Which Bike?

chris_uk_83

Hi all, I've just begun commuting 10ish miles to work and I'd quite like a bike that's a bit faster than my 15 year old Ridgeback mountain bike with worn out parts; I have no idea what to buy though. I'm after something that is a lot more efficient and makes my life that bit easier on the way to work and looking around the internet has shown me bikes of anything from £100 to £5000. Can anyone help me work out how much to spend and where the point of diminishing returns actually lies for road/commuting bikes?

Personally I can't see much difference between a £250/300 bike and a £1000 one except one or two pounds of weight and some fancy gear shifters. I'm not planning on racing time trials with it though so I'm not convinced that matters too much. What I'm really looking for is someone to tell me (or point me in the direction of the information) what is actually worth having and what's just 'boys toys' so to speak. (Personally I love boys toys and I have loads of equipment based hobbies to prove it, but I don't really have the cash to invest).

I'm sure somebody, one day, must have done a buyers guide but I can't find it so if anyone can point me in the direction of a relevant thread I'd be quite grateful.

Thanks in advance.

jonny_trousers

Loads of threads here on similar subjects, just keep trawling.

There are many factors to take into consideration when looking for a good all-rounder, but as a huge generalisation, when buying new, anything less than £500 will involve compromises, anything over £1400 will be for those who take their cycling very seriously as a sport or for those who have more money than sense, but that is just my opinion.

tobermory

Most bikes around the 6-7 hundred mark will be good enough

UndercoverElephant

First of all, it sounds like you're thinking about a road bike, which is good; You deserve it.

If we're talking road bikes for commuting, I would say that the £300 range will get you something that's only got the most basic of gears for the road. You'll really want STI shifters (the brake leavers change the gears also), as these mean you can easily change the gears at all times.

You're right in some ways that there is a law of diminishing returns with the bikes, if we take Shimano gears for instance they generally go from cheap, to durable to lightweight as you go up the range. The lightweight options wear out faster as do the cheap ones. If you can, look out for Tiagra or 105 for the durable options, Sora is on the cheaper end of durable too, but I think most people prefer the shifting of the former two.

Usually, £600 will buy you a decent entry-level road bike, it sounds a lot, but at that price there shouldn't be too many corners cut and you should get an all-round good bike. Try a few out at the different price ranges, you'll see the differences.