Upgrade from good mountain bike to serious commuter bike

hillheader

I have a great mountain bike (Specialised epic). Withstands all and is light. BUT suspect can't compare with a road bike. I also want to move to duathlons - I run extensively (more than cycling). Commute is 15 miles each way, which I've been doing 4 times a week on the MTB for the last few months. Plenty of hills and potholes. Have a buget of £1500 - £2500.

Problem is that I live in Aberdeen with 2 shops with a limited range (Specialized, Trek, Giant, Canondale, Wilier).

Should I buy blind - say Decathlon Comp3 ?, stick to local shops with their brands?, or travel further afield? In truth I know very little about bikes.

Help appreciated.

linsen

I wouldn't recommend buying without trying - it's hard enough getting in right when you do!
Do any of your bike shops let you road test stuff?
I would have thought that you would be able to find something from that range but at least trying them will give you a chance to find out what size suits if you decide to buy from the interweb....
I changed from MTB to road six months ago and haven't looked back - I rode to work on the MTB a few weeks ago (12 hilly miles) and it was a nightmare after the road bike experience!
I have a Lemond Zurich which I think retails for around £1750 or so. It's a dream to ride. Very quiet, and a triple chainset (is that the right word?) which whilst it isn't cool, is helpful!

redddraggon

I'd only really buy blind off the net if I knew what I was buying. Although normally I reckon if you ask for recommendations on here you get a decent answer. People always say that need to try a bike to see if it fits - although I reckon if you give details like height, inseam, torso length etc someone will probably be able to give you the size you need with 80% or so certainty.

AndyManc

I would stick with the mtb over winter, especially considering your location.

I would also buy local if possible, my local bike shop (LBS) gave me 3 free services in the first year.

I'm after a new bike too, I'm going to wait till February which is usually a dead period for bike shops and I'll be hoping to haggle a bargain.

Rich158

I'd buy locally, you'll get better service from your LBS than if you buy blind. With your sort of budget you'll be in Trek Madone, Giant TCR territory, which are both excellent bikes. Both Trek and Giant have a fleet of test bikes and your LBS should be able to arrange a test ride. It's well worth it, I would have bought the Giant TCR based upon it's paper spec. but a test ride of both convinced me that the Trek Modone is the better bike, even though it has a lower spec. Ride as many bikes as you can back to back, you'll be surprised at the difference.

gtvlusso

hillheader wrote:

I have a great mountain bike (Specialised epic). Withstands all and is light. BUT suspect can't compare with a road bike. I also want to move to duathlons - I run extensively (more than cycling). Commute is 15 miles each way, which I've been doing 4 times a week on the MTB for the last few months. Plenty of hills and potholes. Have a buget of £1500 - £2500.

Problem is that I live in Aberdeen with 2 shops with a limited range (Specialized, Trek, Giant, Canondale, Wilier).

Should I buy blind - say Decathlon Comp3 ?, stick to local shops with their brands?, or travel further afield? In truth I know very little about bikes.

Help appreciated.

Hiya,

This is exactly how I started on Triathlon and now Ironman stuff - it is a dark place and hurts allot!

You have the perfect setup for MTB Duathlons, cross country runnning and MTB course - suggest trying Duathlon before you commit cash! To be honest, I bought my TT bike way to early (Cervelo) - I was doing short duathlons on a £2500 bike - however, it served me well for Triathlons and some half Ironmans as I built up fitness and endurance (looked like a tit for a while whilst I was wheezing my way around short courses on a full on rig!). I bought a Boardman Team Road on C2W - I have used it for training now and for Duathlon races and it has been fine - quick handling, super stiff - it is a sprinters bike in all reality. However, I also now use it daily for my commute (which can be from 12 miles a day up to about 70 miles a day!) - the bike has been fine, I maintain it well everyweek and I don't intend to change it. They are sold in Halfords.

I am gonna carry on with my Boardman as my daily bike/training rig, build a fixie for feck all cash for town and some commuting days and hire bikes for events where I need more performance than the Boardman can deliver. I sold the Cervelo and gained a puppy and a kitchen! To be honest £1000 will get you a hell of a bike to race on for a long time - with the spare cash buy a cheap commuter hack that you don't mind getting nicked or damaged. Remember a race bike ain't gonna be that comfortable and the gearing will be very tall for commuting until you gain full fitness. After all, you have a bloody good MTB, so I would give it a shot on that with the cross country duathlons.

Enjoy!