Cheap bike or new wheels.

copperthorpe

I recently was forced into cycling to work a couple of days....found it really liberating and felt good all day at work as I was looking fwd to riding home!
My question is this....I ride a Giant Alliance with 105/Tiagra/Aksiums & I want to know should I buy 2nd bike for commute or another pair of wheels with Marathon Plus,don't have a lot of room but dont want to ruin the Giant,any sensible help greatly appreciated.

roger_merriman

Commuting can be hard on drive chain and wheels/tyres this said does depend on where your commuting.

If your cycling year around then yes the bike will wear, though probably not as much as you'd think.

the real advantage is having, a bike with mud guards tough tyres etc, and not having to swap around.

mikeyboy12345

A Giant TCR Alliance with 105 must have had an RRP of about a grand, so too nice for commuting in cack weather, IMHO! I was in a similar situation, watching my Ultegra Giant CFR deteriorate over a couple of winters. Wasn't worth it. My Giant has been rebuilt with all new bits and is now dry weather only, and I have an 80s steel hack for the dirty stuff.

Too much hassle swapping wheels, I reckon, cuz you'll also need a spare cassette and probably have to swap chains too to avoid a mis-matched chain/cassette combo from slipping under load

desweller

Once your bike becomes a utility vehicle rather than a toy it makes sense to have a second one in the fleet purely for backup.

andrewlwood

I intend to ride my Trek into the ground on any ride I can, and then when it falls apart use that as an excuse to buy a new groupset or even a new bike.
Don't have room for two bikes, and I like new stuff.

copperthorpe

Saw a Kona Drop Dew for 425 quid on Evans Website so was thinking about this and using it for commuting / winter riding? :?