Noobie - Please Help

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Hello,
I went on a trip with some friends who like cycling and ive noticed that I want to get more involved in cycling. Ive been cycling everywhere for a few years but i want to understand it better and have a great bike.

Anyway, for ages i had a rubbish unbranded bike, then when i started to get really interested i bought a CBR (Claud Butler Racing) bike. Ive noticed though through research etc that its steel and very heavy and also the gears dont go high enough so i cant go fast!

One of my friends is really into cycling and throughout the whole journey i kept up with him quite well with my heavy bike. (it was extremely hard)

I really want a good bike like, and i want help with an issue...

Ive got £150 to buy a bike and I want to buy a second hand which is in mint condition because it is much cheaper. I want to buy another Claud Butler bike from ebay, or somewhere.

Anyway i want to buy this new bike but i want to take my "Vuelta Aero" alloy wheels of my old bike because they are really nice and put them on my new bike but i dont want the cassette on the wheels. So i want the wheels from the old bike but the cassette from the new bike. How do i do this? What if the bikes have a different number of gears? Can i change the sprockets?

I dont know what to do, Please help.
Please tell me your suggestions but bear in mind i only have £150!

Ant...

Start here:

http://sheldonbrown.com/beginners/index.html

im going to buy a brand new 2006 GT Avalanche 2.0 disc, how much do you think its worth?
Ant...

im going to buy a brand new 2006 GT Avalanche 2.0 disc, how much do you think its worth?
Ant...id say a good price would be around £300-£350 but i wouldn't reccomend buying online, go to your local bike shop and ask what they reccomend. (make sure you have a look a last years models and ex hire bikes as they often have price reductions.)

thanks very much - thats what i wnated to hear!
Ant...

Hello,
I went on a trip with some friends who like cycling and ive noticed that I want to get more involved in cycling. Ive been cycling everywhere for a few years but i want to understand it better and have a great bike.

Anyway, for ages i had a rubbish unbranded bike, then when i started to get really interested i bought a CBR (Claud Butler Racing) bike. Ive noticed though through research etc that its steel and very heavy and also the gears dont go high enough so i cant go fast!

One of my friends is really into cycling and throughout the whole journey i kept up with him quite well with my heavy bike. (it was extremely hard)

I really want a good bike like, and i want help with an issue...

Ive got £150 to buy a bike and I want to buy a second hand which is in mint condition because it is much cheaper. I want to buy another Claud Butler bike from ebay, or somewhere.

Anyway i want to buy this new bike but i want to take my "Vuelta Aero" alloy wheels of my old bike because they are really nice and put them on my new bike but i dont want the cassette on the wheels. So i want the wheels from the old bike but the cassette from the new bike. How do i do this? What if the bikes have a different number of gears? Can i change the sprockets?

I dont know what to do, Please help.
Please tell me your suggestions but bear in mind i only have £150!

Ant...
I'd hold off buying anything for 150 notes. You probably could pick up something but you got to ask yourself how long will it last you and will it keep up upright (fairly important!). You can clock fairly high speeds (even on MTBs (I mainly cycle ROAD these days!! :p )) and you want to be sure you can brake at speed or successfully take a sharp bend. How about putting a few quid aside or have you considered any of the interst free options.

Probably no help....! :D

Oh, no. All comments were helpful! Thanks...
Ive got a bike now. Imjust refurbishing it a bit, removing scratches, etc.
and believe me, on this bike you really can clock up speeds! - like no other bike ive had before! - Ive found that falling off a bike generally only happens because youre not used to it. I havent fell of any bike for years and i use one every day.

Ant...