Commuting Bike advice

FatBurt
FatBurt Posts: 70
edited January 2008 in Commuting chat
I currently ride a Spesh FSC XC as my one and only bike and I sometime commute to work on it (weather permitting etc...) I have a 14 mile round journey that will be increasing to around 30 miles in a couple of months when I move.


As much as I love riding the FSR, it is most definately not a commuter bike and I'd rather move to a dedicated road bike (not a hybrid) for when my commute increases as I'll have to cycle every day as the bus service where I'm moving to is virtually non existant.


I can get the cycle to work voucher through work and I'm getting one for the value of £500 so I think I have a decent budget to get a decent enough commuter but I'm at a loss as to where to start.


I have a mate with a Specialized Allez and he rates it very highly and as I have a Spesh now and have had others in the past I am interested in one, but as I can get any bike through Halfords (who the voucher ties me to) I'm open to suggestions as to what to look at. I have no objections to adding a little money to the bike fund if required (£50-100) and I'll only be buying a bike I've had a chance of test riding.


Any suggestions will be appreciated.

Cheers


I

Comments

  • Gussio
    Gussio Posts: 2,452
    Head down to the shops - no substitute for browsing the aisles and test riding a variety of bikes within your budget to find out which one fits you best.
  • El Gordo
    El Gordo Posts: 394
    If you can overcome any snobbery, Carreras from Halfords are pretty decent bikes for the money. Boardmans are reckoned to be OK too. Get a road bike with clearance and fittings for mudguards (and a rack if you're so inclined).
  • felix500
    felix500 Posts: 46
    I got a bike through Halfords cycle to work scheme (Trek 1200, £700) and wasn't restricted to their brands. The guys in store are usually just out of nappies and are generally unhelpful but they have a specialist cycle to work team available by phone who say they can source anything. They were really helpful. I wasn't able to add to the value of the amount I signed up to though. They also wouldn't let me add items such as spd pedals to the bike under the C2W scheme. I had to buy these sperataely at full price. The bikes great anyway!

Categories