# Bike Advice



## *TQ* (Jun 1, 2012)

I turned 25 last week and it would appear the days of eating what I want, doing no exercise and yet still being skinny may be over.

I'm toying with the idea of doing a bit of cycling, I've got an old mountain bike in the shed that needs a bit of work but was thinking maybe a road/racing/hybrid bike might be more appropriate.

Does anyone have any experience of these? What are they like to ride? What should I be looking for? I don't want to spend much money would £50-£70 be enough for an eBay special?

I'd probably be looking to do around 10-30 miles at a time on B roads with some hills and am *terribly* unfit at the moment!


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## LittleMissTracy (May 17, 2012)

Happy Birthday for last week 
Clean up the bike you have, service it (google if unsure) and try that first. You may hate it and have forked out money on another bike for the garage / shed.
I have a mountain bike and when I use it I go everywhere. I'm going to detail it too :lol:


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## Bero (Mar 9, 2008)

If the bike you have is of reasonable quality you would be better putting hi-bred tyres on it and using it on the road? If you are looking at the extreme cheap end of the scale it may kerb your enthusiasm if the gears slip etc.

If you stick with cycling then look to treat yourself to something a bit better in a couple/few months.


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## *TQ* (Jun 1, 2012)

Hybrid tyres on a mountain bike? I didn't know you could do that!

What I don't want to do is make things too hard for myself and I was under the impression that a hybrid would be easier (i.e. require less effort) to ride on the road.

I'll look into the new tyres, how much would be a reasonable amount to pay?


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## m1pui (Jul 24, 2009)

What is the old bike you've got in the shed and are you handy fixing bikes yourself?

Your budget is pretty tight and the problem being that anything you get off eBay at that price just means you're buying someone else's problems. Admittedly you can get lucky, but you could very easily spend a lot more than £70 putting a few things right.

My sister bought a second hand Specialized bike and whilst it's serviceable, it's needing some attention/TLC. The brakes are weak, rear tyre was bald, front not much better, seat and bar grips were tatty amongst a few other things.

I've got her a new seat, grips and 2 new tyres & inner tubes and brake pads. That's cost nigh on £75 and it still needs stuff sorting which may be beyond my skillset (brake are still not feeling just right namely) so that could easily cost the price of a service + parts at a local bike shop.

Does your employer not do the Cycle2Work scheme so you could get a discounted bike through them?

Otherwise I'd recommend, if you can afford it, finding a local shop that does 0% and picking up a decent bike that way. Me and the other half got bikes last year (I went for a Giant Revel 3 and she got a Trek something or other) and the price for both bikes was £525, once we'd paid 10% deposit they cost us £39 per month over 12 months. That's for 2 bikes so you could potentially get a £300 bike for around £20 per month

EDIT: 
These are the tyres I fitted to the sisters bike Continental Double Fighters, mainly because I could go and pick them up from Halfords there and then.

I've been reading some good reviews for these which I might try on mine or the other halves bike. Schwalbe Marathon Plus


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## Bero (Mar 9, 2008)

*TQ* said:


> Hybrid tyres on a mountain bike? I didn't know you could do that!
> 
> What I don't want to do is make things too hard for myself and I was under the impression that a hybrid would be easier (i.e. require less effort) to ride on the road.
> 
> I'll look into the new tyres, how much would be a reasonable amount to pay?


I'm by no means an expert - but yes you can get tyres that are almost slick in the central section with knobbles on the outside that only come into play if you're on softer ground and the tyre sinks in a little. They will be easier to go on the road - any bike shop should be able to sort you out, you just need the diameter and width of your current wheels. I'm not sure on price....nothing too onerous.

Edit - this is the type i was thinking of - although they are £22 each online from Evans


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## m1pui (Jul 24, 2009)

Bero said:


> *I'm by no means an expert *- but yes you can get tyres that are almost slick in the central section with knobbles on the outside that only come into play if you're on softer ground and the tyre sinks in a little. They will be easier to go on the road - any bike shop should be able to sort you out, you just need the diameter and width of your current wheels. I'm not sure on price....noting too onerous.


I was just about to add that to my post :lol: I picked up a Haynes type cycle maintenance book and am learning as I go.

From looking, the most common size of mountain bike tyres are 26" so all you need to look for is a 26" tyre essentially. Between the 3 bikes in our house, 2 are on 26x2.1 (2.1" cross section) and another is 26x1.95.

You can reduce the cross section (move from 2.1" to 1.95") but, you might not be able to increase as you might have brake clearance issues. My sisters bike (Specialized Hardrock) had 26x2.1 and I've changed them to 26x1.95 tyres (The Continental ones I linked to before)


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## m1pui (Jul 24, 2009)

Bero said:


> Edit - this is the type i was thinking of - although they are £22 each online from Evans


If you buy a pair from Halfords you save 20% 
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_215298_langId_-1_categoryId_242553#tab0

£35.18 for the pair instead of £44

EDIT: It's actually 20% off all bike accessories :thumb: plus most of the stuff has "web only" discounted prices, so you can get the reserve & collect price + 20% off too


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## *TQ* (Jun 1, 2012)

> What is the old bike you've got in the shed and are you handy fixing bikes yourself?


I'm not sure what it is off the top of my head (it's been in there for five+ years!). I can't say I've ever tried to fix a bike before but I'm confident working on my car and motorbike so it can't be too hard! (Famous last words :lol

I'll try and drag it out tonight and have a look at it. If I remember correctly there's quite a bit of rust on the chain and gears is this likely to be a problem? I assume motorcycle chain lube will be alright to lubricate it?


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## LittleMissTracy (May 17, 2012)

*TQ* said:


> I assume motorcycle chain lube will be alright to lubricate it?


Thats what I use


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## Jace (Oct 26, 2005)

*TQ* said:


> I'm not sure what it is off the top of my head (it's been in there for five+ years!). I can't say I've ever tried to fix a bike before but I'm confident working on my car and motorbike so it can't be too hard! (Famous last words :lol


This is a good guide site if your not sure.

http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help


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## *TQ* (Jun 1, 2012)

Well I dragged the bike out last night...



It was in a bit of state but I gave it a clean and lubed up the chain and gears and it seemed ok! Managed to go through all the gears (eventually).

The handle bars were a bit of a state though. The following picture is a 50/50 after two hours with the auto glym metal polish, will do the other side tonight.



I think I've decided on the Continental tires from Halfords so will try and get them before the weekend.

All going well I should be able to go for a ride (the first one in 5 or 6 years) on Monday (Waxstock Sunday). Will be looking into a better saddle, some SDP pedals and shoes and probably new grips in the future and need to pick up a helmet as well.


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## dandam (Apr 10, 2011)

Have a look on ebay for slick or semi slick tyres, there are plenty out there and you should be able to get a couple delivered for around the £20 mark. Also the handle bar grips.

Same actually with shoes, and the pedals, people try SPD's but don't like them and move on so you can get some bargains.

Welcome back to the world of cycling though :thumb:


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## ncd (Dec 12, 2005)

For tyres, how about a set of these :

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=8547

£20 for a pair delivered.


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## *TQ* (Jun 1, 2012)

Picked up a pair of these last night.

Just need to get them fitted and we should be ready to go!


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## Bero (Mar 9, 2008)

glad we could help / save you some money. Please do a before and after trial with the tyres, I'm considering them too as I'm sure they would be more than sufficient for my use.


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## Barchettaman (Dec 16, 2007)

Well done mate, that MTB should get you started. Nice to see someone reusing and restoring what they have.

One thing. I quickly tire of the lack of hand positions on a flat bar. A set of cheap Ergogrips and /or bar ends would be my next upgrade. Halfords don't stock ergos and their barends are spenny, so look online. Something like this:
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mobile/MobileModels.aspx?ModelID=15030


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## Danno1975 (Mar 30, 2009)

I got a set of the continental double fighters today for my old rockhopper which I'm pressing into commuter mode . They are fast on road and ok off in the dry.

Ore order I line for the £7 discount for the pair


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## *TQ* (Jun 1, 2012)

I got the tyres but haven't had a chance to fit them yet.

Joined the gym last week and judging by the amount of pain I am in when on the static bike I think I should get a couple of weeks practise in before taking the mountain bike out.


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## Cambelt (Jul 4, 2012)

One piece of advice before you start, set the bike up properly. 

It varies from person to person, but as a rule of thumb, saddle height should be set with your heel on the lower pedal with a straight leg. (There are loads of bike set up guides on the internet) 

This will make your legs more comfortable, give you more power in your legs and mean you can ride properly. (Local bike shops can do this for a small fee)


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## Danno1975 (Mar 30, 2009)

*TQ* said:


> I got the tyres but haven't had a chance to fit them yet.
> 
> Joined the gym last week and judging by the amount of pain I am in when on the static bike I think I should get a couple of weeks practise in before taking the mountain bike out.


What tyres did you get?


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## *TQ* (Jun 1, 2012)

Continental Travel Contact from Halfords.


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## Danno1975 (Mar 30, 2009)

*TQ* said:


> Continental Travel Contact from Halfords.


Nice, expensive?, I went for the double fighter, first commute today, 22.2 round trip found them very good.


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## *TQ* (Jun 1, 2012)

Long overdue update coming up!

I eventually got round to fitting the Travel Contacts (took best part of a year!) and have been doing a bit of cycling since last summer.

The bike's held up remarkably well, tyres seem good and I'm really enjoying it.

What I'd like to do now is just improve things a bit. Although I can select all the gears it sometimes takes a bit of time to change and the chain seems to be rubbing on the front derailleur. I'm going to replace the cables and reindex things and hopefully this'll solve that little problem.

The brakes are terrible. Again I'm going to replace the cables and the blocks and hopefully this will make things better.

Other than that is there anything else I should be looking to do? I think the bike's about fourteen years old and every part is standard at the moment. Is it worth stripping hub/bottom bracket/head bearings etc... and re-greasing them? Should I be fitting a new chain/cassette? 

Hopefully this year I'll be able to move upto commuting, it's fifteen miles each way but I think it should be doable. Did fifteen miles yesterday and managed it fairly easily although with a very sore ar*e!


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## possul (Nov 14, 2008)

Me personally I'd strip all bearings and inspect them inc the bearing race and Inc wheels
Re grease them all and put them back, i doubt theres any thing that will need replacing as its been stood but who knows
The difference it makes can be massive especially ina headset bearing.
Youtube is your friend for setting up gears


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## *TQ* (Jun 1, 2012)

possul said:


> Me personally I'd strip all bearings and inspect them inc the bearing race and Inc wheels
> Re grease them all and put them back, i doubt theres any thing that will need replacing as its been stood but who knows
> The difference it makes can be massive especially ina headset bearing.
> Youtube is your friend for setting up gears


So I'm looking at headset and wheel bearings, anything else? Is it worth looking at the bottom bracket?


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