What bike?

[Topref]

I'm looking for a gents bike but due to some back discomfort, I need the
riding position to be more vertical than the norm. I don't know if I'm
making sense or not but before we venture down to local cycle shops, can you
advise on makes and maybe models that I should look for? The budget is
around £300 or he may be able to stretch to £350. The rider is 6 ft tall if
that's any help.
Is there anything that we should look for - disc brakes, gearing etc.

Any help would be appreciated.

[Duncan Smith]

On Oct 11, 4:40 pm, "Topref" > wrote:
> I'm looking for a gents bike but due to some back discomfort, I need the
> riding position to be more vertical than the norm. I don't know if I'm
> making sense or not but before we venture down to local cycle shops, can you
> advise on makes and maybe models that I should look for? The budget is
> around £300 or he may be able to stretch to £350. The rider is 6 ft tall if
> that's any help.
> Is there anything that we should look for - disc brakes, gearing etc.
>
> Any help would be appreciated.

The bars will naturally have the biggest impact on the riding
position. Plenty of touring or hybrid bikes are sold with flat bars
(as opposed to drops) which will be more upright, but you could always
consider changing the bar after you've bought the bike.

Raleigh 'North Road' bars are very upright
http://www.freemanscycles.co.uk/product2.asp?product_id=1139&pname=North

As is the On One 'Mary'
http://www.on-one.co.uk/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=6
http://www.on-one.co.uk/oldsite/products/marypics.html

Also Nitto do a moustache bar, see www.hubjub.co.uk

Don't forget to check the stem clamp size and bar diameter for the
controls. The clamp will probably be 25.4 or 26mm (but you can always
get a shim to fit a 25.4 into a 26 clamp). The bar diameter will
either be 22.2 for MTB style controls (brakes and gears) or ~23.8 for
road-style controls.

I'm coming round to thinking that a 22.2 upright bar is better than
drops (for commuting) - cause you have a choice of better controls
(esp. brakes) and a more comfortable riding posittion - although drops
do still look the best.

HTH,

Duncan

[Nigel Cliffe]

Topref wrote:
> I'm looking for a gents bike but due to some back discomfort, I need
> the riding position to be more vertical than the norm. I don't know
> if I'm making sense or not but before we venture down to local cycle
> shops, can you advise on makes and maybe models that I should look
> for? The budget is around £300 or he may be able to stretch to £350.
> The rider is 6 ft tall if that's any help.
> Is there anything that we should look for - disc brakes, gearing etc.

Unless you are planning on serious (mountains, moors, etc) off-road riding,
forget disc brakes. (And, if you have a bad back, I suspect you're not going
to be doing serious off-road).

Makes, hard to say. Look for a hybrid design with upright posture. As the
post from Duncan says, consider changing the handlebars; the very common
straight flat bars don't help with backs and comfort as they cause a tension
in the shoulders. Something which keeps the hands angled is more
comfortable.


Beyond that, its the usual stuff; make sure the bike does what you need, not
what a catelogue blob chart suggests.
You don't need off-road full suspension to ride along a canal towpath (and
at £350, full suspension will be heavy rubbish, for it to work you need to
at least double the budget, arguably treble).
If its for everyday use, mudguards and lights are needed. And a rack for
luggage (or a BIG saddlebag).
If you're not really into keeping the chain and sprockets clean (be honest
with yourself!), get something with hub gears rather than derraileurs
(except if you live somewhere incredibly hilly, when hub gears probably
don't offer a wide enough range at the prices you are considering).


£350 should be enough for a bike with hub gears, mudguards and racks.


- Nigel

--
Nigel Cliffe,
Webmaster at http://www.2mm.org.uk/

[POHB]

On 11 Oct, 18:02, "Nigel Cliffe" > wrote:
> Makes, hard to say. Look for a hybrid design with upright posture. As the
> post from Duncan says, consider changing the handlebars; the very common
> straight flat bars don't help with backs and comfort as they cause a tension
> in the shoulders. Something which keeps the hands angled is more
> comfortable.

Add-on bar ends might help too and are very cheap and easy.

How come nobody has mentioned recumbents yet? Too expensive?

A "women's" frame might be worth considering as they have a shorter
top tube in relation to the rest of the geometry.

Make sure you get plenty of chance to test ride a few machines before
you buy.

[John Hearns[_2_]]

On Thu, 2007-10-11 at 16:40 +0100, Topref wrote:
> I'm looking for a gents bike but due to some back discomfort, I need the
> riding position to be more vertical than the norm. I don't know if I'm
> making sense or not but before we venture down to local cycle shops, can you

A friend of mine has a Trek which has a very upright riding position.
It has a very long head tube, and an adjustable stem in addition to
that. He's probably about the same size as you.
Sorry - can't remember the model number.

[Topref]

"John Hearns" > wrote in message
news:1192128751.4514.93.camel@Vigor13...
> On Thu, 2007-10-11 at 16:40 +0100, Topref wrote:
>> I'm looking for a gents bike but due to some back discomfort, I need the
>> riding position to be more vertical than the norm. I don't know if I'm
>> making sense or not but before we venture down to local cycle shops, can
>> you
>
> A friend of mine has a Trek which has a very upright riding position.
> It has a very long head tube, and an adjustable stem in addition to
> that. He's probably about the same size as you.
> Sorry - can't remember the model number.
>
>

Thank You for the info guys. Much appreciated. If anyone else has any input,
please feel free to add on.

[[email protected]]

On Oct 11, 10:48?pm, "Topref" >
wrote:
> "John Hearns" > wrote in message
>
> news:1192128751.4514.93.camel@Vigor13...
>
> > On Thu, 2007-10-11 at 16:40 +0100, Topref wrote:
> >> I'm looking for a gents bike but due to some back discomfort, I need the
> >> riding position to be more vertical than the norm. I don't know if I'm
> >> making sense or not but before we venture down to local cycle shops, can
> >> you
>
> > A friend of mine has a Trek which has a very upright riding position.
> > It has a very long head tube, and an adjustable stem in addition to
> > that. He's probably about the same size as you.
> > Sorry - can't remember the model number.
>
> Thank You for the info guys. Much appreciated. If anyone else has any input,
> please feel free to add on.

Topref, you could try a "new" 2007 Specialized Expedition Elite or
Sport for a discount price of ?279.99 or ?219.99 respectively (the
2008 bikes are in the shops now). These "comfort" bikes should give
you the upright position you need and are nice looking bikes IMHO. If
you could use Evans Cycles "ride2work" scheme you could easily stretch
your budget to double what it is now. Check out www.evanscycles.com

There are other similar schemes too. Hope this helps.

[Andreas Schulze-Bäing]

Am Thu, 11 Oct 2007 22:48:56 +0100 schrieb Topref:

> "John Hearns" > wrote in message
> news:1192128751.4514.93.camel@Vigor13...
>> On Thu, 2007-10-11 at 16:40 +0100, Topref wrote:
>>> I'm looking for a gents bike but due to some back discomfort, I need the
>>> riding position to be more vertical than the norm. I don't know if I'm
>>> making sense or not but before we venture down to local cycle shops, can
>>> you
>>
>> A friend of mine has a Trek which has a very upright riding position.
>> It has a very long head tube, and an adjustable stem in addition to
>> that. He's probably about the same size as you.
>> Sorry - can't remember the model number.
>>
>>
>
> Thank You for the info guys. Much appreciated. If anyone else has any input,
> please feel free to add on.

If I may give a general comment... A very upright position is not
necessarily the best in the long run if you have back problems. For very
short distances this position might feel very comfortable. But for medium-
to longer distances it can be quite uncomfortable. One reason: In a more
'vertical' position of the back, a large share of the upper body weight has
to be carried by the spine. According to this graphic
<http://www.fa-technik.adfc.de/Ratgeber/Sitzen/image004.jpg>
it's about 70% of the body weight. In a less upright position, a larger
part of the body weight is carried by the handlebar and the pedals.
Another factor to consider is that in a less upright position, the muscles
in the back are trained more efficiently - which can reduce back pain.

Having said that - a good compromise if you prefer the upright position can
be a Dutch bike, as long as you mainly move around in flat terrain. On
these bikes you sit a bit like on a horse. See here
http://www.fa-technik.adfc.de/Ratgeber/Sitzen/Hollandrad.gif
http://www.fa-technik.adfc.de/Ratgeber/Sitzen/image011.jpg
Also these bikes are typically equipped with low-maintenance hub gears. As
a general recommendation - large volume tyres, such as the Schwalbe Big
Apple, give a good basic suspension for a reasonable price.

Andreas