New Bike for commute ASAP

Chris88

I am starting a new job and have a 10 mile commute and need a bike for it, the compay i work for has a cycle to work scheme, through halfrauds however i cannot take part in the scheme just yet, so in the mean time i need to get myself a bike, i have had bikes most of my life but nothing to fancy really in reasonable fitness and prefer drop bars the thing is though i only have £300 to get the bike and other equipment needed does any one have any advice on what i should get/ good offers, i really need it asap as i start in a couple of weeks and if i have to order it... well you get the picture


seen this

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RALEIGH-EQUIPE-RO ... 4ceff6195b

but dont know if its any good for the price of for what u need, some help please

craker

What extras do you think you'll need? If you're commuting on it this winter you'll got to factor in lights, mudguards, helmet, waterproofs.

If you're commuting on unlit roads you'll need proper lights.

Your budgets looking a bit stretched in my opinion.

wgwarburton

mr_si wrote:

What extras do you think you'll need? If you're commuting on it this winter you'll got to factor in lights, mudguards, helmet, waterproofs.

If you're commuting on unlit roads you'll need proper lights.

Your budgets looking a bit stretched in my opinion.

Oh, so negative!

Lights probably won't be needed for a few months (and he'll have a job by then...) mudguards are optional, same with helmet. Waterproofs are of limited use when it's hot & sticky anyway... so again, delay 'till later in the year.

Can't follow the link from work, so no comment on that bike. How handy are you with a spanner? It's a lot easier to cycle on the cheap if you don't have to pay a bike-shop to keep your steed.

Try and find a local bike-recycling place. They are generally an excellent source of inexpensive but useable bikes, advice, parts etc....

Where are you?

Cheers,
W.

UndercoverElephant

Budget should be OK. Do you have £300 in total, or £300 now, and probably a bit more later?

I mean, you CAN start off with just a bike, a lock and an old rucksack. Lights, you have plenty of time to get before the nights draw in (DealExtreme is your friend for lights).

I wouldn't buy that Raleigh, you aren't going to have much fun on a 12 kg bike with the shifters on the tops. Have you looked second hand? My Orbea (see sig) came from eBay for about £200 and it's muuuuuuccchhh nicer than that Raleigh.

dhope

Do you need gears, how flat is the 10 miles? Fixed/SS might give you more leeway.
I got my Langster for £200 on eBay and very pleased with it. Can certainly find something decent for £300.

Edit: Halfrauds, Windoze, NTHell, Micro$oft, is passé, just say Halfords.

lardboy

I'd be much more tempted by this Raleigh Equpe: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RALEIGH-EQUIPE-VI ... 588863e1c6

Spend the rest of the money on decent tyres, tubes, pads, a cheapo tool kit from Argos, a copy of Zinn and some grease(elbow and mechanical).

Chris88

the 300 is what i have now,so if i need to get some bits later when i have been paid i can do that. I have a rucksack and waterproofs already, i need a helmet and will need lights as after the initial month training i will be on late shifts. I wont need paniers and mud guards with the route im taking i dont think that will really be an issue to the autumn its communiting from dudley to walsall so i do need the gears and im good enough with a spanner to keep a bike running not good enough to salvage parts and make it work :P

dhope

lardboy wrote:

a copy of Zinn and some grease(elbow and mechanical).

Hmm, Zinn looks good, and Waterstones 5mins from work has a copy. May grab it on the way home as I'm still a complete newbie.
Ta

Chris88

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VIKING-SPRINT-MEN ... 3a5c67b6ff

??

UndercoverElephant

dhope wrote:

lardboy wrote:

a copy of Zinn and some grease(elbow and mechanical).

Hmm, Zinn looks good, and Waterstones 5mins from work has a copy. May grab it on the way home as I'm still a complete newbie.
Ta

Also recommended:

http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/book/97 ... aintenance

Lots of bike porn pictures as well as good advice.

OP: If you have a month, DealExtreme will be able to send you lights in time. Delivery is usually about two weeks.

I have this rear light:

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.3639

And one of their awesome torches as a front light. Total price was about $20.

Chris88

thanks for that, i think i will be able to wait for a short while for the lights so will look into those


been looking on here as well to try and find something if anything jumps out at someone please let me know because to be honest i know a little about bikes but never really been in the situation before

http://www.twenga.co.uk/search.php?hx=1 ... Caf&u=co,r

dhope

Also recommended:

http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/book/97 ... aintenance

Lots of bike porn pictures as well as good advice.

Either one better than the other? London Wall Waterstones has both, and both get good reviews on Amazon (Zinn slightly more reviews)

UndercoverElephant

I only have the one I linked to. It's well written and very up-to-date, it has covered everything I've needed to know so far.

_jon_

I'd probably get a cheap second-hand bike off ebay (around £40) that you can put up with for now (and a new helmet) then save up for a decent bike (or wait until you can join the C2W scheme). Once you get enough for a decent bike, sell the old one for whatever you bought it for.

wgwarburton

Hi.
An equipe of that age is made of old gas pipe- not worth £40+shipping.
Cheers,
W.

desweller

DON'T get the Viking. I've seen them up close at my local discount bikes store and the welding looks like it was done by a blind drunk man. Standing 30 feet away.

desweller

How about this?

Custom Kona Smoke

£300 posted.

EDIT: If I wasn't considering a Condor Heritage on the Cyclescheme I'd seriously consider buying that!

_jon_

WGWarburton wrote:

Hi.
An equipe of that age is made of old gas pipe- not worth £40+shipping.
Cheers,
W.

I got my commuting bike of ebay for £35 (collected) and haven't had a problem with it.

Admittedly I'm not doing 20 miles a day on it but if he only needs a temporary bike then I'm sure he can find something for around that price that will last him a month or two.

Chris88

i would prefer to not have it as a temporary bike so that even if i do get a chance to use the c2w scheme i would be able to use the other one as well or give it to the gf

lardboy

DesWeller wrote:

How about this?

Custom Kona Smoke

£300 posted.

EDIT: If I wasn't considering a Condor Heritage on the Cyclescheme I'd seriously consider buying that!

Very nice! I ride a stock(ish) Smoke as my shopping and non-SPD shod ride, and it's awesome. Quite heavy, bulletproof but very comfortable steel frame and is a blast to ride. Comes with mudguards as standard, but needs a little judicious use of zip ties to stop them rattling. Rack mounting points as well.

Available for £200 new delivered: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/KONA-SMOKE-24-SPE ... 58848b3dc3

I wouldn't usually advise a hybrid, especially to someone that likes drops, but this is a proper bike that would handle the canal paths of the Black Country with no problems at all, and still be useable and resellable a couple of years down the line. The other bikes at this price would probably rattle apart in a few months.

wgwarburton

_Jon_ wrote:

WGWarburton wrote:

Hi.
An equipe of that age is made of old gas pipe- not worth £40+shipping.
Cheers,
W.

I got my commuting bike of ebay for £35 (collected) and haven't had a problem with it.

Admittedly I'm not doing 20 miles a day on it but if he only needs a temporary bike then I'm sure he can find something for around that price that will last him a month or two.

Yeah, me too... I even bought an Equipe once- used it as a winter hack for a couple of years- it was heavy & lifeless and the parts on it were poor quality... it was fine for the job but not much fun.....and I didn't pay sixty quid for it!
I wasn't saying don't go this route, just that this isn't a good buy.

Cheers,
W.

lardboy

That custom Smoke is now £200 delivered. If you're the right size, this could be a great buy: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 0450635429

UndercoverElephant

lardboy wrote:

That custom Smoke is now £200 delivered. If you're the right size, this could be a great buy: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 0450635429

Agreed. Especially if you put some thinner tyres on it. What the hell kind of size tyres are they anyway? They look like they're straight off a mountain bike!

lardboy

I think they're 26" x 2". The stock ones are a balloon like 26" x 2.25" and felt like they would pop at any moment. I've used Spec Armadillo Nimbus 1.5" for 2 years and not had a single reason to take them off apart from a bit of fettling that I fancied doing because I was bored!

The Rookie

Another option is the Subway
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165534

A bit lighter than the smoke, although at that price the smoke is probably better value!

Simon

lardboy

Coincidentally, I used a Subway 1 before getting the Kona. The Kona is definitely an upgrade, having much better cranks and BB. The new Kona now has 29" wheels, so that opens the door to better road tyres. The custom Smoke is MTB 26" though.

rolf_f

WGWarburton wrote:

mr_si wrote:

What extras do you think you'll need? If you're commuting on it this winter you'll got to factor in lights, mudguards, helmet, waterproofs.

If you're commuting on unlit roads you'll need proper lights.

Your budgets looking a bit stretched in my opinion.

Oh, so negative!

Lights probably won't be needed for a few months (and he'll have a job by then...) mudguards are optional, same with helmet. Waterproofs are of limited use when it's hot & sticky anyway... so again, delay 'till later in the year.
W.

+1 - I got a perfectly good light set (to be seen with, not to see by) for £12 off the net (Smart half watt and Polaris) and clothes can be had for next to nothing on Lidl/Aldi sales.
Waterproofs aren't really worth bothering with (at least in Eastern England) - Birmingham is probably damper than Leeds though....