Bike advice

[JonathanRyan]

I fancy a new bike.....I tend to ride down into town/to Tai Chi lessons 2 -3 times a week. Couple of miles each way mostly on roads flattish. I also cycle to a nearby town every couple of weeks - maybe 10 miles on a concrete beach path that's a bit bumpy due to poor maintenance. There's also a canal path with some loose stuff on it that's awkward on my current bike and if I wanted to there are actually some nice woodland trails around.

I totally don't need a new bike but I've never had one that fitted me and the government will pay for about 35% of one so I figured an entry level decent hybrid would suit me.

I popped into my local Trek sellers yesterday thinking the conversation would be about how expensive a Verve they could sell me. To my amazement the very knowledgeable chap there was trying to steer me towards a mountain bike. He reckons a Marlin 5 would be way more comfortable to ride, better value and just a lot more fun. It's also about £200 less than the Verve I was looking at but a bit heavier.

Is he right? Or is it crazy to ride a hard tail mostly on flattish concrete paths and roads?

 

[stumac]

I'm well in to MTB and my daughter has the marlin 5 . Great bike ......forks aren't great but for what you use it for they would be fine. She rides the bike hard (all off road) and it's been faultless

 

[stumac]

Just to add when you say the bike doesn't fit you .....don't do what alot of people do and sit on a bike and decide if a bike fits based on if their feet can or can't touch the floor . MTB fit is 90% based on "reach" .

 

[JonathanRyan]

Just to add when you say the bike doesn't fit you .....don't do what alot of people do and sit on a bike and decide if a bike fits based on if their feet can or can't touch the floor . MTB fit is 90% based on "reach" .

Thanks. One of the many reasons why I'm happy to pay a little more at my local shop is that they will advise on the correct size and then prep it for me. They stressed that any bike Trek supply would be the start of making it suitable for me

My current bike was bought a long time ago and I now realise that the shop just wanted to clear one they had. It had lots of "features" but is actually a size too large for me. I've swapped the seat post to a lower one but still feel like I'm balancing on top of it instead of riding it.

 

[stumac]

Thanks. One of the many reasons why I'm happy to pay a little more at my local shop is that they will advise on the correct size and then prep it for me. They stressed that any bike Trek supply would be the start of making it suitable for me

My current bike was bought a long time ago and I now realise that the shop just wanted to clear one they had. It had lots of "features" but is actually a size too large for me. I've swapped the seat post to a lower one but still feel like I'm balancing on top of it instead of riding it.

If you want to feel even more that your sitting in the bike rather than on it then also consider 29inch wheels over 27.5

 

[JonathanRyan]

If you want to feel even more that your sitting in the bike rather than on it then also consider 29inch wheels over 27.5

If I went with the Marlin 5 it would *probably* be a medium so it would have 29 inch. I guess that makes a big difference to the ride?

Of course now I am starting to consider a MTB I'm thinking that the Marlin 6 is still below to cost of the hybrid I was looking at. Is a simpler drivetrain and better fork worth £100? I thought the paintwork was worth the upgrade alone until I saw the red/black is sold out

 

[stumac]

If I went with the Marlin 5 it would *probably* be a medium so it would have 29 inch. I guess that makes a big difference to the ride?

Of course now I am starting to consider a MTB I'm thinking that the Marlin 6 is still below to cost of the hybrid I was looking at. Is a simpler drivetrain and better fork worth £100? I thought the paintwork was worth the upgrade alone until I saw the red/black is sold out

29 carries speed better and smooths out rougher surfaces as it rolls over stuff better and as I say it gives you a feeling of being IN the bike rather than perched on top of it . If there is any chance at all that you may want to ride more official MTB trails then I would spend the extra £100 as it will be alot more expensive to upgrade up the line if you decided to . At the end of the day a bike frame is just a lump of metal/carbon to hold the components together .......the components are the important part the single chain ring up front on the 6 is a godsend for needing no maintenance. I would never run anything but a single up front .

 

[JonathanRyan]

he single chain ring up front on the 6 is a godsend for needing no maintenance. I would never run anything but a single up front .

ah, the 6 is a 2/7. I'd have to pay crazy money for a Marlin 7 (which I *totally* don't need) to get the 1x drive.

 

[stumac]

ah, the 6 is a 2/7. I'd have to pay crazy money for a Marlin 7 (which I *totally* don't need) to get the 1x drive.

No the 1x definitely isnt a must have . Just a nice to have lol although when I google the marlin 6 it shows as being 1x on the spec

Edit - the 2022 is 1x10 they must have last year's model they were showing you
Which is 2x7

 

[Ham]

While this isn't hard and fast, drop bars are more comfortable for distance, and fit matters probably more than it does with flat bars, although it is still important. The sort of riding you describe, flat bar would likely be better. The single big difference for comfort is likely to be volume of tyres, especially for the bumpy stuff. 700 x 35 or 1 1/2" x 29 are what you should likely be looking for. The tradeoff with that is speed (rolling resistance is higher), so if you wanting to get into cycle touring, 700 x 28 or 29 x 1 1/4" would be more suitable, don't go any narrower than that.

Fit is a very difficult thing to establish on a bike, especially if you don't know what you are looking for (which seems the case, no offense meant). Ideally, a bike fit is where you would start, but that costs, a good bike shop with informed assistants will help, which you seem to have found. But, once you have the bike, tweaking the geometry can help. Seatpost changes by 1/4" a time, possibly trying different stems to change the reach, bar stack, in all instances seemingly minor changes can make a huge difference, as can keeping your feet in the right place with clipless pedals. It's not at all obvious where the changes need to be made, pain in your palms is an indication of too much weight on your hands, raising your saddle might work better than the seemingly logical option of lowering it. Not much maters for a 10 mile ride, after 50 you really start to notice differences.

The details of the bike, number of gears, type of brakes, whatever, is all relatively meaningless, any bike sold these days not made out of gaspipe like eg the very cheap decathlon or Raleigh are decent, the test is if the components are branded (BTW, Decathlon sell some VERY good value bikes once you move off their cheapest). If you have to ask the question, then it is unlikely you will notice the difference too much, once again especially on short rides.

Whatever, choose something you'll enjoy. If you do, you may very quickly discover that the correct number of bikes to own is n+1.

 

[AgentOrange76]

My thoughts.
You are riding on fairly solid surface and while it may be uneven its not rough in a moutainbiking sense.
With that in mind i would look more to the weight of the bike - lighter being quicker to accelerate and ride up hill
I would then look at width of tyre/wheel. 35-45mm tyre is ideal for paths/roads/gravel tracks. This coupled with a light tread pattern will be fast rolling and allow you to cover distance faster.
Larger wheels roll easier over bumps but are slower to accerate.

A hybrid with flat bars would be my choice - I have a Hardtail MTB and none of what you are riding requires that and the fork on a £500 bike is not going to be buttery smooth over uneven surfaces. 10miles on a hybrid with 40mm tyres will be much quicker than on a hardtail with 2inch or wider off road tyres

 

[JonathanRyan]

Edit - the 2022 is 1x10 they must have last year's model they were showing you
Which is 2x7

Ah - of course you're right. In fairness they weren't showing me a 6 at all - we were at "hybrid vs MTB" stage. I Googled what you get for the extra £100 and missed that it was an old article.

A hybrid with flat bars would be my choice - I have a Hardtail MTB and none of what you are riding requires that and the fork on a £500 bike is not going to be buttery smooth over uneven surfaces. 10miles on a hybrid with 40mm tyres will be much quicker than on a hardtail with 2inch or wider off road tyres

All very good points and I'm pretty sure I agree with you. I thought about where I was riding and went in to look at hybrids. Then the sales chap said "of course there's no reason you can't ride a MTB on the flat....". His main point was that for less money than a hybrid I can get hydraulic disks on a MTB. The hybrid has lots of nice stuff for day in / day out riding even in bad weather - but that's another thing I'm not going to do with it

you don't know what you are looking for (which seems the case, no offense meant).

None taken . I know when I'm out of my depth and appreciate all the help and advice.

Pretty sure I would hate riding drop handlebars. I ride a lot along the sea and like to be able to sit up and see the scenery.

Whatever, choose something you'll enjoy.

That's my goal. As I say, I really don't need a new bike. But really like the idea of choosing something I'll love.

 

[Ham]

Here's the thing. Have a look at this, a bike from 100 years ago.

or for that matter




Notice anything? (apart from the saddle being PAINFUL in the second) Yep, they are almost identical to a bike you might buy today, although the tech has improved. What that really means is that the bike industry has to find something to make you buy buy buy. The latest! greatest! new! shiny! (nothing like photography, obv )

The simple truth is that any "nice" bike is going to have the latest and greatest, but the tech itself should not be the thing of desire that is common parlance and universal in any bike sales environment however honest and good the assistant. Disc brakes are great, in special circumstances. Doing a 25km descent in the alps, they are dead useful (although also prone to fade if you aren't careful). I like them commuting, they tend to remain cleaner and sharper in poor weather. Off road people like them, as they aren't subject to as much muddage. Apart from that? They stop the bike, as brakes have done for some time, very efficiently for the last 30 years. In the right place, V-brakes or coaster can be more appropriate.

As AO says, light is good, big tyres are good, suspension is bad (IMO, a poor front sus fork is worse than nothing, heavy and little beneficial effect). All the rest? whatever makes you happy, there's no real reason for most users to chose one tech over any other.

And, by the way, you are wrong about drops (not that it matters that much). Most people ride most of the time on "hoods" which is as high as flat bars, drops just give you more positions for comfort. For commuting, my view is flats are better for awareness and vision. As a treat to myself I built up, what in my view, the ultimate commuter bike. It uses the Shimano Metrea groupset, which is in effect the top half of drops handlebar (with hydraulic brakes and 2x11 speed shifters), but has more positions and is much more comfortable than flats. (It's on a titanium frame, with wheels I built myself)

 

[JonathanRyan]

Some really good points.

I can't help noticing that both your antique bikes are single speed. And although I could ride those for 80% of where I go, I'm not fit enough fur the other 20% and would end up walking

 

[Ham]

Ah yes, that was because I went back 100 years. Let's get this straight, I LIKE gears, especially in combo with hills (although I also like the simplicity of single speed, tbh). Gears as we know them have been around from early 1960's and again since then it has just been refinement - indexing, electronics, squeezing more gears into the same space through better materials and manufacturing processes. The marketing machine that tells us we need More! New! Shiny! Gears! neglects to identify that in practical terms, the tech has gone through a peak (IMO, that was 9 speed) and is sliding down the other side. There is some benefit in having a 1 x 13 setup, but that's at the expense of becoming increasingly fiddly and less reliable, and electronic shifting is nice, but not a game changer.

The beautiful thing to me, is how good the basic bike deign is. The single biggest change in my view over recent years is the carbon frame - the first time I tried one of those it felt like the first time in a turbocharged car, but even so, I only have one carbon frame bike, which if I'm honest, I rarely use.

 

[JonathanRyan]

So that was interesting.....yesterday I went back to the shop and talked to the other assistant. He's younger and clearly into his downhill but agreed that I would be very happy with a Marlin. Tried a small of the Marlin 5 which kind of fitted but looked small, tried a medium of the 6 and it fitted better. "Oh that's last year's bike - it's only £50 more than the 5. I'd totally recommend it." So I booked in for a test drive and went back this morning to try it.

Most fun bike I've ever ridden. Then I spotted that their other branch had a different colour for £50 less. So they transferred it over for me, prepped it and then spent half an hour fitting it to me. Just ridden it home. It's lovely.

Also, support your local bike shop

 

[Nod]

Also, support your local bike shop

Very, very much so!

 

[andrewc]

I got a good deal on a Boardman ADV 8.9 and I'm pretty pleased with it. They call it an 'adventure' bike and is somewhere between road and mountain bike. Hydraulic disk brakes but no suspension.

 

[JonathanRyan]

I got a good deal on a Boardman ADV 8.9 and I'm pretty pleased with it. They call it an 'adventure' bike and is somewhere between road and mountain bike. Hydraulic disk brakes but no suspension.

Ooo they look fun. Spendy though

 

[andrewc]

Mine is the previous generation in orange. Halfords were offering a 10% discount on anyone trading in various old cycling equipment. The small print included old cycle helmets - so I went to Argos and bought the cheapest cycle helmet they had and used that. Additionally as the only bike they had in stock was an ex-display one, I got another 10% knocked off. It was about £ 650 in total.