I would like to do more than just ride but due to family and work life the gym would never happen but i do have some time in the evenings. I thought that i would get some free weights but don't know what i am looking at. Can i ask the experts on here for help.
Many thanks

just start off with a set of dumbells. The metal ones are best as the sand filled take a lot of room. Go online and find a couple of starter programs.

Im pretty sure the maximuscle website has one that's pretty good. If you find that you get into it then a a bench and a set of barbells are the next step but if you start pushing the weights up then it would be good to have someone spot you.

i dont bother with weights at home. I bought a resistance band recently and a kettlebell which im really getting into. That combined with bodyweight exercises keeps me sorted and kit to a minimum. Though im not looking to bulk up. just keep toned.

Hope that helps!

A cheap 1" spinlock bar is generally good enough for a beginner. If you stick at it you can move up to a more expensive Olympic 2" bar later.
Ideally you would need a bench and squat rack or power cage as well, but they are not essential.
exrx is the best weightlifting site. http://www.exrx.net/Lists/PowerExercises.html

I use some freeweights in the garage twice a week.

Instead of a bench I use one of those big balls for things like chest press.

As an alternative you might want to consider a dip/chin station:

About the same price as basic weights/bench.

Funny, I'm thinkig the same – ie need a gym at home to save time
To do it properly you need power rack, bench, barbell and dumbells (assuming of course that there's a chinnng bar on the power rack.

yup as said above, go for metal weights as you can chop/change the actual weight of each bar instead of having a sand weight specifically for 1,2,3,4,5kg etc

a bench is superb, one which is narrow enough to allow shoulder movements when bench pressing.

recommend getting a chin up/dip bar also, can get ones to screw to walls or fit in door frames fairly cheap.

then all you need is a guide to excercises, thousands out there but go with one which is simple and caters for your needs/time/equipment availible

😀

To do it properly you need power rack, bench, barbell and dumbells (assuming of course that there's a chinnng bar on the power rack.

Well, yes, but only in the same way that to do mountain biking properly you need gears, suspension, special shoes for clipless pedals, etc.
Minimum requirement, I would say, is a 5' spinlock bar and two dumbbell bars, plus about 50kg of plates (discs), either cast iron or sand filled plastic.
The plastic ones do less damage when you drop them, but are bulkier, so you will run out of room on the bar as you increase the weight.

With a bit of imagination (or google) you can work you abs, legs, shoulders, biceps, triceps, forearms, and back just using dumbells, you would need a bench to work your chest but even then I think dumbells are better than a bar. They make you work harder on controlling/balancing the weight if that makes sense.

If you are just starting out then get yourself some dumbells with the metal plates as the sand filled ones are too big and get in the way of the motion of some exercises. 50kg would be enough for most things, maybe more if you wanted to focus more on your legs. Improvise a bench using an exercise ball as someone mentioned, cushions, furniture or whatever. Hit the internet and find as many variations as you can find on all the exercises, really mix up your workouts and that will keep you going for at least 6 months before you get to a stage where heading out to buy more expensive equipment is necessary.

I'd just keep to dumbbells, you can do squats lunges etcs to improve legs strength.
If you go for a bar, and larger weights, you could end up lifting heavy weights and bulking up (good if that's what you want to do)
whereas keeping to dumbbells, you can increase the rep/ therefore increasing muscle endurance (maybe)

You should also be looking at core workouts as well.

If you want something a little different, how about putting some climbing holds in the garage wall, and or maybe get a finger board?

I don't bother with any weights at all these days just use good old fashioned bodyweight exercises instead.

press ups
incline press ups
hindu press ups
handstand press ups
chin ups (use the landing from the stairs or the goal posts over the park)

sit ups / oblique
crunches / oblique
V-sits
leg raises
alternate leg raises
hanging leg raises
knee raises

squats
hindu squats
horse riding stance
lunges
burpees