Cycling - NLC

[ryallm]

Hi Scott,
I would avoid a cycle cross bike if you are predominately riding on the road. You want something that is reasonably light and nimble to give you all the benefit of the effort you are putting in. Cross bikes are designed for stability over rougher terrain (more relaxed geometry) and to an extent being carried on your shoulder which means they don't handle as well on the road, with the addition of disc brakes / cantilevers, more frameset material and heavier wheels and tyres etc. you will be carting about a good couple of pounds in weight you simply don't need.

To give you a car analogy, buying a cross bike is like buying a soft-roader… Think of them as the Land Rover Free Lander of the bike world... i.e. not brilliant on or off road.

Modern factory built road wheels take a lot of abuse and tyres are a lot more durable these days. From the last time I met you, you are quite a slight guy so you will be fine from a durability point of view.

If you are on a modest budget (say under £1000) then you will be looking at a good aluminium frame with a carbon fork which should still give you a road bike around 20lbs in weight or less and will be a great starting point to assess whether you actually like the sport. It may be worthwhile looking at second hand kit to stretch your budget further - for that money you could get a very reasonable older carbon bike.

If you are near Paisley then pop in and see Robert in Dooleys Cycles (my club’s sponsor) and I'm sure he will sort you out with something. Tell him I sent you

Cheers,

John

P.S. If you are determined to buy something exotic then go Titanium rather than carbon fibre - see my signature

Agree to an extent, but I reckon cross bikes do make great all rounders. I have riden thousands road of road miles on my Cube X Race and it has been superb. On much of my commute to work you really need the extra give of 32c tyres because the roads are in such an absolutely dire state. On a skinny tyred road bike you would have your teeth shaken out. My wife recently bought a Kinesis 5 T cross bike which also makes a great rough road/commuter/touring bike. She has a Specialized road bike for Triathlons and races, but the comfort of the Kinesis means it gets used more. Of course really you need at least 3 bikes Cross bike, carbon race/fast road bike, and Ti endurance/touring bike. Not to mention hard tail MTB, full suss MTB etc etc....

[jen]

I have just been getting into cycling now too. I started running (well, jogging ) last summer and decided to start training for duathlons/triathlons. I had a really old mountain bike from when I was at school which I used a couple of times, but it was so heavy, the gears were awful and the brakes were crap, but it was only to make do until I found another one. I recently put a deposit on a 2011 Specialized Tricross Sport from Dales, I just have to wait until the council start their cycle to work scheme again. Last years model is actually better equipped than this years and its £300 cheaper!! I thought a cyclocross would be better suited to me as I like cyclying on old railway lines and trails, but I may be cycling on roads for the competitions so didnt want a mountain bike slowing me down too much.

I'm loving Alans new bike (a Specialized Stump Jumper), but its too big for me (its a 17 and I think a 15 would have suited me better as the standover is too high and handle bars too far away - sore shoulders and neck now after my 26 miler on Sun ). On shorter runs its fine though, so will do in the meantime.

RE my old bike, I took it to Edinburgh Bike Co-op as they send them to the Edinburgh workshop, fix them up then send them to Africa, which I thought was quite nice.

[111Robin]

I have just been getting into cycling now too. I started running (well, jogging ) last summer and decided to start training for duathlons/triathlons. I had a really old mountain bike from when I was at school which I used a couple of times, but it was so heavy, the gears were awful and the brakes were crap, but it was only to make do until I found another one. I recently put a deposit on a 2011 Specialized Tricross Sport from Dales, I just have to wait until the council start their cycle to work scheme again. Last years model is actually better equipped than this years and its £300 cheaper!! I thought a cyclocross would be better suited to me as I like cyclying on old railway lines and trails, but I may be cycling on roads for the competitions so didnt want a mountain bike slowing me down too much.

I'm loving Alans new bike (a Specialized Stump Jumper), but its too big for me (its a 17 and I think a 15 would have suited me better as the standover is too high and handle bars too far away - sore shoulders and neck now after my 26 miler on Sun ). On shorter runs its fine though, so will do in the meantime.

RE my old bike, I took it to Edinburgh Bike Co-op as they send them to the Edinburgh workshop, fix them up then send them to Africa, which I thought was quite nice.

Jen,
The Stumpy has quite a long stem on it (the bit the bars are attached to), you could fit a much shorter one while Alan convalesces. Nothing you can do about the standover height though, just avoid dropping forward off the seat. You could ask Alan to modify it with the angle grinder, but on second thoughts....... maybe not!!
(PS. I do have another hardtail Stumpy, older than Alans, smaller frame I think, if you're interested)

[jen]

You will have PM very shortly!

[ste7en]

Never thought I would do this, let alone recommend it to anyone else but I actually made my most recent bike purchase at Halfords.

Bought a Boardman Race road bike and love it. This is my first road bike so I’m no expert but it is noticeably faster than the Cannondale CX4 hybrid that I used for my 10mile commute. The road bike just takes much less effort to make it go. Still use the hybrid on canal towpath rides but intend to use the road bike much more over the summer now I work in Stirling and have easy access to the Trossachs.

There are some nice bikes in the Boardman range at pretty reasonable prices for the spec and there's always some kind of money off offer to be had. It’s just a shame that Halfords is the only distributor, as the guy who set up my bike didn’t do a good job. Lots of incorrectly fitted and poorly adjusted bits to sort out when I got home. A bit of a pain if you have to take it back to get sorted or worse, don’t notice and something breaks/falls off miles from home.

Worth a look at the range, just be warned to check things over carefully and go for a ride round the car park before leaving the store with your shiny new steed.

[meatball]

Scott,

My opinion (as a commuter/roadbiker/mountainbiker) is...
Johncam knows his stuff, listen to him, ignore the rest.
If you are going out on road or the cycle paths near us, get a roadbike it'll swallow up the miles with the most efficiency. Trek do a frame guarantee. My road wheels are still true. Kevlar tyres rock. So ignore the pish fragile comments.
If you are going near the city centre get a hybrid.
Mountainbiking is awesome, fun and exercise!
You can get various types of fit for a roadbike, some aggressive, some relaxed, see what you like...
Cyclocross bikes are pish for road. The geometry is wrong and the tyres drag. I tried my usual loop back to back last year and it is night and day.
My commuter is a mountainbike on swalbe marathoner tyres. It is bomb proof but the city centre roads are gash.
My fun bike is a trek 2.3.
Mountainbiking rocks, did I mention that?
Is recommend Evans at xscape. Adrenaline at the mearns is decent too.
Your bike shop in kilmaurs is called Walkers and is online.

Let me know (fb or txt) if you want a nosey at mine and I'll show you what I'm on about.

[Lazydonkey]

So to summarise.

People who own multiple bikes recommend a road bike for the road, mountain bike for mountains and hybrids for the city and say anything else is a pointless compromise that isn't worth doing.

People who don't own multiple bikes say a cross bike or hybrid is a good compromise for all round use.

Simples.

As with everything in life it's horses for courses. First of all work out if you actually enjoy cycling, then work out what sort of cycling you want to do and then work out a budget. There will always be someone who says it's pointless spending under £1k / £2k / £3k as everything below that value is sh*t but i spent many a happy year kicking about on a £300 hardtail mountain bike - i used it on the road and it was fine, i used it at carron valley and i used it to go into town. It did all these things without complaint. No it wasn't perfect at these tasks, and yes i could have been faster for less effort on a more expensive bike but if the objective is to get fit......does it really matter ?

[meatball]

Not really the point I was making.
From what Scott was saying he was going to use the bike for a hybrid or roadbike is the best choice IMHO, the cyclocross wouldn't add anything.
Roadbikes being fragile is a myth.

[scott_e]

One for the fashion conscious .... if you REALLY don't like wearing a helmet there is an "airbag" alternative:

http://www.hovding.com/en/hovding

Its for real but @ £400 ish each its maybe a bit steep

[meatball]

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NJmdb1Oe2h8
I hope that works...crude copy/paste from my phone.

[woody]

Not really the point I was making.
From what Scott was saying he was going to use the bike for a hybrid or roadbike is the best choice IMHO, the cyclocross wouldn't add anything.
Roadbikes being fragile is a myth.

Most hybrids are a good bit more compromised than a cross bike in terms of weight and geometry? Mine runs 23c tyres and does just fine through the mud on them as well. Horses for courses to a large extent, being able to get off the road on it opens up a lot of different, more interesting routes for me. Having taken a road bike through the same places, I'll stick with the cross bike.... until I buy a much more modern bike than I have just now.

[Lazydonkey]

Roadbikes being fragile is a myth.

Apart from the fact you've chosen to commute on a mountain bike due to the city centre roads...........

[meatball]

Lol, nice try, but wrong.
I hate commuting to work, the muck thrown up off the roads (year round) eats components so I choose to use a 10 year old bike rather than a 2 year old bike.
The roads are poor though.
If I had dosh is commute on a hybrid.
I do fancy a try on a cyclocross on a cyclocross course though. Lol

[Lazydonkey]

I'm confused. You mean you can use a moutain bike on the road then? You don't NEED a road bike? Wow.







Just playing meatie, nowt serious

[meatball]

I know mate, I still have a sense of humour...just. lol
Did I say I hated commuting by bike? That's how good it is. Keeps me fit though.
Commuted to Prestwick by bike a few times, the slow bike is truly brutal for that. Approx 30-40 min slower.