£400 to Get a Bike - Where? What?

jodie_harsh the charge plug seems 'fake' - i mean this in the sense of, when you buy it, it comes looking supposedly 'cool' - the nice thing of buying a frame and building it is you can choose colours components the way you want.

look on the bay or gumtree for complete bikes - easily find one for under £400

It didn't seem 'fake' when I rode it.

:)

I agree with you in the sense that you get a sense of individuality and satisfaction from building your own bike. Not everyone wants to take it that far though.

good enough for superted.

(albeit free)

Big thanks everyone!
I'm going to test ride the ones you recommend.
Hope I don't get any geeky bike snob shit from the 'assistants' in shops - too old and proud to for it.
Will update you....

nigelcharnock Big thanks everyone!
I'm going to test ride the ones you recommend.
Hope I don't get any geeky bike snob shit from the 'assistants' in shops - too old and proud to for it.
Will update you....

don't feel disappointed if the shop doesn't give you any bike snob shit, let us know what you buy and we'll stick the boot in pretty sharpish.

i can start now if you like:

*a langster? so what's it like riding a sloping aluminium turd around the streets of london? or did you get a charge plug? why not just buy a John Deere and have done with it? should you really be riding these sort of trendy bicycles, Nigel? There's a perfectly *functional Thorn Tourer with the SPD sandals and subscription to CTC monthly available from SJS cycles, custom made for your needs. failing that, i recommend a brompton, there's nothing like riding an overpriced piece of green origami to make you look like a dad dancing at a wedding.

nigel,

Um a word of warning - if you plan on road testing a bianchi pista, don't go to evans. I saw them hand a complete newbie a bianchi pista with no brakes and shitter than shit flat pedals for a test ride. That bike has a stock gearing of 48x16, which is higher than I ride with a brake and toe clips. I was in the evans for about half an hour and the dude didn't come back in that time...

^that was the evans on the cut by the way.

^ paahha!

(at the snobbery quotes)

asm nigel,

Um a word of warning - That bike has a stock gearing of 48x16, which is higher than I ride with a brake and toe clips

you wuss. i ride 62:11 brakeless in birkenstocks.

i even beat 50:14 in the annual race down ditchling.

asm nigel,

Um a word of warning - if you plan on road testing a bianchi pista, don't go to evans. I saw them hand a complete newbie a bianchi pista with no brakes and shitter than shit flat pedals for a test ride. That bike has a stock gearing of 48x16, which is higher than I ride with a brake and toe clips. I was in the evans for about half an hour and the dude didn't come back in that time...

^that was the evans on the cut by the way.

That is amazingly illegal. Someone posted about getting a ear-full from Evans staff when they brought their brakeless into the shop!

Isn't there somewhere in Lewisham where I can go and test ride? - vague memory.....??

not a bike no.

but if you're looking to test ride a cheap crack whore, yes.

miro_o [quote]asm nigel,

Um a word of warning - if you plan on road testing a bianchi pista, don't go to evans. I saw them hand a complete newbie a bianchi pista with no brakes and shitter than shit flat pedals for a test ride. That bike has a stock gearing of 48x16, which is higher than I ride with a brake and toe clips. I was in the evans for about half an hour and the dude didn't come back in that time...

^that was the evans on the cut by the way.

That is amazingly illegal. Someone posted about getting a ear-full from Evans staff when they brought their brakeless into the shop![/quote]

This was before the uppity anti-brakeless guy worked there. It was a lazy midweek afternoon, and the only 2 people on the floor were younger than me (and i'm 19).

Nigel - Edwardes is just up the road in camberwell. Good shop, good range of bikes. Not sure exactly what they stock though. You'll (obviously) have to go to condor to test ride a condor pista though :)

edwardes stock a range of the newer, utterly revolting pinarellos. the ones that look like they have been based on a HR Giger alien. they give good service though.

the only track bike i saw in there was a cinelli SCP. not drilled.

oh and mashton has a lovely pista. they are great.

pj - how d'you know I'm not a crackhead or a whore or both?
Do I have to take some special drug before I ride one of these?

HR giger alien bike? I actually want one. It would look positively pretty next to the alf webb (which is for sale, f&f, broken headset, 3tt stem. anyone? No? Oh well)

good lord, and in pink! It's mine.

you wouldn't even have to rip take the cranks off!

That reminds me, i've been wating since wednesday for blb to call me back. I reckon this is going to get messy.

I ride the Charge Plug and have nothing but positives with it - the frame is built like a tank. I know this because I t-boned a car, left a big dent in its side and broke my hand, but the frame was fine (the wheels weren't though).

My word of advice though is that if you buy it, you'll go through your first set of brake pads like a hot knife through butter (I swear they're made from paper) and the tyres suck up broken glass like a sponge. So buy some replacement tyres ASAP from your LBS or Wiggle.

Other than that, 6 months and no major problems.

asm That reminds me, i've been wating since wednesday for blb to call me back. I reckon this is going to get messy.
Hmmm, maybe we should do an Alice Fisher shout out on Brick Lane Bikes?

sebby78 I ride the Charge Plug and have nothing but positives with it - the frame is built like a tank. I know this because I t-boned a car, left a big dent in its side and broke my hand, but the frame was fine (the wheels weren't though).

My word of advice though is that if you buy it, you'll go through your first set of brake pads like a hot knife through butter (I swear they're made from paper) and the tyres suck up broken glass like a sponge. So buy some replacement tyres ASAP from your LBS or Wiggle.

Other than that, 6 months and no major problems.

+1
Yeah, it might seem a bit agricultural to the weenies, and it doesn't have that crazy track geometry everyone seems to go nuts for, but it's just plain nice to ride. Every time I have to move even my stripped down, aluminium, no-suspension mountain bike from one miserable, dank, lonely corner of the house to another, I remember how heavy bikes in the rest of the cycling world are.

pj (pj) hahaha.

i'd get hatemail. i forget where the line is and end up being mean. then people say "EVERYTHING THAT'S WRONG WITH THIS COUNTRY".

what is wrong with saying "everything that's wrong with ths country?"

pj you should change your user name to pj (every thing that is wrong with this country)

Multi Grooves [quote]pj (pj) hahaha.

i'd get hatemail. i forget where the line is and end up being mean. then people say "EVERYTHING THAT'S WRONG WITH THIS COUNTRY".

what is wrong with saying "everything that's wrong with ths country?"[/quote]

depends if you're shouting or not, and who you saying it to, and why.

i seriously was going to change my name to that, but it wouldn't fit.