bicycle question - switching handle bars

[kev0476]

just as i think of it, you will need new housing too. bike shops will charge you huge amounts for all this, i don't know how online retailers prices are. but i would recommend NOT doing this. its more work and money then you want to get into.


On the flip side you could be extremely lucky. did they put to much cable/housing in the front of the bike? i would doubt that they put enough extra on to accommodate the length of the cable/housing to make it fit on a drop down handle bar, but you could be lucky.

I recommend waiting a year, if you are still unhappy, then you will have some more money, and you could buy a decent road bike with drop-handle bars.

 

[drlunanerd]

i don't have bathroom scales. though i'd guess it's about 3x the weight of my macbook which would put it at 7-8KG

If it weighs that little I want to know where you bought it, cos that's bargain of the year for £260 all in with suspension (which at that price is usually rubbish and weighs a ton). In fact I can't believe it if that was a new bike

 

[Super Macho Man]

A light, nimble well handling bike is just as desirable in town. It's got to be configured differently of course but the same holds true. There's a major difference in riding feel for example between a £400 hybrid and a £1000 one.

It depends where you live, sometimes the weight savings of a lighter, more expensive bike is offset by the heavier lock you'll need to keep it from getting stolen. The best bike for the city IMO is a decent entry-level mountain bike that is reliable and mechanically sound but looks like crap. 10 pounds is a lot of extra weight on a bike, but most people probably need the exercise. I always try to park mine next to nicer looking bikes for piece of mind.

I park my bike on the same rack every day, and I see a lot of "regulars" that are there every day. One thing I find interesting though is that whenever I see a nicer bike on the rack - anything that would stand out due to its newness or expense - I see it only once, and never again.

 

[Mord]

If it weighs that little I want to know where you bought it, cos that's bargain of the year for £260 all in with suspension (which at that price is usually rubbish and weighs a ton). In fact I can't believe it if that was a new bike

a bike warehouse arround wembly, most of their bikes are rubbish but if you spend a good time looking and go back once a week and you can get a kick ass bike.

they will all have some rubbish components but if you replace them with some decent ones like a cart bottom bracket ISIS cranks and pedals, a decent disc brake on the front (no point in the back, good V brakes will lock the back wheel in the wet) then you can end up with a decent bike for not that much, i've owned three bikes in my whole life, my current and the one i had before it which i had since i was 11 and a kids size bike. this is my first full alu bike, but the previous one was steel but fairly light.

 

[pseudobrit]

this is a bit OT but can someone tell me what the benefit of bikes that cost over say £200.

Ride 40 miles/day over some nasty climbs and do the occasional 75-100+ miler and see if you notice how ****** a $400 bike becomes. US$1000 is, more or less, the entry price to be comfortable, safe and quick on a nice road bike that you'll be logging serious mileage on. Anything less and you're compromising something that will need replaced very soon.

Of course I'm talking retail new here, as a custom-built-up old school frame can be had for less and be fantastic, but that's another story altogether.

 

[Mord]

i do about 15m/day longest i've ever done was probably about 50m when i cycled to teddington and spent all day their cycleing.

this does not negate the general bike snobbery seeing as 99% of people don't cycle seriously so why be so rude and consider their $500 investment crap? suggesting everyone spend around $800 is ludicrous, it's far better to spend a third of that and get yourself some mechanical experience.

 

[muffinman]

yeah i bike commute about 10 miles to my sat prep class.

i figured that doing a complete makeover on my bike and getting drop bars installed for 200+ wasnot the right thing to do. I think bar ends, the ends that you usually put on mountain bikes. This way, I have more hand positions than the flat bar, and when climbing hills, I have more leverage.

Bar ends cost from 10$ to 70$