£500

Old Man Afterthought wants a new bike to ride to work and back on. He's got £500 burning a hole in his pocket and has asked me what to get. He mentioned hybrids/city bikes, but they seem to be a bit of a rip off to me, one might as well get an MTB and stick skinny tyres on it. Only stipulation is that it must have flat bars and be new. He's 5'11" with a 32 inch inside leg.

Any ideas?

my dad loves his ridgeback nemesis

29er?

29er?

Why oh why?

The extra expense means a lower spec bike for the same price.

Is he going to use this bike off road at all, I mean does he have an off road bike?

I would be tempted to suggest your idea is good, a good quality ATB with hybrid tyres.

Is the total budget including helmet and lights (if he does not have already) £500? Does he have suitable clothing and shoes, if not there is a chunk of the budget gone already.

I would take him down to your biggest local bike store (range wise) and see what draws him, and what he finds feels good.

Then comparison shop for that or something similar.

If it was me, and I am an old fart too, I would want something that keeps me troosers dry and keeps me safe on the dim rides home from the pub.

Cleland?

highlandsflyer":19i9vgrr said:

29er?

Why oh why?

The extra expense means a lower spec bike for the same price.

Click to expand...

I'm not into 29ers at all (short arse) but they seem to be gathering a support from a lot of people who want a more relaxed supple ride.

A 26 with a nice relaxed geometry would be more my choice.

I didn't mean to sound twattish.

Just was thinking they come in a bit more pricey so you won't get the same bang for the buck.

I guess if it was me I would actually get a 29er.

I don't have one so that would be an opportunity.

Depends on the roads but my preference for commuting and work when I was doing it was for the biggest semi slicks I could fit, pumped nice and hard.

Fast on the upright, but plenty there to take the potholes and other things.

I own a hybrid to ride the 7 miles to work (and back again) and i have to say its much, much better that riding an MTB with slicks - 700c wheels are and specific road gearing make a large difference.

If he's never going to take it off road other than the ocasional tow path then get a Hybrid, if he's into MTB then get a MTB.

Why spend £500 on MTB parts which will be over built and pointless for his needs when a fully ridiged, 700c wheeled hybrid will do the job better.......

Tricky one, city bikes and hybrids have improved somewhat though do still have a premium. The mtb slicked is a fairly good idea but consider that gearing and tyres may need to be changed and it could be heavier than need be. There are a few bikes coming out with strumey 3 speeds which are a nice cheaper option than alfines.

I quite like this one

Charge tap is nice too, slightly over budget again though

These take some beating if its mainly road use
http://www.boardmanbikes.com/hybrid/hybrid_comp.html

for something a little chunkier, try the Voodoo Agwa