Buying a bike: advice, recommendations and chat

[Cid]

Oooh. That's alright

Although this thing of beauty has just come up on our local FB marketplace - but I remember y'all saying they weigh a ton

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Here's Pashley's size guide... Not at all confusing...

 

[Cid]

Holy jesus, 20kg.

Fill a bucket with 20 litres of water for reference.

 

[Cid]

I'd get this, but I suppose it's not what you're after.

 

[felixthecat]

Here's Pashley's size guide... Not at all confusing...

Well that says this particular bike doesn't come in 22.5" frame, which is what is stated on the listing!

 

[felixthecat]

I'd get this, but I suppose it's not what you're after.

Nope. Sadly it's not

 

[Cid]

Also sadly things still seem to be expensive. Or thin on the ground.

 

[DownwardDog]

My bike is 28/38/48 front and 11-34 back so I have a decent top speed without having to kill my knees getting up my big daily hill.
I chose the gearing so that most of the time I stay on the middle front sprocket - for instance on a good day I can do the whole Bristol to Bath path and back like that - though it's not very kind to chains ...

You have too many useless high gears. 48-11 is a ratio of 4.36. So on a 26" if you spin it out at 120rpm cadence you'd be doing 65.6 km/h. Assuming you're at sea level and 2% drivetrain losses (optimistic) that's a normalised power output of more than 1,300W. Patrick Lefevere would like a word with you.

 

[gentlegreen]

I effectively use my 48 tooth sprocket as one extra ratio.
I'm happiest at a lower cadence.
I struggle to do 20mph on 38x11.
(On a daily basis I only go that fast on a slightly downhill stretch -my usual speed on the flat is nearer 15mph)
Sure I could achieve something more "sensible" with 2x11 and in theory could afford any bike I wanted, but it wouldn't make me happy.
Most of us are not athletes or even "sporty". I'm 60 years old and have a BMI stuck at 27.5.

 

[maomao]

I effectively use my 48 tooth sprocket as one extra ratio.
I'm happiest at a lower cadence.
I struggle to do 20mph on 38x11.
(On a daily basis I only go that fast on a slightly downhill stretch -my usual speed on the flat is nearer 15mph)
Sure I could achieve something more "sensible" with 2x11 and in theory could afford any bike I wanted, but it wouldn't make me happy.
Most of us are not athletes or even "sporty". I'm 60 years old and have a BMI stuck at 27.5.

A higher cadence, even a slightly higher one, 60-70 rather than the 40-50 you seem to be at, is better for old knees and weight loss.

 

[maomao]

Ridgeback Motion Open Frame 2020 - Out of Stock | Tredz Bikes

Ridgeback Motion Open Frame 2020 - Hybrid Sports Bike. Out of Stock. All Hybrid bikes are delivered free to the UK mainland, 365 day returns & Price Match.

www.tredz.co.uk

This one is sold out now. It really is a bad year for bike buyers.

If you don't get the Pashley I'll keep having a look for you (good excuse to look at bikes) but definitely worth having a look at your local bike shops too.

 

[gentlegreen]

A higher cadence, even a slightly higher one, 60-70 rather than the 40-50 you seem to be at, is better for old knees and weight loss.

Doubtless attaching my feet to the pedals too, but cycling for me is a "vehicle" for music almost as much as a means to get out in nature, and the music is often of the ambient variety
The average speed on my cycle computer is 10mph.
I sprint occasionally as it enables me to safely pass slower cyclists (they do exist !) and pedestrians and I sometimes quite enjoy it, but it's the exception rather than the rule.
This discussion is making me see that there's even an argument for electrical assistance that would enable one to get the exercise, but over longer distances and steeper hills ...

 

[Dogsauce]

However, even a second-hand Pashley comes with oodles of elegance

I’ve been working really quite hard to disprove this with my rusty yellow heap. One mudguard currently held on with silver gaffa tape, very squeaky brakes and a single gear at present. I’m determined to turn up at a Pashkey Picnic one day in dirty blue overalls on it to lower the tone by about 50%. The blue collar history of the brand needs representing.

 

[DownwardDog]

We may have got confused somewhere along the road. The one maomao posted (first one) has eight gears. It also weighs eight kg less than that b'twin. Which is a lot.

The main thing was that the gears on the maomao orange one require very little servicing.

IGH bikes absolutely destroy chains so you'll be adjusting chain tension frequently and changing chains a bit less frequently.

 

[gentlegreen]

Just weighed my bike with all my tools,spares, locks and lunch packed ready for work - 24KG.
I weighed-in at 97.2 unclothed ...

 

[co-op]

They're utterly perfect for the Dutch, with their distinct lack of gradient anywhere and wonderful cycling infrastructure. Using one anywhere with hills takes... a certain mindset

Also the weight makes them quite good into wind, the momentum carries them along, and having spent a bit of time cycling in rural Netherlands, I can tell you it gets very windy, especially autumn and winter.

 

[Dogsauce]

Just weighed my bike with all my tools,spares, locks and lunch packed ready for work - 24KG.
I weighed-in at 97.2 unclothed ...

My Pashley is 24.7 unladen, with added shopping, child seat and child it can top out 50kg. Pretty low gearing, I’ve been up Swains Lane (with child on back) and Ditchling Beacon on it, although I don’t think my knees liked me very much for the first of those. When I get on the 7.3kg road bike it feels like I’m riding fresh air.

 

[felixthecat]

If you don't get the Pashley I'll keep having a look for you (good excuse to look at bikes) but definitely worth having a look at your local bike shops too.

I'm not going to get the Pashley. Much as I think it's beautiful I DO listen to good advice and I understand my own body's limitations.

That worked when I bought my car - it wasn't what I wanted aesthetically but is WAS what I needed practically. My mechanic friends who advised me knew their stuff

 

[co-op]

Nope. Sadly it's not

One thing I haven't seen mentioned that much relating to dutch or dutch style bikes is riding position. I now cycle an upright bike because I'm 58 and my back just doesn't like bending over for ages, and on a normal hybrid my wrists ache from the constant banging of the front wheel being transmitted straight onto them because I'm leaning half my weight there. Uprights really are better for a lot of older cyclists. I've also really got into using my stomach muscles more which you can't do cramped over, I lean back on hills now. It's true that uprights and dutchies are heavy but you just cycle differently - not as fast mainly! But if you're just looking to pootle along a canal I think things like mudguards, hub gears and a comfortable riding position are more important.

I'm also increasingly using an ebike, it's fantastic if you have joint pain but they are expensive.

 

[maomao]

IGH bikes absolutely destroy chains so you'll be adjusting chain tension frequently and changing chains a bit less frequently.

Any idea why this is? I'd assumed the opposite because of the thicker chain and the lack of shifting.

 

[gentlegreen]

I was put off hub gears one day at the end of a ride when someone was having trouble shifting - I got the feeling they could still be finicky - I imagine the chain is more intimately connected and prone to wear by that route.
Derailleur gears look "impossible", but they can tolerate an improbable amount of neglect.

 

[DownwardDog]

Any idea why this is? I'd assumed the opposite because of the thicker chain and the lack of shifting.

Dunno. At a (wild) guess it's because the chain never bends the "other" way so the plates/pins are wearing over a relatively small range of movement.

 

[DownwardDog]

Or get a modern 2x setup with a wide range cassette and don't worry about cross chaining as it then really isn't that much of an issue anymore...

The optimum solution is Di2 in full synchro or eTap in sequential. That gives you a virtual 1x15 with 500%+ range and close ratios.

 

[two sheds]

They're utterly perfect for the Dutch, with their distinct lack of gradient anywhere and wonderful cycling infrastructure. Using one anywhere with hills takes... a certain mindset

Not least the brakes. I often went searching on the handlebars during an emergency, and at other times gave myself a shock when I indulged my normal habit of wheeling the pedals backwards at random times.

 

[felixthecat]

The optimum solution is Di2 in full synchro or eTap in sequential. That gives you a virtual 1x15 with 500%+ range and close ratios.

That's a lot of words and numbers in a sequence that makes no sense to me at all

There again if I start going on about supranavicular angles and STJ axis combined with calcaneal valgus it's the same for other people. Everyone's got their own techy side I guess and bikes are not mine

 

[two sheds]

What are second hand prices like now? It always struck me how cheap you could get a nice looking bike from local paper or auction across the road from me.

 

[Cid]

What are second hand prices like now? It always struck me how cheap you could get a nice looking bike from local paper or auction across the road from me.

Not great still. At least not in felix’s neck of the woods... selection a bit limited too. It does depend what you’re after and budget.

 

[mauvais]

That's a lot of words and numbers in a sequence that makes no sense to me at all

There again if I start going on about supranavicular angles and STJ axis combined with calcaneal valgus it's the same for other people. Everyone's got their own techy side I guess and bikes are not mine

Di2 and ETAP are both systems for computer-controlled gearchanges that figure out front and back gear selection together, whereas normally you would change both independently yourself with two separate levers to try and get the right gear for what you're doing. High tech, expensive stuff.

'1x15' would mean 1 chainring on the front, 15 gears on the rear cassette. It's virtual in this case because there is no such physical thing - noone has put that many gears on a rear cassette yet. But the above stuff would make the experience of say a 2x11 bike feel as if it were.

From a normal consumer perspective, all of this is distant future stuff.

'Range' is just the difference between lowest and highest gear - kind of what capacity a bike has to tackle massive hills and also go fast on the flat. Ratio is the difference between gears so with close ratio there's less of a jump when changing gear.

 

[Sasaferrato]

You have too many useless high gears. 48-11 is a ratio of 4.36. So on a 26" if you spin it out at 120rpm cadence you'd be doing 65.6 km/h. Assuming you're at sea level and 2% drivetrain losses (optimistic) that's a normalised power output of more than 1,300W. Patrick Lefevere would like a word with you.

Fuck me! Who would have thought that the simple bicycle could become so complicated. Back when I were a lad, possession of a bike with a three speed hub was being top of the tree.

 

[felixthecat]

'Range' is just the difference between lowest and highest gear - kind of what capacity a bike has to tackle massive hills and also go fast on the flat. Ratio is the difference between gears so with close ratio there's less of a jump when changing gear.

This is useful to know and makes sense to me.
I have no intentions of going fast at any point but the occasional hill is a definite. I live near the biggest towpath incline around (Caen Hill, Devizes) and that would be on my Sunday pootle radar

 

[Cid]

Is there a bike shop near you felixthecat ? I know it’s been mentioned already, but we’re going off on tangents again... and really there’s no substitute for actually trying out a few bikes, even ones you can’t afford. At least give you a handle on what suits you... a bike that fits how you use it, and your physiology is by far the most important thing. Coz y’know, want to be minimising the repetitive micro-tears in your plantar fascia