what bike?

ndevans

I'm about to ditch the tube and do the cycle commute. Journey of about 7 miles south of London (West Norwood) to Totenham Court Road area. Will have a budget of £250-300 for the bike (no more). Looking for a comute/hybrid that will allow me to do a bit of of road/touring as well although just holiday stuff, nothing heroic. So a bit of a one size fits all required. Been in lots of bike shops and many brands re appear: Ridgeback, Scott, Globe, Pinnacle, Giant etc etc. All the advice given by shop staff really good but it still leaves me with about 10 bikes to choose from and no real knowledge to make that final choice.

Any advice/ pointers to anyone can give me to narrow down my choice would be much appreciated. Any particular models that offer good value for money or just good bikes that have earned good reviews would also be much appreciated.

Annual travel pass runs out on August 8th so not much time ;0)

Neil

CanterburyTailwind

Hi Neil

I'm glad you're making the move to 2 wheels! Have a look at the list I compiled for 'what road bike' at http://www.bikeradar.com/beginners/foru ... t=12577960 - hopefully some useful general advice. I got a Giant SCR2 6 or so months ago, and would thoroughly recommend it. In your price bracket I'd look at the SCR4, which shares the same frame with the SCR2, so is upgradable if you want. They're good all round bikes: they can take mudguards and racks, have a relatively relaxed geometry (so good in traffic and for touring), and come with (relatively for road bikes!) big tyres (26), so more comfortable than the standard 23s.

Wiggle were doing them for a shade under £300, but not sure if they still are. However, we're coming up to the time in the year when bike shops get rid of their old stock ready for the 2009 lines, so will shortly be a few bargains around.

Hope that's some help.

el_presidente

ndevans wrote:

I'm about to ditch the tube and do the cycle commute. Journey of about 7 miles south of London (West Norwood) to Totenham Court Road area. Will have a budget of £250-300 for the bike (no more). Looking for a comute/hybrid that will allow me to do a bit of of road/touring as well although just holiday stuff, nothing heroic. So a bit of a one size fits all required. Been in lots of bike shops and many brands re appear: Ridgeback, Scott, Globe, Pinnacle, Giant etc etc. All the advice given by shop staff really good but it still leaves me with about 10 bikes to choose from and no real knowledge to make that final choice.

Any advice/ pointers to anyone can give me to narrow down my choice would be much appreciated. Any particular models that offer good value for money or just good bikes that have earned good reviews would also be much appreciated.

Annual travel pass runs out on August 8th so not much time ;0)

Neil

To be honest there will be very little difference between any at that price. After 6 months you will know what you want to upgrade to & you can sell the old one on here or eBay. So get the one that catches your eye or the best service or nearest shop to your house