How much bike is too much for commuting?

DonDaddyD

Applespider wrote:

I started commuting last year on a hybrid and cover about 100 miles a week now (primarily through London traffic). I am now looking at my first road bike but the ones I like are around the £1000 mark. Or is the answer that you can never spend too much on a bike

I've had some friends tell me that I'm off my head to spend a grand on a road bike primarily used for commuting. They tell me that I should go for an entry level or just above since it will get trashed. I'd quite like one with carbon forks and a decent set of components to make my ride more comfortable and more fun and it'll be locked up (indoors) at either end. I'm a fair-weather commuter from Nov-Feb so really how trashed would it get?

So... a grand on a first commuting road bike... stupid or not? The options on the table (opinions welcome) are the Cannondale Synergy 105, the Specialized Dolce Elite or the Eddie Merckx AFX-1. Since fit-wise I'm looking at needing a 48cm WSD frame/components, it's tough to test ride them but from riding the model down (component wise) in the Cannondale and Specialized, they both feel comfortable.

I don't think it's solely the money I think it's a combination of money and spec.

£999 3 years ago could get you a carbon fibre frame and either Shimano or Ultegra groupset. I would say that was little 'much' for commuting.

£999 these days will likely get you an aluminium frame and either tiagra or 105 which is ideal for commuting. (you could find bikes of this spec at that price 3 years ago but back then they'd be considered a rip-off unless serviced by God, how times changed).

People tend to go cheaper not because they can't afford the £1000 bike but mostly down to the cost of maintaining the bike. If you have a Dura Ace rear mech then when the cassette or chain wears out you are going to want to replace it with something of similar quality that's going to cost about £150 every 6 to eight months. Also should you need to replace the bike or insure it the costs are going to mirror the value of the bike.

This is why people tend to have a best bike for the weekends and have a cheaper to run commuting bike for work. (You wouldn't drive the Ferrari every day to work, best left to the weekends).

Clever Pun

EKE_38BPM wrote:

Oi, I said it first with my "£20 a week" post. I demand some credit!!!

it was vastly underpriced

Cafewanda

Hi applespider, nice to see you here from the 'other' board. Sounds like you got the bike fit worked out now

kurako

dhope wrote:

SE London to City on one of the things ndru mentioned doesn't look fun to me. Maybe if you're delivering Hovis to the local farm shop...

Surely this is the ideal opportunity for a Vicky P photo. I'm disappointed in you all.

Levi_501

I have had this discussion many times with non cyclists.

The best answer I have come up with; 'we are not riding to the end of the road to pick up a pint of milk or walking the dog along the canal'

We are riding to and from work on a (often) dayly basis and need something strong, relaible, that can pound out the miles and withstand lots of traffic light Grand Prixs !

CiB

DonDaddyD wrote:

[If you have a Dura Ace rear mech then when the cassette or chain wears out you are going to want to replace it with something of similar quality that's going to cost about £150 every 6 to eight months.

Sorry can't have that. I commute on a nice bike, mainly because I can and because not using the best kit for the job is a bit bonkers to me. It runs an Ultegra g/s, has done close on 7000 miles still on the original cogs and has plenty left in it. The only concession was to buy a new chain with the bike and then swap the two every 1500 miles or so; and keep it all clean - whip the cassette off occasionally, clean out the black gunk that accumulates, do the same with the jockey wheels on the rear mech and treat the chain like the wife - keep it clean and lightly oiled, and don't drag it through the mud.

Better kit isn't flimsy & liable to fall apart. It works better, performs better and repays you if it's looked after properly. Better to have something that you can enjoy rather than putting up with some third rate tat just in case the good stuff wears out.

As you were chaps.

R_T_A

CiB wrote:

....and treat the chain like the wife - keep it clean and lightly oiled, and don't drag it through the mud.

Poetic and sage advice, and one I will whisper quietly in the garage.

EKE_38BPM

CiB wrote:

....and treat the chain like the wife - keep it clean and lightly oiled, and don't drag it through the mud.

As Swiss Toni would say "Maintaining a bike is like making love to a beautiful woman. Keep it clean and lightly oiled and don't drag it through the mud."

jedster

My feeling is that you can spend what you like because
a) you will use it a lot, may as well enjoy it
b) if it is replacing the costs of a travel pass or a car then you are making big savings which would pay for a lot of bike.

The only constraints (apart from my slight tightwad tendencies) are practicality. A commuting bike needs to be as hassle free as possible.

I need to leave my bike chained at a station. Having anything too flash just invites trouble which I can do without. Also I would get a bit upset about the paint/carbon chips that inevitably happen around crowded bike racks. The other kind of hassle is maintenance (time and cost). You want something reliable but the costs of replacing, say, dura-ace bits is really unpleasant (to me at least).

I spent £800 on my bike 5 years ago. I added a couple of hundred on guards/rack/dyno lighting system. Since then I have done about 20000 miles on it and have replaced roughly:
3 wheels
one chain set
one rear mech
one mech hanger
about 7 tyres
6 chains
4 cassettes
3 sets of chain rings
one front light
6 sets of brake pads
3 sets of bar tape
and to be honest the rack and saddle are pretty much shot by now
I'm pretty sure that at 105 prices that cost more than I spent on the bike.
Don't get me wrong, its still been great value for money but the costs do mount up.

Headhuunter

Kurako wrote:

The one thing to think about getting a super flash bike is where will you keep it when you're not at work. I wouldn't take my (not even all that flash) carbon roadie to work for ages cos I had to park it outside at Canary Wharf. I was always worried about it getting bashed up by some fool with a BSO. Now I am loads luckier as my firm has an underground parking spot with a bike cage. I am still slightly paranoid about parking it near to crappy BSOs in case it gets bashed up. As for stopping off at the supermarket on the way home. Forget about it!

Ass DDD points out, £1000 won't get you anywhere near the spec it used to 4 or 5 years ago, however I would still not pay £1k for a commuter unless I had something like a secure underground parking spot for it at work, and even if I did I wouldn't because I often bike from work to meet people dahn the pub and have to leave the bike locked to a railing or lampost or something. Wouldn't want a bike that I couldn't leave out in the open without it getting nicked...

kurako

Bearing in mind what I said earlier if I was making the choice now I'd probably do it differently. For daily commuting I'd go for something decent but not top end spec. Something in the 600-700 range like a Giant Defy. You can always upgrade parts as they wear out which so you end up with a 'better' bike and it helps you spread the cost.

iPete

You can get full carbon & 105 for 1k still, its not so bad at that price point. See Wiggle for more details... :twisted:

Applespider

itboffin wrote:

Er what G66 giving actual good advice with no hint of sarcasm .... i'm scared

Except... I've read it twice and just about made sense of it. Bear in mind that my practical bike knowledge other than riding one is confined to cleaning/lubing my chain, changing an inner tube over and adjusting the brakes occasionally.

And alarmingly... I do have tassles. Someone gave me pink sparkly ones in the work Secret Santa last year and even more worryingly occasionally asks if I've put them on my bike yet. I'd quite like a blue bike... or a lurid purple one... just not if it's crap otherwise.

Um...nrdu... I get what you're saying and since I don't have a car, I use my bike a fair bit but hey, I can keep the hybrid for that (if I figure out some decent storage solution). But I'm not sure that bike would be much fun on the hills in South East London...

Hey cafewanda... yup.. I think I know that I can find a road bike comfortable.. now just to decide which one.

Kurako - i take your point about the 6-700 mark which is where I started looking but when test riding, I've found the integrated shifter/brakes infinitely more comfortable than the thumb shifter version... which immediately puts me up to Tiagra shifters and bumps the cost up.

And iPete... yes... but sadly not in women's frames and the top tube on the smallest men's one in that model is still too long for my titchiness.

EKE_38BPM

Applespider wrote:

...too long for my titchiness.

Another half-pint.
My neice is 5'11" and still growing. A lot of the women in my family are around the six foot mark and almost all of the men are 6'2"+
Easy to spot us in a crowd but not so easy for us to by clothing or bikes.

fossyant

My fixed commuter cost about £1300, so why not. You spend alot of time on it.

The other 3 bikes are locked away till weekends.

gb155

EKE_38BPM wrote:

Non-cyclists often see bikes as little more than toys and spending ~£1000 is beyond most people's comprehension, but we know that bikes are more than toys. They are a form of transport, a hobby, a lifestyle choice, a toy, a dream purchase etc

Its your money, spend it how you wish.

I'm sure they wouldn't bat an eyelid if you said your travel-card cost £20 a week.

and even a tool to save a life with

get a bike you will enjoy, no one else matters in this

Harveytile

Applespider wrote:

I've had some friends tell me that I'm off my head to spend a grand on a road bike

Clearly time for new friends...

Headhuunter

iPete wrote:

You can get full carbon & 105 for 1k still, its not so bad at that price point. See Wiggle for more details... :twisted:

Back in 07 or 08 you could get a Focus Cayo in carbon with full Ultegra for about £1k....

dhope

Headhuunter wrote:

iPete wrote:

You can get full carbon & 105 for 1k still, its not so bad at that price point. See Wiggle for more details... :twisted:

Back in 07 or 08 you could get a Focus Cayo in carbon with full Ultegra for about £1k....

I got my Penny Farthing with Dura Ace for less than that.

Cafewanda

[quote="ApplespiderAnd alarmingly... I do have tassles. Someone gave me pink sparkly ones in the work Secret Santa last year and even more worryingly occasionally asks if I've put them on my bike yet. [/quote]

This made me smile. You should use them, just once at least, during the summer

I have spokeydokes on my hybrid. Adds a bit of colour and makes me smile when other cyclists clock them

[Deleted User]

I spend most of my time commuting, so after various so so bikes went out and brought a CAAD9. Was worried about it getting nicked, so added some stickers to conceal its identity. Also got OCD about keeping things looking good, not great using a pricey bike for a commute, so I brought some helicopter tape to protector the frame. The bike has been ridden for 2 years, looks mint still, just needed new tyres/cassette and chain and I look forward to everyday i ride it, and that comes above cost.

Applespider

Applespider wrote:

I'd quite like a blue bike... or a lurid purple one... just not if it's crap otherwise.

No blue or purple bike but I did pick up a used Trek 2.1WSD on eBay in red/white for about half of what a new similarly spec'd one would be - so I won't feel as worried about using it for commuting. It's 3 years old but aside from a small chip in top tube and the tape being dirty, it's in really good nick. I've upped the saddle, cleaned and lubed the chain/cassette, pumped up the tyres and just need to get another pair of clipless pedals and hope for some good weather this weekend to take it for a spin.

@Cafewanda - I saw a girl with tassles on her bike when going through Brixton tonight. Made me smile [/img]

joelsim

A grand really isn't a lot in the scheme of things. It's not a grand over a year, it's a grand over potentially several years and it will still have a value to sell on then. OK say 4 years, and you get £200 back. It's cost you £200 per year or approx £1 per day, plus any repair and servicing costs. So all in call it £2 per day. That's a coffee, or 7 fags, or 1/2 pint. Not to mention the money saved on trains.

That £1k is probably as good an investment as you will ever make and that's before you include any enjoyment you have using it, the fitness you get from it etc etc

Go for it, but keep your old bike for when you need to leave it in an unsafe place, or when the weather is shite.

clarkey cat

My bike was £1500 but its the first brand new bike I've ever owned - I always had 2nd hand before - and I love it more than I love my own child.

Commuter though - steel surely?

Cafewanda

Applespider wrote:

No blue or purple bike but I did pick up a used Trek 2.1WSD on eBay in red/white for about half of what a new similarly spec'd one would be - so I won't feel as worried about using it for commuting. It's 3 years old but aside from a small chip in top tube and the tape being dirty, it's in really good nick. I've upped the saddle, cleaned and lubed the chain/cassette, pumped up the tyres and just need to get another pair of clipless pedals and hope for some good weather this weekend to take it for a spin.

@Cafewanda - I saw a girl with tassles on her bike when going through Brixton tonight. Made me smile [/quote



Congrats on the new acquisition. I was looking at one of them (the really really titch one) to add to my collection when our C2W kicks in later in the year.

Re the tassels - you've got to use them at least once

asprilla

If she asks about the tassels again just say 'Yes, I'm actually wearing them now and they feel great' and walk off.

EKE_38BPM

I think its really clever when the tassles rotate in opposite directions at the same time.

Can you do that CW?

gbsahne001

Godders1 wrote:

£insurance, MOT etc. is probably going to make a one off payment of £1,000 (with what £30-£50 per year running costs?) seem like pretty good value.

I'm doing around this sort of mileage (and then some), to date this years maintenance; both bike and clothes is £350 so £30 - £50 is very light.

Gazzaputt

Manged to build a Canyon Ultimate AL with SRAM Rival, ksyrium equipes and FSA finishing kit for just under a £1k for my training\summer commuter bike.

A lot a digging around for some parts on Ebay and Merlin Cycles coming up trumps with VIP discount.

Frameset was bought in the Canyon outlet section with nearly £380 off the original price.

vorsprung

I spent £900 on my Cotic Roadrat 18 months ago. Since then it has done 8,000 miles in all weather. I have bought these bits for it since

3 chains
1 bottom bracket
2 sets of bar tape
2 pairs of brake blocks

I also got some Marathon Winter studded tyres so I could ride to work in the snow last winter. It normally runs Marathon Plus tyres, these are fine.