Advice please: make me enjoy cycling! (27)

Thanks

Thanks Tiggs xxx

Which brand? Irrelevant, unfortunately. Ask ten cyclists their opinion and you'll get twelve answers. The only answer is that there will be one that feels right for you.

I'd say the problem you have is that you're riding a mountain bike, which I'll guess was pretty cheap, and so will weigh a metric fuckload. That says to me that you want a bike that's on the lighter side.

One way of getting a light, fast, tough bike is getting a fixie with a flip-flop rear hub so you can ride it single-speed. I'm a definite convert to single gear bikes. I've had easily 3500 miles out of mine without a single service, a geared bike would have cost me hundreds in new drive-chain etc by now. The only down side is the are tough going up real hills (mild slopes are actually easier).

Saddles are crucial. I had problems with cycling more than 10 miles for years, until I discovered that my sit-bones are in different counties, so the widest mens saddle is *just* wide enough for me. Specialized shops have a memory foam thngy you can sit on that will tell you the saddle size you need. It can make all the difference.

Get thee to a good bike shop, let them make you a recommendation, sleep on it, post it back on this thread and invite opinions.

BUY DECENT LOCKS!!!

The thing most people skimp on is TWO decent locks. And by decent, I mean upwards of £70. One really good solid D-lock and probably a fat cable lock (the Abus ones are great), so that a thief needs two different sets of tools to get through them. It's worth the investment, because if you buy good enough locks, a bike thief will simply pass you by because it isn't worth their time even trying. If it's living outside, what have you got that you can lock it to?

Finally, no bike will make riding like sex (unless you glue a dildo to the saddle and cut a hole in your jeans) but humilation filth can be provided as a substitute.

No stalkerz, no nillaz and definitely NO singing psycho-babez.

There are two ways to do it: one is get an entry-level new bike, in which case you probably want a hybrid.

The second is to find out what size and style you want, then find it second hand. You will get a much better quality bike for your money that way.

If you want a new one, try a Ridgeback or Giant hybrid - something like this. Don't get a mountain bike - they are sluggish on the roads and ESPECIALLY don't get a full-suspension mountain bike, because you will waste all your energy bouncing the damn thing instead of riding it.

If you are willing to have a go at finding a second hand bike, then I'd strongly recommend a tourer. Lighter than a hybrid, but similar in that they can handle (good) bridlepaths as well as being slick on the roads, tourers just make sense to ride and tend to be very comfortable. Thorn, Giant and Dawes (the Dawes Galaxy is very popular) all make tourers, as do Specialized.

January / February are good times for women to be looking on ebay, after cycling-obsessed men enthusiastically buy the girlfriend a bike for Christmas and she tries it twice and hates it.