The Cycling Chat Thread

[Bahnhof Strasse]

On the subject of mountain bikes, what sort of thing could I get for about 200 second hand that isn’t shit? I’d just quite like to have a go on some of the trails in the woods close to our flat. I got a bit of money for my birthday which I can top up to about that amount. I’ve had a couple of old school Raleigh MTBs in the past (for free off mates) that have been quite rideable around town with little in the way of maintenance needed, and I know to avoid cheap ugly stuff with loads of suspension gubbins that breaks. What would be reasonably resilient and low-maintenance?

Should find something on eBay, don’t go for full suspension, scratches are a good thing, shows it has been used off road and not fallen apart...

I have one that am willing to sell for £350, cost £1400 new three years ago...

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

Not a great advert for carbon frame's =>

Any impact that can cause that level of damage would have fucked a bike no matter what it was made of.

 

[weepiper]

Not a great advert for carbon frame's =>

He didn't 'just' crash, a car pulled out of a side road and hit him while he was descending at speed. A steel bike frame will fold and snap if a car drives over it.

 

[Cid]

On the subject of mountain bikes, what sort of thing could I get for about 200 second hand that isn’t shit? I’d just quite like to have a go on some of the trails in the woods close to our flat. I got a bit of money for my birthday which I can top up to about that amount. I’ve had a couple of old school Raleigh MTBs in the past (for free off mates) that have been quite rideable around town with little in the way of maintenance needed, and I know to avoid cheap ugly stuff with loads of suspension gubbins that breaks. What would be reasonably resilient and low-maintenance?

You won't have a huge choice for that budget... I'd probably look for something from the mid 2000s. Giant, Kona... Specialized Rockhoppers. GT were still decent back then I think. Trek, Scott etc. Ideally you want forks from Rock Shox, Manitou or Marzocchi. Or obviously fox, but they'll probably be out of budget. You may have to get something with V-brakes rather than disk, but they do the job. Sadly no 15 year old mountain bike is likely to be low maintenance. They'll have triple chainsets, and you need to be reasonably good about MTB maintenance in any case - they get dirt in the drivetrain, and that will wear out components unless you wash them fairly regularly.

It's a bit of a weird one with used bikes. I would definitely say it's worth saving an extra couple of hundred, because the leap in quality will be huge.

 

[DJWrongspeed]

He didn't 'just' crash, a car pulled out of a side road and hit him while he was descending at speed. A steel bike frame will fold and snap if a car drives over it.

Thx for clarification. This is more a problem of the social media isn't it? The full version of something isn't presented and then everyone gets angry and take sides.

 

[han]

Awful! Gosh sounds like he's lucky to be alive.
I went back to steel after my carbon fork got a crack in it. I must say I feel safer.

 

[Cid]

Thx for clarification. This is more a problem of the social media isn't it? The full version of something isn't presented and then everyone gets angry and take sides.

It's a problem with people using social media and not checking the facts before they repost things, yes...

 

[Cid]

Should find something on eBay, don’t go for full suspension, scratches are a good thing, shows it has been used off road and not fallen apart...

I have one that am willing to sell for £350, cost £1400 new three years ago...

What bike is it?

 

[han]

Awful! Gosh sounds like he's lucky to be alive.
I went back to steel after my carbon fork got a crack in it. I must say I feel safer.

Ah, just seen the above, silly me. Sounds like he's still lucky to be alive, whatever he was riding.

 

[Cid]

Seen a couple of these conversions around… presumably not exactly legal? Zero appeal to me. Forgive image rotation, something in the attachment process.

 

[weepiper]

Seen a couple of these conversions around… presumably not exactly legal? Zero appeal to me. Forgive image rotation, something in the attachment process.

View attachment 272198

Fucking hell, not even slightly legal.

 

[Cid]

Fucking hell, not even slightly legal.

Yeah, assumed that was the case but seen one riding in central Sheffield a couple of times, an even more obvious one than that (and loud). On the pavement too. Then spotted that one today.

Fuck, they're like £100 on amazon... Surely should be possible to restrict their sale.

e2a: First question on one of the listings:

Q: Is it legal in UK?
A: No, but police don't seem to care.

 

[weepiper]

There's a reason we don't generally let people ride things with petrol engines without a license (and an MOT...). That thing will rip itself apart under its rider at some point, if he doesn't rear end someone because his woefully inadequate brakes can't stop him in time. Hopefully not tipping him under a bus in the process.

 

[weepiper]

I'm just looking at it again. Is that drive sprocket just bolted on across the non-drive-side spokes??

 

[Cid]

A more detailed crop:

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

What bike is it?

Merlin Malt +

 

[Buddy Bradley]

Hello bike people - asking here instead of starting a new thread. Since I can't run due to injury I'm starting to take cycling a bit more seriously, going out to do 20+ miles every weekend, but I think my current 10-year-old hybrid isn't the best suited for the task. What sort of things should I be looking at if I were to start shopping around for a decent replacement? I'm almost entirely riding on roads (although it's the Fens, so they're not always the highest quality), probably don't want to spend more than £500. TIA

 

[klang]

A more detailed crop:

View attachment 272214

mate of mine built one a few years ago. i shouldn't say this, but fuck me it was fun

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

Hello bike people - asking here instead of starting a new thread. Since I can't run due to injury I'm starting to take cycling a bit more seriously, going out to do 20+ miles every weekend, but I think my current 10-year-old hybrid isn't the best suited for the task. What sort of things should I be looking at if I were to start shopping around for a decent replacement? I'm almost entirely riding on roads (although it's the Fens, so they're not always the highest quality), probably don't want to spend more than £500. TIA

At the moment, if you want a new bike, I’d say you’re probably best looking for a miracle...

Your hybrid is almost certainly fine (unless totally knackered), something as simple as a new set of good tyres and new cables might be all that’s needed to makes things better. What make/model is it?

 

[Buddy Bradley]

Your hybrid is almost certainly fine (unless totally knackered), something as simple as a new set of good tyres and new cables might be all that’s needed to makes things better. What make/model is it?

Apollo Highway, apparently - it was just something cheap from Halfords. It mostly goes okay, apart from an annoying knocking in the pedal assembly somewhere that I can't figure out, and the left-hand gearshift doesn't do anything; I was more thinking that something more efficient at converting my effort into motion might let me roam further afield.

 

[Cid]

Apollo Highway, apparently - it was just something cheap from Halfords. It mostly goes okay, apart from an annoying knocking in the pedal assembly somewhere that I can't figure out, and the left-hand gearshift doesn't do anything; I was more thinking that something more efficient at converting my effort into motion might let me roam further afield.

Was going to expand on bees, but in fairness that probably is actually just shite. I try not to be a bike snob these days, but Halfords were always appalling at setting up bikes that weren’t great in the first place. Is it grip shift?

 

[Cid]

There are some good new bikes around £500, but yeah stock at the moment is non-existent. You might have a bit more luck on eBay, but buying used is tricky if you don’t know what to look for. I guess you don’t even really know what size you want?

 

[Buddy Bradley]

Was going to expand on bees, but in fairness that probably is actually just shite. I try not to be a bike snob these days, but Halfords were always appalling at setting up bikes that weren’t great in the first place. Is it grip shift?

No, trigger shift or whatever you call it.

There are some good new bikes around £500, but yeah stock at the moment is non-existent. You might have a bit more luck on eBay, but buying used is tricky if you don’t know what to look for. I guess you don’t even really know what size you want?

The frame size is fine, but no - if I was going for a road bike I don't know anything about wheel sizes or anything like that.

 

[Part 2]

I'd be more inclined to go with GumTree or Facebook marketplace for used bikes. They tend to be more local and can arrange to see and test beforhand.

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

Apollo Highway, apparently - it was just something cheap from Halfords. It mostly goes okay, apart from an annoying knocking in the pedal assembly somewhere that I can't figure out, and the left-hand gearshift doesn't do anything; I was more thinking that something more efficient at converting my effort into motion might let me roam further afield.

Sounds like it could just do with some tlc. See if you can find a local mechanic/bike shop to give it a good going over, or at least get a quote as to what it would cost if it needs any parts etc.

 

[Cid]

No, trigger shift or whatever you call it.

The frame size is fine, but no - if I was going for a road bike I don't know anything about wheel sizes or anything like that.

Well trigger shift is better than twisty at least. You could try fixing it up. It’s just a bad time for buying bikes.

Road bike wheels are basically always the same size (700c), though you get smaller ones on gravel bikes sometimes. I mention frame size because what feels ok for half an hour might not feel so good after 2 hours.

 

[Cid]

I'd be more inclined to go with GumTree or Facebook marketplace for used bikes. They tend to be more local and can arrange to see and test beforhand.

Yeah, that’s true. There are a few potential deals around Norwich etc. Depending on size.

 

[DownwardDog]

the left-hand gearshift doesn't do anything;

Very common on older RF+ shifters. It's usually caused by sticky pawls and they can be revived with boiling water and PB Blaster.

 

[BristolEcho]

What do you lot wear for day to day cycling? It's difficult for me as I drop into people's houses all day and don't want to be in cycling shorts. My cargos are getting ruined by my bike in the bum area around the back pockets so I'm going to cut them out to see if that helps with the rubbing. Jeans aren't really comfortable for cycling.

 

[Cid]

What do you lot wear for day to day cycling? It's difficult for me as I drop into people's houses all day and don't want to be in cycling shorts. My cargos are getting ruined by my bike in the bum area around the back pockets so I'm going to cut them out to see if that helps with the rubbing. Jeans aren't really comfortable for cycling.

Do you mean you don’t want to be in cycling shorts as in togged up in Lycra? Or that kind of techy shorts aren’t appropriate in general?

I remember there were some brands that specialised in normal looking bike clothes a while ago, but dunno what’s still around.

Have a look at endura’s hummvee range.