Sensibly priced cycles

Evans Cycles

http://www.evanscycles.com/stores/Gatwick-Warehouse

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StorePagesStoreMobileView?storeId=10001&categoryId=257073&productId=847342&langId=-1&spf=spc

Basic, good bikes but Evans would  be best dealer in your area unless you're prepared to travel.

My favourite bike shop is Mosquito Bikes but they wouldn't suit your needs.

http://www.mosquito-bikes.co.uk/

Good luck.

KR

Tony

Chaps

I was responsible for buying 6000 bicycles a year for the Post Office.  Engineers were constantly testing every bloody bicycle under the sun and the best value bike was and still remains the Pashley.

Here is the website        

http://www.pashley.co.uk/lists/all.html

When you hit 55 plus, you need a bicycle that is easy on your bum, your back, your wrists and your knees.  For a man of this age, go for the Parabike or one of its tubebike variants.

Here is the url   

http://www.pashley.co.uk/products/parabike.html

The quality is high, the finish good, you get a Brooks leather saddle, drum brakes that never need adjusting and above all is comfortable to ride.

Finally the gears are 5 speed hub and thus ultra reliable.

There is a ladies version as well.

I have 3 Pashleys and all are good.

Regards

Mick

I'm just 3 and a half short years from 55. I have absolutely no intention of riding anything like that Pashley. This is what I currently ride... Mine's black on black and I have Mavic, rather than Campy wheels, but you get the idea. You and George both seem to be old before your time. Lighten up a little.

Obviously a tongue-in-cheek comment from me. We now go back a way on this forum and agree on more than we disagree, I think. But I do note that you profess to being old on here from time to time. I guess it is all relative. I don't think of myself as old at all. Obviously not as young as I was (none of us are). 

I was very pleased to see your recovery from those couple of unfortunate incidents. I am glad you are back on your bike.Good luck with it.

I think the Carlton is an excellent choice of bike, and your fit-out, whilst not what I would choose, has been a shrewd and intelligent process, resulting in a bike that seems to fit your needs perfectly. It is a far cry from those fat Pashleys the Mick seems to like. Bikes where the handlebars are higher than the seat, and where the seat itself looks like someone else's bum are an anathema to me. If I am ever so infirm as to contemplate one of those, I might give the sport up altogether.

But I do note that you profess to being old on here from time to time. I guess it is all relative. I don't think of myself as old at all. Obviously not as young as I was (none of us are). 

Dear Winky,

I have that rather Scandinavian humour that is immensely self-deprecating! I say I am old from time to time, because as you note, I am not as young as I once was!

... , but the day I really feel old, I buy three bottles of Wodka and enough pheno-barbitone to put down a horse, and no one will ever hear from me again!

I do not expect this to be an early fixture in my diary!

On the Carlton, yes, I have had great fun fixing her up as something between a 1920s racer and a 1980s English classic, but with decent brakes, wheels and tyres. I am going to have a set of mint 1970s Super Record [with six speed 126 mm rear] hubs built up with the same Ambrosio rims as I have on the other Triomphe [Campy] hubs, but to fit some ultra-skinny road race tyres! Michelin P4s, Conti Four Seasons, or perhaps Gaitor Skins ...That will restore order after the heavy Marathon tyres, ready for next Spring. By then I shall have totally recovered and next May or June plan my crazy ride to and from Oslo to Skurdalen. Gain of 3000 metres over 180 miles [with a few nice big gradients along the way!] on the way up - planning ninety miles a day. A good challenge, so that I shall be a better cyclist at 51 than I was a 21. It should have happened this year ...

If I make it easily, it might become an annual thing!

I do believe we agree on far more than we don't. and for what ever we disagree on, I still like you from your posts!

ATB from George

BigH

As a rule you will got solid value and performance from Giant, Trek and Specialized. You cannot really go wrong with these.

My advice would be to seek out the smallest and most helpful shop that sells any or all of those and see what they offer. Don't worry about going into a fairly flashy shop. Many of their best customers started at your end of the scale!

I'm told Halfords have really sharpened their game selling bikes and now do much better kit too (their Boardman hybrid starts at £500). It will depend rather on the staff in your local branch though, as I suspect it will be with Evans. Independent bike shops are usually the best.

At that price range a few extra quid often buys quite a lot better kit that may pay you back with reliability and enjoyability but the biggest thing to get right as a new cyclist is fit/size. You won't enjoy riding a bike that is the wrong size so don't even consider buying online.

Factor in a good helmet, basic toolkit, lights and some simple clothes. You might get discount on these from a nice shop. Again, good simple kit will add to the pleasure.

Bruce

(Whose crazily beautiful new bike is just having a last lick of paint at a small workshop in Italy...watch this space!)

BigH

At the price you are talking about go to Evans and buy the ali bike. You could spend far too long deciding to make a decision if you not careful. As Bruce says those brands all do very decent bikes. Talk to the people in the shop about what you are going to use the bikes for, probably occasional rides to begin with at least. I would suggest you get straight/flat handlebars first for instance! The most important thing is to get the bike that fits. As I got older my reach reduced and therefore what i have ridden for 30 years plus became too long for me, etc. Evans should be able to sort you out and service the bike in the short term until and if you want to do things yourself.

I say all of this from the perspective of being 56 and riding bikes for enjoyment and commuting for the best part of that 50 years. I do have a bit of carbon bling which is great fun and very fast ( much faster than me especially downhill!) which is not disimilar to Winky's. And for what i intend to be my last bike (!) i am having one made for me by a Mr Villiers having riden one made for me 30 years ago by a Mr Cooper. I can't wait and will post in due course.

Have fun. Certainly the roads around you are fab for riding on. And if the bug bites then just remember and beware the first law of cycling, that how many bikes you need is always one more than you have!

james

Agree with much of what has been posted here and fit is undoubtedly important.  I have consistently found small independent bike shops far more helpful and knowledgeable than the chain stores.  You will also find that having bought a bike from them everything you buy after that is usually discounted for you to a price not much more than you will pay online.

For the kind of use you are planning on I would suggest a hybrid bike would be the best compromise.  Mountain bikes with nobbly tires are too draggy on road, whereas road bikes will tend to be a bit hairy off road.  You might also consider a touring style machine like the Raleigh Royal which has great luggage carrying capacity and drop handlebars which provide more flexibility to change positions to get comfortable - it's about £400 new.

Whatever you choose, you'll be out enjoying the countryside in the best way possible - for me walking has always been a bit slow to get anywhere and driving is so fast you miss too much.  With a bike you get the best of both worlds.

Jonathan

Thanks guys all good stuff. 

I think we are both in agreement that a hybrid straight bar type is the way. I have an old Khalkof "racer" and bending over the bars is not for me anymore.

I think the £350-450 price range offers the best middle ground choice, giving decent quality and durability.

Will post when we decide.

I'd agree that a hybird-type bike is the way to go. In fact, I think that the emergence of this type of bike in higher-quality offereings is one of the great developments in day-to-day cycling. They suit so many people's needs. You shouldn't have to get a race bike to get something that rolls well and has good quality frame and components. These hybrid bikes are very versatile.

Just don't let them set you up with the bars too high (higher than the seat is almost certainly a mistake). High bars but all your weight on your bum, and make riding for any length of time very uncomfortable. Also don't be tempted by a seat that is too plush. You don't need rock-hard, but firmer and slightly narrower seats are often ore comfortable in the long run, especially if you are cycling regularly.

Go to a smaller bike shop if you can for more professional service. The big brands are competitive on price and arguably offer the best VFM at your price range, but here in Canada some of the smaller brands are really good. I'm guessing it is the same there.

Winky, how are you liking the switch from BMC to Ernesto's finest? I'm assuming it's an EPS. 

The C59 is great. Not EPS - mechanical Super Record. A step forward from the Record groupset on the BMC, though. Lighter, but more positive action on the shifts (maybe because its new). Brakes are awesome as ever. The frame is stiffer, but not quite as comfy on coarse roads and imperfections. Generally prefer it, though. The handling is more precise. Perhaps a tad slower, but not slow by any means.

The fit on the C59 is a little different to the BMC. Saddle is fully back on both. I have the (120mm) stem "slammed" to the top of the taller cone headset spacer (no additional spacers - there is only ~3mm more I can lower it), and it is still a very slightly more upright position than the BMC - but so close now as to make no real difference. I might switch to the flatter cone spacer and take the bars right down in the spring (just for the look of it!).

I put the Mavis SLR wheelset on it. The wheels with the tubular carbon spokes and the "Exalith" rims that have the black hard coating and textured surface. They squealed like a bloody banshee for a few hundred km (under brakes), but now they have quietened down. I like them a LOT.

Standard (for me) SLR Kit Carbonio saddle; and 3T carbon bars and stem. The bars have a really round, traditional bend which I prefer to anything "anatomic", although I actually like the Bontragers on the BMC a little better (they have a kind of progressive bend).

Running Keo Blade pedals. No issues. If they're good enough to win PR, they'll do me.

I must post a piccy or two.

Winky, very nice. I have an EP but find myself on my steel frame more often. Both still run mechanical 10 speed - a mix of Campy Record & Chorus. 

Hi Big, fwiw I bought a TREK 7.2FX for spot on £400 this Summer.

I really don't know much about bikes but relied on local shop help (actually visited several, there's quite a few of them around mountainous Peterborough but went with one about 1/2 mile from my house).

Very happy with it. Really is a pleasure to ride, so much lighter than my old chunky Raleigh and seems very well made. I looked at quite a few and quite often some of them didn't strike me as four hundred quid's worth of bike! This has a quality feel to it and I felt it was good value and my money's worth.

Hi Mr H,

The bike really depended on what your primary riding, I have now been through serious mountain bikes and hybrids, if its for just for exercise and a general jaunt down the south down link I would suggest a trip to Freebourn Cycles in Horsham they have a good selection of the Specialized ranges and give a generous discount. I would probably look at a Crosstrail that will give you the best of both worlds!!

Regards

k 

Thanks for that Kev, I'd forgotten about them. Our other local independents in Crawley and Horley have both closed down.

There is a couple of independents in Horsham and Southwater, but I would they are the most competitive. You can always go the online route chain reactions or wiggle.....

also Freebourne if I remember have a price pledge they aco good ..

We had a similar moment at the beginning of September based on seeing our holiday pictures.

We have both now lost 18lb in six weeks by cutting right down on food and stepping up the exercise. The simple thing to remember is less in and more out equals weight loss. I swim 750m three times a week and my wife hits the exercise bike a similar amount.

The other thing you will need to budget for is new clothes. We have chucked out bags of stuff that is now frankly vast.

It can be done but it does require a lot of will power, good luck!

Jono

Look for end of season sales or wait till next spring and buy a 'last years model' (which generally is just a different paint job to this years model'' ! ).

In my neck of the woods, the best value bikes seem to be the Giant range. For the same spec. you pay more for Trek, Scott and especially Specialized. Basically you pay more for their name on the frame.

Wugged Woy makes a good point. Don't know if its still the case (I suspect it is) but for many years Specialized frames were made by Giant to Specialized specifications. In the past Giant has made OEM frames for other brands as well.

Giant make nearly every bike. Just the brand varies. They are indeed good value.

A bit over a year ago my wife bought me a Fuji Crosstown hybrid, which turned out to be the birthday gift of a lifetime. Not having cycled for around fifty years, I now do 15-20 km per day on my local cycle path (Google Fernleigh Track, well worth a look if you're down this way).

I'm totally addicted, hate missing a day, lost a few kilos and never felt better. Thoroughly recommended.

That's great. Beats the hell out of the gym, doesn't it?