BIKE THREAD
1 lurker |
200 watchers
Mar 2017
11:15am, 20 Mar 2017
11,050 posts
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jude
I am 5'6" with a longer body and relatively flexible lower back
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Mar 2017
5:04pm, 24 Mar 2017
14,570 posts
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Gooner
After a little bit of advice. I'm looking to start commuting by bike again when the weather picks up after about 5 years out of the game and am stuck on what to do with regards to my bike. Now I don't know much with regards to specifics on bikes but I know that a road bike wouldn't be suitable for the roads I'd be taking, they've got quite bad tarmac for over half of the distance that generally has hazardous material by the kerb and the tyres wouldn't hold up with my 15st frame on them as my car has even lost a couple of tyres in the past few years. I currently have a 6 year old Voodoo Marasa which, whilst it is up to the task, it has seen better days as some of the gears don't select easily and the frame is quite heavy which doesn't help on the numerous hills. The tyres are also a little chunky which doesn't help my rolling resistance on the other side of the hills. My quandry is do I deal with the heavy frame and try getting better/lighter tyres and possibly even wheels or do I bite the bullet and get a boardman hybrid team bike? My commute is a hilly 7.5 miles, I'm a fairly big lad who regularly trains for strength and has a half decent cardio base but the hills have been taking it out of me a bit regardless of the gear I'm in if I want to keep any sort of speed up and know this will take repeated practice to rectify but am wondering if a newer, lighter bike would help my poor thighs so I can stop intruding on my running and weight training quite so much. TIA, G. |
Mar 2017
9:10pm, 24 Mar 2017
161 posts
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Whiskymurray
Your bike may be heavier but will have lower gears is which is more suited than the Boardman for going uphill (I'm assuming the Voodoo has a tripe chainring). On my commute the hills are still hard work even on a lighter bike. For commuting I suspect you would need to replace the stock tyres on the Boardman unless you wanted practice on puncture repairs! Try out your bike for a while with slicks (and maybe a service at your local bike shop). If the commuting works out after a few months, then treat yourself to a shiny new bike!
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Mar 2017
2:28pm, 25 Mar 2017
10,272 posts
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richmac
No reason not to keep the Voodoo. as above, you can easily stick on some full road tyres and perhaps upgrade other bits like the brakes, chain set and mechs. That would save you quite a bit. If you do want a new bike (that's ok BTW) why a Boardman? plenty of other (better) hybrids are out there. |
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Mar 2017
5:06pm, 25 Mar 2017
14,589 posts
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Gooner
Thanks both, I'll find a local bike shop and see what they price up sorting this one out at then. The Boardman was the choice because the reviews were good, apparently it had good gears, lightweight and relatively cheap. |
Mar 2017
6:02pm, 25 Mar 2017
5,336 posts
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Winded
If the roads are bad and you are commuting (traffic/dark - you will hit holes etc) I'd go with something that will take 32mm or wider tyres. Otherwise whatever is comfy and has suitable gears. It is the width of the tyres that would put me off a traditional road bike with your commute. I bike a fair bit and used to commute by bike; if I was still a bike commuter I'd get one of these planetx.co.uk |
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Mar 2017
8:50pm, 25 Mar 2017
14,592 posts
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Gooner
There's no way I could justify spending that much on a bike at this point, though they do look good. Afraid I will never be able to afford something in that price bracket.
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Mar 2017
3:13pm, 26 Mar 2017
5,341 posts
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Winded
If you compare it to other commuting costs it isn't that hard to justify a good bike. They are deceptively complex machines. It doesn't apply to the Boardman you have your eye on (which looks quite nice) but some cheap bikes are horrible. I found this interesting when I first came across it. southcoastbikes.co.uk |
Mar 2017
4:50pm, 26 Mar 2017
13,188 posts
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Yorkshire Pie
And then after thinking commuting is cheap, you discover how quickly it eats through components...
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Mar 2017
5:00pm, 26 Mar 2017
14,599 posts
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Gooner
Nice article and I take the point but the extra 5 hundred pounds over the Boardman would take me until at least next year to save up due to other commitments that I've already made and I need something from May time ideally so maybe one for the future. Given the advice above I think I'll see if I can get the Voodoo that I have into a half decent state for this year and hopefully it'll do the job until I can think about a new bike and then I'll see how the cash is flowing. |
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