Money to spend

Afternoon all,

This is not a retro question but there are enough RBers with the knowledge i need to advise me. My friend wants to buy a bike and has around £400 to spend. He is about 5'10'' tall and around 16.5stone in weight - he is not carrying any fat!!! He played rugby and has recently retired. As part of his rugby training he used a MtB and he now wants a bike to keep his fitness up. I have talked with him about his needs and he really wants a MtB but then he said he could put road tyres on it - i suggested a hybrid but he was not keen on this idea.

His options are many, a new cheap bike £120, a new hybrid £230 ish, MtB - new cheap, new dear, old - numerous options and numerous prices.

What do you think? He does not want a road bike as i think it is too uncomfortable for him and he is a big lump of muscle!!!!

All advice is appreciated.

Enjoy the rugby!!!!

Richard

The cheaper the bike, the quicker he'll wreck it. All that power going through cheap components and rubbish wheels is not a good idea. I am amazed at the level of this bike for only £300.
http://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-3-roa ... 67038.html
I know it has curly bars but, still a good buy.

Other than that a good old strong MTB with thin, slick tyres and a cassette with close, road going ratios and possible larger chainrings too.

Thanks for that, now a slightly harder question - new or used? Could a MtB be bought new with road wheels and cassette or would these be extras?

The wheels would need to be the standard 26" size, just make sure the rims aren't too wide. Fit some nice narrow slicks and pump 'em up good and hard. The cassette would probably be an extra. If the roads are not too hilly, 12-23 or even 12-21 would be good and in 8 or 9 speed would mean the jumps between gears are not too big. If he spins out, go for bigger chainrings.

I suppose that is a good thing about hybrids, they don't seem to command a very high second hand price so there are some bargains around.

thanks for that, it has given me something to think about.

Richard

Richard

You are always better off in the used market because, like an automobile, bikes lose significant value once they leave the showroom floor. Plus with your expertise you will be able to identify a quality used model for your mate. Actually I have made a sort of cottage industry out of buying up the gear that other cyclists no longer want because they are after new gear. I would look at 2 to 3 year old models as that seems to be where they get really cheap.

When I was in college I had an MTB with two sets of wheels, one for off road and one for road. As long as the cassettes are similar and the rim width is the same then switching takes only a few seconds.

Steven