Bike for Commuting

acbone

I currently commute 17 miles each way on a mountain bike with Conti Slick tyres. takes about 1hr in the morning and 1hr 20 on the way home, uphill! I have been considering a flatbar road bike, like the Marin fairfax, or the Trek FX7.5 , or a full on racer like the Specialized Allez or even a tricross bike. I don't want to be dealing with punctures on narrow tyres every day. The route is 99.9 % road or cycle track. So I need a bike that is fast, light and will take the abuse of a daily commute. Any recommendations? Don't know the difference between the bikes I have listed. My budget is about £500. don't want a flash looking bike cause it's left in a bike shed all day.

roger_merriman

you could get a road bike as might well be wise with the distance and fit some heavy duty tires, tires like Marthon plus bar anti tank mines are impossible to punture. they go down to 25mm which while not light should roll well.

meanwhile

acbone wrote:

I currently commute 17 miles each way on a mountain bike with Conti Slick tyres. takes about 1hr in the morning and 1hr 20 on the way home, uphill! I have been considering a flatbar road bike, like the Marin fairfax, or the Trek FX7.5 , or a full on racer like the Specialized Allez or even a tricross bike. I don't want to be dealing with punctures on narrow tyres every day. The route is 99.9 % road or cycle track. So I need a bike that is fast, light and will take the abuse of a daily commute. Any recommendations? Don't know the difference between the bikes I have listed. My budget is about £500. don't want a flash looking bike cause it's left in a bike shed all day.

What do you think you'll get that a slicked hardtail MTB won't give you? Assuming your MTB is an ok one, you shouldn't expect to see much performance difference. Even saving a good % of bike weight doesn't translate into a meaningful speed difference -it's bike plus rider weight that matters, and even then only on hills. Take a look at

http://www.kreuzotter.de/english/espeed.htm

If you're due for a new bike anyway, a model marketed as a hybrid might make sense. Just don't expect a sensational change. I'd look at the Edinbrugh Bike Co-up Revolution Courier series for commuting. Excellent price, disks or V brakes, 26 wheels or 700c. If you want drops you could put midge bars and 287V brake levers on. £200-£300 for a bike that would sell for much more if it was labeled Trek or Specialized. And at that sort of price your heart shouldn't break if you slop crappy gold/green/gold paint on rims and the frame as an anti-theft measure.

scotchio3

I'd say your best bet was a secondhand specialized Sirrus, look at the gumtree and ebay, there doesn't seem much point in getting a brand new one with only £500 to play with.
You'll notice the difference with a new wheelset as most bikes in this price point often come with heavy clunky wheels. (try shimano WHR 550 around £90 a pair)
Also try the Boardman range of flat bars, good bikes for the money, just get it serviced elsewhere as Halfords aren't really at the top of their game.