Wheely good bike! (Giant Defy 2.5 Road Bike)

Advantages: Light, Great gears, Good looks
Disadvantages: Uncomfortable saddle, not the greatest wheels

...and I have yet to find a hill that can defeat the lowest gearing. The Tiagra system seems very reliable with shifts always finding their cogs. The lever system is based on the brake handles with a small inner lever being used to go up and the full brake handle being used for down (opposite on front cog). This soon feels very natural. Wheels The wheels provided are okay, I suspect that this is where the manufacturesrs have looked to save some money and they are the only part of the bike that I have since upgraded. For me they were a little on the heavy side and not quite free running enough. Pedals This bike was provided with toe clip pedals which I opted to have removed and replaced with some that work with cleats and proper road shoes. As I never saw the originals I can't really comment - however if you are...

thejazzyj 18.09.2009 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Giant Defy 2.5 Road Bike

Bianchi Via Nirone 7 2005

Advantages: Great price and beautiful ride
Disadvantages: Lots of small probelms and so many expensive upgrades to be done

...Bianchi Via Nirone 7 2005 Alu-Carbon Xenon Compact/Triple Drive Size 59 LiquiGas/Bianchi Team Colours (see photo at botom of review) £574.99 The bike and the ride In late summer of 2005 I purchased a Bianchi Via Nirone 7 from Evans online at the website (http://www.evanscycles.com/) and was impressed with the delivery within 3 days. The parcel was well protected and all I had to do was open one end of the box, wheel the bike out, adjust the handlebar orientation and basically it was good to go riding. I changed the saddle for a Bontrager Race X Lite saddle as an upgrade - saddle selection is a very personal choice for comfort on the long rides. After inflating the tyres to a high pressure (I use 100psi to allow for the humps and bumps on the Great British roads). The handling of this bike with carbon fibre forks, stem...

hert1137 15.02.2007 (21.02.2007) · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Bianchi USA Inc Giro Triple

GT Aggressor XC2. What a Bike for the Money

Advantages: Strong Frame and Wheels, Tyres do not let go
Disadvantages: None really!!

...Bought this bike with my work cycle to work scheme. A great buy from Halfords. Excellent speck for the price and a very strong bike. I'm 18st 10 (253 ibs) and in my opinion this bike can handle this weight easily. Great colour Black with like a Pearlesent White, Very good speck components, Shimano Deore derauillers and Sram Truvatic Crank. Hydrolic Brakes and Discs. These will stop you instantly and do tare a little time to get used to or a flight over the bars could come along. These sqeak when covered in Muck and Water for the first few occasions, but when used this disapates. Wheels are Alex DP17 rims, Strong, Maxxis Ingnitor Tyres Grip like hell. Suntour XCR forks are ok for Cross Country riding, Not a great Jump fork, but hey Im no Jumper! (I think that if yoiu are lighter than me you could have some safe landings with these...

damo1401 07.08.2009 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of GT Aggressor XC2 Mountain Bike

On Yer Bike!

Advantages: Great fun, slow, Harry loves it
Disadvantages: Noisy, siren is a pain

...Now, Harry isn't what I would call a daredevil. In fact, he's not into anything that moves too fast or does things that he doesn't expect to happen, pretty much like any 2 and a half year old I expect. So as you can imagine, I wasn't overly thrilled when I found out last year that Harry's great aunt had bought him a motorised motor bike. Please bear in mind last Christmas he was only 21 months old and consequently pretty small and unconfident, but nonetheless, the Halfords Mini Racer Bike was on its way to us courtesy of my parents. It wasn't something we expected to keep for long but funnily enough, its now become Harry's favourite ever toy! The Halfords Mini Racer Bike is available from the Halfords website, and in-store but I can't really say I have ever seen one when I have been into a Halfords. My brother works for Halfords...

mummy2harry 01.12.2008 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Halfords Mini Racer Bike

On the Road, On the Mind!

Advantages: The feeling that you're holding the author's hand the entire time.
Disadvantages: Spontaneous prose will not necessarily suit everyone's tastes

...On The Road is an exciting and enchanting perpsective on post-war America's cultural enlightenment, denoting a people's social revolution on the backdrop of an American 'halcyon' idealism. It highlights the desperate yet opportunistic nature of the 'beat' generation as they expand their horizons across the huge stretch of an entire continent. Outlining the experiences and revelations of a fragmented group of college peers and other random associates, it delves into the fiery-hearted life of drug experimentation and liberal thinking, in a decade where the clasp of the state was becoming ever more relinquished. As a psuedo-biographical work the author loosely basis the narrator, Sal Paradise, on his own turbulent past, and specifically that of the character he befriends and idolises, Dean Moriarty. The scope of the events that...

ChristopherAMorrison 29.11.2009 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of On the Road - Jack Kerouac

Revoulationary Road

Advantages: Good acting
Disadvantages: NA

...This is based on the 1961 novel of the same name by Richard Yates. Set in 1955, Frank (Leonardo DiCaprio) and April Wheeler (Kate Winslet) move to Revolutionary Road in one of New York City's wealthy suburbs, and have a daughter and a son. Everything seemed to be in place for a perfect family. However, after 7 years of being together, April is not satisfied with her life as a housewife, and Frank despises his job at Knox Business Machines, where his father worked for twenty years in a similar position. The Wheelers feel they are trapped in the way of life of the suburb and the normal "happy family scene". On Frank's thirtieth birthday he seduces a young secretary from work and begin to have an affair with her.. Returning home late, April surprises him with a birthday cake and a proposal that they move to Paris, with April...

medgenie 24.05.2009 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Revolutionary Road (DVD)

"Look at my fancy newbig boy bike!

Advantages: great customer service, great quality
Disadvantages: Matching accessories not available

...On Tuesday 27 March, my son turned three making him officially a "big boy" as he reminds us on at least an hourly basis. His dad and I thought it only appropriate to celebrate this graduation into "big-boyhood" by buying him his first "big boy" bike. Kyle is an extremely active and strong boy and the level of destruction he can cause is extraordinary to say the least so it was vital that we found a bike that could withstand the endurance test that is hurricane Kyle and unfortunately, it was doubtful that the Spiderman bike from Argos he had his eye on was going to do the trick. With this in mind I started to do some research online into different options. One brand in particular kept popping up in reviews and newspaper/magazine articles. That brand was Isla Bikes. Now, I am not particularly knowledgeable when it comes to...

ally2kc 30.03.2007 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Isla Bikes

A wheelie good toddler bike

Advantages: Small cheap, good quality
Disadvantages: no brakes

...A child’s first sized pushbike, with stabilisers, squeaky horn and clip on basket. Adjustable handlebars and seat, suitable for children from approximately 2 to 4 years. Manufactured by Universal and costing around £30 from large toyshops such as Toys”r”us. My 2 year old was desperate for her own “big girls bike” with two wheels and stabilisers. I looked at many, most of which were above £50, as I didn’t have as much as that to spend, I homed in on this jazzy little bike initially sold in Index. After realising that they were from the old stock and that they were not in the catalogue, the pleasant assistant offered to go out to the back of the store to see if there were any still lurking in the warehouse. Perfect, one left, and as it was old stock at an unmissable price of £22...

headgardener 10.07.2001 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Bicycles

Me and my Shadow

Advantages: Excellent to ride, easy to clean
Disadvantages: Not fast enough for some people

...running she was coughing and spluttering when I had to run at a slower speed. Once home I was able to clear the carburettors by flushing them through with fresh fuel. I would say this is not a job to do yourself unless you are fully competent to do it. I was able to administer this process myself but my local garage quoted £66.00. She has been very reliable during the time we have been together and I cover about 6000 miles a year on her. You will find with the RAC they are never able to fix motorcycles on the side of the road no matter how trivial the problem is. I have made full use of my membership over the last 14 years and many of my motorcycles have arrived home on the back of the bike trailers. The cost of an MOT is currently £15.60. A minor service every 3000 miles is £86.00 and a major service every 6000 miles runs at £140...

Night_Rider 14.04.2003 (05.01.2005) · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Honda Shadow 1100 Road Bike

My Road Angel!

Advantages: Easy to use
Disadvantages: some may want battery life to last longer

...I have always wanted a Satellite Navigation (SatNav) device simply because I drive a lot and I am forever getting lost on my route. I have been searching for a decent SatNav for a long time now, and up until recently the same one has been recommended to me time and time again from people I work with or know. This is the Road Angel Navigator. I brought this nifty gadget last week, and I am very please with it. ----------------------------------- A brief Intro to the SatNav ----------------------------------- The Road Angel Satellite Navigator combines not only up to date speed camera warnings but also accident black spot warning as well. Road Angel Navigator is capable of alerting you to the complete range of fixed speed cameras including GATOS, Truvelo, Watchman and SPECS. Road Angel Navigator combines clear turn...

dempsey_review 28.03.2006 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Blackspot Road Angel