Bicycle frames

squizza

squizza

Eeyore
Suspended / Banned
Messages
2,855
Edit My Images
Yes
Hi guys

I'm after a new bike.

Without having to go to Halfords, what size frame would I be looking for? I'm 5ft 8 if that effects things.

Any advice and good online stockists greatly appreciated.

Kind regards

sarah
 
Hi

the frame size depends on whether you are after a road bike or a mountain bike / hybrid. Evans cycles have an on-line bike sizing guide. Failing that get yourself into a good local bike shop, they will give plenty of good advice and help you make the right choice.

Don't forget lots of employers run the bike to work scheme which can save you lots of cash.

Mark

Edit - beaten to it by Steve
 
I'm just after an average mountain bike as where I live there's lots of public land, meadows, valley tracks and I prefer biking rather than walking :)

I do like the funky suspension frames, if that makes sense.

Kind regards

Sarah
 
Last edited:
cheap funky suspension bikes = horrid springy heavy mess
expensive funky suspension bikes = lighter controlled love on wheels

what's the budget?
 
digitalfailure said:
cheap funky suspension bikes = horrid springy heavy mess
expensive funky suspension bikes = lighter controlled love on wheels

what's the budget?
Click to expand...

Um.......................I was only looking at £100 - £150 max.........
 
squizza said:
Um.......................I was only looking at £100 - £150 max.........
Click to expand...

digitalfailure said:
cheap funky suspension bikes = horrid springy heavy mess
expensive funky suspension bikes = lighter controlled love on wheels

what's the budget?
Click to expand...

Get to a decent bike shop (ideally when they're not too busy so can spend time with you) and get fitted witha frame/bike. You're pushing it a bit (LOT) with that budget but they might have something to suit. They might even have something 2nd hand (bikes can be a bit like camera kit - upgradeitis sets in and some people HAVE to have this year's colour!).
 
I've just packed in mountain biking through long term injury. No disrespect to any party involved, but £100/£150 will buy you very little other than trouble. Halfords especially has a very poor reputation, although there are a few good stores reputed to exist.

That sort of money will get you a heavy, poorly specced frame. I wouldn't even think of getting a full suspension bike for that money. If that's your upper budget get a "hardtail" frame, but remember even the most basic mountain bike that is used by regular riders will have wheels that will cost more than that - each!

Someone once said - Light, strong, cheap. Take any two, that's all you'll get. And he's right.

Online stockists are not really any use to you, because you really need to sit on the bike to see if it fits. As well as height you must consider leg length, and reach, if you want to be comfy.

If all you want is just to pedal out for half an hour when the sun shines then you are probably better off looking in the local paper and going to look at a few - there's always plenty for sale, but if you don't want to buy trouble then find someone who knows a bit about bikes and take them along.

Remember just like cameras - there's no such thing as a perfect bike.
 
How long is a piece of string? My main mountain bike - a full suspension job, with top line components that would take a full day of hammer, and more, set me back approx £3k. But I built that myself to a spec of my own choosing. That isn't out of the ordinary among the regulars. Carbon fibre for the frame would have added another £1k to that.

The least you want to be looking at is something like a Specialised Rockhopper(I think that's what they are called) at about £500/600. To be perfectly honest anything below that in the pecking order really is a waste of money. But then spending that sort of money can only be justified if you are going out regularly. Bit of a chicken and egg situation.

One very important thing to look out for. You want a women's specific saddle. Might be obvious, but bikes generally come with men's saddles. Women are different "down there", as you may have noticed! Your bones, and so the pressure points on the saddle are different.
 
Last edited:
I would avoid the full suspension frames if I were you, you need to spend a lot of money and do a lot of downhill stuff. Go for a recognised manufacturer such as Specialized, Trek, Giant, Scott etc. They all make good entry level bikes that will be more than adequate for the use you have described.

You can probably get something reasonable for £300 - £350.

Mickeldore , Specialized do the Hardrock as a entry level bike, I've done a 100 mile ride on one of those (with skinny tyres) and it was and still is a great bike. Cost me 450. Specialized do a women's specific range these days. I think the entry level is the Myka, don't know much about it though.
 
Last edited:
squizza said:
Oh my....so expensive! Are the cheap ones dangerous then?
Click to expand...

no just rubbish....;)

Check the bike to work scheme, you save all of the tax and vat and pay by salary sacrifice, if your employer is signed up you can save yourself a lot of money.

www.cyclescheme.co.uk

Mark
 
Try a frame size before buying. I'm half an inch shorter than you and without trying one got a 21in frame as that was the size of the last one I bought years ago. But with the spring suspension post on these new seats, I couldn't touch the ground! I've got short legs anyway. So I had to replace the seat and post with an unsprung post - and a seat a hell of a lot more comforable and "supportive". Even then I can only just reach now. I should have got a 19in.
 
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

I know and understand what mickledore is saying. But the average price for a new bicycle in this country is around £100.

We people who pay thousands for our bikes that don't even have engines on them are very much in the minority. I've been competing on my £1000 bike this past weekend and it doesn't have suspension or even any gears!

Listen to digitalfailure, any full suspension bike under about £1000 is not going to be much good, stick with a simple front suspension bike and you'll get better equipment on the bike for your money.

For your height which was the original question you'd probably be looking at a 16 or 17" But the easiest way to check on a normal type of bike is that you need about 3 inches clearance when standing across the bike with your feet flat on the floor.

Your budget is very tight, if you had a few more pounds I'd send you over to Pauls Cycles web site as they usually have some good offers.

What about your company, do they not do the cyclescheme in your work place? If they do or you can get them to organise it then you could a great bike for peanuts and an interest free loan from your work to pay it.

Some details here, http://www.cyclescheme.co.uk/ Halfords (who aren't a bad company they are just the Jessops of the bike world) are one company who administer the scheme but a lot of smaller independents do too.
 
Last edited:
Ok so I sit and type that lot up and a lot of its already been said whilst I've been typing!

As an aside my one mountain bike is 19.5" and the other is 17" they both fit fine but are from different manufacturers, I'm 6'2" BTW.
 
I dont know what you are looking for but I bought a bike from Toysrus 18months ago in the sale which cost me £90 I use it to ride along the canal in the park across the vale in fact anywhere I choose most weekends so unless your a keen cyclist and intend to keep it up I would choose something a little less expencive till your sure of what you want or need This is just my opinion for what its worth
Bob
 
If you go to a decent bike shop there are often bargains to be had looking at old models they have had lying around for a while. A good bike that has been in a stockroom for a while will still be a good bike, just with older components.

I got my bike on the cycle to work scheme which is great - the difference in quality you get when going up past the £400 mark is amazing - I love my bike!
 
Might not know that much about photography, but been Mountain Biking since the early days around 1990 so might be able to help

As mentioned full suspension is a real non-starter for the money you are talking about, hardtail with suspension forks are also less than great for that money

The cheaper the bike, the heavier and less durable the parts, also parts you cannot see such as bottom bracket will be of a cheap variety
Worst place for weight is heavy wheels,forks and cranks along with possibly steel seatpost and bars

Best bet would be secondhand and take someone along who knows what they are looking at. Think you could pick up something older, but a decent ride for approximately £200-£300 with parts that will stand up to the job

Woman specific bike would be even better, parts specifically aimed at the female form such as saddle, fork with lighter springs and sized for in general shorter upper body with longer legs

Bit like here, look on classifieds of somewhere such as Singletrackworld or even Retrobike where you might come across something that has been looked after

Can be a real minefield for the novice and as for size you need to try it out same as a camera and probably even more important in some respects

Pity you didn't post a month back, just broke down and sold off my daughters bike when she no longer showed much interest, would have been ideal
 
Last edited:
What everyone is suggesting is correct, you need to go somewhere to try a bike for size and ease of getting on and off.

I've 3 bikes, the first is around £500, the second is around £400 and the third £1500, the price really does decide what you get, but that said I got my other half her first bike just before christmas for much the same as you want, and the best bike we found for our budget and components was surprisingly from halfords. see link below.

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_253041_langId_-1_categoryId_165499

A lot of bike for the money and lighter than I expected (about 14kg) for the price. We've agreed if its used enough then we'll look to upgrade. No point spending a fortune for something that does not get used.
 
Last edited:
I'm seriously into my bikes as well. I have full sus, steel hardtail and a road bike.

Some of the halfords range isn't too bad. Both my lads ride Carreras - the Vulcan which my eldest rides is "ok" for what he wants. It has simple front suspension, no rear suspension, cable disk brakes, 8 gear sram gears. It gets him round Follow the Dog at Cannock happily enough (not sure about the new Monkey though :banana::banana: - top top trail)

This is the one:-
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_518255_langId_-1_categoryId_165499 if you buy now it's £240.

At the end of the day it really does depend on what you intend to use the bike for. A bit like cameras really. You can get one for £50 but then again you can pay £4,000.

Whatever you do, don't be tempted by something like this:-
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_711007_langId_-1_categoryId_165499 £100 down the drain. It'll be heavy, have very cheap components that don't work and break very easily.
 
if you're still thinking of a smaller budget - dont get tempted to buy a cheap all-whistles Mountain Bike from Halfords - the quality is not there - I did and off-loaded it for £45

went to a "proper" bike shop and bought a Trek hybrid £350 - love it - Trek do female models too
 
Sorry, but i don't personally agree about the bike at halfords, eight speed is very limiting these days and replacement parts harder to source than 9 speed
Also cable discs are not much better than rim brakes once the cables get stretched or muddy, but considerably heavier especially on cheaper bikes.

Not sure how much they are these days, but the Specialized Hardrock has always been a hard bike to beat for the price.
Buy at a proper bike shop and don't forget a decent helmet too along with padded shorts (that last item really is important and without sounding too personal you don't wear undies with them)
 
Buy what you can afford, if you like it that much you can always save up and buy something nicer.

When I was a kid I had a bike from Halfords, it was 2 inches too big, had steel wheels but I loved that bike! I upgraded it until it came to a point when I progressed onto something lighter and more expensive. I ended up competing at quite a high level in road based cycling. Too much of a fat git now
 
There are several from STW on here. That is about the best mtb forum, but it is for guys who know their way around. You could do worse than register on there, then ask for advise. Be warned - it's not a place for the faint hearted; their views are usually pretty frank, albeit very helpful as well.
 
tijuana taxi said:
Sorry, but i don't personally agree about the bike at halfords, eight speed is very limiting these days and replacement parts harder to source than 9 speed
Also cable discs are not much better than rim brakes once the cables get stretched or muddy, but considerably heavier especially on cheaper bikes.

Not sure how much they are these days, but the Specialized Hardrock has always been a hard bike to beat for the price.
Buy at a proper bike shop and don't forget a decent helmet too along with padded shorts (that last item really is important and without sounding too personal you don't wear undies with them)
Click to expand...

Hardrocks are around the £300 mark, however Specialized have now developed a womens range of bikes starting with the Myka.

Squizza get yourself to somewhere like Streetlife, they have shops in Norwich, Lowestoft and Sudbury. I've always found them very helpful and they may have some of last years stock going cheap.
 
tijuana taxi said:
Sorry, but i don't personally agree about the bike at halfords, eight speed is very limiting these days and replacement parts harder to source than 9 speed
Also cable discs are not much better than rim brakes once the cables get stretched or muddy, but considerably heavier especially on cheaper bikes.

Not sure how much they are these days, but the Specialized Hardrock has always been a hard bike to beat for the price.
Buy at a proper bike shop and don't forget a decent helmet too along with padded shorts (that last item really is important and without sounding too personal you don't wear undies with them)
Click to expand...

Which bits are harder to source - the SRAM mech is 8/9 speed compatible. The shifters are unlikely to break. The cog is the only thing that is 8 speed specific. And Merlin Cycles/Chain Reation both stock several differnent 8 speed cogs.

As for the brakes - I agree that cable disk are more of a faff and not as poweful as hydrolic but they are still far better than V brakes.
 
maddog.mark said:
Hardrocks are around the £300 mark, however Specialized have now developed a womens range of bikes starting with the Myka.

Squizza get yourself to somewhere like Streetlife, they have shops in Norwich, Lowestoft and Sudbury. I've always found them very helpful and they may have some of last years stock going cheap.
Click to expand...

I know the one in Sudders - coz I live there. However I also forgot it was there!:lol:
 
SeagullSteve said:
Which bits are harder to source - the SRAM mech is 8/9 speed compatible. The shifters are unlikely to break. The cog is the only thing that is 8 speed specific. And Merlin Cycles/Chain Reation both stock several differnent 8 speed cogs.

As for the brakes - I agree that cable disk are more of a faff and not as poweful as hydrolic but they are still far better than V brakes.
Click to expand...

Waaaaaaay over my head. :lol: That just swooshed over my head :lol:
 
squizza said:
Waaaaaaay over my head. :lol: That just swooshed over my head :lol:
Click to expand...
lol bikes are just as techy as cameras... off to Streetlife for some help and good advice I think!:)
 
The cog is the only thing that is 8 speed specific
Click to expand...

Sorry, but the only non specific part is the rear mech
All the other components including front mech and chainrings are designed for the wider 8 speed chain

If you are buying a new bike I would always suggest going for the current 9 speed for ease of buying spares
CRC or Merlin are fine if you know exactly what you want, but can be a minefield for less experienced people
 
Never knew that biking was so expensive:shake:

Just get one with round wheels and brakes for the brass you can afford then enjoy:thumbs:
 
:lol:I'm going to go against everyones advice and get a penny farthing :D
 
I've just bagged a couple of Muddy Fox full suspension bikes with dual disc brakes from Tesco Direct. £250 down to £125, Ordered Friday night delivered Monday lunch time. Good value, not in the pro league by any streach of the imagination but suits my purposes.
 
Notts_Dave said:
I've just bagged a couple of Muddy Fox full suspension bikes with dual disc brakes from Tesco Direct. £250 down to £125, Ordered Friday night delivered Monday lunch time. Good value, not in the pro league by any streach of the imagination but suits my purposes.
Click to expand...

OOooo I'm tempted. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top