Bike Buying advice (in Dublin) (1 Viewer)

[Ferox13]

I was thinking of getting myself an ol' rothar - prolly a mountain bike type.

Could I get a decent enough one for €200-ish? Any recommendations on bike shops (the only one i can think of is the one in Parnell St)...

Thanks..http://focal.ie/Search.aspx?term=rothar&lang=2

 

[rettucs]

might not be popular to say so these days but theres way better value for money on the internet than in bike shops. Bike shops have pretty much all inflated their prices because of the bike-to-work scheme. Bastards.

check out wiggle or one of those. For 200 quid you'll get something very basic. The rule of thumb when it comes to bikes is that you pretty much get what you pay for. But something basic does most people.

 

[7 - No tomorrow]

Don't get a mountain bike if you don't plan to take it off road.
Those big heavy tires grab a lot of tarmac, especially in the summer, and can be a slog up hills. The more rubber meeting the road, the harder it will 'feel' to cycle. You want to enjoy cycling, to look forward to it.

Get yourself a used hybrid or a road bike with straight bars. This is the ideal bike for city cycling.
The bike you want will have 27 x 1 1/4" tires. Is that the right size, Scutter?

Scutter is right though, you get what you pay for.

My own advice is that when you buy the bike, ask them to put a puncture proof tire on the back wheel. They're the ones with a strip of kevlar under the rubber. It's an investment in almost never having to fix a puncture. Worth it in my book.

 

[7 - No tomorrow]

If you're on the Northside (the fun side) check out City Cycles http://www.citycyclesd3.com/ and Little Sport, both in D3

 

[ann post]

I always get mine at car boot sales for 25eu-30eu.

 

[Ferox13]

Thanks for the advice guys...Yeah on thinking a hybrid is a lot better idea. My GF has an oldish one - I may go the route of getting this fixed up instead..

 

[RayRay]

If your a bit of a handy man, spend the 200 online on all the parts then put it all together yourself. I got an old road bike frame and bought all the other parts from here came to a total of €200 and shes not a bad yoke at all

 

[Ferox13]

If your a bit of a handy man,

Unfortunally, I'm not..

 

[7 - No tomorrow]

Thanks for the advice guys...Yeah on thinking a hybrid is a lot better idea. My GF has an oldish one - I may go the route of getting this fixed up instead..

A girl's bike?

 

[rettucs]

The bike you want will have 27 x 1 1/4" tires. Is that the right size, Scutter?

well yea. I'd be more used to millimeter notation like 700x27 (where the 700 refers more to the diameter and the 27 refers to the width of the actual tyre). But, I'd go with 700x35s, mostly because of the winter. I think 27s a little too narrow if the roads get a little too icy (I learned that the hard way).

Scutter is right though, you get what you pay for.

My own advice is that when you buy the bike, ask them to put a puncture proof tire on the back wheel. They're the ones with a strip of kevlar under the rubber. It's an investment in almost never having to fix a puncture. Worth it in my book.

absolutely agree

 

[sarah]

Thanks for the advice guys...Yeah on thinking a hybrid is a lot better idea. My GF has an oldish one - I may go the route of getting this fixed up instead..

or get these guys to help you fix it up http://www.rothar.ie/media.htm

 

[mark]

My own advice is that when you buy the bike, ask them to put a puncture proof tire on the back wheel. They're the ones with a strip of kevlar under the rubber. It's an investment in almost never having to fix a puncture. Worth it in my book.

i went through a two week period not so long about where i got 6 punctures in the front wheel. got one of these kevlar reinforcred jobbys and not a whiff of air since.

 

[brianoak]

@7 no tomorrow 27 1 1/4 is an old imperial size and larger in diameter than 700c. It hasn't really been used on any new production bikes for about 20 years.

700 by 28 -35c is grand for commuting. Or you could use 20 -23 if you want to blast along.

 

[7 - No tomorrow]

@7 no tomorrow 27 1 1/4 is an old imperial size and larger in diameter than 700c. It hasn't really been used on any new production bikes for about 20 years.

700 by 28 -35c is grand for commuting. Or you could use 20 -23 if you want to blast along.

They still use it in the US, where I used to buy all my bike gear. Hence my confusion.


These are the puncture-resistant tires I have.
http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bc/SBCEqSection.jsp?sid=EquipTires700_Flat
700c & 27x1-1/4'' Armadillo Tires

 

[Ferox13]

A girl's bike?

NO

I might like rothar.ie have a look at her bike and see what it needs to fix up. Thanks for the heads up on that kevlar thingie too.

 

[Space]

Armadillos are overpriced in my opinion. Vittoria randonneurs are the business. I'm on the road all day everyday and haven't had a flat with one on my back tyre since before Christmas.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/vittoria-randonneur-city-tyre

Also Humphreys bikes in Finglas have the best priced tyres in Ireland, well bar cyclone at least.

 

[Lili Marlene]

Right, so my employer is finally getting on board with bike to work (only took them about 500 years). I already have a bicycle so if i'm getting another one it's purely to look cool. Fixies are out (NOT cool).

any suggestions?

 

[rettucs]

http://www.canyon.com/_en/roadbikes/bike.html?b=2126

the canyon aeroad. Possibly the nicest thing I've ever seen.

 

[Lili Marlene]

Does it come in a boring brown colour?

with maybe some kind of dull, basket area for placing books.

 

[Pedronimus]

Halfords sell the Carrera Subway which is probably the cheapest new bike you can get that isn't a piece of dirt. Check it on the website, its not working for me at the moment. I think its going for around €250.

Edit: Here it is.