What type of bike should I buy?
 

Here are some pictures of the paths that I tend to ride my bike on:

http://thecoastalpath.files.wordpres...2/img_3252.jpg

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=309750

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=309751

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=309752

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=309753

(The first picture is the best one. Unfortunately, it's too big to display in the post).

As you can see, the paths are covered in gravel but they are flat so I don't need to worry about hills or anything like that. Also, puddles form in the winter.

What type of bike would be best suited for this? Feel free to post links.

P.S: I would really like to get something like this, but I don't think it would handle the path that well given that it's a road bike. Can someone confirm this?

If you want something like a road bike, I'd recommend either a cyclocross bike or touring bike as both of these allow wider tires. I think you'd have no problem on tires 35mm or wider.

A hybrid or mountain bike would work fine here too.

I do agree that I wouldn't want to ride a skinny tired road bike on that (I've ridden 28mm tires on similar surfaces and wasn't pleased).

Hi,

Anything that will take fat tyres and full mudguards is good.

At the budget end of the market getting the right sort of
bike is crucial, and I'd always additionally budget for some
decent puncture resistant quality tyres over the very basic
budget tyres that come with nearly all budget bikes.

That bike looks nice but would horrible IMO for what you
want to do, you need something much more basically
functional and solid at that sort of price.

Something like this :

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Produc...uctInformation

Yes, heavy and basic, and not all all sexy, fitted with the widest
decent tyres that will fit, would be a lot better. Weight is not
really an issue at all unless your into sprinting and hill climbing.

For a cheap bike the adjustability of the front for fit is very good.
The 1.75" (47mm) tyres it comes with run at the right pressures
are far better for gravel paths than any skinny racing rubber.

rgds, sreten.

I don't have an answer for you, but I do have some things to think about.

1. Go out to the trails you think you are going to ride on and take a look at what the other riders are using. If everybody is riding bikes that have big, wide tires, you'll probably want something with big, wide tires too. If lots of people seem to be getting along with narrower tires, you'll probably be OK with narrower tires too. I live about 2 miles from a popular crushed limestone trail so I ride on it quite a bit. It's easy to over state what you need to ride a crushed limestone trail. 28mm to 32mm wide tires would be my first choice.

2. The purpose of your first bike is to help you figure out what you want when you buy your second bike. Buy what you think that you want and ride the hell out of it. You may find that your choice for a second bike to be completely different from what you are thinking now. There's lots of choices so that's part of what makes it fun.

Old French gaspipe from the Boom era, outfitted with cyclocross tires. Great ride, absorbs all the bumps. And cheap too!
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a3...D720/ry%3D480/
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a3...D720/ry%3D480/

grrr, for some reason I wrote out a huge post and the forum seemed to crash. Let's try again!

That's what I was worried about. I've got my eye on some road bikes, but it wouldn't be feasible for me to ride them which is a shame.

I saw this bike on the Argos ebay store. I thought it was very nice!

I'm currently seeing if anyone is selling a used bike near me on ebay. That way I can get a £200 bike for around £100. Bargain! However, if all the bikes for sale near me in the next few weeks turn out to be really cheap ones (worse than my current bike) I might get the bike you posted instead.

Everyone else rides really cheap mountain bikes (like mine). I don't think they care too much about what they're riding. Having said that, i'm usually alone up there. It's really good since I can take sandwiches up there and eat them whilst watching the sea (ahh).

I currently have a mountain bike which is really cheap. I don't really want to get a mountain bike again since i'm not riding up hills or anything. I think the heavier frame and different gearing would be slightly redundant.

Of course, i'm not writing mountain bikes out of the picture entirely. If one came highly recommended, i'd consider that one too. On that note, there are some mountain bikes for sale near me:

A giant anthem 4.0 2012 one and a Scott scale 20.

Both of these bikes are far too expensive for me to get, but I have a few questions about them:

1). Are they worth the starting bid prices?
2). Why would these mountain bikes be better than my current cheap one?

For the second question, I was wondering if all the advantages of these expensive mountain bikes are mainly for riding up hills or going along really muddy trails. Since I won't be doing that, they'd be a little overkill for what I want a new bike for.

Can I ask how cheap?

That's a wonderful looking bike. I have one near me that's a bit similar, a merida lite 93.

Once again, it's waaay more than I can afford. However, between these and the mountain bikes, i'd rather get this one.

Its so flat, a traditional 3 speed would be fine.. 1 for cruising, the high for tailwinds, the low for headwinds.

A cyclocross bike or touring bike would be ideal - they are capable of fitting fat enough tires for riding all but the softest surfaces, and can usually fit fenders. The most important thing is that the bike you get fits you properly. If it is not a good fit it doesn't matter what type of bike you get because it will be more difficult and less comfortable to ride.

I paid $100 for the bike. And another $100 for the tires. Wheels were swapped as well, so figure another $100 for a classic set of sew-up wheels. So $300.

My bike is a Jeunet. An old Peugeot UO-8 would work well. A Gitane Grand Sport deluxe is of the same caliber and available inexpensively. Just about any Bike Boom bike will have the relaxed geometry and wheel clearance necessary for larger tires.

Nice thing is i can swap out wheels with something narrower and have a racier type ride. Or put some fat clinchers on and a rack and have a touring bike. Very versatile bikes. And used wheels of various types are readily available. Heck you can pick up several bikes of this era and build one good one for a small fraction of what a new bike costs.

This is the first bike that popped up on ebay when I searched on "vintage" under road bikes.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-FALC...item4d0b4c7a69
It would be a great starting point for such a bike.

Here ya go.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-Ca...item43bac7b89a
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Raleigh-Fa...item3f23c78c09
Whoa, really cool
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1960s-vint...item19daf3326d

How do I recognise these types of bikes? I'm not really sure what "relaxed geometry" actually looks like.

Would every road bike from the 60s or 70s be like this?

That's what i'd really want! I'd really like a bike I can keep for 20 years or so. In that time i'll probably be switching from a road bike to a touring bike and back again, so i'd like to be able to switch between the two quickly.

I'll keep an eye out for some vintage bikes in my area. Although those ones are ideal, they're a little too far away. I'd like to sit on them and check the fit before I buy them.

EDIT: This bike is near me:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/single-spe...d=467401128134

Could I change the tyres to cyclocross and turn it into what you have?

I was curious about that after watching Paris-Roubaix, those guys were on 25mm :twitchy:I was like "Wow, I wonder what it would be like to ride that for a clyde like me".

When it's time to get a nice road bike i wouldn't want to be limited to just smooth roads TC, I'd definitely be looking for a cross bike.

^ Very little clearance there, the widest tires a bike like that will take are 28-30mm, cross bikes start out with about 32mm or about 1.25''. You should try slicks in the 1.5''-1.75'' range on your MTB and see how you like it. (As long as it's not a 40lb hunk of junk)

if you're looking for a single speed/fixed gear that can handle offroad, the Motobecane Fantom Cross Uno is a decent choice once you put on fat tires. the components are meh but the frame is nice.

an old mountain bike will also do the job well

Fumbles22​, if you are riding around Canvey Island a trip to London SE17 shouldn't be too difficult. Go and have a look at re-cycling. They recondition thousands of bikes, many of them vintage, and sell them at reasonable prices. Obviously the stock they have at any one time depends on what they have had donated, but I'd be very surprised if with a little bit of patience you couldn't pick up a classic touring bike, with clearances for mudguards and 32mm tyres, pretty cheaply.

Hi,

What bike do you currently have ? fitted with what tyres ?

A well used bike can get very expensive replacing worn parts.

On a budget go for bought new and hardly used (and probably
poorly set up) or steer well clear, building up a nice classic
road bike is not a budget endeavour, retro bits are not cheap.

These tyres might do the job on your MTB :
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/M...x?ModelID=8547
Pump them up hard for Tarmac, less for paths, run
the front at a little less pressure than the rear.

rgds, sreten.

If that's the only place you're expecting to ride your bike then anything from a mountain bike to a cyclocross bike to a touring bike would do it.

I've ridden my cyclocross bike on paths with coarser gravel than that using 32mm tyres. It does the job but the ride is a bit harsh - on the cross bike I'll be maxing out about 12-13mph whereas on the mountain bike (with a suspension fork) it's not uncommon for me to be doing 18-20mph if the path is clear (it's shared, so if there are pedestrians with children, dogs etc I don't go that fast).

If you want comfort go for something with fatter tyres; if you want speed on tarmac go for thinner tyres. If you want to ride exclusively on paths like those maybe a hybrid with a bit of suspension? Perhaps something like one of these:

http://www.specialized.com/gb/gb/bik...use/crosstrail

Hi,

Also note that whilst flat terrain might suggest a single gear,
riding into a 20 mph headwind, or with a 20mph tailwind will
soon convince you one gear is not remotely good enough.

rgds,sreten.

Hi,

Its generally true fatter tyres are faster on tarmac with lower
rolling resistance than thinner tyres at optimum pressures.

Only if you are a real speed merchant, very fast, does the
aero advantage of thin tyres really come into the equation.

rgds, sreten.

Only a handful ran 25s. Most were on 27s. Remainder rode on 28-30s.

I for one, really enjoy taking my road bike offroad. Some smoother mountain bike trails are rideable if I'm careful over the bumps and drops. If I were choosing the ideal mount for Fumble's trails, I'd probably go with a road bike, cx, or hybrid that has room for a 32.

This thread has prompted me to check to see if a hybrid tire (claiming to be a 32) would fit on my steel framed road bike, and it does! About 3-4 mm to spare under the brakes. Really surprised. No room for muck or fenders, though.