where do i buy a pub-bike / commuter?

cookiemonster

Looks like i'll be moving from very central to slightly north london in a month, so i'll start doing the commute-by-bike thing (just 2 minutes walk to work at the moment) and generally "biking as transport" rather than purely as sport and training as I do now. I've a cervelo and fairly well sorted spesh rockhopper that gets used for off-road touring and expeditions - neither are particularly suitable for chaining up outside to the railings, or for leaving unwashed for a few weeks (unless its himalayan mud or middle eastern sand )

I want to get something cheap and simple - probably a nice steel single/fixed to keep things easy, and with eyelets for mudguards and rack. Its got to be a bike that, if it gets nicked, will be an inconvenience rather than a real disaster. 58cm would do fine.

So where do I look? cant see anything on ebay, craigslist or gumtree that looks sensible. Old 531 tubes frames seem to be expensive; what are the options?

jon

ride_whenever

How much do you want to spend? I'm looking to shift an old ss mtb that looks like crap but is actually quite nice to ride, I'm looking for around 100 quid for it and p+p.

cookiemonster

mmm i'm guessing i'd happy up to a couple of hundred quid

but really i'd rather have a road bike than an mtb...

ride_whenever

That's fair enough, your best bet is to keep an eye on gumtree, craigslist the classifieds etc.

cookiemonster

ok, ta

STEFANOS4784

I also thought that old steel bikes seem quite expensive considering...........
Sorry no help but ah well

cookiemonster

yeah, i guess its the fashion thing

it would be kind of nice to be cycling around on a white 531 peugeot. but not if its going to cost me more than a spesh langster...

STEFANOS4784

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RALEIGH-3-SPEED-G ... 240%3A1318


Beauty 8)

cookiemonster

yeah - i saw that but its in cheshire

also this

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 0296956493

which would be stunning. but not exactly a pub bike

cookiemonster

look at this

http://www.gumtree.com/london/32/33826432.html

£430

really? i mean, £200 and i may think about it. £100 and you've got a sale. But over four hundred beer tokens for a weirdy twenty year old frame, a handful of new-ish bits? oh, and some gatorskins...

am i missing something?

LittleB0b

in Edinburgh we have the bike station, which refurb's old and abandoned bikes and then sell's them cheap. There does seem to be other similiar projectsaround the country - I guess there must be something similar in London.

cookiemonster

yep, right up until the "and sells them cheap" bit

vorsprung

decathlon

alan_sherman

Other possibilities:

The place just off the Cut - beyond Evans but before Southwark Tube.

The place in Strutton Ground, Victoria - the street with the market opposite New Scotland Yard.

Recycle in Surbiton.

Halfords sale.


Or mates in a cycle club.

STEFANOS4784

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Raleigh-Fixed-gea ... 240%3A1318


Use the extra cash to get the train up