Help me choose a bike

I'd rather buy european, but there's less at the lower end european wise.

Ed, other x-bikes to look for are things like Fort or Kinesis Maxlights, they come frame & fork only and are at the cheaper end. Dead popular though. Bianchi do one a nice one for quite a few more quid, but it depends on how you feel about the famous Celeste green paintwork. The Planet-X Kaffenback (er, as in cafe-and-back) is quite a decent steel frame, but has clearance issues at the back. More of a winter training bike than strictly a cross thing.

ed, is anyone coming to visit you from the states? my dad carried over a bike in a box for me as his luggage a couple summers ago, and wasn't stopped or asked any questions. i guess it was because he's got a US passport and was just visiting? dunno, i've never had my stuff looked at on the way in here, actually.

mark, glad to be helpful, don't forget to email me if you want me to bring anything back for you or sarah...i seem to remember promising something (a cheap seat? something else?) but can't quite remember what...

Eddy Merckx has something called an Alu cross, and i have always always since seeing a whole shop full of merckx bikes wanted an Eddy Merckx

Colette, I think you promised me some pedals - something for everyday use, as I eventually did buy the bike with SPD pedals fitted and I'm still not yet sure if I want to keep them. Thanks again :)

Yep, you have to factor in atmospheric conditions when you're travelling those sorts of speeds. 'Slippery air' is where it's at. ;o)

Dunno much about Merckx bikes. The Belgians know their stuff though. If you're looking at posh ones, Pinarello and Pegoretti definitely do cross-frames, probably De Rosa too. They'd be my choice if I was absolutely loaded, might be overkill for what you're after though! Hunter pops up on ILM bike threads sometimes and needs to see this, cos he's probably the best guy to give you sensible advice.

Ed, did some digging... this article is probably more helpful than me spouting hearsay out of my arse.

More likely candidates = brake cable rusted inside outer sleeve or the pivot bolt/springs are rusted/siezed. I'd check that first.

http://www.raleighusa.com/images/items/cross/full/2005/05-Ral_C30-Blue_White-f.jpg

I know squat-all about bikes, except that I ride this one every day. I'd recommend it, except that I don't know if I could do better.

(I'm sued to a steel frame - should I be scared now that I've got an aluminium one?)

Tubes on alu bikes have a larger diameter because the tube walls are made a lot thinner (and hence lighter). You need a larger tube to get the same strength.

here's my sweetness:

http://photos8.flickr.com/9487826_bb5609958e.jpg

The Kona's alright, but cyclocross rockists everywhere beg you to forego putting a triple on a cyclocross frame. It's too sad.

i have one brake on the front wheel.

I thought the correct answer was "brakes just slow you down"?

I don't know that the site's still feeding, but the video below will whet your appetite for some city riding, Ed.
http://www.digave.com/videos/red-web.mpg

Nick, you were all up for campag, pashmina says no. What should i do?

Pain from broken bones, in descending order of pain:

Ribs (mtn bike crash)
fingers (hand into front wheel road race crash)
femur (mtn bike crash)
upper arm (fell down stairs as a kid)
toes (drunk)
wrist and ankle stuff (assorted)
collarbone (flag football collision)

I sound really fragile, the good thing is 1) none of these had much displacement except collarbone 2) I heal really fast. So far.

Anyway, not a good subject to dwell on! I had to help some guy pick up the pieces of his bike out of the road last night on my way home. Didn't actually see it happen but I know he was only a couple of hundred yards down the road from me. He was going down a cycle lane and someone pulled a left right across him. His front wheel was a taco and he was rips, cuts and bruises all down one side, looked like he'd been through a chipper. In total shock too, poor bloke.

All my bike accidents have been like this, all of the offending vehicles have been taxis.

Doesnt it *always* start raining when you get a new bike?

the barrel adjuster is already at it's slackest. I could reset the cable tension from scratch I suppose.

My experience with alignment probs agrees with this, it's almost always the hanger rather than the mech that's the problem.

OK, so when you're out practicing your victory antics, don't do this:

http://www.blennus.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=443&Itemid=

Me and Emma want to get some hybrid bikes; no off-road stuff, but mainly used for jaunts in countryside and occasional zipping about town.

We're looking at (in no order of preference):

- Kona (Smoke or Dew)
- Saracen
- Marin (Kentfield)

Notice that Raleighs and Giant seem to be much cheaper - are they any good? Is the low price because they're not seen as cool and groovy, or because they're not as good?

Main criteria - price (obv - given cost of all the other stuff needed like locks and helmet etc, no more than 300 quid for the bike, and obv, lower the better)

Lightness - we'll have to carry them up two flights of stairs with every use, so this is a factor.

We've been told that we should be aware of the quality of components; I'm all in favour of getting good stuff, but given the anticipated use (once/twice a week to be realistic), is there any need to spend more on super-duper compnents when pretty standard components will last a fair few years and be 50 quid cheaper?

We think we don't want suspension on forks or seats or anything like that. It seems to be a view supported by this thread in the main.

http://www.discountbicycles.co.uk/biz/product.php?xProd=1336

http://www.discountbicycles.co.uk/biz/product.php?xProd=2003

For a Hybrid I would go with one that has 700c (road style) wheels rather than 26" (mountain style), either will work on both surfaces of course depending on tyre, but it sounds like your going to be on road more so you do better with 700c, less effort required for a given speed.

By countryside, Dave, do you mean country lanes or off-road?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=2904&item=7168100549&rd=1&ssPageName=WD2V

I know pretty much nothing about bikes except that I would again like to own one after a few years without. Also, I hate to shop, so narrowed options will be very useful.

Here's the kind of riding I would be doing:

So, my riding:

*mostly pavement, maybe smooth trails once in a while. Mostly urban riding in downtown Washington, D.C.
*primarily errands and leisurely recreational rides--certainly not more that ten miles or so at a time.

What is most important to me:

*COMFORT! I don't want to go particularly fast or careen down rocky mountain paths, I just want to be comfy for my fairly short, start-and-stop rides. Good agility would seem to be important for urban riding, no?
*Something not too heavy would be nice, as I'll have to lug the thing up stairs and onto bus racks and down to the metro on occasion.
*Price. I'm pretty clueless about what it would cost to get something I'd love, but I'm not willing to go to four figures, that's for sure!

So, do I just walk into a bike shop and say "I want a comfort bike"? Or, "I want a hybrid" (do I?)? I'm pretty sure that I don't need either a mountain or a road bike. Now that I think about it, what is the difference between a comfort and a hybrid?

Thanks for any guidance you can offer. From the discussion above, it is clear that many ILXors can give good advice.

i had one of these in high school back when i used to live within riding distance of trails:
http://www.bayviewcycle.com/Bikes_Images/Trek2004/4900_Blk.jpg

i was thinking about bringing it back to nyc when i go home in a week, but this cost $500+ when i first got it and I put in another $100.. would it be crazy to leave this thing on the street? even if i put electrical tape or something around the body? it's a heavy-duty motherfucker, too. maybe a road bike would be better here.

2) i had a U-lock on the bike that got stolen. it's probably that my dumb-ass friend got drunk and left it unlocked, but would you have a bike in the city with just a u-lock? if not...

3) investing in a kryptonite bike chain? i guess you can get a used one for $50, but how much does it cost for a THICK chain and a BIG lock? is that feasible? i feel like i never see people with those.

4) i found a road bike in queens for $30. all it's missing are the brakes. can i just convert that into a fixed gear and skip the brakes if i get proper cogs for the pedals etc? (my bike dork friend let me ride his-- nice). even if it's not my main bike, it would be cool to have one around.

one word responses are acceptable.

Don't ride a suspension mountain bike in town, the fixie idea is sound but put a front brake on, they don't cost much and it at least gives you the option not to fixed gear skid into the side of a truck.

that way you can fly head over heels into the truck instead

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/images/dropf-camp.gif

Then you can do it.