Mountain or city bike?

[trashpony]

fine

just don't expect excellent service from evans

It's either them or the Cycle Surgery if I'm to avoid evil Halfords

 

[gentlegreen]

Right, I'm off to Evans Cycles to have me a look-see.

They have a hybrid reduced to £160 (from £190) which features:
Frame: Lightweight alloy trekking frame
Fork: Trekking style high tensile fork with pannier bosses
Gears: 21 speed Shimano gears
Shifter: SRAM gripshift controls
Chainset: Suntour alloy triple chainset with protective chain guard
Brakes: Tektro V-brakes
Wheels: Alloy wheels
Tyres: Road trekking tyres
Extras: Full mudguards and rear carrier

How does that sound, oh cycling gurus?

I wouldn't call myself a guru, but that sounds quite serviceable. If I wasn't so destructive of wheels I'd be tempted myself (I even break hand-built 26 inch wheels with mega-strong rims and extra spokes )

 

[nogoodboyo]

Sounds like fair value to me. Evans are bollocks for after care ime, but your local bike shop will happily fiddle with your bits if you ask them.

 

[ICB]

But a bicycle is not just about weight. Steel tubed bike frames flex, wheras aluminium ones lex far less. This is often transmitted to the rider as giving a harsh ride full of high frequency vibes through the bars, seat post and pedals. The inbuilt springyness of steel is what you want to soak up a bit of buzz from badly surfaced roads. Unless you're riding up Alp d'Huez then the difference between steel and aluminium is largely academic...

All true, although on the upside for alloy the stiffness means more efficient power transfer e.g. standing on the pedals and really giving it some you won't be bending the frame as much as you would with a steel bike. I still prefer steel, even though my MTB is alloy.

 

[trashpony]

your local bike shop will happily fiddle with your bits if you ask them.

I went to Evans, there were about a million bikes on display, none of which appeared to be the one I wanted and hundreds of proper cyclist-looking people. So I grabbed a catalogue and slunk out.

I shall peruse it in the privacy of my own home ...

 

[Sigmund Fraud]

All true, although on the upside for alloy the stiffness means more efficient power transfer e.g. standing on the pedals and really giving it some you won't be bending the frame as much as you would with a steel bike. I still prefer steel, even though my MTB is alloy.

If you get the geometry right on a steel frame you can have lateral stiffness and longitudal compliance. All this talk of stiffness (not by you ICB but in general) is a lot of crap anyway, you need to be really going for it to matter and the only application I can think of where its critical to have a really tight rear end (!) is climbing.

If I can borrow a phrase, 'its not about the bike'.

 

[nogoodboyo]

I reckon a big-ish bloke can flex a steel frame with effort. No idea if that's a significant loss of energy though... quite possibly not. My maximum "sprint" time is about 2 seconds anyway, followed a good spell at the kerb hacking up used teabags.

Probably fair to say that a casual female (is that right?) cyclist isn't going to be putting that much stress on the frame though!

Erm, anyway. Sensible advice - buy a flouro yellow/green jacket. And the best lights you can.

 

[Sigmund Fraud]

I reckon a big-ish bloke can flex a steel frame with effort.

I'm not disputing you can flex a steel frame - more that it matters fuck all unless your name is Iban Mayo.

 

[maomao]

I reckon a big-ish bloke can flex a steel frame with effort. No idea if that's a significant loss of energy though... quite possibly not. My maximum "sprint" time is about 2 seconds anyway, followed a good spell at the kerb hacking up used teabags.

I'm a huge bloke and I notice the difference with aliminium. Not so much with a lot of effort but at high speed, especially coming down hill.

And Geri, pump your tyres up and it won't happen. You'll get to work twice as quick too.

 

[nogoodboyo]

I'm not disputing you can flex a steel frame - more that it matters fuck all unless your name is Iban Mayo.

Fair enough!


I don't think changing my name would do the trick though

 

[WasGeri]

And Geri, pump your tyres up and it won't happen. You'll get to work twice as quick too.

They are always fully pumped. I'm not shoddy!

 

[gentlegreen]

And Geri, pump your tyres up and it won't happen. You'll get to work twice as quick too.

lol
Knobblies are one approach to puncture prevention but they aren't very efficient or particularly safe in bad conditions. Nice and easy on the bum / back though - I got myself a suspension seat post soon after I changed to Kevlar town tyres. In Bristol (what with all the used syringes lying around ), if you use ordinary "slick" tyres you will get punctures - admittedly mostly once they've done a few miles, and in winter - never mind how pumped up they are - I'm not sure about rock hard knife-edge racing tyres as favoured by the lycra-crowd , but some of them insist on cycling on the dual carriageway because of the broken glass on the cyclepaths...

.

 

[maomao]

They are always fully pumped. I'm not shoddy!

Most road tyres need to be at least 70psi which is not easily done with a hand pump. MTB tyres are usually 35-65 ish so a properly pumped road tyre is going to feel like a rock to someone used to knobblies. You're not safe going round corners in the wet on knobblies.

 

[maomao]

And I'm from Edmonton; believe me, we know about streets strewn with broken glass and syringes.

 

[gentlegreen]

Most road tyres need to be at least 70psi which is not easily done with a hand pump. MTB tyres are usually 35-65 ish so a properly pumped road tyre is going to feel like a rock to someone used to knobblies. You're not safe going round corners in the wet on knobblies.

OK maybe I'm convinced - if only I could get a presta valve adaptor for my 12 volt tyre pump ....

I'll have to get myself an old fashioned flexible bicycle pump "end" bit ....

.

 

[WasGeri]

Most road tyres need to be at least 70psi which is not easily done with a hand pump. MTB tyres are usually 35-65 ish so a properly pumped road tyre is going to feel like a rock to someone used to knobblies. You're not safe going round corners in the wet on knobblies.

I'm not changing them - you're wasting your time

 

[alfajobrob]

OK maybe I'm convinced - if only I could get a presta valve adaptor for my 12 volt tyre pump ....

I'll have to get myself an old fashioned flexible bicycle pump "end" bit ....

.

nah, just get yourself a track pump with a gauge...much easier.

 

[maomao]

I'm not changing them - you're wasting your time

As opposed to all that 'productive' time I spend talking shit on here.

Fine, but don't come crying to us when you fall off in the wet.

I pump em up to 90 with a cloth valve hand pump. But I'm nails.

 

[nogoodboyo]

Tyre hardness and pumping (fnar) used to be a matter of some macho debate when I was a courier. Me, I used garage air lines whenever possible - I had a lovely little brass presta/schraeder adapter that I was strangely fond of.

A foot pump will do if you don't want an accurate guage. A trackpump is the daddy though.

Nobblers on the road = tiny tiny contact area = low grip and high wear.

It was the wear that really struck me - my lovely Fisher kevlar bead fatlads were disappearing at a rate of knots, and they cost twice as much as some nice semi-slicks.

 

[nogoodboyo]

OK maybe I'm convinced - if only I could get a presta valve adaptor for my 12 volt tyre pump ....

I'll have to get myself an old fashioned flexible bicycle pump "end" bit ....

.

I think you want a schraeder ad\pter for your presta valves, not a presta adapter for your schraeder pump.

Aren't they lovely?

 

[trashpony]

Oh god - what have I started?

 

[maomao]

Oh god - what have I started?

A civilised discussion in the transport forum. You should get a medal.

 

[nogoodboyo]

You should get a medal.

In the shape of a brass presta valve adapter!

 

[trashpony]

A civilised discussion in the transport forum. You should get a medal.

I shall post a pic of the bicycle when I get it as a gift to all you lovely helpful people - I could do with a hand knowing what all the different bits are called

 

[WasGeri]

Fine, but don't come crying to us when you fall off in the wet.

I haven't fallen off in the wet for 7 years! And that was only because I was showing off.

 

[gentlegreen]

I think you want a schraeder ad\pter for your presta valves, not a presta adapter for your schraeder pump.

Aren't they lovely?

phwoar
can I safely pump my tyres up on a garage airline ?

 

[maomao]

can I safely pump my tyres up on a garage airline ?

Definitely. Only problem is it might not be set to achieve high enough pressure for road tyres.

 

[JWH]

Trashpony - email this guy and get pictures, see how much it would be to buy it off him (with postage). Singletrackworld is a forum for pretty keen mountain bikers and more/less pretty honest/reliable. I doubt (although it's possible) that the punter would sell rubbish.

http://www.singletrackworld.com/for...61&PHPSESSID=2da09b92604cdd3628ede67eaa0165d4

Ooh, hold on, it's a fucking massive frame. Still, you could try posting a WTD: ad in the classifieds.

 

[trashpony]

Trashpony - email this guy and get pictures, see how much it would be to buy it off him (with postage).

Thanks very much - I'll have a look. Not entirely sure about buying online simply because I don't have a clue so feel more comfortable at the idea of looking at a bike in the *ahem* metal

 

[pootle]

I could do with a hand knowing what all the different bits are called

There is a Haynes manual for bikes you know, which is v handy, with lovely clear pictures pointing out what's what on your bike, along with maintenance tips and guidance on repairs. V good. Has turned me from a "I'll wait till my bloke comes round to look at it" type girl to a "pass me that lube and chain cleaner" type girl instead!