Newbie commuter as car's being scrapped.

back-on-two-wheels

With car scrapping imminent, after weighing up the cost of a new car or bike, decided my future commute will be on two wheels. I'm not a novice rider but the last time I did - some many years ago - usually involved hurtling through forests on my old suspensionless saracen mtb.
My proposed commute is 14 miles each way with just under 2000ft of ascent/descent mostly on 'B' roads.
...so finally here's my question!

As bike's have progressed a lot since I last looked, I really don't know whether a hybrid, mtb or road bike would be best suited. Personally, I'm not so keen on the 'upright' stance - I much prefer a head down and get there approach.
My budget is around £1K with the hope that I won't have to upgrade for a little while.

Have looked online at a bewlidering amount of info but the more I read the less I seem to know...
Visited my LBS but perhaps wasn't specific enough about what I intended to do as didn't leave feeling 'enlightened'.
I've read a lot of advice regards trying different bikes - but the LBS didn't appear to have a huge selection.

Any pointers would be appreciated.

attica

back-on-two-wheels wrote:

I'm not so keen on the 'upright' stance - I much prefer a head down and get there approach.
My budget is around £1K with the hope that I won't have to upgrade for a little while.

Sounds fairly cut and dried to me, get yerself a road bike:- hybrids tend to be very upright and MTBs are heavy in comparison to road bikes which will count for a lot with all that climbing, next question is what sort of road bike...

You could go down the tourer route if you've a lot to carry or get a standard roadie if you travel light (they tend not to have lugs for racks/mudguards) or you could get a compromise between the two, a decent road bike but make sure it's got those lugs and mudguard clearance, more of an audax/winter trainer type bike or even a cyclocross if you fancy a bit of offroad shenanigans.

If you're feeling a bit masochistic you could always get a single speeder, harder work uphill but lower maintenance as you've no derailleur-shifters-cables to maintain.

If you've 1k to spend you should find yourself quite a nice bike but I'd suggest setting aside a bit for some essentials:- gloves, glasses, multitool, tyre levers, spare tubes, shoes, clipless pedals (these are REALLY going to help you on the hills), padded shorts and (without wishing to start a huge argument, so I'll say this is optional) a helmet.

Hope this helps

cee

might as well clos ethe thread now......attica said it all!

back-on-two-wheels

Thanks for the advice. After another LBS visit, with a little more knowledge on what I'm trying to achieve, i'm now the proud owner of a nice (well I like it anyway!) Trek 1.5, some wet and dry clothing and change from the budget - which, given the increased exercise, I'll most likely spend on food...

Sticking with the existing pedals/straps for the moment, but at least the bike's upgradeable as I become a little more familiar both with it and my daily trek.

As a bonus the LBS have a regular Sunday meet, so I feel a few weekend excursions on the agenda too.

attica

Glad to have helped, hope you enjoy your new found freedom from the tin cage!

Gr.uB

Backontwowheels,
Your thread rings bells with me. That is exactly how I got back into cycling.
Car failed MOT so I scrapped it and invested the money in a bike.
Got a Giant OCR4 back in 2004 - upgraded to TCR Hybrid and now have a TCR for the better weather and a Thorn Brevet for the not so good weather. I ride all year all distances.

Mudguards. They are a must if you want to remain comfortable in the winter months. Race blades do mark your frame but they are better than nowt. Full guards are better still.

All the best and I bet you will upgrade gradually, once the bug bites you.