help choosing bike

oodboo

I know you lot probably get sick of these threads but I'm looking for some help. I need a bike that will be good for a 30mile commute. I've been using my Specialized Enduro but as you can probably image a bike with 160mm travel front and back isn't great for a ride that is mostly on road.

My route takes me through the local woods along forest roads followed by a 5 miles section of bridleway then it's on road from there. I cover two sites so I need to cover about 7 miles at lunch time before taking a different route home that is mostly on road with a short section through some other woods.

I've narrowed it down to a choice between the Charge Mixer and the Genesis Croix De Fer. I like the idea of the Genesis with the hub gears for low maintenance but as there are a a few hills on my route I think I might be better off with the full range of gears on the Genesis. Also I will be riding through the woods and on bridleways so I need to know the wheels are going to hold up.

I'll be getting the bike on the bike to work scheme through Edinburgh Cycles so if you must suggest something else then make sure it's within the £1000 limit and available from Edinburgh Cycles as my employer wont allow me to shop elsewhere.

So what should it be, the Mixer or the Croix De Fer?

Thanks for you help.

oodboo

For reference here's the two bikes:

Charge Mixer:
http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/ebwPNLq ... =-1&f_bct=

Genesis Croix De Fer:
http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/ebwPNLq ... =-1&f_bct=

jeepie

Very very nice choice to have. I think it will depend on:

1) which riding position you prefer - i.e. more layed out on the drops or more upright
2) whether the hub has enough gears for you to go as fast as you want (of course you can change to a larger sprocket).

Personally for that sort of distance I would enjoy whichever was quicker....

whyamihere

If I had a grand to spend on that kind of bike, I'd be buying the Genesis. The frames are excellent, and the spec's very good for the price too.

oodboo

I've been to the shop today and tried both bikes. The Genesis is much lighter than the Charge which suprised me, I thought they'd be about the same. After taking both bikes for a spin around the car park I decided on the Genesis. I don't think there would be enough range in the gears on the Charge for some of the hills I have to climb. And for some reason I just felt more comfortable on the Genesis.

Thanks for your input.

jeepie

Excellent. Let us know what you think of it when you get it and post some photos!

jonny_trousers

oodboo wrote:

I've been to the shop today and tried both bikes. The Genesis is much lighter than the Charge which suprised me, I thought they'd be about the same. After taking both bikes for a spin around the car park I decided on the Genesis. I don't think there would be enough range in the gears on the Charge for some of the hills I have to climb. And for some reason I just felt more comfortable on the Genesis.

Thanks for your input.

I think you have made the perfect choice of bike for your commute. Congratulations and enjoy yourself!

cjcp

That Genesis is hubba, hubba. Good choice.

sc999cs

oodboo wrote:

I've been to the shop today and tried both bikes. The Genesis is much lighter than the Charge which suprised me, I thought they'd be about the same. After taking both bikes for a spin around the car park I decided on the Genesis. I don't think there would be enough range in the gears on the Charge for some of the hills I have to climb. And for some reason I just felt more comfortable on the Genesis.

Thanks for your input.

Think you made the right choice. I have a hub gear on my commuter and it is so heavy. I don't know if the maintenance is less on a hub gear because it doesn't seem to take much to maintain a deraillieur in the first place. Changing an inner tube with a hub gear in the rain isn't much fun especially if you have a hub brake as well.

I'm happy with mine because it is a short commute where the added weight doesn't matter and it is walk-able if I do get a puncture.

And the Genesis looks gorgeous!

oodboo

Just picked up the new bike and been for a quick ride round some local forest roads. I'm liking it a lot, hoping to ride to work tomorrow but got a long drive tomorrow night so not sure if I will. Any way, here it is with it's new friends:


Points to anyone who can name all the bikes...

Cafewanda

Genisis Croix de Fer and his new friends: bike 1, bike 2 and bike 3

What'd I win?

Savagestorm

Love the saddle and bar tape, gives it a touch of elegance....

Mr Damo

Good timing - just going through the exact same decision myself.

Would be great to here how the Genesis breaks in - I wasn't sure about it handling the piss poor state of Glasgow's potholed streets that I need to weave along every day. I also have a 1:10 incline to deal with on return so was leaning towards the CdeF.

tripleo

A friend of mine did Paris - Roubaix on a Genesis a couple of years ago - so Glasgow's potholes should be OK.

oodboo

I've had the Genesis for just over a year now and it has been excellent. I haven't spent much time maintaining the bike. So far I've only changed the tyres, replaced one spoke and the gear cable for the front mech.

I got a lot of punctures in the original tyres (had 3 punctures in one ride once) so swapped them for some Schwalbe Marathon tyres that I got for £30\pair on ebay.

I'm trying to commute 3 times a week but that's not always possible. I think I'm averaging 90 miles per week and have covered over 900 puncture free miles since replacing the tyres. That's when I got more serious about riding to work. In total the bike has probably covered about 1400 miles over the last year. The BB is starting to gain some play so I plan on replacing that soon. Also I think it's probably about time I checked the brake pads to see if they need replacing. everything else is holding up quite well though.