Spec me a Bike

[mikeo01]

Hey all,

Wondering if anyone could give advice. I am currently borrowing a mountain bike (16" frame) to commute to work but obviously looking to get my own. The saddle is as low as it can go and my tip toes still just reach the floor.

I am considering a unisex bike (let me get to that in a bit). Online calculators (Halfords, Evans, etc) all state I should be looking at 16-17" frames, however, embarrassingly they ask for leg length, and my leg length (floor to crotch) isn't even available on the drop down box.

My height is 5' 6" and my leg length is 75cm. Issue is, I am 21 and all the available bikes state 9-12 year olds, or a females frame (coloured in pink I must add).


I am looking for £100 and under (reason looking for mountain bikes), and unfortunately there doesn't seem to be many 16" frames out there, unless I want to pay a whack.


So wondering if anyone has advice? The cheapest frame I can find is 17", or I could look for a unisex bike (as I mentioned). I am also looking on eBay to see if any pop up. But the most I see is 16" frames with 20" wheels, painted with Spider Man or bleeding Barbie.


What do you think? am I really this short?


Mike

[Hoonigan]

Hi,

Why are you looking at mountain bikes to commute? Do you have any need for the suspension/stronger frame/grippier tyres?
I use a complete road bike for my 4.5 mile commute to work, and this includes a dual carriageway and B roads near Ullswater lake.

Unless you have a genuine need for the mountain bike, I'd look at a road bike. I'm 5'8" and use a 53cm frame. My feet don't touch the floor from the saddle, but my feet are clipped into the pedals so that doesn't matter.

Something like this will definitely be small enough, but you should possibly look at a 48-52cm range. - http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bike...bike-46cm#tab2

That bike is Shimano equipped. They are very bottom end Shimano, but they will do the job, and give scope to upgrade it in the future, if you wish. The frame is decent and will allow upgrades.

I know that it's £100 over budget, but you're going to struggle hugely to find ANYTHING for £100, unless you look locally on Facebook for sale pages or possibly on the Bay.

[deFiniLoGy]

Pretty much agree with what Hoonigan said.

Mountain bike is only good for strong gripping tyres and rough roads, but they are a lot heavier to cycle compared with road or racing bikes.

[Hoonigan]

Just to further my advice on the road bike:

I read somewhere a while back about the difference between a road bike with slick tyres and a mountain bike with off road tyres (as most are sold) the required energy to move at a constant speed was, in some cases, almost doubled on the mountain bike.

IIRC - The power on the road bike to do 18mph was 23W and on the mountain bike was 45W.

If you want to get to work faster or less sweaty, the road bike is the better option. Unless, of course, you require any of the extra features that a mountain bike has to offer. But then you may wish to consider a hybrid.

It's all very complicated.

[mikeo01]

Thanks for the advice both it would be nice to get a road bike, however, I don't actually cycle on any roads mainly through parks and on pathways, I wouldn't say the ride is smooth however.

Of course price is a big issue, I also don't want the thing getting stolen, but because my commute time is only short (20-30 minutes one way) I need something that does the job OK (and not fall off ).

Hmm I may have to consider second hand then if £100 is a strict budget

[Hoonigan]

This is extremely low end and will require some maintenance and care to extend the life of the parts. This won't be difficult though, just keep it clean and lubricated.

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bike...-mountain-bike

It's slightly over your budget, but is new. Also comes with the free 6 week service.

[b0redom]

You don't want a mountain bike, and if you do end up with one, you definitely don't want one with suspension at that price.

I would really suggest you want a hybrid bike. It's basically a cross between a road and mountain bike frame, with fatter tyres than you'd get on a road bike. They're designed to be used on tow paths etc.

Go to somewhere like Evans and tell them you want a hybrid and see what they have. Have a go, and then buy something 2nd hand.

Look for something like a Trek 7.0/7.1 or a Specialized Sirrus on eBay. For £100 new, you'll almost certainly end up with a pile of junk that's not going to encourage you to use it.

[Hoonigan]

For £100 new, you'll almost certainly end up with a pile of junk that's not going to encourage you to use it.

My thinking exactly.

Hybrid bike seems like the option to go for, but you'll be hard pressed to find one that will be nice to use for less than £300 new.

[b0redom]

Also, don't forget to budget for a helmet, lights, and a cheap pair of DHB shorts (from wiggle). That will make your journey safer and way more comfortable.

[b0redom]

You will also find that on a better 2nd hand bike, you'll have a better wearing (and performing) groupset (gears, shifters, brakes etc) and tyres (decent tyres cost ~ £30 on their own).

[wasabi]

Why not look at 'teenager' hybrid bikes. Might have to swallow the pride a bit, but if the bike fits...

I've just had the opposite problem. I'm used to humungous adventure tourer motorbikes so I just find regular mountain and hybrid bikes absolutely teensy. And I'm only just over 5ft9 so hardly massive. Finally found an XL frame size one today that feels right (although bars are a bit low - will have to find an adjustable headset).

[wasabi]

My thinking exactly.

Hybrid bike seems like the option to go for, but you'll be hard pressed to find one that will be nice to use for less than £300 new.

Couple of okayish ones on Argos. Better off on Gumtree though and go for used. I just got a £499 RRP bike ((£300 in the sales to be fair) for £130, immaculate too.

[b0redom]

Be a bit careful of Gumtree, seems like the wild west as regards goods of dubious legality.....

[Tumble]

If you want the thing to last more than 5 minutes, the sad truth is that you're going to have to spend in the region £500 to get anything decent. Now, unless you're regularly doing gnarly trails and serious off-road stuff, a real MTB is overkill. What you can get - and there's a few decent steeds in the £500 & under bracket - is a CYCLOCROSS bike. This is essentially a road bike, with MTBish geometry but almost as fast & easy to ride as a full on road bike. Added advantages to a CX machine - usually has disc brakes as standard, comes with knobbly tyres for towpaths, park tracks etc and there's loads of mud clearance. They're usually tough enough to handle some abuse on proper trails too.

Bear in mind though, if you buy something NEW for around £100, the likelyhood is that it'll snap underneath you after a week of normal commuting use - they just aren't built well at that price point.

I spent over a grand each on my 2 bikes, but I'm expecting them to last at least 10 years. My MTB is already 5 years old and it's as good now as it was when I got it. In fact, the bike I got in 1996 for £600 is still here, just needs some cables and it'll be good as new! You really do get what you pay for

[b0redom]

Disk brakes are expensive to maintain though. I've got an oldish Tricross, and whilst it's excellent, it's not really necessary for pootling along parks etc. It's was also significantly more expensive than the entry level hybrid I had before (Trek 7.2 - ~ £300 new).

[Tumble]

discs are no more expensive than rim brakes these days. I can get 4 pairs of pads for mine for £20. Set of pads (front & rear) for the road bike on rim brakes - about the same.