Quick hello from a newbie

conanius

Hi All,

I'm just about to move to Bromley from Battersea, and as a result of this I will be beginning to do a bit of a commute via bike.

Plan is every day, rain or shine. Door to door is 10 miles, but still being a yoof (25) I'm confident I'll pick up thefitness quickly.

I have read the readme on here for commuting (Great read, thanks for that) and have tried a few bikes out.

Namely,I've tried a Trek FX 7.0,7.1,7.3 and a Specialized Sirrus Sport. Trying all those Trek's made me realise thebenefit of spending a few more pennies when I'll be commuting the best part of 100 miles a week.

As it currently stands the plan is to go for the Trek 7.3, which I've found for £450, However, keen to hear any experiences of you chaps using them.

I did try a road bike.But in honesty I don't feel confident with that riding position just yet. Maybe after a couple of years I will give it a go... but I prefered the riding position of the hybrid for visibility.

Whats the reason for the post? quick hello really...but also I would welcome any route tips getting in from near to bromley south rail station to westminster (whitehall) and your thoughts on the trek 7.3

Thanks in advance!

jonginge

Hello! Welcome.

Not my neck of the woods so can't offer route advice. The roadie/hybrid flamewar will be along shortly

conanius

haha, excellent !

In honesty, as a newbie when I tried the road bike I was thinking more about how not to end up on my arse opposed to actually getting there. It felt pretty 'involved' just to actually ride the thing...I'll consider a road bike later on

nich

I would probably go up towards lewisham/catford on the A21, then left along lewisham way, towards new cross, then either old kent road or peckham rd (not done this route before but looks the most obvious).

My route takes me from near bromley, but I head all the way into depford and over london bridge - you could do that too, then all the way down victoria embankment (I've heard its fun!).

davis

I reckon the bike's a good buy if it fits, and I'm a roadie convert. That'll work out as roughly 1 GBP/mile even if you only do it for a month. You'll use that bike for a while, then get another one. That will become the winter hack.

And so it goes. Welcome to the club

EKE_38BPM

+1 for the A21 route. I do it quite regularly to get to Blackfriars Bridge, but maybe to get to Battersea there are better routes. Going through Beckenham and Tulse Hill is annoyingly hilly for a commute IIRC so perhaps A21 to New Cross and then along Peckham Road then Camberwell New Road to Nine Elms Lane?

I may as well be the first to say it. Get the road bike now and save your money. If you get the hybrid you'll only want the road bike in a few months.

EKE_38BPM

Oh yeah, welcome.

arnosgrove

My 7.3 is just entering it's 4th year of service. While I've graduated to a road bike for my 11-mile each way commute (it WILL happen) the 7.3 gets taken out for the evening and weekend runs when I like to sit up and take in the sights.

When I commute on it I find it makes the ride 3-4 minutes longer, which is no great problem.

My previous steed was a dreadful old mountain bike from Halfords - I almost passed out with shock at the speed and agility on offer from the 7.3. Hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

HamishD

conanius wrote:

Hi All,

and your thoughts on the trek 7.3

It'll do the job you want it to do (get you from A to perfectly reasonably in all honesty. The other bikes at a similar pricepoint will also probably do a similar job. You can't go wrong with Spesh, Trek, Giant etc hybrids (the ones without discs, suspension etc at any rate). All fairly good VFM.

I worked out the other day that if I drove to work it would cost me £200a month in petrol. With that kind of money you can throw away a bike every other month . . .

Aye, and welcome!

Aguila

HamishD wrote:

conanius wrote:

Hi All,

and your thoughts on the trek 7.3

It'll do the job you want it to do (get you from A to perfectly reasonably in all honesty. The other bikes at a similar pricepoint will also probably do a similar job. You can't go wrong with Spesh, Trek, Giant etc hybrids (the ones without discs, suspension etc at any rate). All fairly good VFM.

I worked out the other day that if I drove to work it would cost me £200a month in petrol. With that kind of money you can throw away a bike every other month . . .

Aye, and welcome!

Lorks a Lordy!!! You must either own a hummer or cycle about 50 miles each way!

Wallace1492

Welcome!! Ever considered a CX? I hadn't before coming on here, and it was the best thing I have done in a while. Love it - tour on it, sportives, and commute. Mine is Tricross, known as Mary Doll.

suzyb

Aguila wrote:

HamishD wrote:

conanius wrote:

Hi All,

and your thoughts on the trek 7.3

It'll do the job you want it to do (get you from A to perfectly reasonably in all honesty. The other bikes at a similar pricepoint will also probably do a similar job. You can't go wrong with Spesh, Trek, Giant etc hybrids (the ones without discs, suspension etc at any rate). All fairly good VFM.

I worked out the other day that if I drove to work it would cost me £200a month in petrol. With that kind of money you can throw away a bike every other month . . .

Aye, and welcome!

Lorks a Lordy!!! You must either own a hummer or cycle about 50 miles each way!

When I worked 30 miles away and drove my 1.6 C2 I was spending about £120 a month on petrol. And that was when petrol was around 80p. So that kind of cost now wouldn't surprise me.

conanius

Fuel costs look right to me too... My car is about 50 pounds per 200 miles of commuting, maybe 260 miles on a run... Joys of impractical sports cars !