What bike

[chml]

Afternoon all, not sure if this is the done thing in PP but I need some advise. I've a Chain Reaction store near me in Belfast - I'm looking for a bike (obvs!) but don't know what type. I'll be using it for a bit of road cycling and perhaps around a couple of cycle tracks in the local area. I don't want to spend mega money but am happy to be flexible with the budget for the right bike. Does anybody have any suggestions/recommendations please?

Thanks
Mike

[Harpoon]

[quote=chmlI'll be using it for a bit of road cycling and perhaps around a couple of cycle tracks in the local area.
[/quote]

What sort of cycle tracks? Hard pack gravel / dirt?

If so, have a look at the current (trendy) category of gravel / adventure bikes which are designed to be good on the road but still handle gravel roads. CRC have a useful guide with some options they sell at the bottom:

http://hub.chainreactioncycles.com/buying-guides/b...

[chml]

Harpoon said:

What sort of cycle tracks? Hard pack gravel / dirt?

If so, have a look at the current (trendy) category of gravel / adventure bikes which are designed to be good on the road but still handle gravel roads. CRC have a useful guide with some options they sell at the bottom:

http://hub.chainreactioncycles.com/buying-guides/b...

Cheers, I'm not sure of the make up of the local tracks but I'll do some reading on that link as it seems comprehensive! Thanks

[Blink982]

I have a Cannondale Topstone 105 for a general do-it-all bike and I have changed the tyres (and wheels) for Schwalbe G-One as a more general road tyre which is a lot better on the road than the WTBs it originally came with. I was going to build up a Kinesis Tripster but eventually found the Topstone 105 in stock. There are models with various groupsets to suit all budgets. Last year's models were Sora, 105 and Apex but the 2020 models have more groupset options. I also looked at the Specialized Diverge but was put off by the relatively poor spec but it did fit and felt like a decent machine. Halfords do the ADV range which occasionally do drop in price, it's just a case of waiting. I didn't fancy the ADV as they didn't have through axles and the cables are externally routed but it looks a great bike and can be had for 800 quid now and again. Other options I looked at were Sonder Camino AL, Rondo Ruut AL and Pinnacle Arkose. The new Arkose models at Evans look decent and extremely good value and had I not bagged the Topstone I might have went for the Arkose but they took an age to appear in stores but I did find that nearly every bike I looked at was out of stock at some point.

[chml]

Cheers Blink, I'm hoping to get down to Chain Reaction today or tomorrow to have a quick gander at some of them

[louiebaby]

From what you've said, I would have thought that the Cyclo-cross / Gravel / Adventure bike category is where you might find the best fit.

I have a Pinnacle Arkose with an Alfine hub, which has high capacity road tyres, guards and a rack. I use it for commuting on the road, but that includes lots of rural Devon lanes. It has handled it all very well.

Tyre choice can be very important, and there is someone on PH that has a road biased bike with a set of wheels built on the same hubs but with gravel tyres. It takes him about 5 minutes to completely convert the bike!

[dhutch]

Yeah, depends on the tracks.

I have a pov-spec specialised hardrock which I have been using for that for the last ten years or so, the front forks have packed up because they where cheap tat, but otherwise as a £300 jack of all trades master of none it is fine for getting about town including cutting through gravel areas and bumping the odd curb.

Mainly a mountain biker and I have a nice hardtail and a full suss all mountain bike as well.


Daniel

[chml]

Cheers all, just a gravel type track, I will mainly be using it for the local routes and also around the local country parks etc so nothing out of the ordinary I wouldn't imagine.