advice needed on what type of bike

jamiethesignfitter

hello there, i'm after some advice for my choice of bike, as my name suggests i am a sign fitter and i work all over the country but i also work a lot in london, i live 16 miles from the centre of london which i cycled for the first time yesterday to and from a job in belgravia approx 40 miles round trip, on a god knows how old raliegh elan racing bike which i bought from a free ads paper in newcastle for 40 quid. so by my reckoning taking into consideration diesel, congestion charge and £4 pound an hour parking it has almost paid for itself in a day!
so my question is this do i buy a racing bike which i really want and put tools in a rucksack and get used to the back ache, (but be ableto enjoy at the weekend) or a touring bike and put tools in panniers, but not want to use at weekends,or is there something in between. some days on bigger jobs i will have to take the van and sit like a sheep in the traffic, but i have made the decision to ride on every available occaison. or do i get two bikes cos there is no in between. any ideas? could possibly spend a few quid on the old bike to use for work and then buy a new road bike for weekend ..........help please

biondino

How much do your tools weigh? I ride a racer with a rucksack to work every day (though only 7 miles each way) and can manage up to about 10lbs without too much discomfort.

jamiethesignfitter

it differs depending on the job but sometimes i need a battery drill, the more i think of it panniers may be the only way

DonDaddyD

Two bikes sounds like the way to go. Seems that your commuter will be used heavily, pick up knocks and put under all kinds of stress due to the weight. You may enjoy riding something lighter and sportier over the weekend. A little like back in the day when some drove vans to work and cars on the weekend - back when cars were cheap and fluffy bunny rabbits used to come out the other end...

prj45

Don't know how you'd find this bumping along after you for 12 miles?

http://www.carryfreedom.com/city.html

ris

some road bikes and most cross bikes have pannier mounts, as long as you didn't mind having an empty pannier on the back at weekends or the fiddle of removing it you might get away with only one bike.

as DonDaddyD said, you'd have to accept a bit of knocks and bumps to your bike during work times so you might be better off with two.

Juju_uk_68

Are you self empoyed?

Might you actually be able to get a trade bike thats rideable, such as the Kona UTE which was recently reviewed. Perhaps fit up solid panniers with an example of your sign writing. Market yourself as environmentally friendly, and make it a selling point of your business.

You'll have a good bike for your work needs, one that advertises your services, and will have a bike you dont mind getting the odd knock.

Then buy another bike for your leisure needs?

N0bodyOfTheGoat

Is it perhaps worth considering a dedicated bike trailor for your work tools and then buying a bike that would be zippier at the weekend with the trailor detached? The trailor would give you plenty of space for marketing too!

jamiethesignfitter

Thanks for the help chaps, but after much web surfing i have decided to get this http://www.evanscycles.com/products/bia ... e-ec016052 I will not be able to ride this to work as on occasion I will have to leave my bike locked up outside a job, so I think the only answer is a dedicated work horse. I'm not sure what yet, the load carrier would be great for advertising but I'm not sure I could do the 17 odd miles into london on it. I have a Specialized Rockhopper hardtail in the garage which I think I could put a rack and panniers on, stick on some road tyres and (hopefully) Bobs your Uncle and Fanny's your Mum's sister. Once again cheers for the suggestions......

Jamie