Which bike? (sorry I know its been asked a million times b4)
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Which bike? (sorry I know its been asked a million times b4)
Postby darthminogue » Tue Feb 17, 2009 10:41 pm
The bike I had in London wsa a cheap hybrid (approx au$400), which was okay but did need a fair bit of servicing/replacing parts in the one year I was riding. So I've decided to spend a bit more here, but don't know whether to stick to hybrid or go up to 'flat-bar road bike', which I'd never heard of till I came back here.
The bloke at the bike store suggested Giant CRX4 or Kona Dew (both flatbar road bikes), but this was in response to me saying I wanted a bike + accesories for under $1000. If I'm travelling, say, 15km round trip every day, plus occasionally going out and riding, do I need a flat-bar road bike, or would hybrid be fine? I'm happy to service my bike, but would like to have a bit more faith in it that I did in the Kmart-style version I had before, ie I'd like to have less go wrong than that one!
The crux or my question is: should I feel ripped off spending $1000 on a commuter, when I don't care about how it looks, I won't be racing it, I won't be riding with other people - it's just transport - or is that a good, sensible investment?
Thanks.
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Postby Kalgrm » Tue Feb 17, 2009 11:20 pm
Welcome to the forum.
I've shifted your thread across to the appropriate section for these (million or so) questions.
~$1000 sounds like a fair sum to pay for a bike you'll own for many years, will perform reliably during that time and be a pleasure to ride.
Some people would be happy with a hybrid, but few people who get into cycling in any meaningful way would. They may be heavy, not necessarily comfortable and can be slow when compared to bikes which are built for the purpose of riding on roads. (Hybrid = compromise in my book.)
Have a look through the sticky in the "buying a bike" section. See if that helps at all. We made it to help people in your situation.
Cheers,
Graeme
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Postby suff » Wed Feb 18, 2009 3:28 am
Just a thought..
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Postby Boognoss » Wed Feb 18, 2009 9:14 am
I've since blown that out by let's just say a factor of over 10 in a year.
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Postby BikingMarco » Wed Feb 18, 2009 10:08 am
I guess the best person to answer your question is you anyway, if you do a test ride on a road bike and one on a hybrid you will see which one makes you more happy.
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Postby alect » Wed Feb 18, 2009 10:27 am
Care to share which forums?suff wrote:Another option would be too look in the second hand market.. there seems to be some very nice 07/08 hybrids & flat bars selling for sub $1000 (IIRC there was a Cell road bike, with all the accessories for $80 on this forum) and I know of at least two nice FlatBar's being sold on other biking forums, again under $800...
Just a thought..
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Postby alect » Wed Feb 18, 2009 10:35 am
I decided on flat bar road bike over hybrid - mainly because the hybrid doesn't seem to have any advantages over a flat-bar when riding in the city, and the hybrids don't have many fans on here.
I looked at the Giant CRX4 but have decided to go up in spec. Giant gets great reviews. Giant usually has a premium due to the name. Others you may consider are Scott Sportster P, GT Transeo, Shogun Mach. Others were also recommended to me but I haven't found I saw as great value over and above that list.
I am going test riding this weekend hopefully
Good luck with your search.
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Postby Kalgrm » Wed Feb 18, 2009 10:58 am
I disagree - until the recent price hike, Giant were consistently great value for money across their range. So much so that many people wouldn't consider Giant because they were "too common". They are the Toyota of the bike world - reliable, cheap(ish) and everywhere. I don't think you pay a premium for the brand.alect wrote:Giant gets great reviews. Giant usually has a premium due to the name.
Cheers,
Graeme
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Postby senator52 » Wed Feb 18, 2009 11:27 am
+1Kalgrm wrote:I disagree - until the recent price hike, Giant were consistently great value for money across their range. So much so that many people wouldn't consider Giant because they were "too common". They are the Toyota of the bike world - reliable, cheap(ish) and everywhere. I don't think you pay a premium for the brand.alect wrote:Giant gets great reviews. Giant usually has a premium due to the name.
Cheers,
Graeme
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Postby Kalgrm » Wed Feb 18, 2009 11:48 am
That would be true - that was after their price hike took place.m@ wrote:When I was researching bikes late last year/early this year, I really didn't notice Giant's prices being any lower than brands like Trek, Avanti etc - at least in my price range of <$2k.
Cheers,
Graeme
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Postby Z1 » Wed Feb 18, 2009 4:29 pm
if you were going to have one bike to dabble at everything they can work if you could afford two bikes then there is no point which i think is the issue here most members seem to have more than one bike so a hybrid has no use, but they sell really well so they must work well in the right situation.
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Postby darthminogue » Sat Feb 21, 2009 8:59 am
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Postby uncle arthur » Sat Feb 21, 2009 11:00 am
That should be $800 in the For Sale section on here, but that's still quite a lot of bike and kit for the moneysuff wrote:(IIRC there was a Cell road bike, with all the accessories for $80 on this forum) Just a thought..
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Re: Which bike? (sorry I know its been asked a million times b4)
Postby Big Jonny » Tue Apr 14, 2009 11:15 pm
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Re: Which bike? (sorry I know its been asked a million times b4)
Postby im_no_pro » Wed Apr 15, 2009 12:06 am
you sound a lot like a goldcross employeeBig Jonny wrote:Check out the Fuji, Merinda, and Felt, flat bars the Avanti Blade is a great bike and Giants are crap
master6 wrote: Moderators are like Club Handicappers; I often think they are wrong, but I dont want the job.
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Re: Which bike? (sorry I know its been asked a million times b4)
Postby Kalgrm » Wed Apr 15, 2009 12:19 am
BJ,Big Jonny wrote:Check out the Fuji, Merinda, and Felt, flat bars the Avanti Blade is a great bike and Giants are crap
A friendly word of advice on forum etiquette: check the dates of the last post in a thread. If it's been dormant for some time, it's usually best to just let it lie without comment. Darthminogue only made two posts, both of them in this thread. There is every chance he had his question answered 8 weeks ago, has bought the bike and doesn't need any further advice on this particular topic.
To dig up old threads is known as "grave digging" and is generally considered poor form unless you have some wonderful new insight or new information relevant to the thread has surfaced. Yours was only a shallow grave to dig - I've seen some threads exhumed after 18 months, so don't feel too bad. Just consider if the comment you're about to post is actually adding to the knowledge contained in the thread before turning the sod.
Cheers,
Graeme
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Re: Which bike? (sorry I know its been asked a million times b4)
Postby Big Jonny » Thu Apr 16, 2009 11:41 pm
not an employee but a buyer of a new flat bar and i was surprised to find 2 brands felt and fuji that I hadnt seen before.im_no_pro wrote:you sound a lot like a goldcross employeeBig Jonny wrote:Check out the Fuji, Merinda, and Felt, flat bars the Avanti Blade is a great bike and Giants are crap
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Re: Which bike? (sorry I know its been asked a million times b4)
Postby Big Jonny » Thu Apr 16, 2009 11:42 pm
thanks for the advice Graeme, message understood, cheers BJKalgrm wrote:BJ,Big Jonny wrote:Check out the Fuji, Merinda, and Felt, flat bars the Avanti Blade is a great bike and Giants are crap
A friendly word of advice on forum etiquette: check the dates of the last post in a thread. If it's been dormant for some time, it's usually best to just let it lie without comment. Darthminogue only made two posts, both of them in this thread. There is every chance he had his question answered 8 weeks ago, has bought the bike and doesn't need any further advice on this particular topic.
To dig up old threads is known as "grave digging" and is generally considered poor form unless you have some wonderful new insight or new information relevant to the thread has surfaced. Yours was only a shallow grave to dig - I've seen some threads exhumed after 18 months, so don't feel too bad. Just consider if the comment you're about to post is actually adding to the knowledge contained in the thread before turning the sod.
Cheers,
Graeme
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Re: Which bike? (sorry I know its been asked a million times b4)
Postby im_no_pro » Thu May 07, 2009 9:21 pm
Fair enough, there is someone who works (AT) my local GX by the name of Jonny, so made an ASSumptionBig Jonny wrote:not an employee but a buyer of a new flat bar and i was surprised to find 2 brands felt and fuji that I hadnt seen before.im_no_pro wrote:you sound a lot like a goldcross employeeBig Jonny wrote:Check out the Fuji, Merinda, and Felt, flat bars the Avanti Blade is a great bike and Giants are crap
Edit: sorry for gravedigging grame, missed the new post when it was put up
master6 wrote: Moderators are like Club Handicappers; I often think they are wrong, but I dont want the job.
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