Hi just wondering what people think may be the better bike for my purpose?
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/2014-Reid-Condor-DROP-BAR-Road-Bi…
or
http://www.diamondback.com/bikes-mountain-hardtail-xc-trail-… for $348 from Big W
I live in rural qld - roads are pretty decent, riding mainly on road/path, not many hills, will also take to beach once a year - riding just on paths. I want something that I can add a baby seat to later to take bub for a ride. At the moment I just have an aldi bike (tank) that I got second hand some time ago that I'm not happy with; clunky gears, heavy and a little beat up from previous rider.
Been a weekend bike track rider for many years. If I may give you a few tips on what to look for ??
Light weight but well made. Some of the cheaper bikes are as heavy as a Russian tank as you have found :-(
Front suspension is good, rear is not needed and makes it heavier. No suspension makes it even lighter if not needed.
Gears… good gears really make a bike a pleasure. Go for one that has "rapid shift". They have two gear levers on both sides of the h/bars, four in total.
The grip twist ones are junk as are some of the old regular flick shift.
You can get all this in a bike for under $400 easy from a good bike shop. Some are just rip offs but if you find a good one you will get a quality bike for a fair price.
You show both a road bike and a mountain bike in your links. Go half way and get a hybrid bike. It is a mix of the two.
Hybrid bikes… http://www.ebay.com.au/sch/i.html?_trksid=p2047675.m570.l131…