New Bike

[Zed]

ok that trek is nice but ive never had any luck with that type of spoke pattern, i found they are stiff and break

both those Konas would be perfect,

that suspension on the treck is similiar to the headshock on cannondales but more basic i would give that a miss as wouldnt do much,

paul

[glorn]

Honestly, I didn't notice that the one Trek had an integrated suspension fork. My mistake.
 
The other Trek you posted has a sort of radially laced wheel that would be murder on anything short of smooth pavement.


I LOVE the Kona. Absolutely love it. That is a red hot ride, and perfect for what you want to do, if...

And I bought my wife an older Sirrus that has been nothing but great. It would also be ideal, if...



If...


They both can accept full fenders. Ask the bike shop if they can install SKS brand or Planet Bike brand full fenders on it for you. And by "full" I mean they are not just a thing attached to your seat post. They hug the tires and are attached to the frame and fork.

If they can do that, then it looks like we have found you a bike.

The Kona would be my personal choice though.

Now you need a Timbuk II messenger bag for your stuff. Racks are notoriously difficult to mount to bikes with disc brakes.


G.

[glorn]

Ah, the Sirrus has mini V brakes like my wife's. Not going to get fenders in there.


Ask the shop to put fenders on the Kona and ride happy!

[Zed]

Ah, the Sirrus has mini V brakes like my wife's. Not going to get fenders in there.


Ask the shop to put fenders on the Kona and ride happy!

yeah i agree try and get everything done in the shop even things you might want changed, ive had pedals ,saddles,grips,tyres , all sorts changed before , and no proper everyday bike should have no mudguards 

paul

[Abstraction]

Ah, the Sirrus has mini V brakes like my wife's. Not going to get fenders in there.


Ask the shop to put fenders on the Kona and ride happy!

Cheers mate, i'll find a store that stocks them and see what i think to it

The problem with getting it fitted in store, is i don't think i can  I live well outside of London where all the Evans stores are, so home delivery is my only option and as i say, i won't be able to get the train into or out of london because they don't let you take bikes on rush hour trains which is the only time i'll be able to go in or out of london.  I don't think they even sell specialized bikes in store, they're home delivery only, although i think you can buy the Kona there and then. 

My plan was to pop down on tuesday and have a test ride of the bikes I'm looking at and if one seemed to fit the bill i'll order it online the next day with all associated accessories.

[Zed]

Ah, the Sirrus has mini V brakes like my wife's. Not going to get fenders in there.


Ask the shop to put fenders on the Kona and ride happy!

Cheers mate, i'll find a store that stocks them and see what i think to it

The problem with getting it fitted in store, is i don't think i can  I live well outside of London where all the Evans stores are, so home delivery is my only option and as i say, i won't be able to get the train into or out of london because they don't let you take bikes on rush hour trains which is the only time i'll be able to go in or out of london.  I don't think they even sell specialized bikes in store, they're home delivery only, although i think you can buy the Kona there and then. 

My plan was to pop down on tuesday and have a test ride of the bikes I'm looking at and if one seemed to fit the bill i'll order it online the next day with all associated accessories.

can you not ask while checking it store, is it cheaper online as my brother did the same work scheme and got it cheaper from the shop, out of interest where abouts outside of London is it

paul

[Abstraction]

Ah, the Sirrus has mini V brakes like my wife's. Not going to get fenders in there.


Ask the shop to put fenders on the Kona and ride happy!

Cheers mate, i'll find a store that stocks them and see what i think to it

The problem with getting it fitted in store, is i don't think i can  I live well outside of London where all the Evans stores are, so home delivery is my only option and as i say, i won't be able to get the train into or out of london because they don't let you take bikes on rush hour trains which is the only time i'll be able to go in or out of london.  I don't think they even sell specialized bikes in store, they're home delivery only, although i think you can buy the Kona there and then. 

My plan was to pop down on tuesday and have a test ride of the bikes I'm looking at and if one seemed to fit the bill i'll order it online the next day with all associated accessories.

can you not ask while checking it store, is it cheaper online as my brother did the same work scheme and got it cheaper from the shop, out of interest where abouts outside of London is it

paul

They're all over london, i had to go to three last time because they all have different stock, but while i might be able to get it in store if i found the right one i wouldn't be able to get it home on the train, that's the issue

[Zed]

Ah, the Sirrus has mini V brakes like my wife's. Not going to get fenders in there.


Ask the shop to put fenders on the Kona and ride happy!

Cheers mate, i'll find a store that stocks them and see what i think to it

The problem with getting it fitted in store, is i don't think i can  I live well outside of London where all the Evans stores are, so home delivery is my only option and as i say, i won't be able to get the train into or out of london because they don't let you take bikes on rush hour trains which is the only time i'll be able to go in or out of london.  I don't think they even sell specialized bikes in store, they're home delivery only, although i think you can buy the Kona there and then. 

My plan was to pop down on tuesday and have a test ride of the bikes I'm looking at and if one seemed to fit the bill i'll order it online the next day with all associated accessories.

can you not ask while checking it store, is it cheaper online as my brother did the same work scheme and got it cheaper from the shop, out of interest where abouts outside of London is it

paul

They're all over london, i had to go to three last time because they all have different stock, but while i might be able to get it in store if i found the right one i wouldn't be able to get it home on the train, that's the issue

it annoys me as last year me and a group of friends do a regular ride around london on bmx bikes for children in need, i got the train from poole in dorset to waterloo, they gave me a ticket to get to epping but i wasnt aload on any trains  to say i was P'ed off, i got there in the end but had to ride most og london to the right train station, could someone not give you a lift or do you live far out of london, and yes i know its a pain ti drive around london 

[Abstraction]

I live far from london unfortunately, my company is london based which is why we have the tie up with evans but i work in our offices well outside of it. I'll go in and see what they recommend I guess.  I can call ahead and get them to bring in the two bikes i want to try for a £50 fully refundable deposit so might get my closest store to bring in the crosstrial and Kona Dew to see which one i prefere with a decent test ride. 

[Zed]

I live far from london unfortunately, my company is london based which is why we have the tie up with evans but i work in our offices well outside of it. I'll go in and see what they recommend I guess.  I can call ahead and get them to bring in the two bikes i want to try for a £50 fully refundable deposit so might get my closest store to bring in the crosstrial and Kona Dew to see which one i prefere with a decent test ride. 

yeah have a good look first, bikes are very personal things, i like drop bars as like to have more than one hand position and ive even had them on MTB's, but risers are good for general use and work,ive had 2 konas and both been great the last one i sold last year and i got it in 1995 , i would say my best bike ive ever had and regret selling it but had no choice, good luck and let us know how it goes 

paul

[Abstraction]

My mind may have been made up for me - phoned the store to make sure they had everything in stock i wanted on monday but they cant get the crosstrail in for at least a week and can't get the Kona in until tuesday, so i'm taking a trip down there tuesday to check out the Kona, if i like it i'll get it, otherwise i'll be confused :p

One thing which surprised me though is he recommended a 54cm frame. I'm only 5'7"-5'8" and the Kona sizing chart says i'd need 18"-19" so 45cm-48.2cm. Even given the footnote that Kona frames come up smaller than they claim (Notes:The Dew models have a compact frame size that come up 5cm smaller than stated. E.g. 56cm frame = 51cm) that's still really big! I was expecting the 49 or 52cm frames.

Hope he knows what he's talking about as otherwise i'll have wasted the trip into london to try a bike which is way too big!

[Zed]

My mind may have been made up for me - phoned the store to make sure they had everything in stock i wanted on monday but they cant get the crosstrail in for at least a week and can't get the Kona in until tuesday, so i'm taking a trip down there tuesday to check out the Kona, if i like it i'll get it, otherwise i'll be confused :p

One thing which surprised me though is he recommended a 54cm frame. I'm only 5'7"-5'8" and the Kona sizing chart says i'd need 18"-19" so 45cm-48.2cm. Even given the footnote that Kona frames come up smaller than they claim (Notes:The Dew models have a compact frame size that come up 5cm smaller than stated. E.g. 56cm frame = 51cm) that's still really big! I was expecting the 49 or 52cm frames.

Hope he knows what he's talking about as otherwise i'll have wasted the trip into london to try a bike which is way too big!

yeah sounds to big mate, im 5ft9 on a road bike i use a 49cm frame mountain bike 17inch i prefer to run a high saddle and low front on a road bike, and on a MTB i like a low Top tube for obvious clearance 

[glorn]

What's your inseam?

I'd rather have a bike that is a tiny bit too big than one that is too small. Don't want to be all cramped up on a small bike. But I do agree that a 54 sounds too big for you.

[Abstraction]

33" inseam, might call and ask him to get the smaller size in as well, it's another £50 deposit but i don't want to get there and find its the wrong size.  It's the last bike they have in 54cm so i assume the other sizes are going pretty fast as well.

[Zed]

this is what the charts say

road bike
5'10" - 6'1"   31.5" - 33"   58 - 60 cm

mountain bike
5'11" - 6'2"   31" - 33"   19 to 21 inches

all sounds big to me, but a personal thing again, ive found i like a longer seat post and a longer stem, but then my MTB has a 15inch frame and with its 100mm forks on is still pretty high, and my road bike is 49cm and im about half a inch above the TT while straddling it,