blonde poker forum

Some of you may be aware that I've been trying to lose weight with the other fatties over on the "blonde will make you thin" thread.  I'm pleased with my progress food wise but am unhappy with my progress on the exercise front with this in mind I've decided to buy a bike.

I'm going to get a mountain bike rather than a road bike or hybrid as whilst I will be riding to work (only about 3 miles) I will also be doing some light of road stuff & I don't think a hybrid is very useful. 

A friend of a friend was going to help me build one but don't think he can do it anymore due to work commitments so looking for some second opinions on the bike i've picked out.

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_810649_langId_-1_categoryId_165499?shouldCachePage=true&msg=#tab1

(http://washford.scene7.com/is/image/Washford/266127?$prod$)

Alloy Rims: Yes
Brake Type: Hydraulic Disc
Chainset: SRAM S200 3.0 chainset
Exact Frame Size: 18"
Fork Lock-out : Yes
Fork travel: 120mm
Forks: Suntour XCM-V3 hydraulic damping and lockout
Forks - Adjustable damping : Yes
Frame Colour: Midnight Blue
Frame Material: Aluminium
Frame Size: 19-20
Frame-: Lightweight 7005 T6 aluminium
Front Brake: Clarks SX hydraulic disc brake
Front Mech: Shimano FD-M190
Gear Shifters: SRAM X4 trigger shifters
Gender: Mens
Handle Bars: Alloy oversize riser bars (30mm rise) (31.8mm diameter)
Headset: Semi integrated
Hubs: Alloy with Q/R
Number of Gears: 24
Pedals: Wellgo alloy platform with toe clips
Rear Brake: Clarks SX hydraulic disc brake
Rear Mech: SRAM X4 rear mech
Rims: Double wall alloy rims
Saddle: Carrera
Stem: Ahead aluminium stem
Suspension: Front
Tyre size: 2.1"
Wheel size: 26"
Approximate Weight (KG): 14.7

Now I'm not too worried about the look of the bike, but would really like it to have Hydraulic disc breaks, not sure why but I think they are cool so its enough reason for me.

I'm not sure if we have any bike experts here but thought I would put up this bike and ask for any help you can give me!?

Best Wishes

Chris

It definitely looks like a bike so it probably is one. Good choice.

not sure if this is just a rubbish joke or I've missed something, please can you confirm matthew?

It's an awesome joke.

I have no knowledge of bikes. I was being as helpful as I could be.

my bad, tyvm for your input

To be honest I've been thinking of getting a bike myself but same as yourself I have no idea what's decent.

I might just buy one and accept that I'm probably not getting the best value for money.

Balling out of control...

Think I spent about £300 on a random Trek bike, it was fine. Don't think you need to think too hard about it tbh, just go in a buy one you like the look of.

Sov you live in Leeds?

Try Edinburgh Cycles in Chapel Allerton

Will do mate, only problem is im a salespersons dream and will end up spending a fortune!

Think like Woodsey said, pretty much any bike you get will probably do you, just hard knowing if you are getting the best deal.  Personlly, I'd rather go a proper bike shop but I have no logical reason for doing so as I'm sure there's nothing wrong with Halfords (I buy my shopping at Sainsburys lol)

I quite liked the look of http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=68659&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=Shopping&utm_name=UnitedKingdom but it's another £100 on the price.

Trouble is the more you look, the more confusing it gets and the more you end up spending.  

Just go and buy it imo :)  It has two good reviews and the not so good one sounds like a tool anyway so I'd ignore that one

These boys are great sakesmen too! GLGL

What I would say is that they will not sell you something that isnt right for your needs - They are "pureists" too - you could say that they #lovethegame.

I dont think its too cheap either, but i seem to remeber they might have a good sale on atm (from last time I drove past)

Defo worth checking out. Cheers

If you're going cheap then disc brakes are probably a bad idea

Defo over thinking it. Going to sort it this week i think.

Where do you live?

Just go and pick a nice shiny one mate, that is the only thought required  :D

If your spending £3-400 if will be a decent bike for your purposes regardless.

Somebody else said this, better to invest in a better frame etc?

Are " Clarks SX " hydraulic disc brakes shit?

South west beeston, near the co-op

ok I had a look on the web. Some people like buying new always alway, fair enough. Near me, there's a police auction, basically all of the nicked+recovered/lost/POCA bikes etc end up there, once a month. There are loads of very high end bikes, which often go for 10-20 percent of their retail value, many of them are nearly new. If you have one nearby, it would be worth checking out. http://www.wilsonsauctions.com/police.asp

Apparently the problem with disc brakes is they need to be precisely engineered with little tolerance, cheap ones will just cause you problems and can't be really adjusted like old style brake blocks

That's the extent of what I've been told so no idea what clarks ones are like

Tyvm, defo worth checking out

I don't even think they are particularly necessary anyway tbh.

They look incred tho

Yeah, they do look incred, if you're just going to look at it and never rude it then def get discs

Stop being mean

skype me

Hate the loss of braking thing you get when you get mud and on the wheels, with block brakes. Plus the constant resets if the wheel gets out of shape.

Will be on later mate, just watching the cup posting on my phone

If you don't want knowitall clever twats selling you bikes like the one a chaple alerton then head to crossgates, awesome bike shop there. Non nonsense sales and they offer free guarantees etc..The bikes tend to be middle of the range at decent prices and you can haggle for extra's :)

http://www.leedsbicycle.com/

Front and back suspension > disk brakes imo.

Some good buys on here- chain reaction cycles

Bought a second hand bike that's in superb condition. Really pleased with it.

http://thetristore.com/product/Specialized-Hardrock-Sport-Disc-2012-Charcoal-Black-White/

Ty for all your help

ahem :)

I wanted to thank you personally but haven't been online.

It's just what I was looking for. Cheers mate

nice bike.

Good luck with the weight loss.

Think it needs a service, back break is a bit loose and the chain seems to stick a bit like its missed a gear or not properly in gear. Not sure what's up as nothing seems out of place. Hoping it's just because it's not been used for a while!

Any recommendations for a place to get a bike serviced?

Halfords?

nooooo anywhere but...

don't you have a local bike shop?

Not that I know of. Will do some digging