Which Bike Advice

Bucky O Hare

Hi all,

Thanks for taking the time to read yet another 'which bike' related thread!

Ok, I have around £650 to spend on a steed to commute to work.
In terms of the ground, its all tarmac, some potholes but nothing too major. There are some fair sized hills but again, nothing to scare the kids too much! Around 7 miles each way.


I have been to a local bike shop who have recommended a hybrid style bike, specifically recommending me to the Claud Butler Urban 600 or the Scott Sub 10 Classic Hybrid.
Does anyone have any feedback on either of these bikes, or any of the other ones I have shortlisted;
Giant SCR 2
Giant escape R Sub Zero
GT GTR Series 3
Trek Soho 4
Claud Butler Milano
Trek 1.5 Double.


Apologies for the number of 'shortlisted' bikes but I still cant really decide between a Hybrid or a Roadie.
Any information or feedback you can give would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks again for reading chaps!!

the_hundredth_idiot

If you're after an urban hybrid in that price range, the Genesis Day 01 (£550) seems worth looking at. I'm pretty much set on a road bike now but that was on the short list when I was still thinking of a hybrid.

biondino

Bucky, I can't see why you'd want a hybrid. A road bike will give you better performance and almost certainly increase your enthusiasm for biking in a way a hybrid won't. If you need mudguards, panniers etc you can make compromises without ending up with some flatbar 38mm-wheeled monstrosity that doesn't actually move.

meanwhile

biondino wrote:

Bucky, I can't see why you'd want a hybrid.

Not everyone in the world has to be just like you. Some people don't like drop bars, at least not for riding in traffic. Some people want better brakes than a road racing bike has and tyres with more puncture resistance and grip, room for fenders and racks, etc. And a lot of people find the riding position of a dropbar plain uncomfortable - that's why mountain bikes appeared on the roads in swarms in the first place, and why hybrids were developed.

A road bike will give you better performance and almost certainly increase your enthusiasm for biking in a way a hybrid won't.

The enthusiasm is certainly true for you, but someone else may hate the road racing bike you love enough so they never cycle again. Because, for instance, the racer propelled them under a bus because it couldn't brake as quickly as a disc brake hybrid...

If you need mudguards, panniers etc you can make compromises without ending up with some flatbar 38mm-wheeled monstrosity that doesn't actually move.

Like buying a fast hybrid with low rolling resistance 28, 32, or 38mm tyres, I'd suggest.

Really, if you're going to harangue people into buying a bike that you imagine goes fast, at least understand what makes a bike fast - tyre width barely figures. If you don't believe me do some googling on contact patch size and hysteresis energy. And before you telling someone not to buy 38mm tyres, at least find out how much they weigh and what sort of roads they'll be riding - these are rather critical factors in minimum tyre width choice. For instance, +220lb man who has to ride a section of gravel road on the way to work will either want 38mm's or a mountain bike.

Bucky O Hare

Thanks for the advice guys.

I paid a visit to a different local shop yesterday evening and loved the Giant FCR1, does anyone have any thoughts on this bike?

Thanks again for any opinions or advice you can give!

Tobiwan

I can't comment on the short-listed bikes really as I've not ridden any of them myself, but I've got a specialized sirrus elite (there's also the comp and pro versions) and been very happy with it. It's probably one of the more racey hybrids and I've been delighted with mine so far.

biondino

Bucky O Hare wrote:

Hi all,

Thanks for taking the time to read yet another 'which bike' related thread!

Ok, I have around £650 to spend on a steed to commute to work.
In terms of the ground, its all tarmac, some potholes but nothing too major. There are some fair sized hills but again, nothing to scare the kids too much! Around 7 miles each way.

I'm only going on what he says in his original post. Of course he COULD get a hybrid or a mountain bike but they're compromises by default (unless he wants a MTB for weekend offroad fun). On a well-tarmacced road a road bike (including its be-mudguarded, disc braked versions, if you so choose) has to be the de facto first recommendation. Road bikes can take flat bars if that's what you prefer.

One assumption I am making is that road riding during the commute may give OP the enthusiasm to ride longer, more fun trips in his free time, and a bike that can do this without unnecessarily hauling around extra weight or rolling resistance is going to make this a hell of a lot more fun. The last thing anyone wants to do is set out for a 50 mile ride with friends on a Saturday afternoon on a 30lb monster with tractor tyres.

I think you're being unrealistic when it comes to ending up under a bus without disc brakes. You ride your bike within its capabilities, whatever they may be, and you don't end up under a bus full stop.

Bucky O Hare

biondino wrote:

Bucky O Hare wrote:

Hi all,

Thanks for taking the time to read yet another 'which bike' related thread!

Ok, I have around £650 to spend on a steed to commute to work.
In terms of the ground, its all tarmac, some potholes but nothing too major. There are some fair sized hills but again, nothing to scare the kids too much! Around 7 miles each way.

I'm only going on what he says in his original post. Of course he COULD get a hybrid or a mountain bike but they're compromises by default (unless he wants a MTB for weekend offroad fun). On a well-tarmacced road a road bike (including its be-mudguarded, disc braked versions, if you so choose) has to be the de facto first recommendation. Road bikes can take flat bars if that's what you prefer.

One assumption I am making is that road riding during the commute may give OP the enthusiasm to ride longer, more fun trips in his free time, and a bike that can do this without unnecessarily hauling around extra weight or rolling resistance is going to make this a hell of a lot more fun. The last thing anyone wants to do is set out for a 50 mile ride with friends on a Saturday afternoon on a 30lb monster with tractor tyres.

I think you're being unrealistic when it comes to ending up under a bus without disc brakes. You ride your bike within its capabilities, whatever they may be, and you don't end up under a bus full stop.

Thanks for the info biondino!
I think I'm leaning towards the FCR1 at the moment, I like the road bike set up more but also prefer the flat bars, I grew up riding MTBs so this is a familiar aspect, coupled with the road characteristics of the SCR for example.

I dont think a MTB is going to be much use, as it will make the commute more difficult and riding at weekends will again be done on normal roads.

Thanks again for your input so far. If anyone else has any other opinions please feel free to fire away, I want to make an informed choice and so welcome the feedback from the more experienced commuters/riders out there!!

meanwhile

biondino wrote:

. Of course he COULD get a hybrid or a mountain bike but they're compromises by default (unless he wants a MTB for weekend offroad fun).

There'd be compromises for you because you like drops. Some people don't - the position is bad for their back, gives poor visibility for urban riding, makes handling potholes harder, etc. There are reasons why a lot of urban riders keep drops for the weekend and use flat bars in traffic, and why a bike store legend like Condor will build its dedicated courier bike as a flat bar (and a 26 inch wheel as well, actually - more agility.)

On a well-tarmacced road a road bike (including its be-mudguarded, disc braked versions, if you so choose) has to be the de facto first recommendation. Road bikes can take flat bars if that's what you prefer.

You seem to believe that "hybrid" doesn't include bikes designed for the road. As I've already pointed out, it does. Although a lot of couriers still prefer hardtail slicked mtbs - they're virtually identical to bikes marketed as hybrids, but often a lot tougher, for a little extra weight that doesn't matter if you're not racing on hills.

One assumption I am making is that road riding during the commute may give OP the enthusiasm to ride longer, more fun trips in his free time, and a bike that can do this without unnecessarily hauling around extra weight or rolling resistance is going to make this a hell of a lot more fun.

RR is almost entirely the product of the riders weight and the compound used in the tyre; thinner tyres won't necessarily give a lower rr. They will reduce cornering ability, comfort, and braking. Telling some to ride a bike that can only take tyres designed for 14l0-160lb riders under race conditions without even asking what he weighs is just silly.

The last thing anyone wants to do is set out for a 50 mile ride with friends on a Saturday afternoon on a 30lb monster with tractor tyres.

If "anyone" = "ignorant cycling fashion victim" then yes. Otherwise, leaving out the sillier adjectives, possibly not. A 220lb rider will be faster on low RR 32-38mm tyres than on 23s.

Bike weight doesn't matter as much as you think. Newsflash - it's your weight plus the bike's weight that counts, and even then only when hill climbing; so spending a grand to save 4lbs (as people like you often do) will give a hill climbing edge of about 2%. Wonderful in a race, but silly to obsess on outside this context.

Then there's your belief that "road" bikes necessarily weigh less than hybrids - in fact, the weight ranges of the two types overlap. My so-so - sorry, my Sirrus - weighs less than quite a few of the racers I've ridden. Hybrids are governed by the same physical laws as racers, and when a hybrid costing the same weighs more it is usually because it has extra stuff that is useful outside of race conditions.

I think you're being unrealistic when it comes to ending up under a bus without disc brakes. You ride your bike within its capabilities, whatever they may be, and you don't end up under a bus full stop.

Now you're being even sillier. Riding traffic means being prepared to handle the consequences of drivers mistakes. A disc brake bike will brake immediately and quickly in heavy rain. A road racer won't. There is no way of compensating for a road racers deficiencies in this regard except by staying off roads used by buses in the rain, bus drivers being what they are. This doesn't mean that riding a racer is death; it does mean that a rider investing in a bike to ride in traffic rather than in a race has different priorities. Good brakes, comfort, the ability to see traffic, easy maintenance, the ability to cope well with pot holes - a racing bike (what you call a "road bike") can and should give them all up just to shave a minute after an hour long course. But for other types of bike this would be idiotic.

moggy12

have you thought of the trek fx series i have the 7.5 fx and the wife as the 7.2 for your money you could get the fx 7.6 (£700) great light bikes super top speed i easlier kept up with my mate you has a road bike i suffer from back pain riding a road bike but no probs with the fx series