CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Stuff

Are there any bicycles left?

(20 posts)

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  1. fimm
    Member

    I'm in the market for a new mountain bike. Is it worth even thinking about shopping for one just now, or are the bike shops completely empty?

    Posted 3 years ago #
  2. ARobComp
    Member

    Lots of decent second hand ones about - mainly through well curated Facebook groups - PM me if you would like an add to these if you use FB.

    On that note on the lookout for a kids MTB for a friends 9 year old if anyone is aware of shops still stocking.

    Posted 3 years ago #
  3. Arellcat
    Moderator

    I'm also in the market for a new(er) mountain bike, full suspension and needs to be an XL frame. I've been watching the 'Bay and also Gumtree, but have missed out on a couple of bikes already because I couldn't travel to them quickly enough.

    Posted 3 years ago #
  4. steveo
    Member

    Halfords and decathlon both look like bicycle eating locus' I got a nice one off gumtree for youngest child. I bet by October November the used market will be saturated for all kinds of bikes.

    Posted 3 years ago #
  5. edinburgh87
    Member

    I'm planning to thin out my fleet in the coming weeks and months - could potentially be bringing to market: 1 x Pinnacle Dolomite 3 (2017), 1 x Trek Emonda S5 (2016) and a Ribble 525 Steel (2018 - frame only, frame too big for me so likely to cannabilize rest of bike into my next commuter build). Will post details here as to what I'm selling nearer the time. Can prove purchase and title to all bikes.

    Posted 3 years ago #
  6. LaidBack
    Member

    @fimm - Harts said that nothing much under £1k. Industry can sell everything it ships in these days.
    Someone offered me £200 for a full suspension Apollo bike!

    We are lucky that specialist bikes always have a wait as made to order. That said trying to get parts means scouring around EU. Thanks goodness for the single market!

    Of course later in the year as driving for fun displaces the summer of cycling there should be some great bargains to be had?

    Posted 3 years ago #
  7. Harts Cyclery
    Member

    Yes, got some 2021 Kona stock; just arrived, although I sold most of it on Saturday. Ping me an email as have more arriving over the next few weeks.

    Posted 3 years ago #
  8. fimm
    Member

    Harts, I've sent you an essay... :-)

    Others, I probably want new as in new from a shop, but I'll send you a PM ARobComp, no harm in seeing what is out there second hand.

    Posted 3 years ago #
  9. Rosie
    Member

    Slightly OTT but there was a nice pensioner, former cycling officer. on You and Yours yesterday. He'd been repairing the odd cycle in his shed and now, since the lockdown, he's been working all the hours God sends working on bikes. He said he had nine waiting for repair.

    Posted 3 years ago #
  10. fimm
    Member

    Well Harts and BikeTrax were both helpful but had nothing available at my price point for several months (thanks to Harts for letting me ride the same bike in two different sizes, unfortunately the one that fitted me was already sold).
    Edinburgh Bike Coop, possibly by virtue of being a slightly bigger operation, did have bikes, and I now have a new bike :-)
    It is green (well it is Whyte really) and the handlebars are huge.

    Posted 3 years ago #
  11. Arellcat
    Moderator

    the handlebars are huge

    Modern mountain bikes are like that. I thought the reason was that longer forks and shorter stems plus slacker head tube angles that provide greater stability when rushing down hills (DH bikes predominantly) lead to slower steering and more potential wheel flop, and a wider handlebar helps counter that by providing a longer lever arm, and that the appearance was then aped by freeride and enduro bikes.

    But apparently I am wrong, and that it's actually about opening up the chest for better breathing, and increasing steering precision, and pure fashion. When I were young, it was the done thing to cut an inch or two off each end of the handlebar, because narrower was better!

    There is probably valid science in a wider arm stance helping engage the back muscles more effectively.

    Posted 3 years ago #
  12. chdot
    Admin

    “and pure fashion“

    But of course.

    Think I have similar bars (from about 1988).

    Posted 3 years ago #
  13. steveo
    Member

    Going from my modern MTB to a roadish bike is very odd!

    Posted 3 years ago #
  14. chdot
    Admin

    Mmm

    Apparently the new normal is 80 -

    https://www.mbr.co.uk/news/product_news/best-mountain-bike-handlebars-330711

    My normal is 60, with the 1988 version about 70!

    Posted 3 years ago #
  15. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    My H-bars I cut down to 66cm from 71cm which felt like imitating a bird.

    Posted 3 years ago #
  16. gembo
    Member

    Have those NYC hipsters given up their infeasibly narrow handle bars?

    Posted 3 years ago #
  17. fimm
    Member

    Yes, Mr fimm says the size of the handlebars is something to do with the geometry of the rest of the frame. I'm sure Arellcat's more technical explanation is correct.

    As someone who usually rides a Brompton and a normal road bike (mostly the latter at the moment) I think it is just 'different' and I will get used to it. My old MTB has small wheels, it is that old. It will be on it's way to the Bike Station in due course (once I've got the nice saddle off it).

    Posted 3 years ago #
  18. ARobComp
    Member

    I had to cut 3 feet off my MTB handlebars so that I could get the thing into my garage. Now at a neat 5'3" I effectively lie almost flat on the stem creating not only a stylish starfish look, but also vastly decreasing the wind resistance as I plummet down near vertical rock faces.

    (Very pleased you got a bike Fimm! Enjoy the hills!)

    Posted 3 years ago #
  19. Arellcat
    Moderator

    Apparently the new normal is 80. My normal is 60, with the 1988 version about 70!

    My old mountain bike is 55cm, the Elephant Bike is 58cm, while the newer mountain bike is 65cm which felt super wide at first!

    Posted 3 years ago #
  20. steveo
    Member

    The bars on my 29er are 780mm apparently, I feel daft riding it anywhere but rough off road.

    Posted 3 years ago #

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