Otherwise the Merida sounds a good choice.

    Get some reasonably bright lights (see the road.cc reviews section) and a lock for leaving it parked up then you’ll hopefully be all set and you can enjoy riding your bike. smiley

    December 2, 2019 at 9:01 pm #953393
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    fenix

    Second hand is great if you

    Second hand is great if you know a bit about bikes and sizing.

     

    TBH I’d go to your local bike shop.  You should at least get the right size and a working bike.  

    The merida looks nice – mudguards are excellent.  Get a track pump too and you wont look back. 

    December 2, 2019 at 8:06 pm #953391
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    Anonymous

    As suggestion above 2nd hand

    As suggestion above 2nd hand will get you more bike for same or less money.

    I’m currently selling my sons top end hybrid (part carbon frame/carbon forks/quality components) that has a bigger range of gears than most of the usual contenders, is lighter than bikes costing a grand and more, can fit wide tyres with guards/pannier rack fitments, basically the ideal  commuter that can do much more, however despite Its mint condition I’ll be lucky to get £400 for it.

    Basically it’s a buyers market unless you have something very niche, so 2nd hand bikes can be an extremely good way to get started without throwing a lot of money at something that may not even 6 months down the line suit what you want. It means you have time to consider what you want/don’t want and can spend a bit more on something more specific to your needs which you will understand better the more you ride.

    Do not get anything with suspension forks, you’re not a downhill/MTB racer, a shop suggesting that is clearly trying to shift stock!

    luck finding something and enjoy riding.

    December 2, 2019 at 7:11 pm #953389
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    ktache

    It’s nice to have something

    It’s nice to have something shiny and new, but have you thought about 2nd hand.  You will get more bang from your buck, you will have to do more maintenance and learn it quicker, but if you talk to your Local Bike Shops, they might have a few in from part exchange.  Less likely to be stolen, and easier to ask for help with fixing.  It will help you to develop thet relationship too.

    Best of luck whatever you decide.

    The cold is easy to deal with, good gloves a must, you will generate a lot of warmth.  But ice is not much fun.

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