Which fast commuter bike should I buy (£1000 ish)

jablunt

For a flat bar you could look at last years Kona PHD for £765 from Abbey Cycles. 105 and Ultegra set up. I just bought one and they're a sound shop. They didn't have my size so they gave me this year model for the same price. To be honest though the specs are the same. I much prefer flat bars and have added ergo grips and found it very comfortable on the recent Manchester to Blackpool ride.

http://www.abbeycycles.com/products.php ... b0s218p314

Aidy

8 miles each way isn't a huge distance.

I wouldn't have said a drop bar road bike would be essential (for anything, no matter what the distance). I wouldn't dismiss it completely either though; can you try one?
Presumably you'd be after a test ride or two prior to buying anyway.

At the end of the day, you'll want something you feel comfortable on and in control of.

snellgrove

Guy in my office just bought a Trek 1.7

Was £1000 on the cycle scheme, inc a few accessories etc (Think the bike was £925)

Really smart looking, fast bike.

:edit:

Just realised you want crappy flat bars :P BOOOOOO!!!!

Aguila

Drop bar for certain.

If you are going to commute in all weathers you need mudguards. Not raceblades wich are useless therefore need the mount points to fit them.

Best option in my opinion is condor fratello with 105 group option:

http://www.condorcycles.com/fratello.html

amnezia

Aguila wrote:

Drop bar for certain.

If you are going to commute in all weathers you need mudguards. Not raceblades wich are useless therefore need the mount points to fit them.

Best option in my opinion is condor fratello with 105 group option:

http://www.condorcycles.com/fratello.html

you don't NEED mud guards to commute.

I have managed perfectly well without them.

Aguila

amnezia wrote:

Aguila wrote:

Drop bar for certain.

If you are going to commute in all weathers you need mudguards. Not raceblades wich are useless therefore need the mount points to fit them.

Best option in my opinion is condor fratello with 105 group option:

http://www.condorcycles.com/fratello.html

you don't NEED mud guards to commute.

I have managed perfectly well without them.

IMO commuting through winter without propper guards would be grim, you will get much muckier and wetter without them. The bike will also get more muck/salt etc on it to cause more damage.

If you want to go for pointless masochism though, be my guest

I can think of no good reason for not wanting them.

soy_sauce

DonDaddyD wrote:

From my personal experience Drop bar vs Flat bar:

My wrists began to hurt when I used to ride a flat bar. Later in the week the pain would spread to my shoulders and lower back as the miles would add up.

I had less of that problem with my commuting road bike - with its relaxed road bike position (longer head tube). The problem is almost non-existant with my Karma which is smaller and has a more aggressive riding position than my commuting road bike.

A flat bar and hybrid style riding position is immediately comfortable and somewhat easier to ride (though highly debatable), but for me, as the miles added and/or riding longer distances the rigid riding position quickly became uncomfortable.

My conclusion was that there is a reason why they put bar ends on a flat bar other than riding up hill and if that is the case there is no reason not to go for the drop bar varient as drops offer more riding position and therefore more comfort over longer distances.

it might sound silly or obvious, but have you set the levers and shifters at 45 degrees (or less) down from the handlebar for the flat bar(like people do for MTB)?
the reason i asked is that my gf bike has the levers and shifters almost horizontal with the handlebar and I experienced the wrists pain which you mentioned when I was using her bike last Friday.

vorsprung

Aguila wrote:

you don't NEED mud guards to commute.

I have managed perfectly well without them.

They are "nice to have" on wet roads

If you only ever commute in the dry then it's best to not bother. Most of the random rattles and funny noises on my bikes with mudguards are caused by the mudguards

Bikequin

Aguila wrote:

Drop bar for certain.

If you are going to commute in all weathers you need mudguards. Not raceblades wich are useless therefore need the mount points to fit them.

Best option in my opinion is condor fratello with 105 group option:

http://www.condorcycles.com/fratello.html

I'd agree with this - the Fratello is a brilliant commuter thats also good for longer weekend rides.

alfablue

I have nothing but good experience with properly fitted*, decent (SKS p35) mudguards. I have a road bike without them and an audax bike with them, when riding in rain (or even on wet roads after the rain) on the road bike I quickly get soaked, particularly lower legs, feet and backside, and then the cold starts to set in. Ultimately it reduces the time I want to spend on the bike, and the gritty, squelchy bib tight pad is not a pleasant feeling!

Real men, of course, don't use mudguards. Good for them!


* properly fitted good quality guards do not rattle - mine are rock solid

Fireblade96

I'd have a look at these:-

Ridley Eos:
http://www.airevalleycycles.com/products.php?plid=m1b0s6p4666
Ridley Crossbow:
http://www.airevalleycycles.com/products.php?plid=m1b0s200p4421

I have a bit of a soft spot for those Ridleys, I nearly bought one myself. It rains all the time in Belgium so I reckon they should know a bit about building a rain-tolerant bike.
Both can take mudguards and racks. Depending on your commute I'd say at least mudguards are essential if you're going to ride year round.

wantaway

Orbea do flat barred road bikes
http://www.orbea.com/en-gb/productos/bi ... letas.aspx.

As do Giant
http://www.allterraincycles.co.uk/search.html

the_hundredth_idiot

Aguila wrote:

Drop bar for certain.

If you are going to commute in all weathers you need mudguards. Not raceblades wich are useless therefore need the mount points to fit them.

Best option in my opinion is condor fratello with Veloce group option:

http://www.condorcycles.com/fratello.html

Fixed that for you!

On mudguards, perhaps there is no need for a summer sun bike. But I can't understand people not having them on an all year round commuter. The mudguards on my Veloce-equipped Fratello are pretty subtle - they are hard to distinguish from the wheels unless close up - they don't rattle (decent SKS ones) and they keep the filth off me and off my bike.

Plus, guarded bikes are a lot less antisocial than bare ones. When I'm closing the gap on someone with a bare road bike, it really p1sses me off that I get covered in the filth kicked up by their wheels. There's a reason why lots of audaxes insist on mudguards ...

Another good thing about somewhere like Condor is that they will fit you to the bike. If you're new to the whole bike thing (at least at the higher levels, as I was and still am), buying from an internet site is a bit more of a gamble around fit. Also, Condor will build to your spec so you can get many of their bikes as flat bars (someone I regularly pass on the way to work has a flat bar Condor Heritage), although I guess speccing as a flat bar means you will have to settle for Shimano rather than a proper group set*

But, from your initial post, any reason why you're not going for another Genesis Day 2/3? A friend of mine says that quite a few members of his cycle club have them as their day to day rides (saving the best for Sundays) and are really pleased with them. Or something similar like a Marin Mill Valley?

I'm sure there was an article on C+ about this recently. If I get chance tonight, I'll dig out and see what they recommended.

* What?

Aidy

Have to say, I've never been hugely convinced by mudguards.

If it's wet, I'm going to get wet regardless of whether I have mudguards or not.
I'm always going to be changing in/out of cycling gear at either end in any case.

alfablue

The special kind of wet you get on your feet and backsides without mudguards is way beyond what you get elsewhere, in winter it is like having a zero degree shower being continually sprayed on you under pressure. The result is getting colder more quickly and reduced ride time.

snellgrove

alfablue wrote:

reduced ride time.

I'd agree with the reduced ride time.

When it's throwing it down, I get home 5 mins faster than if it was sunny on the same route.

No mudguards is fine, wet weather just makes you cycle faster!!! :twisted:

Headhuunter

soy_sauce wrote:

DonDaddyD wrote:

From my personal experience Drop bar vs Flat bar:

My wrists began to hurt when I used to ride a flat bar. Later in the week the pain would spread to my shoulders and lower back as the miles would add up.

I had less of that problem with my commuting road bike - with its relaxed road bike position (longer head tube). The problem is almost non-existant with my Karma which is smaller and has a more aggressive riding position than my commuting road bike.

A flat bar and hybrid style riding position is immediately comfortable and somewhat easier to ride (though highly debatable), but for me, as the miles added and/or riding longer distances the rigid riding position quickly became uncomfortable.

My conclusion was that there is a reason why they put bar ends on a flat bar other than riding up hill and if that is the case there is no reason not to go for the drop bar varient as drops offer more riding position and therefore more comfort over longer distances.

it might sound silly or obvious, but have you set the levers and shifters at 45 degrees (or less) down from the handlebar for the flat bar(like people do for MTB)?
the reason i asked is that my gf bike has the levers and shifters almost horizontal with the handlebar and I experienced the wrists pain which you mentioned when I was using her bike last Friday.

I don't use mudguards either. They seem pretty pointless. Yes, you get a bit wet, but if it's raining you get wet anyway. I don't really care about a bit of road spray, at the end of my commute I just jump straight in the shower and wash it all off anyway. I can understand perhaps for longer, touring type rides when you're probably going to be stopping off at cafes or pubs and sitting around in cold, wet, dirt splattered clothes would not be pleasant, but for a non stop commute, mudguards aren't necessary IMO.

cjcp

+1 for no mudguards.

SimonLyons

The rain from the sky is pretty clean.

Mudguards protect your bike+mechanism, your bum and feet from cack thrown up off wet roads/tracks. Quite often its a mixture of sand-mud-oil-water.
Cleaning your bike is easier if you have mudguards.

I have commuted with and without and much prefer with.

Headhuunter

SimonLyons wrote:

The rain from the sky is pretty clean.

Mudguards protect your bike+mechanism, your bum and feet from cack thrown up off wet roads/tracks. Quite often its a mixture of sand-mud-oil-water.
Cleaning your bike is easier if you have mudguards.

I have commuted with and without and much prefer with.

I suppose there may be an argument that mudguards protect the bike but I never find rain or spray from the road makes me cold so I'm not really concerned about myself

vorsprung

1) rattling. Yes I use SKS mudguards. Yes I do fit them correctly. Yes they make random noises including rattling because the bolts work loose, they get cracked, leaves get caught in them

2) road spray/mud/dirt/shite. After a bit of winter riding without mudguards the small hole at the bottom of the front fork is filled with mud. I expect some mud has found it's way into the headset too. You could use a lizardskin headset seal instead I guess

lost_in_thought

My SKS raceblades don't make any noise...

And my main reason for adding them was that I got fed up with the big black stripe up the back of my shorts and jersey, which takes a few tries to wash out. Stupid London black stuff...

Sea_Green_Incorruptible

I'm a mudguards convert. More because they keep the sh*te off the bike than because they keep it off me. It is surprising how well they do both though even in quite heavy rain. Almost like riding with a waterproof on so long as it's not torrential. I still think they look a bit lame mind.

I've always ridden drops but am loving my courier bars at the moment. Much more comfy than flats (don't do it: you'll regret it) and with a better purchase on the brakes. My choice for a half hour commute in traffic - though perhaps not for a 50 miler at the weekend. Tricky to get them set up on a geared bike though.

Orbea make really nice bikes by the way.

MattFT

go to condor cycles with your £1000 cycle2work voucher

fall in love with Italia model

get properly measured for a good fit on their adjustable frame thing

Decide you can't possibly put a japanese group set onto an italian frame

Decide that you might do some "proper" cycling at weekends and go for centaur groupset

realise you've just spend a lot more than £1k on a bike.

But it's well worth it.


8) 8)

alfablue

vorsprung wrote:

1) rattling. Yes I use SKS mudguards. Yes I do fit them correctly. Yes they make random noises including rattling because the bolts work loose, they get cracked, leaves get caught in them

Threadlock? Anti-rattle/shakeproof washers?

Leaves, yes, cracks, not yet for me in 10 years use.

2) road spray/mud/dirt/shite. After a bit of winter riding without mudguards the small hole at the bottom of the front fork is filled with mud. I expect some mud has found it's way into the headset too. You could use a lizardskin headset seal instead I guess

I found the Lizard Skin headset protector just harboured the wet and mud. Okay if you remove, clean and dry after wet use, but mudguards do better.

andrewc3142

+1 to having a look at Condor.

Mine's an Acciaio, with a 105 groupset - more or less on your budget (unless you add a Swift Ti saddle as I did). Superb bike. Nice steel frame, comfortable, quite quick, looks good IMO.

No need for mudguards, esp if you use a Carradice SQR bag - the slim is a perfect size/shape for commuting.

Oh, and Condor do the bike scheme thing. Pity my employer won't ....