Half Decent Commuter Bike for Under £200???

Roougers

Hello,

I've just moved to London with work and want to start commuting about 5/6 miles a day, does any one have any sugestions as to a half decent bike I can pick up for under £200?

I've read a lot of posts on this site and found it helpful, but I have a really limited budget, and its unlikely I will take the bike back home when my work in London is finished (I live on the Shetland Isles!!)

Any tips or sugestions most appreciated!

P

lost_in_thought

Ebay! Or perhaps a police auction of some kind? Also check out the readers ads board.

tailwindhome

I'm no expert but its seems to me that you're looking for a bargain off Ebay.

Most bikes on Ebay are local pickup but I imagine there will be plenty to chose from in London.

Get a bargain

Stick it back on Ebay when you're finished in London and you might get your money back

Then you're hooked and will be investing in a real bike


Stay away from the SCR thread, they smell fresh meat :evil:

Anonymous

Carrera Subway?

alfablue

I would second the Carrera Subway 1, it is around £180. Yes, I know it's Halfords but at your budget you will struggle to beat it, the bike is very good value for money, it just needs setting up correctly, which may or may not happen at Halfords. There is a Bikeradar review here. Secondhand values on eBay seem quite strong, should you decide to upgrade at some point.

Anonymous

Yep, agreed. Nothing wrong with the Subway - i had one, was set up fine from the shop.

daniel_b

I was just going to mention the subway one

Mine was a uber bargain, 2 years old, but had never been used, still had the little nobbly bits of rubber on the tyres, and the labels from the shop, he wanted £80 for it, I felt it was too good of a deal to haggle.

15 months later and it hasn't missed a beat, used pretty much 5 days a week, on road, cycle path and towpath.

Very good bike once you fit em with mudguards and a rack, very competent, very easy to flog afterwards as well.

Dan

Finbar Saunders

You could try Gumtree and get a second hand bike. The benefit is that if you can try it out and don't have to wait until the end of an auction. The disadvantage is that the choice is limited.

Just had a quick look:

£90 http://www.gumtree.com/london/0/31160000.html

£50 http://www.gumtree.com/london/35/31298435.html

£90 (has mudguards!) http://www.gumtree.com/london/64/31298364.html

£160 http://www.gumtree.com/london/27/31291627.html

Plus many others. If in doubt take it to an LBS for a second opinion. Or try an LBS for a second hand bike. A small family store near where I work often has bikes suitable for commuting for less than £100.

Roougers

Thanks, very much indeed, I had never heard of Gumtree (we could do with a Shetland version!!)

Should have something sorted over the next few days.

Cheers again!

Paul

Spitchips - BANNED

I had a subway 2 and brought it 2nd hand for about £200 with accesories. lasted me about 2 years but was disappopinted with the naff texktro braking system and upgraded to a Baordman hybir pro with Avid juicy 5 hyrdalics brakes. Reasonable.

Personally I would invest as much money as possible on a commuting bike - even if it means having to guve up smopking and paying crazy pub prices for a couple of years - I did!

itboffin

I love subways me especially the Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki yummy

The next London police auction is on the 8th Jan. you need to register first (free) http://www.frankgbowen.co.uk/ you can pick up a perfectly working bike from £10

Don't tell anyone else

Vivid

+1 for the Carrera Subway 1.

Spitchips - BANNED

itboffin wrote:

I love subways me especially the Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki yummy

The next London police auction is on the 8th Jan. you need to register first (free) http://www.frankgbowen.co.uk/ you can pick up a perfectly working bike from £10

Don't tell anyone else

yeah, me too, with itlaian herb bread - lovely, jubbly.

Although, back to the topic on hand. As a very budget bike yeah, at a push Subways are okay but dont forget that even a half decent bottom bracket can set you back £200 alone, a half decent chain ring will cost £200 alone. So for a Subway - you get what you pay for - cheap qulaity components which wont lasty then you will have to spend a fortune on labour charges to replace component - and with todays labour charges it aint cheap.

My subway was like riding a ******* tank and had about as much braking power as a 50kg dumbell being dropped from the top of Blackpool tower - none - trust me I am experiwence Subway 2 user ( 2yrs riding one)

N0bodyOfTheGoat

Use £75 extra of your Xmas money and grab the bargain of the year! £275 for a SPECIALIZED TRICROSS SINGLE 2008!!! :shock:

http://www.pearsoncycles.co.uk/product/ ... _NOW_27499

snakehips

Another vote here for the Subway. Can you still get them under £200 ?
I paid £180 a few years ago and got some accessories thrown in.
GVFM IMHO

Snake

il_principe

NitrousOxide wrote:

Use £75 extra of your Xmas money and grab the bargain of the year! £275 for a SPECIALIZED TRICROSS SINGLE 2008!!! :shock:

http://www.pearsoncycles.co.uk/product/ ... _NOW_27499

+1 this is a stupidly good bargain.

W1

itboffin wrote:

I love subways me especially the Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki yummy

The next London police auction is on the 8th Jan. you need to register first (free) http://www.frankgbowen.co.uk/ you can pick up a perfectly working bike from £10

Don't tell anyone else

I bought my bike from here - great people to deal with in my experience, but there are only one or two bikes there that will be suitable for you, whether it be size, condition etc. Almost all of them are left outside for six months waiting to be claimed, so most need some £ spent on them. However the benefit is that you know you've bought a legitimate bike. Most of the bikes I enquired about from gumtree couldn't be supported by evidence of ownership, and having been a victim of bike theft I refuse to be part of the demand side problem!

Keiron Curtis

I have had a great experience over the last 9 weeks, commuting on a Carrera Subway 1, they're under £200 at the moment. I commute a round trip of 40 miles 4-5 days a week, and have been well impressed.

nimze

i was also on a budget of under £200 a few days ago and also had a look at the carrera subway 1 (£185) in halfords and was quite impressed. but the overall build quality and little touches such as a more softer/cushiony seat and oval type handlebars which feel nicer when gripped (for me personally) on a mongoose crossway 250 (£180) in evans cycles won me over . . . awaiting delivery so will keep you people updated on reliability etc in the weeks to come . . .

artaxerxes

softer/cushiony seat

For some reason I find hard saddles a lot more comfortable than soft when riding my bike for anything over an hour or so.

On cheaper bikes the saddle and pedals are usually crapola but they can be upgraded cheaply enough later on, I now use a Charge Spoon saddle which was about £25.

By the way there is a Dawes Galaxy for £50 on gumtree right now....bargain!
http://www.gumtree.com/london/04/32714004.html

TheBoyBilly

The Edinburgh Cycle Co-op are knocking out '08 Specialized Expedition Sport for £184 (all sizes), bikes which are easily good enough for a short commute. A bit more brand cred than Carrera too, if that's your thing. It'll take mudguards and panniers as well. Alternatively there is the '07 Revolution Pathfinder for £183, again from the Edinburgh mob but that only comes in Large.

Spitchips - BANNED

jashburnham wrote:

NitrousOxide wrote:

Use £75 extra of your Xmas money and grab the bargain of the year! £275 for a SPECIALIZED TRICROSS SINGLE 2008!!! :shock:

http://www.pearsoncycles.co.uk/product/ ... _NOW_27499

+1 this is a stupidly good bargain.

+2

TheHatter

Another vote for the subway 1. I've been commuting 100 miles a week over mostly rough cycle path on one for 2 years and its been pretty problem free. I've had a few broken spokes but given I hammer along with full panniers I think thats acceptable. Pay as little as you can and you can get on ebay for the accessories - lights, rack, guards etc as these all add up.