New bike short commute london

secretsam

Oh no another "Help clueless newbie needs bike"

Right - formerly knowledgeable but due to 20 year gap clueless newbie wants bike to replace 3.5 mile trip to office by tube with cycle ride, to prevent him going insane on the train

Not much to spend say £400, don't want a MTB but would need to be tough to cope with city streets, occasional towpath maybe (but mostly road use)

Have thought about Specialised Sirrus, Genesis Day 00, not sure if a drop 'bars bike would be appropriate, the flat super fast hybrids such as those listed seem to be similar geometry to a fast tourer????

All advice gratefully accepted

Big Red S

What's the route?

secretsam

Marylebone station to Clerkenwell

Flat, I think (well, the tube line's flat, anyway )

daniel_b

This might be worth a look.
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... ryrn_60956

The 8's get rave reviews, I have a 2 year old, but previously never used Subway one, for a bargain £85.

My commute is about the same length as yours, but more cyclepath, and a bit of towpath involved, so suits me down to the ground.

Dan

secretsam

Errrr....no, sorry, right off course, looks like an MTB (nein danke) and has hub gears, which I totally associate with old people and Raleigh Choppers

not that I'm prone to ill informed bias and prejudice, you understand :oops:

Don't however have an aversion to Carrera bikes (only the idiots that sell them)

Small Fish

I have a Genesis Day 00 and I love it. It's fast, light, gives you a buzz when you ride it and it looks great (which is of course very important even though we're supposed to judge our bikes on performance!)

Only bad things I'd say are:-

the tyres that come with it are are rubbish - Continental Ultra Race which should be good but I've been getting punctures galore (at least one a fortnight) and after 10 weeks commuting the rear tyre needs replacing as it has 2 cuts which are starting to bulge.

The pedals - can't get used to the toeclips on the pedals, had no problem on previous bikes but these don't flick round properly! Plan to get clipless anyway so not too fussed.

Bars/front forks - the ride is absolutely fine for the commuting sprint but gets a bit harsh on longer/bumpier rides.

secretsam

Small Fish wrote:

I have a Genesis Day 00 and I love it. It's fast, light, gives you a buzz when you ride it and it looks great (which is of course very important even though we're supposed to judge our bikes on performance!)

Only bad things I'd say are:-

the tyres that come with it are are rubbish - Continental Ultra Race which should be good but I've been getting punctures galore (at least one a fortnight) and after 10 weeks commuting the rear tyre needs replacing as it has 2 cuts which are starting to bulge.

The pedals - can't get used to the toeclips on the pedals, had no problem on previous bikes but these don't flick round properly! Plan to get clipless anyway so not too fussed.

Bars/front forks - the ride is absolutely fine for the commuting sprint but gets a bit harsh on longer/bumpier rides.

Thanks, yeah, the fact that it looks meaner than the Sirrus has no-o-o-o-o impact on my thoughts...nor does the presence of 3 chained up near my office that I can stare at...

Pedals - can you not get those flip things you used to be able to buy??? Little bolt on 'tongues'...

ArDee

Either of these may fit the spec:

http://www.evanscycles.com/product.jsp?style=70574

http://www.evanscycles.com/product.jsp?style=70093

If this posting links thing has worked

secretsam

Yup, it worked, hadn't seen the Scott, yet more options...am now tending towards the Sirrus as the others use caliper brakes, and don't seem to have much clearance for more chunky tyres...