Hi,
Following on from my "Introduction" thread, I would welcome comments on my reasoning and choices below from anybody kind enough to take the time...
I am a 60 year old, 18.5 st (118.5Kg), 5' 10" male with a 27" inside leg measurement. I want to ride for leisure and gentle exercise.
Taking all these things into account, I have come up with a 'style' of bike that I think would suit, and would value comments from owners, non-owners, advocates or commercial members - it all adds to the knowledge mountain!
I like the 'sit up and beg' or Dutch style of riding position for comfort and all round visibility, and I have no problem with riding a "girls" bike (I think of the step-throughs as 'continental style' rather than female gender specific). Given that I would avoid main roads as much as possible (there are quite a few bike paths, parks and very quiet farm roads around here) but would be sticking mainly to paved surfaces with the odd excursion onto gravel, I am thinking tyres of 1.75 to 2.0 (puncture resistant, please!), a suspension seat post, (not too bothered about suspension front or rear ), 26-28" wheels, a comfortable touring saddle, minimum 7 gears ( hub for ease of maintenance, but derailleur are OK too), front hub drive (again for ease of maintenance) and a range of 15-25 miles.
Currently I like the following bikes:
Woosh Big Bear Step-thru
Woosh Sundowner
Kudos Eco
Kudos Liberty
Ezee Sprint LDS
Also, some others may be considered if details become clearer - like the Smarta LX, whose website seems to default to buying a battery for £350 on top of the bike at £1099???.
The main sticking points I think are my weight - most bikes seem to be topped out at 100-110kg, and I am wondering if any bike sellers use this an 'escape clause' for warranty purposes? - and my short legs actually reaching the pedals comfortably for a day in the saddle...
So, how's my thinking? My budget is not more than £1100 total, preferably less
Any comments welcome, and thanks in advance.
Following on from my "Introduction" thread, I would welcome comments on my reasoning and choices below from anybody kind enough to take the time...
I am a 60 year old, 18.5 st (118.5Kg), 5' 10" male with a 27" inside leg measurement. I want to ride for leisure and gentle exercise.
Taking all these things into account, I have come up with a 'style' of bike that I think would suit, and would value comments from owners, non-owners, advocates or commercial members - it all adds to the knowledge mountain!
I like the 'sit up and beg' or Dutch style of riding position for comfort and all round visibility, and I have no problem with riding a "girls" bike (I think of the step-throughs as 'continental style' rather than female gender specific). Given that I would avoid main roads as much as possible (there are quite a few bike paths, parks and very quiet farm roads around here) but would be sticking mainly to paved surfaces with the odd excursion onto gravel, I am thinking tyres of 1.75 to 2.0 (puncture resistant, please!), a suspension seat post, (not too bothered about suspension front or rear ), 26-28" wheels, a comfortable touring saddle, minimum 7 gears ( hub for ease of maintenance, but derailleur are OK too), front hub drive (again for ease of maintenance) and a range of 15-25 miles.
Currently I like the following bikes:
Woosh Big Bear Step-thru
Woosh Sundowner
Kudos Eco
Kudos Liberty
Ezee Sprint LDS
Also, some others may be considered if details become clearer - like the Smarta LX, whose website seems to default to buying a battery for £350 on top of the bike at £1099???.
The main sticking points I think are my weight - most bikes seem to be topped out at 100-110kg, and I am wondering if any bike sellers use this an 'escape clause' for warranty purposes? - and my short legs actually reaching the pedals comfortably for a day in the saddle...
So, how's my thinking? My budget is not more than £1100 total, preferably less
Any comments welcome, and thanks in advance.