I've received some sound advice from folks posting in commuting on bikes to get me to work across road and tracks around 12 miles, and have spent a lunchtime looking in a couple of LBS's.

I looked at a few hybrids but found the 700 wheeled beasts too high and thin feeling for a coward like me. The bike that seemed best in terms of 26 semi-slicks, mudguards and a reasonably upright postion was a Falcon Adventurer. This was cheap (£159) with a lifetime guarantee on the Hi-ten steel frame but only had 18 gears and I wasn't sure whether I'd be making a false economy. Any experiences with Falcon?

The alternative is to buy a budget zero suspension mountain bike and kit it out with guards and semi-slicks. I'm looking at £250 max, which encompassed the Giant Boulder Sports easily and the Claud Butler Ravanna, which comes with a lifetime guaranteed Alu frame for only £229. I've found few reviews of either of these bikes and would appreciate any feedback or alternative suggestions.

If a bike with no rear suspension is a hard-tail, is a bike lacking seat suspension a hard-butt?

Thanks Richard :confused:

Hi there Latakiahaz and welcome to the forums

The best advice I can give to a fellow Kentish person, is to spend as much money as you can afford on a bike. Normally it's best to get a good frame so that you can upgrade on the cheaper components.

At the price range you're looking at, this is the best time to buy a bike....I'd say avoid full suspension at this price, and maybe go for the Claude Butler.

Good luck with your choice.

Rich *Based in Tonbridge :thumbup:*

Claude Butler/Falcon etc are all owned by Madison Cycles. They are Taiwanese frames from the same factory.

Beware with low-end bikes that Hi ten is the lowest grade of steel. Hi Ten tubes are thicker and heavier than a quality steel (eg Chromoly) or Aluminium. Butted tubes may be beyond your budget, but are even lighter, and stronger. One thing to avoid at all costs is cheap bikes with over-sized fat steel tubes. These weigh a ton, handle like dogs, and are just made to look cool.
Also low-end frames often save money by skimping on the alignment process. Both wheels should face in the same direction and be vertical in the frame. On my girfriends cheapo bike, the wheels are so out of alignment, you can see.

The good news with low-end bikes is that the components are better than bike-snobs would like to admit. Not as light as more expensive components, but quite up to the task.

I'll have a look around the manufacturers (Dawes/Raleigh) etc for any good bargains, but the most outstanding low-end bikes I have ever seen are made by Flanders, and stocked by Ken Apps of Hastings. About £200 for an MTB with butted Al frame, chromoly forks, decent wheels and fully threaded frame. Wayne Clarke, the bike shop owner is also a professional wheel-builder and will tune the spokes. This is really important in turning an OK wheel into a truely good wheel.

Thanks

I'd assumed most of the budget MTB's would have frames made abroad, I think the Giant's are made in China - the Claud Butler claim of handbuilt in Britain apparantly means assembled.

Do Dawes or Raleigh produce the frames over here? Are the frames any better?

I hoped to buy the bike from one of the local bike shops so brand is probably going to be partly affected by what's available, but I'll take a look.

Thanks again Richard.

Both Dawes and Raleigh only produce good frames. The low-end ones use cheaper materials, but the alighnment and finishing is of good quality.

It seems that the difference between a £125 bike and a £250 bike is pretty huge, and well worth the extra money.

Would you ever consider going second hand Rich?

At the price you're looking to spend, it might be better. MBUK have a section at the back solely for this purpose. If you see something you like, it's always a good idea to make sure you can look at it, or you're close enough to get to it.

£250.00 should be enough money to get you something fairly well specced and a decent frame. Again, at this price, avoid full suspension.

If 2nd hand isn't for you, then Michael's advice of either a Raleigh Dawes or the Flanders could be a good option.

Let us know how you get on!

Rich

Raleigh or Dawes best choice, or if you can get a second hand handbuilt (look in Cycling +)

Thanks for all the advice. I out checked the local shops and had a word with a few of the cyclits at work to see which they recommended.

I ended up getting an aluminium framed Giant boulder, upgrading the tires to vredestin semi-slick spiders, adding guards, lights, a rear rack and a little cycle computer that tells me I'm doing little more than my walking pace... I got a good deal on the bike and It should do me toget started on at least.

The one think I forgot was a pair of training wheels....

Richard

No training wheels!!! You're an animal!! Psychotic!! Deranged!!