Ridge or Kaffen 'back' !?

Fr33man

Hi,

Forum newbie looking for some much needed help with decision making. I'm afraid it's another either/or post so hopefully you're not all too bored of these.

Unfortunately my trusty Trek 6000 (year '00) got stolen a few weeks back. I'd converted it over the years to be my ideal commuter. Now that the insurance has come through I'm looking for a replacement.

Ideally I would be buying three new bikes as I love all kinds of riding, but as I am unfortunately not made of money I'm looking for a good all rounder. In terms of actually riding it will do I would say it breaks down like this; 80% commuting (7 miles a day), 10% sportive rides (50 - 110 miles), 10% touring (Sustrans style / week long routes).

Two bikes that have caught my eye are:

Planet X Kaffenback (2010) http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/CBPXKAFF/kaffenback-commuter-sport

and

Ridgeback Flight 03 (2011) http://www.evanscycles.com/products/ridgeback/flight-03-2011-hybrid-bike-ec025109?query=Ridgeback%20Flight%2003

My budget is around £800 but would stretch to £1000 if it included some accesories (such as a really good lock this time!)

Any help or advice anyone can offer would be very gratefully received!

Thanks!

Tom

cougie

I love the planet X bikes, but is a flat bar bike really what you want for sportives or long touring ? I'd look at their cyclocross bike - sturdy enough to handle any commute and great for long road rides too. will take full guards no problem too.

woodford2barbican

I used to have a drop bar kaffenback - used it for commuting on & it does take full mudguards, not sure if suitable for sportives tbh as it is pretty heavy. Long touring would be fine on it though.

tonye_n

I use a Ridgeback Flight T3(2008) for my daily commute. The current equivalent would be a Ridgeback Flight 03 or 04. It seems to have exactly the same geometry and as such is
is a road bike in every aspect but with Flat bar and has disk brakes (mine has pure roady dual-pul calipers).

Before opting for the ridgeback I owned a Spesh Sirrus Elite 2008, but I found that the front-end of this bike was too high for me compared to a road bike. After riding my Spesh Roubaix the Sirrus was like riding on stilts! And even the Roubaix is supposed to have a relatively high front end. My upper body was acting as a wind breaker!

I use Specialized over-endz and this gives me more hand positions to reduce fatigue. These bar-ends are one of the most comfortable around, with the ergonomic hand shaping. I ride 50 milers on weekends without any hand fatigue issues.

http://www.simpsoncycles.co.uk/product. ... z_bar_ends

Ridgeback make some fantastic flat and drop bar road bikes, built for the 'british weather'. With mud-guard and pannier fittings. My ridgeback has full tor-tec mudguards with 25mm tires.

Lycra Man

My first real bike was a Ridgeback Meteor, a flat bar road bike. Tiagra 27 speed triple, straight bars, bar ends fitted, and I used it for 30-50 mile training rides, 300 mile Paris to London ride, and 200-300k Audax rides. Don't let anyone put you off flat bar road bikes for long rides. You can get comnfortable and change poosition.

Secondly, the V brakes on my Metoer, and probably the disc brakes on ther Flight are far superior to the canti brakes on my road bike.

So why have I got a road bike if flat bar bikes are so superior? For the lighter weight and slightkly reduced rolling resistance.

So I would chose the Ridgeback Flight.

Lycra Man

jeepie

I am agonising over whether I need gears or not on my winter steed.

It's between the Pearson Touche (no gears) and Planet X Uncle John (gears) at the mo!

I prefer drop bars to flat.

The advantage of no gears is that running costs are low, but this will make the bike less versatile, especially for longer sportive rides.....