Yet Another New Cycle Thread

vish22

I have just started cylcliing into work (around 7 miles) from shepherds bush to St Pauls, and am using an old mountain bike which I really need to upgrade. I am serious about doing this everyday and want to get something half decent so have a budget of around a grand. i am looking at evans cycles exclusively as they are my local. I am also looking at ROAD bikes only, as I don't plan on doing any other cycling then from work and back. I have secure parking so am not too worried about theft. Can someone please recommend some good bikes??

Any help appreciated.

Cheers

danowat

Specialized Allez
Trek 1.5
Canondale CAAD

To name but 3, there is LOADS of choice in the sub £1K market.

vish22

What d'u think of this one?

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/pin ... e-ec017690

danowat

Nice, although they only have very small sizes left.

vish22

Lucky I'm short then! You reckon that size would fit for 5"6?

vish22

Done some more research and it looks like shimano 105 gear system is the one to go for and so have narrowed it down to:

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/pin ... e-ec021919
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/ral ... e-ec023217
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/fuj ... e-ec022170

Any advice on which one?

CarleyB

I'm 5'3 and ride an xs which is a 42. Mines a giant though.

CarleyB

thread discussing sizing here

http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=16167994

Lochy

A woman commenting on size eh! Mines a Large and i'm only 5' 8"!

CarleyB

Lochy wrote:

A woman commenting on size eh! Mines a Large and i'm only 5' 8"!

Bugger off I thought you were in southport!

bice

vish22 wrote:

I have just started cylcliing into work (around 7 miles) from shepherds bush to St Pauls, and am using an old mountain bike which I really need to upgrade. I am serious about doing this everyday and want to get something half decent so have a budget of around a grand. i am looking at evans cycles exclusively as they are my local. I am also looking at ROAD bikes only, as I don't plan on doing any other cycling then from work and back. I have secure parking so am not too worried about theft. Can someone please recommend some good bikes??

Any help appreciated.

Cheers

To be frank, unless using a road bike at weekends for much longer recreational rides, you might be better off with a cheap hybrid doing a pretty grisly urban ride like this one. (Do you use Hyde Park? - very good west-east path south of Serpentine).

Road bikes aren't that versatile for London commuting - no rack, panniers, guards etc, and then there is the stopping and starting to consider.

I have three road bikes and still use a flat bar steel frame hybrid type for most of my six mile commutes from Wandsworth Common to Kensington. Also, you can leave a cheap bike anywhere, which I find invaluable. I couldn't leave my Lazzaretti anywhere in London except the office car park: it has hundreds of £ss of easy to remove Campag stuff all over it.

Sure, lots of City types on roadies when the sun shines, but they all disappear by October.

rick_chasey

bice wrote:

Sure, lots of City types on roadies when the sun shines, but they all disappear by October.

on

bice

Ho, ho.

But I did not want to give the impression that I have negative views towards those who work in our vital financial services industry.

I called them City types because there are a great number of them to be encountered on summer evenings on road bikes cycling home along the Fulham, Kings Road and Embankment from the ... er... City.

That some might be considered over-remunerated clones who - just possibly - obtained their employment through family and educational connections beyond what might, strictly speaking, be described as their merits, was not a thought I was seeking to air.

rick_chasey

bice wrote:

Ho, ho.

But I did not want to give the impression that I have negative views towards those who work in our vital financial services industry.

I called them City types because there are a great number of them to be encountered on summer evenings on road bikes cycling home along the Fulham, Kings Road and Embankment from the ... er... City.

That some might be considered over-remunerated clones who - just possibly - obtained their employment through family and educational connections beyond what might, strictly speaking, be described as their merits, was not a thought I was seeking to air.

*shrugs*

As of 21st June I'm working in the city. Took a lot of bloody hard work to get the job there too, and I've been a fair weather rider for years before now.


Anyway, with regard to the OP, it's useful to have considered what/how you're going to carry on your bike to work, and, obviously, sometimes a route with less stops is plenty more fun, esp if it's only a couple minutes extra.

Road bikes can be a little tricky in traffic, especially when you're clipped in. I'm a shortie and I know that I get toe-overlap on my front wheel so really tight manouvering can sometimes be a little tricky. Then again, do it on a road bike and you'll do it on anything - and they are very fast.

You can't go wrong with a grand, whatever make, (within reason). Just make sure it's comfortable. It's an uncomfortable hobby anyway, so you might as well make sure the thing you sit on is comfy, when you freewheel for a little respite.