Bike for a trainer

[Rykard]

HI,
not sure this is the right spot (modsw feel free to move to somewhere more appropiate)

I am after a cheap road bike to put on my turbo. I current have a cheap (£70) Decathlon mtb on it but I am fast running out of gears. I did think of changing the freewheel / chainrings but think this would probably cost too much in the long run. I am after a small frame (womens?) with 700c wheels for under £100 new. weight per se isn't an issue as it will spend all of it's time on the turbo, but reasonable components are..

any ideas?

[Doosh]

There's tons of old 70's/80's road bikes on Ebay that go for not a lot, if all you want is something to live in the turbo trainer then I couldn't think of anything more suited.

[gonzo]

All you need is to make sure that the triangle between the hand holds, saddle and cranks is the same, so anything that fits that will work. 'Anything' tends to be cheap too as a bonus!

Mine used to be an old hack bike that had gone one stage beyond hack; I left it chained to my turbo in the bike shed at work so I could get my winter training in before I got home.

[Rykard]

thinking womens frame too as this will be easier to 'get my leg over'.

Currently using a £70 decathlon womes mtb... I don't think I can change the rings and freewheel to be any larger\smaller without spending lots of money. i will drop it into the lbs and see what they say - bet's on ' You would be better buying one of these...'

[mattc]

You haven't given any details, but brand new
freewheel/chainrings start at around £10/ £5.

You'll only need a couple of gears to work properly (at most), so you don't need to be fussy.

[Rykard]

what details do you need to know?

the outer front ring is around 42 - it is a triple without seperate rings. To go any bigger I would need to move the front derailluer.. I don't know whether the chain would need changing to cope with the bigger rings.....

[mattc]

I once bought a cheap shimano triple for about £20, which just shows what MIGHT turn up ...

Do you have a link to Decathlon for the full spec?

What gear ratio do you think you need? [I know almost zip about Turbo riding, I'm guessing one needs quite big gears!]

[you could always let the tyres down for a no-cost extra resistance option]

There are a lot of variables here, but hopefully the YACF hive-mind will come up with something ... the question is whether a cheap complete bike might be a better deal! But then it sounds like you've got the position sorted, so that's something ...

[Rykard]

the bike is this one from a year or so ago..

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/rockrider-5-0-women-s-2010-141401392/

rockrider 5.0 Ladies.21 spd

[mattc]

OK, so it';s a 7sp, there are cheap freewheels available. Can you confirm it's got a freewheel, not a cassette+freehub?

what details do you need to know?

the outer front ring is around 42 - it is a triple without seperate rings. To go any bigger I would need to move the front derailluer.. I don't know whether the chain would need changing to cope with the bigger rings.....

Smallest sprocket?

(you'll probably only need 1 working chainring)

And

What gear ratio do you think you need?

[MSeries]

HI,
not sure this is the right spot (modsw feel free to move to somewhere more appropiate)

I am after a cheap road bike to put on my turbo. I current have a cheap (£70) Decathlon mtb on it but I am fast running out of gears. I did think of changing the freewheel / chainrings but think this would probably cost too much in the long run. I am after a small frame with 700c wheels for under £100 new. weight per se isn't an issue as it will spend all of it's time on the turbo, but reasonable components are..

any ideas?

My Peugeot would do nicely. 23", 531 tubes. Currently 1 speed but I have parts for 21. Downtube shifters, tight clearances, it's an ace ride around town. PM me with an offer.

[Rykard]

too big  only got short legs..

I will amend the original post. I think I am looking for a womens frame as it makes getting my leg over easier..

[Biggsy]

If the bike is purely for use with the turbo, stepping on a box should help enough to get on the bike, and the front derailleur can be removed altogether.

[Rykard]

If the bike is purely for use with the turbo, stepping on a box should help enough to get on the bike, and the front derailleur can be removed altogether.

I already us a box