new bicycle choices

[cutting42]

I plan on riding mainly on the road, so I want a bike which is fast on the road, but which can handle canal towpaths and the like. No requirement for thick mud or jumping tree roots! Ability to take a pannier is an advantage. So I am looking at endurance bikes which can take a 28 to 35 mm tyre and mudguards. Gravel bikes can in general take even bigger tyres I believe.

Which is exactly my spec as well and how I ended up with the Reilly after looking at many styles of bikes and brands as well. I could not find a better value deal that the Reilly once I decided on the Gravel/Adventure style of bike. I still have a full sus mtn bike when I feel the need but I suspect the Reilly will be the most used by far.

 

[clifftaylor]

I bought a brand new Giant Comfort GSR and broke that too.... it's propped up against a shelf in my workshop with a snapped crank (when gently pulling away from a super market car park and not when under any real load such as going up hill etc... strange) and several snapped spokes in the supposedly heavy duty rear wheel...Present road bike is verging on unrideable now due to knackered bottom bracket...

The GSR is a £500 bike, and isn't going to cope well with a bloke of your size.
The crank can be replaced.
Again, at your weight you're probably going to need handbuilt wheels.
Botton brackets are replaceable.

£500 bikes aren't up to much really - although since most manufacturing has been exported to much cheaper places than Europe or the US, I don't see why this is the case.

 

[Rockmeister]

I'm only 6'3" and 16.5 stone, so a bit of a lightweight, but my Giant hybrid is on it's 8th year and third set of tyres without a single problem.

 

[richardg]

I'm ahead of you. 20-odd years ago I bought my MTB, with rigid forks, 26 x 1.9 knobbly tyres, and rode it all over. After 5 years or so I bought susp forks and rode it like that until they wore out. I'm now back on the rigid forks with 1.5 semi-slick tyres and it's my pub/commute/touring bike. Of all my bikes it's the one I would keep, it just works.

looking at my hardtail 29er with fattish wheels and dreaming about rigid forks for it.

 

[richardg]

I think it depends on your definition of "off road" and what percentage of the ride is "off road". I don't own a gravel or cyclocross bike because I wouldn't have the use for it, but if there were lots of bike paths / tow paths / smooth bridleways around I might find use for one. Around here (Boston MA suburbs) it's either pure road, or knarly, rocky, rooty off road, so road bike or mtn bike with minimum front suspension.

If it is called a gravel bike then I think it suggests off-road bias, maybe 60-40? And as you tend to go slower off-road, your time might be 70-30 off / on road? All that time on racer bars seems weird. Just get a hybrid and spend 70% of your day riding with more control.

 

[richardg]

I live in England. As opposed to New England. Bear in mind that it rains continuously here and only stops in order to snow, so everything with less traffic than the M25 turns into an off-road mudfest as soon as it sees a wheel. In addition, the things that pass for roads here would make Kenyan bush tracks look like the I-95. Every few weeks here a cyclist drives into a pothole and is never seen again. You can appreciate the market desire for a fat tyre bike, if for no reason other than the fact that it might not sink so fast when immersed in 3 feet of murky water.

lol, so gravel bikes are actually better for the road in UK..beginning to make sense now!

 

[richardg]

I'm ahead of you. 20-odd years ago I bought my MTB, with rigid forks, 26 x 1.9 knobbly tyres, and rode it all over. After 5 years or so I bought susp forks and rode it like that until they wore out. I'm now back on the rigid forks with 1.5 semi-slick tyres and it's my pub/commute/touring bike. Of all my bikes it's the one I would keep, it just works.

and another thing....do I really need disc brakes? I don't think so.

 

[stevec67]

You can get Kona project 2 forks in 29 for 60 usd or less. Do it. They handle tighter than any susp fork and weigh far less. As for hyd discs, they are indispensable on a mtb in the wet, nice to have on other stuff until they play up. Then they are a PIT A and you will wish you had cables.

 

[richardg]

You can get Kona project 2 forks in 29 for 60 usd or less. Do it. They handle tighter than any susp fork and weigh far less. As for hyd discs, they are indispensable on a mtb in the wet, nice to have on other stuff until they play up. Then they are a PIT A and you will wish you had cables.

good idea. I see some chinese carbon fibre ones on ebay.....

 

[richardg]

...and wonder how it will feel as they crack on a 40mph bumpy downhill trail with some sharp rocky bits

 

[stevec67]

Yes, I'm not sure how confident I'd be about some Chinese ones of unknown provenance either. I was about to say that SQxxx of this parish works for PlanetX who do some great carbon forks, I have a set on my roady. It then occurred to me that carbon accessories are your line of trade so you're probably ahead of me there.

 

[Mr Cat]

I am a big bloke (6'4" and about 19 stone) but I've had these problems with every cycle I've had over many years... just dire reliability. How come I can do 12,000 miles on a motorbike with no problems even though it has thousands of parts but I'm lucky to get 100 mile from any of the cycles I've owned without something going badly wrong....?

I wish they were much more robustly built and don't get this obsession with low mass... what difference can it make to shave of a couple of pounds when the rider is so heavy (yep me more than most!). Something like a mountain bike but with road bike high pressure tyres, stronger spokes and longer cranks than usual would be my ideal machine.

I suspect you're the kind of bloke when going to sit down on a chair / sofa - you'd simply let your bodyweight just fall onto it instead of carefully lowering yourself...

 

[richardg]

Yes, I'm not sure how confident I'd be about some Chinese ones of unknown provenance either. I was about to say that SQxxx of this parish works for PlanetX who do some great carbon forks, I have a set on my roady. It then occurred to me that carbon accessories are your line of trade so you're probably ahead of me there.

We wince at any product that is part of holding the bike together. We sell these exhaust hangers. They don't have to do much, but if the bike hits a bump, the exhausts will want to sway. And some exhausts don't fit that well so people will push the pipe by hand to get the holes to line up, putting stress on the carbon without the bike even moving https://www.rsrmoto-europe.com/collections/supersport-light/products/627 None have cracked but I am wondering whether to stop selling them.

 

[SteveG]

Yes, I'm not sure how confident I'd be about some Chinese ones of unknown provenance either. I was about to say that SQxxx of this parish works for PlanetX who do some great carbon forks, I have a set on my roady. It then occurred to me that carbon accessories are your line of trade so you're probably ahead of me there.

I used to run rigid carbon forks on one of my mountain bikes - Pace RC31's. They were a pretty good choice for non technical riding (towpaths & commuting etc.) as they were very, very light but quite comfortable as they did flex a little bit. I rode some fairly technical trails on them as well and they didn't break (and I'm no lightweight!), however I'm not sure I'd have been so keen if they'd have been no-name jobs (although I do have a set of no-name carbon wheels that seem pretty decent).

 

[SteveG]

You can get Kona project 2 forks in 29 for 60 usd or less. Do it. They handle tighter than any susp fork and weigh far less. As for hyd discs, they are indispensable on a mtb in the wet, nice to have on other stuff until they play up. Then they are a PIT A and you will wish you had cables.

I've had hydro discs on my mountain bikes and commuters for maybe 15 years now and really have had no problems. I can't even recall the last time I had to bleed the brakes - definitely a lot less maintenance necessary than with rim brakes, which really were hopeless on a mountain bike. In winter conditions I've completely worn out a brand news set of V-brake pads by half way through a ride on the Glentress mountain bike trails.

I'm a very recent convert to hydro discs on the road bike so hoping they'll be as reliable as the mountain bike discs were - I'm already completely convinced by the improvement in braking performance.

 

[SteveG]

I am a big bloke (6'4" and about 19 stone) but I've had these problems with every cycle I've had over many years... just dire reliability. How come I can do 12,000 miles on a motorbike with no problems even though it has thousands of parts but I'm lucky to get 100 mile from any of the cycles I've owned without something going badly wrong....?

Common problem with cheapo bikes or, as they're better known, BSO's (bike shaped objects).

I'm on the heavy side and do a lot of mileage, with much of it on technical mountain biking trails in bad weather (for some reason I actually prefer mountain biking in wet & muddy conditions to the dry!) and do certainly wear out components - mainly chains, bottom brackets and rear mech jockey wheels - but have rarely had many actual breakages. I stick to mostly Shimano stuff at Deore/105 level and above and that stuff seems to go on for ever. I've owned by 2001 Specialized Epic since new and have mostly upgraded the drivetrain (and everything else) over the years but there are some bits that just will not die. I have had an XTR front mech ready to fit to it for years, but refuse to do so until the original one (LX I think) actually dies - which it doesn't seem inclined to do.

 

[mikemusic]

Had my Giant TCR 0 since mid 2012.
5000 miles a year.
Have replaced tyres and Crud guards as they are consumables
Full drive mech twice now

Would be trying very hard to break it although if I were 19 stone and rode it badly that would be a lot easier

 

[stevec67]

I've had hydro discs on my mountain bikes and commuters for maybe 15 years now and really have had no problems. I can't even recall the last time I had to bleed the brakes - definitely a lot less maintenance necessary than with rim brakes, which really were hopeless on a mountain bike. In winter conditions I've completely worn out a brand news set of V-brake pads by half way through a ride on the Glentress mountain bike trails.
.

I agree that V brakes are useless on a mtb used in wet conditions, I've written off a set of pads on a wet afternoon . My 2 MTBs with hyd discs were perfect for 5 or 6 years, then they packed up more or less simultaneously. Upon bleeding the fluid was filthy, they wouldnt bleed and soon after they started leaking. New seals needed now. It's like a car, while the fluid os clean and the seals good, happy days. Once it is contaminated, it's a world of pain.

I do certainly wear out components - mainly chains, bottom brackets and rear mech jockey wheels - but have rarely had many actual breakages. I stick to mostly Shimano stuff at Deore/105 level and above and that stuff seems to go on for ever.

Same here.

there are some bits that just will not die. I have had an XTR front mech ready to fit to it for years, but refuse to do so until the original one (LX I think) actually dies - which it doesn't seem inclined to do.

It won't, because it's not really a moving part. It sits there doing nothing till you tell it to move, then it moves once and sits there for a while. The front mech is the only original bit of my bike after 20k miles other than the frame and forks, I've worn out 2 rear wheels, one front, one crankset, several cassettes and chains, one rear mech, nearly 2, either 3 or 4 BB's, all the other bearings several times, replaced canti brakes with V brakes, etc. It's Trigger's Bike. But the front shifter just sits there.

 

[HarryB]

If you weigh as much as a small planet and buy a £500 bike, you can't really complain if it gives up the ghost.

About 20 years ago I paid just over £2,400 for a titanium hard tail with full XTR, nice handmade wheels and good forks. The bike has been up hill and down dale off road and done a few coast to coasts in a day. Thousands of miles on the clock and more shitty weather than I care to remember.

Still looks good as new and aside from a few chains, tyres and brake blocks it's as it was originally.

You get what you pay for.

 

[SteveG]

It won't, because it's not really a moving part. It sits there doing nothing till you tell it to move, then it moves once and sits there for a while. The front mech is the only original bit of my bike after 20k miles other than the frame and forks, I've worn out 2 rear wheels, one front, one crankset, several cassettes and chains, one rear mech, nearly 2, either 3 or 4 BB's, all the other bearings several times, replaced canti brakes with V brakes, etc. It's Trigger's Bike. But the front shifter just sits there.

My Epic is also like that. It was bought new in 2001 when the Epic's first came out and was the base model (LX with a couple of touches of XT if I recall correctly) - I think it might even have come with V-brakes. It now wears full XTR (apart from that front mech of course) with the dual control shifters that didn't really catch-on but which I like (and have on several bikes),various carbon and Ti bits, SID forks (God knows how many sets of forks I've had on it over the years) and some very light American Classic tubeless wheels (that I run with tubes!). Other than that front mech and the frame I think the only other original bit is probably the rear shock - they had a reputation for dying early but mine is still working fine. A little unfashionable now with it's 26" wheels but I still love it and it's quite light for a FS bike, even by modern standards (I think it's around the 23lb mark). Even with me on it is quite fast!