BAS!

RobDavies

Picking this up later today....

Haven't ridden a bike properly for about twenty years but figured it's probably a more enjoyable way to get the heart pumping than going to the gym.

Expect to see it for a bargain price in the classifieds in about six weeks.

bertie

good work.............. I got mrs bert a "something or other" off the bay for £35  -  got to put a "comfort" saddle on it, and we're away to go........... (mines been in the shed unused for about 2 months......... only got it in June !!!  )

PolarityMan

We got bikes recently too, mines a carerra but a hybrid rather than a mountain bike. The halfords setup was awful though. The gear change was pretty ropey and first time out the chain threw so badly it mangled 4 or 5 links and bend one of the gears on the the front pedal assembly.

Took it back to the shops and they fixed it it then and there but second time out chain threw again. Took it back to halfords and it transpired they put the wrong sized gears on whent hey fixed it the first time.

I was then assured that they would order the correct part and have it back in a weeks time. When I went in to collect it they claimed the part hadnt arrived, which is a bit suspicious given i can order the whole bike again on next day delivery.

So I returned it and ordered the exact same bike from another halfords, luckily had this branch they seemed to know what they were doing and havent had any problems with the setup at all.

Hopefully yours will be alright but during this ordeal I did a fair bit of googling and apparently halfords are notorious for shit setups, to the point that many people on bike forums were recommending to pay for an independant bike shop to redo the setup.

Personally I wouldnt want to pay the extra so my advice would be that if theres is any hint of setup problems to just keep taking it back until they manage to get it sorted. In the end my persistence did pay off but it was a bit of a pain in the arse

Jalapeno

lovely !

RobDavies

PolarityMan said:

We got bikes recently too, mines a carerra but a hybrid rather than a mountain bike. The halfords setup was awful though. The gear change was pretty ropey and first time out the chain threw so badly it mangled 4 or 5 links and bend one of the gears on the the front pedal assembly.

Took it back to the shops and they fixed it it then and there but second time out chain threw again. Took it back to halfords and it transpired they put the wrong sized gears on whent hey fixed it the first time.

I was then assured that they would order the correct part and have it back in a weeks time. When I went in to collect it they claimed the part hadnt arrived, which is a bit suspicious given i can order the whole bike again on next day delivery.

So I returned it and ordered the exact same bike from another halfords, luckily had this branch they seemed to know what they were doing and havent had any problems with the setup at all.

Hopefully yours will be alright but during this ordeal I did a fair bit of googling and apparently halfords are notorious for shit setups, to the point that many people on bike forums were recommending to pay for an independant bike shop to redo the setup.

Personally I wouldnt want to pay the extra so my advice would be that if theres is any hint of setup problems to just keep taking it back until they manage to get it sorted. In the end my persistence did pay off but it was a bit of a pain in the arse

Good advice - thanks. Only problem is that I wouldn't know a bad set up from a good one.

PolarityMan

Me neither but from what I gather and kind of noise or rubbing while in gear, apparently a small amount is expected when you are on smallest cog on the back, biggest cog on the front and vice versa but generally nothing should be rubbing and the gear change should be reasonably smooth.

Mine is night and day since I got it from another branch.

There's tons of info on bike forums with more detail though.

VimFuego

agree with the comments about Halfords setups, not good. My 1st ever job was working for a small custom bike maker and even though it was a long time ago (penny farthings had only just gone out of fashion) I can still remember the basics. So when we got ours years ago, I did the set up myself on them. Shame I can't do the same for my body, seems to be the weak link in the chain

chillidoggy

And now you can all moan like fuck about car drivers here:-

 

http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/1107/city-cyclists#latest

 

 

ROOG

Yeah new bike day! I got into bikes about five years ago, I collect and upgrade bikes just like guitars. Second hand is just the same, better value provided that you know what you are looking for. My first bike was from halfords and after a false start they fixed it. It's a question of finding a halfords which has a good tech, sound familiar? I now do all of my own maintenance which involves buying a few tools. YouTube vids are great for this, jou just have to sift through the rubbish to find the good. Good luck with you new bike, I'm sure that you'll find the benefits very soon. It's a great feeling and for me it is what Sunday mornings are for, not to mention the odd commute to work. Good luck God I love my bikes! >:D<

RobDavies

Took it out for a short blast last night and my legs stopped working for about fifteen minutes afterwards - it's been a long time!

Only went around the block (about a mile at a guess) but the last 500 yards is up a steep hill and I was determined not to get off and push so, low gear and pedal like mad.,,, and I did it.

It's a start........   Only downside is that wearing a cycle helmet makes me look like even more of a twat than normal.

jaygtr

Most bikes will need a tweak or two after a few weeks anyway , there's nothing wrong, it's just the cables stretching after being used for the first time.

Most bike shops will throw a free 1st service for this very reason.

By the way I love bikes almost as much as guitars . Sadly they cost similar amounts of money.

jaygtr

RobDavies;30444" said:

Took it out for a short blast last night and my legs stopped working for about fifteen minutes afterwards - it's been a long time!

Only went around the block (about a mile at a guess) but the last 500 yards is up a steep hill and I was determined not to get off and push so, low gear and pedal like mad.,,, and I did it.

It's a start........   Only downside is that wearing a cycle helmet makes me look like even more of a twat than normal.

You'll get used to the helmet eventually. It becomes like a seat belt, in that its weird when you don't have it on.

Hope you keep it up, you'll think nothing doing 20 odd miles in a very short space of time.

viz

Count yourself lucky; wearing a bike helmet makes me look less of a twat than normal.