Looking for a bike - any recommendations?

[RMCF]

Thinking of getting myself a bike to try to improve my fitness with non-impact exercise.

I always see that Halfords have a lot of halfprice bikes. Are these any good?

Is there any brands I should look out for/avoid?

I'm thinking of a mountain bike rather than a racing bike. Don't think I will be doing big big mileage and it should all be on tarmac'd roads.

Any advice appreciated.

[dan1979]

If you're going to be on the roads then a mountain bike is what you don't want since you'll be wasting energy shifting more weight and knobbly tyres.

I'd always go for a road bike on the roads but you could consider a hybrid.

Anything half price in Halfords is probably best avoided. Some of the carreras are ok and the boardman's are good. Really depends on budget though. Now is a good time to buy as a lot of 09 bikes are being reduced for when the new models come out.

[rude-dog]

the halfords bikes are not so bad, excellent value for what they offer, especially the new boardman range, but these are mostly racers although they do a hybrid range now too, these bikes have won laods of acclaim recently due to the excellent value they offer

if you're planning to use it on road all the time, i'd stay away from mountain bikes with big chunky tires and suspension, its just gonna add drag and weight to your ride when you dont need it, so a hardtail mountain bike or maybe a hybrid (mountain bike come racer!) would be worth a look

a hybrid would give you the best of both worlds really, more comfort than a racer, but lighter and faster than most mountain bikes... and with the thinner road tires they ride really nice, climb well and you'll fly past most mountain bikes with ease on the road.

what kind of money you thinking of spending? you can get some cracking bikes on here for sale some times and for some reason bikes dont hold their money too well and ive seen some cracking prices on nearly new bikes on the FS threads here recently

[rockmonkey1973]

Originally Posted by RMCF

it should all be on tarmac'd roads.

Any advice appreciated.

you want a hybrid or a road bike. if you must buy a mountain bike then you will really need skinny road tyres which pushes up the cost. the thing with mountains bikes is they just drag like mad on normal roads. they are designed to be used off road hence the name.

ps halfords fury line mountain bikes used (think 2006, 07, 08 models) to be top notch stuff for the money. think the 09 aint as well specced but may be wrong. as has already been said you can pick up some real bargains on second hand machines.

check out
Bikes, Bike Reviews, Cycling Routes, Race News - BikeRadar

loads of reviews information and a good bunch of knowledgable guys on the forums.

[huwg]

What is your budget?
Depending on what the 'bike hut' is like at your local Halfords, you would probably be better off going to a local independant bike shop, they will be able to measure you up and ensure you get the right bike for your size.

[THE AMATUER]

Originally Posted by RMCF

Thinking of getting myself a bike to try to improve my fitness with non-impact exercise.

How about Jordan. She has a couple of airbags built in as well....

[huwg]

Originally Posted by THE AMATUER

How about Jordan. She has a couple of airbags built in as well....

I don't think the OP wanted a used one, besides I think the maintenance and running costs may be a bit too much.

[captainff]

Originally Posted by huwg

I don't think the OP wanted a used one, besides I think the maintenance and running costs may be a bit too much.

Back on topic .. .. .. probably go for a hybrid (sit up like a MTB but with road friendly tyres) as everyone above has recommended.

Halfords customer service, and the product knowledge of their employees, can be patchy. Depending on where you live they did have a series of Bike Hut separate shops that are staffed entirely by bike enthusiasts (and with the same offers as in their main shops).

Avoid the Apollo bikes .. .. .. definitely not worth buying IMO.


Although .. .. depending on how much you wanted to spend have you thought about something like this? With a new pair of tyres (that a local bike shop may well fit for you at no extra cost) .. .. .. ..

[davidwatsonok]

Paul's Cycles and Evans have plenty of offers, and with summer just about over (plus it being a washout again) there may be some good buys coming. A couple of months back Paul's had Giant Yukon FX3's (full susp/disc brakes) in all sizes for under £300 (rrp £650). They're back at £350 now and only small Worth watching them regulalry if you can wait a few weeks for a bargain. I always say just a small spend over Halfords prices usually gets you a much better, branded bike which might be lighter, stronger, and utilise better components. Giant, GT, Specialized etc.

[UZUBAIRU]

I've recently been training for a 10K and have been using my mountain bike (Commencal hardtail) for some of my training.

It was such a hard slog and I didn't really enjoy it, and a colleague at work (a keen cyclist) suggested I change the tyres to slicks.

What a difference they have made. I love going out on my bike now.

The tyres were Continental Sport Contact and they come with free inner tubes and a 1 year anti-puncture guarantee.
I paid £34 for a pair.

Get a hybrid or get a hardtail MTB and change the tyres.

My knobbly tyres are off-road only now that I've discovered slicks.

[UZUBAIRU]

Originally Posted by davidwatsonok

Paul's Cycles and Evans have plenty of offers, and with summer just about over (plus it being a washout again) there may be some good buys coming. A couple of months back Paul's had Giant Yukon FX3's (full susp/disc brakes) in all sizes for under £300 (rrp £650). They're back at £350 now and only small Worth watching them regulalry if you can wait a few weeks for a bargain. I always say just a small spend over Halfords prices usually gets you a much better, branded bike which might be lighter, stronger, and utilise better components. Giant, GT, Specialized etc.

Good advice.

I paid £375 for my bike which had an RRP £550.

[rockmonkey1973]

Originally Posted by davidwatsonok

Paul's Cycles and Evans have plenty of offers, and with summer just about over (plus it being a washout again) there may be some good buys coming.

agree with this.

Originally Posted by davidwatsonok

I always say just a small spend over Halfords prices usually gets you a much better, branded bike which might be lighter, stronger, and utilise better components. Giant, GT, Specialized etc.

although this is not always true. the fury compared to the specialized rockhopper disc is 100 pounds cheaper. the hopper used to come with an inferior fork 302 tora compared to the tora 318 on the fury. hopper had shimano standard and lx whereas the fury would be fitted with sram x7 and x9 drive train, fury also had better rims. they both had decent disc brakes and generic finishing kit. the only thing that made the hopper the better long term investment was the frame a superb m4 jobby but in most cases the furys double butted frame was adequate enough for most trails and tracks. the only real negative with the fury is it halfords and the problem is not actually the bike but the staff (in some but not all stores) who are next to useless.

granted the hopper looks cooler and gets more admiring glances but the fury for a bog standard ride would go anywhere the hopper would. i have owned both and the only real reason that i prefered the ol hopper to the fury was the overall geometry. just had a better feel to it cos it was exactly my size 17 inch frame as opposed to the 16 on the fury which was slightly too cramped. the sizing is actually something the op would really need to get right. the size and feel is of utmost importance and you have to get on the bikes and test ride em. a lot of the little independent stores allow you to take the bike out for a ride before you buy as do evans.

at the end of the day i would still say a hybrid would be better suited for your needs if you aint ever going off road. they are better designed for roads. yes road tyres can be fitted to the old mountain bike but you are still left with a machine that was made to be thrashed around woods and trails. they may look cooler but they get tiresome when you are riding them on the streets.

if i was gonna get a bike again the gt peace 29r multi is the one i would choose. looks great good overall feel well made frame and good finishing kit with the benefit of larger rims/ wheels and a fixed fork. could also be taken off road if you ever wanted to. the larger wheels offer greater traction and speed and really come in to there own on tarmac especially with slicks.

this is the beauty.
GT Bicycles | G10PEA - Peace
cool as and it looks even better in the flesh (although technically it is a mountain bike thanks to its 29 inch rims/ tyres it rides much like a hybrid).

[SeanT]

Build one You'll know how to fix it then.

[nheather]

Don't know the budget but it's nearing a good time to buy a Specialized.

Like football shirts they bring out a new model each year, often with no more than a different colour scheme and the 'last year' models get heavily discounted.

Soon, you should be able to pick up a 2009 Specialized HardRock for around £200 - £250 which is a cracking bike for the price.

Just had a look at Evans Cycles and see that they are now showing the 2010 models. The 2009 models are listed but showing as discontinued, but beleive me there are loads of them and they will start appearing as offers very soon.

I should add that I'm a bit of a Specialized fan but the same principle applies to most other brands. Look in the Evans Cycles sale section http://www.evanscycles.com/categorie...complete-bikes.

Beware of the £100 full suspension mountain bikes you see in Halfords, Tesco, Go Outdoors etc - they are heavy, with poor components, questionable spares availability.

Also on the mountain bike \ hybrid argument, the info given above is quite correct. But I always say if you prefer the look and style of a mountain bike and you don't do a huge amount of road cycling then get a mountain bike. In reality there isn't a huge amount of difference in effort required. And unless you are getting a higher end mountain bike they generally come with quite reserved tyres - not that knobbly so reasonably efficient on road.

Cheers,

Nigel

[RMCF]

Thanks all for your input - I was away for a day and have just caught up on all the replies.

I just thought that a mountain bike was the way to go as I see more of these on the roads than racing bikes. I didn't intend to be bombing along at 50mph and thats why I hadn't got racing bike in my head. Also never liked the look of those extra think tyres - I like a bit of traction going round corners - its coming into the winter now and don't want to end up sliding off into a ditch !!

I had seen plenty of deals in the likes of Halfords and Argos, but always was spectical of buying from such a retailer as often the RRP they quote isn't particularly good value for money anyway.

I like the sound of one of these hybrids which may have a mountain-bike style seating position. I will look into one of these.

As for budget, I was hoping to spend £200 or less, hence the reason for looking for a half price deal or similar.