Right

Just a quick one as I know there are a fair few people on this forum that know their stuff when it comes to bikes (cue smutty Lolita comments ).

Myself and 4 others have decided to do the Land's End to John O'Groats cycle in aid of Macmillan Cancer Research in April next year. Don't worry, I'm not after your money! That will come later

Basically, I am training on a crappy mountain bike at the moment and am starting to get my distances up. I think it has come to the time now though to start looking for the bike I am going to do the ride on. I was thinking of something like a hybrid bike as parts of the ride might end up on bridleways and a road bike wouldn't last two minutes on rough ground. Also, while looking at hybrid bikes, I have never seen any with disc brakes. Is this unnecessary on a hybrid? As I have ridden mountain bikes in the past with them and preferred them.

Any words of wisdom for my cycle purchase. I am kind of on a shoestring budget, but could do with something that is light/comfortable and will have a hope in hell of completing the 940mile journey!

P

I'd do it in your car if I were you mate, challenge being just 2 tanks of fuel....

if your on a tight budget i suggest you look at secondhand. as bikes (unless its something partic special) tend not to hold their value.

also due to the distance go for as lighter frame as you can as handlebars wheels etc are easily changed to reduce weight. eg i have a 7 year old claud butler rock i bought for £30 a further £125 on handlears, seatpost, stem and saddle has dropped a nice 1.5kg off the weight (might not seem much but on a long ride it is very noticeable).

what id do personally is get a secondhand hardtail mountain bike with v brakes (disc arent really necessary for road or light off road use imo) and fit some hybrid tyres. then get your own saddle you are comfortable with and id also suggest looking at some cheap carbon handlebars (ive found thm better for vibration).

hen can go from there. good place to start is the classifieds section of your local paper as can get some really good deals.


hope that helps

It's the old light / strong / cheap problem. You can choose 2 but the other will be the opposite.

light + strong = expencive
light + cheap = weak
strong + cheap = heavy.

I'd be looking at a high-spec hardtail fitted with 'slick' tyres. Yes a real hybrid or road bike will be faster on road but a decent 2nd hand hardtail should be upto the bridleway use and you could get it with discs - however good Vees can be as good as budget to mid level discs.

Try orange/specialized as a level for the bike. Full aluminium alloy frames and probably XT components for the strenght/weight.

sounds obvious but get a really good, comfortable saddle.

fiatdrivingfan said:

sounds obvious but get a really good, comfortable saddle.

Click to expand...

One that is 'man bits friendly' - no I'm not joking.

Hellcat said:

It's the old light / strong / cheap problem. You can choose 2 but the other will be the opposite.

light + strong = expencive
light + cheap = weak
strong + cheap = heavy.

I'd be looking at a high-spec hardtail fitted with 'slick' tyres. Yes a real hybrid or road bike will be faster on road but a decent 2nd hand hardtail should be upto the bridleway use and you could get it with discs - however good Vees can be as good as budget to mid level discs.

Try orange/specialized as a level for the bike. Full aluminium alloy frames and probably XT components for the strenght/weight.

Click to expand...

agreed,you can always tweak the stem/handlebar combo if you want a more upright position
also check if your employer is part of cycle2work

Hellcat said:

One that is 'man bits friendly' - no I'm not joking.

Click to expand...

:yeahthat:

hard enough to actually upport you like but soft enough that an awkward impact doesnt break anything.


and some you expect to be really comfy arent but then some that look uncomfortable are actually quite comfy. i had a solid plastic ruption saddle that was surprisingly comfortable., yet my padded downhill saddle gives really bad pains after about 2 hours of riding.