New commuter bike advice purdy please

pianoleo

My Decathlon BSO hybrid has pretty much died a death. Back wheel has been throwing out spokes, two at a time, I've been replacing each broken pair as they go, and on a longer journey the other day a spoke went through the rim. The wheel is beyond repair and given it has a shimano nexus hub on it it's an expensive replacement. Given the bike's only three months old, I shall be having a little chat with the manager tomorrow about giving my money back and letting me take it elsewhere.

I'd been planning on a new bike in the spring, but any excuse....

I cover about 100 miles per week - I'm a self employed musician so whilst I'm a commuter some of my commutes are longer than others (a typical week sees me doing 6 miles each way, four times, a 28 mile round trip and a 20 mile round trip, plus nipping to Sainsbury's). Because of the nature of what I do, proper rear rack and guard eyelets are an absolute must, which knocks out most of the speedy racing bikes. I suppose I'm probably looking for a cyclocross or touring bike with drops. I live in Crystal Palace/Sydenham so I've got a hilly chunk - I'm going to need a few gears!

I've been thinking outside the box slightly - Brixton Cycles (local LBS) stock Surly amongst others, and the Cross Check could be a good option. Alternatively there's Evans and I could trek over the Edwardes in Camberwell if need be.

Any ideas? Needs to come in under a grand, and the Genesis Croix de Fer seems to be out of stock everywhere til next year....

Many thanks in advance.

jonny_trousers

How much do you have to spend?

I've never ridden one, but I think Surly's are overpriced for what they are.

On one Pompetamine Versa? Genesis Day One Alfine?


Ps. I too am a Musician living in the Crystal Palace are (thankfully at the bottom of the hill).

troj

What instrument do you play??
I assume this will be coming with you on
your travels.
Have you looked at the Kona Ute??

The Rookie

Are you still after another nexus (well hub geared) bike?
2 Flat barred options (I know you mention drops) would be

1/ Carrera Subway8, Nexus 8 speed hub. mud guards and rack as standard and as tough as old boots, its more mountain bike like (26" wheels for example) which may or may not suite what you want.

2/ Carrera Gryphon, its a 700C wheeled flat bar that takes rack and guards (see my avatar), its not hub geared though, it is limited on tyre width (see review on here) if you want something with a little more flexibility, although I get around this by running mine on 26" wheels with MTB components (bought as a bare frame)

Both come in at well under £500, you don't mention a budget

Simon

AndyOgy

troj wrote:

What instrument do you play??
I assume this will be coming with you on
your travels.
Have you looked at the Kona Ute??

From the username, it looks like Leo plays the piano.

Now that is a committed cyclist.

ndru

AndyOgy

pianoleo

Ooooh I'd forgotten about the On-Ones.

Yes, I'm a pianist. No, I don't lug one about, but you'll occasionally find a few kilos worth of sheet music in one pannier and a set of smart clothes plus shoes in the other.

I'm actually veering away from hub gears. Three gears was never enough (lowest was useless for anything apart from idling at red lights, middle occasionally useful for going up hills but gap between 2 and 3 much too big), so I would probably be looking at one of the 7-speed jobbies, but really, aside from the no-maintenance perk, I have the following problems with hub gears:

a) No quick release. When the p*ncture fairy visits you either need a whopping great nut tool, or, in the case of my BSO, you've just got to fix the tube on the bike. I damaged the wheel nut (and my hands) trying to remove it on the road with a regular spanner.

b) If your back wheel's fudged, it's not a quick replacement. Deconstructing and rebuilding a hub wheel takes more effort than it's worth.

c) I don't like things that I don't understand :?

At the end of the post again, where people don't read it, Needs to come in under a grand.

Thanks - I shall be looking through all of those options, apart from the Kona Ute, 'cos it's too long to get round the corner of my staircase...

ndru

a) If you have proper tyres the puncture fairy tends to avoid you. If it does strike though, what's so bad about fixing the puncture with a patch instead of replacing the tube?
b) the wheels on a proper bicycle are not so easy to fudge so you are worrying about something that might not happen
c) can't help with that I am afraid

Look at
http://www.dutchbike.co.uk/Work2.htm

hstiles

From the reviews I've read, it sounds like the Surly is a pretty heavy beast, so wouldn;t be much fun on the hills of Crystal Palace and Sydenham.

I reckon a Cyclocross bike that features a frame with eyelets for a rack and mudguards would suit you. A compact chainset might be sufficient, especially if paired with a larger rear cassette (13-27 or something), otherwise, go for a triple.

You could probably pick up a deal on one of the 2020 model Specialized Tricross bikes. If you want something a little sportier, have a look for a bike based on a Kinesis Crosslight frame, which is what I have. It's very comfortable for my commute, makes light work of hills and as all of the required mounting holes for your rack and guards.

rf6

+1 for the On One, lots of differing options, and easy to cusomise. Customer service is also excellent.

cjcp

Hunt around for the Croix de Fer - it'll be worth; it's a great stonking beaut of a bike.

Tyres - what ndru said. Schwalbe Durano Pluses are a £60 a pair, but they're the absolute business.

pianoleo

Well thank you all. I had a little row with the manager at Decathlon, and they wouldn't let take my money elsewhere, but gave me the cost of the original BSO and quite a bit more off the cost of something a bit better. Must say first impressions of the Riverside 7 are good. Yes, it's heavy, and it's a flat-barred hybrid, but it should do me nicely through the winter and then I've got an excuse to buy another new bike (from a proper bike shop) in the spring

For the time being it's got Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres - from what I can tell those are fine but do say if you think I need different tyres at this point....