New bike choices...
Variado
Posts: 107
Ok folks, help me spend my money!
I was thinking about trying to buy one bike to cover both year-round commuting and winter training, but have decided i'd be better off buying two, a dedicated commuter with lights, guards, panniers etc. under the cycle to work scheme, and a winter training bike. But i'm struggling to make up my mind about the latter.
I currently ride an '06 Focus Variado with full Ultegra and upgraded Campag Eurus wheels. It's done almost 10k miles now and is a great bike, so i'm considering another Focus. My indecision is...
1 - buy a Focus Mares cyclocross bike, probably the 'expert'. The Variado stays as the summer bike, the Mares does winter duty and occasional off-road fun in the summer.
2 - buy a Focus Cayo 105, swap the Eurus wheels across and make it my summer bike. Convert the aging Variado to winter duty with guards and more solid wheels.
I can see advantages either way, option 1 seems good in principle as a CX bike should cope with the worst of the winter conditions, but I have no experience of what they're like to ride (Wiggle's 30-day test goes some way to helping here) and the Variado's going to need some money spending on it at some point. Option 2 gives me a new whizzy summer bike, but possibly not the best winter option.
So any thoughts welcome. Doesn't have to be a Focus, but i'm more interested in the practical differences between the two types of bike than individual models.
I was thinking about trying to buy one bike to cover both year-round commuting and winter training, but have decided i'd be better off buying two, a dedicated commuter with lights, guards, panniers etc. under the cycle to work scheme, and a winter training bike. But i'm struggling to make up my mind about the latter.
I currently ride an '06 Focus Variado with full Ultegra and upgraded Campag Eurus wheels. It's done almost 10k miles now and is a great bike, so i'm considering another Focus. My indecision is...
1 - buy a Focus Mares cyclocross bike, probably the 'expert'. The Variado stays as the summer bike, the Mares does winter duty and occasional off-road fun in the summer.
2 - buy a Focus Cayo 105, swap the Eurus wheels across and make it my summer bike. Convert the aging Variado to winter duty with guards and more solid wheels.
I can see advantages either way, option 1 seems good in principle as a CX bike should cope with the worst of the winter conditions, but I have no experience of what they're like to ride (Wiggle's 30-day test goes some way to helping here) and the Variado's going to need some money spending on it at some point. Option 2 gives me a new whizzy summer bike, but possibly not the best winter option.
So any thoughts welcome. Doesn't have to be a Focus, but i'm more interested in the practical differences between the two types of bike than individual models.
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Comments
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I would recommend having your old bike as a winter bike and buying something nice for the summer time, cyclo cross bikes tend to be heavier than an ordinary road bike and mostly have cantilever brakes- which aren't the best. So i would buy a nice fast bike for the summer mud guards on the old bike and there you have two great bikes.0
