Hi Guys,
Looking for a bike to ride with my son (He rides a mountain bike on the roads!). Budget is upto $700, but if can get something decent below it would be fine.
Have come across the following:
http://www.99bikes.com.au/apollo-exceed-20-flat-bar-road-bik…
Is this bike any good?
Mostly will be riding on the road/foot paths and occasionally on some dirt tracks semi paved tracks. Mostly will be riding to get some cardio. Mountain/Flat bar road bike, I am not really fussed.
Please advise.
Thanks for the input. My aim is to ride 2 days a week, just to get some exercise as I go biking with my son.
Just be careful about the amount of "dirt track" riding you're talking about.
Sorry, my bad choice of words. Some bike trails are semi paved, hope this will be suitable enough.
I'd buy a cheap hard tail mountain bike, either giant or trek
How old is your son? are you trying to keep up with him?
my 2c
How old is your son? are you trying to keep up with him?
My son is 14 and he loves riding bike. I have a cheap road bike I bought from Big W long time ago, I do ride it with him on occasionally. However, going uphill on that bike is a challenge.
At the very least, make sure the gears and crankset are shimano.
The thinner the wheels, the less suspension, and the lighter the bike, the easier it will be to ride… probably in that order.
When i was commuting to work, i hardened the front suspension, and replaced the knobbly mountain bike tyres with commuters. It looks stupid, but it was much easier to ride. Example of what i'm talking about: http://photobucket.com/gallery/http://s90.photobucket.com/us…
I'd probably just get a road bike.
At the very least, make sure the gears and crankset are shimano.
Crankset is : Suntuor XCE 48x 38 x 28T L: S/M=170mm, L/XL=175mm
Rest is as follows:
F.DERAILLEUR Shimano M-191 8 speed top swing for 31.8
R.DERAILLEUR Shimano Acera 8 speed
SHIFT LEVERS Shimano EF-51 Ez Fire 24 speed
FREEWHEEL Shimano 8 speed cassette 12-32T
I'd probably just get a road bike.
Flat bar okay?
@homersimpson: It looks similar to mine, would prefer a gear expert to chime in.
Yeah i'd go flatbar.
This is a flat bar road bike with 700x28 tyres, this means thin tyres for road only.
This is unlikely to be suitable for dirt tracks unless the tracks are well compacted.
Thanks. My apologies for confusion regarding dirt tracks. I have updated the post.
Wider tyres are recommended for semi-paved tracks (e.g. gravel topped or packed earth). Road bike frames often cannot fit tyres wider than 28mm. Cyclocross bikes and gravel bikes will take wider tyres, but they have drop bars and are probably out of your price range. There are other flat bar bikes that come with wider wheels.
For example, this one is a commuter oriented bike and has 40mm wide tyres (40c): http://www.99bikes.com.au/bike17-gt-traffic-2-0-700c-steel-b…
For getting up hills you want lower gear ratios. Look at the ratio of the smallest front gear to the largest back gear. For the bike I linked and the one you linked the lowest gear ratio is 28/32 = 0.875. That's probably lower than the lowest gear of your old Big W bike. Mountain bikes will have lower ratios again, but will be heavier.
This is my current El cheapo bike…
Schwinn Prelude 14 speed
Id be looking second hand - You will get more bike for your buck for something that is a couple years old.
Thanks, I would love to do it too, but I am a bit apprehensive of buying 2nd hand as I don't know what exactly to look out for when buying a second hand bike eg. if something has worn out etc.
I gather you've tried your friends? Plenty of crushed dreams hiding in garages
I've had my current bike for just on 10 years, and was looking at whether or not the bike was worth upgrading or replacing. What wears out first imo are chains, cables, bearings, followed by hubs. 90% of stuff can just be dismantled, cleaned and re-greased. Most of the cost is actually getting the tools to replace the parts, not the cost of the parts themselves. The biggest cost is replacing the chainset, as the teeth wear down and eventually slip. You can immediately tell by looking at a bike how old it is just on that (and rust). Looking at the cost of a cheap chainset (a few hundred for a shimano) i think that's my replacement point.
If I was to have my time again, i'd look at an (new) entry level road bike with commuter-ish tyres. I'd probably go aldi bike if they had them - i feel i can try myself to get everything alligned.
Something i didnt consider is that most store bought bikes come with a 6 month free service. Apart from trying to encourage you to return and get it serviced often, it means you can get an expert to fix the gear allignment after the cables stretch. something which is a little fiddly.
My partners has one of the Merida commuter bikes a couple of years ago. Works fine for bike paths and the like, and it was ~$400 from memory. They knocked another 10% or so off in store.
It was the 2015 model of this one http://www.99bikes.com.au/bike16-merida-crossway-10-matt-ant…
I'd say it'd be pretty good option. I think flat bar road is the way to go unless you're going off-road. It'll be lighted and simpler than a mountain bike. You don't really need disc brakes for road riding either (benefits are more in the wet or dust, or for hard braking). I don't think you'd find much better for the price new, and for the piece of mind it's probably worth it.
Some points on this one:
- 24 speed - that's a good range and you should be able to find a comfortable gear for various speeds or for hills, etc. Keeping a comfortable cadence will make it much eaiser
- 28mm tyres - probably a good balance. And wider will be heavier and slower. Narrower you'll lose comfort.
- Carbon fork is pretty good at this price. Should provide some vibration damping/be lighter than steel.
You could possibly find something a little lighter/faster (e.g Reid Osprey Flatbar), but you'd lose out on comfort.
Thanks a lot for the feedback. Much appreciated.
I owned an Apollo Exceed for a while and rode it as a commuter bike. I thought it was good to ride and had decent components for the price. I bought it very cheap with damage (busted rear derailleur and spokes) and fixed it up. Being a bit of a bike nerd, I made a couple of minor changes to the one I bought, because I could, not because I had to. I enjoyed riding it and probably would still have it, except I found a cheap way to get into a disc braked commuter bike and took that option.
28mm tyres will be fine for the occasional smooth dirt track, just be aware of the grip level of a road biased tyre. The wheels should be strong enough to cope. I took mine on a few short sections of dirt with no troubles, and do similar with my current bike on 23mm tyres.
It seems to be good value for a new bike at the price listed, as long as they have your size in stock.
It seems to be good value for a new bike at the price listed, as long as they have your size in stock.
They didn't have in stock but have stock interstate. The bike will arrive next week and then I'll be able to see/test ride it.
Check out cyclingdeal
Had a look and this one looks good…
https://www.cyclingdeal.com.au/buy/2017-hasa-comp1.0-shimano…
Also, the price is quite good. As I said in my post I am not fussed about either road or mountain bike, what might be the equivalent in giant or Merida?
Not sure if the equivalent, but the RRP is a bit optimistic so they can afford to discount it and still profit. The equivalent brand name bike is probably $600-$700. A quick look suggests the Giant Talon 3 is pretty close at $749.
Think more about where you will be riding. You have linked two reasonable, entry level bikes. The Exceed better for on road riding should you extend to commuting or the Hasa which would be better if you want to explore off the trails a bit, a by that I don’t mean getting into MTB parks, more taking the odd cross park excursion or investigating where a smoothish fire trail goes.
At the end of the day though, the Exceed will do better at commuting than the Hasa would at being a mountain bike.
Think more about where you will be riding.
Most riding will be on the paved roads. Think I will go for the Exceed. Will have to wait at least a week for a test ride.
Overall it is a decent bike for the price. But I am concerned about gravel bike paths. It would depend on what those paths are. Also when you son (who i believe rides a mountain bike) eventually upgrades to more tails, did you still want to go with him?
I would avoid taking that kind of bike on gravel. Proper bike paths and roads fine. On gravel you get a higher chance of punctures.
I have two bikes, one a mountain and one a road. My road is same size tyres as what you are looking at. And on anything other than concrete or tar, it is a rough ride. The size of a tyre also helps with comfort factors, and I assume you are going flatbar because you want comfort.
It is hard to quantify the type of gravel bike path your are talking about. If it rough? Why flat bar? Do you want suspension for comfort?
Tyre wise this IMO is a better choice
http://www.99bikes.com.au/merida-crossway-40-d-matt-black-re…
It has the wider tyres.
In a mountain bike you are looking at something like this
https://www.specialized.com/au/en/mens-pitch-650b/p/129259?c…
Thanks.
But I am concerned about gravel bike paths
I will try putting up a picture of the path that I will occasionally ride.
Regarding flat bar, comfort is the main factor.
If I see myself riding more off road, I will consider getting a mountain bike or may just buy when it goes on sale at Aldi.
The recent Aldi MTB at under $400 was, by all accounts, very good value for money.
Yeah, was reading the comments on ozbargain about that bike. Good value indeed. Hopefully, will go on sale again this year.
If comfort is the main factor. I would definately consider something with Wider tyres.
I have a road bike with 28c tyres. And it is harsh. And that is a much more expensive enduro road bike that is built for comfort. (Carbon is more compliant and comforatble).
Wow, sure it will be less comfortable but I wouldn't think 28mm tyres would be harsh. What pressure do you run?
@Euphemistic: 100 psi. Anything lower and i was getting pinch flats. (I am a larger person). Bear in mind, it is harsher compared to my other bike. It is no where near as harsh as a full race bike, but i would not expect the frame of the one you are looking at to be as compliant as mine is.
Best bet is to take the thing for a ride. If you can manage it, on similar roads to what you ride on now. Get a good feel.
I'd say give it a test ride, and while you're there see if you can test ride something else with wider tyres, e.g. a light mountain bike/hybrid. See how the comfortable each is, and how you feel in terms of the speed (effort to get up to speed, and to maintain speed). If you can't really tell the difference on either aspect, it's probably not important.
Buying from a bike shop, they may be able to swap the tyres if you want something wider (e.g. 32/35mm). But maybe not on such a cheap bike.
Also, I'd say an enduro road bike is built to be more comfortable than a race/aero bike, rather than being specifically build for comfort. It wouldn't surprise me if a hybrid was more comfortable (if heavier and slower). Coming from a road bike with 23/25mm tyres, I found a 32mm-tyred flat bar pretty sluggish.
@blawler05: Fair enough. In context it make a little more sense.
I'm happy enough on my alloy frame flat bar with 23mm tyres at 85-100psi. It is nowhere near as smooth as my dual suspension bike with 2.4" tyres at 25-30psi, but it's a lot faster on the road!
@Euphemistic: i think if you are happy with your current roadie with 23mm, then you will be fine with the 28c tyres. It is a big improvement on the 23mm, comfort wise.
And a more modern frame with better geometry will also be comfortable.
FYI my first road bike was
http://www.cellbikes.com.au/Cell-Lapa-1-0, and the 28C i have now + carbon frame was a noticeable improvement.
@blawler05: yeah, once these tyres are gone I'll go to 25mm. I don't think 28 is necessary for the riding I do.
have got the merida 20 2017 and it's pretty comfy ride.. stuck an electric bike kit on it for longer distance rides and its fine on roads and general commuting type scenarios.. it is a little bumpy when i take it along the loose gravel park roads but am going pretty fast so it's a mixture of bumpy and exciting.. that is really loose gravel/rocky path though.
the front suspension obviously hanles going up and down footpaths just fine but with no rear suspension you wanna stand up over big pothole scenarios that can't be avoided where the councils decided to remove a section of the sidewalk etc.
It's not a matter of "good or bad", but what do you want to use it for and what do you expect it to be able to do?
If you're simply looking for a bike to have a bit of fun with, and without getting into a detailed comparison with other bikes (I'm not trying to work out if this is the best possible bike you could get for around this price), this will be fine. It seems to be a decent "entry level" bike based on the componentry described.
Just be careful about the amount of "dirt track" riding you're talking about. This bike is designed for paved surfaces. If you happen to encounter a dirt track somewhere you need to use to get somewhere then fair enough, but you wouldn't take it riding on dirt tracks. You might be better off with an equivalent level mountain bike.