Motorcycle out - Bicycle in!

Oronare

Hey all!

So I just had a Birthday, and came to a horrible realisation that I can't coast on my good Metabolism forever, and the fact I used to cycle 6 miles a day when in primary AND High school (There and back) really isn't going to help me now I am 23 lol

Sold the big Motorcycle, and for the last two weeks I have been using a God awful old Mountain Bike on a Bike Trainer (30-45 minutes every day) I can really feel it starting to work and I am remembering how much I loved Cycling when I was younger, but I am afraid that this piece of junk wont hold up on my new Motorcycle-less-commute which would be 12 miles daily (6 to the City centre, and 6 back) (Preston if anyone knows the Area)

I have read all the guides, and the consensus seems to settle between Hybrids and Road bikes. I think I would feel nervous going into the closest Bike shop (Leisure lakes bikes - UK) and asking to be shown Road bikes, as I perceive them as the more 'hardcore' riders choice, maybe I am wrong.

I am going to hop down this week some time and was wondering if I could get some info before I go:

1. If I were to go Hybrid, I would ask to see the Cannondale Bad Boy and Quick CX, would these hold up with the type of commute I will have? I would be cycling along side a Duel carriageway a lot of the way, and at no point does my journey take me through Dirt tracks or fields.

2. The Road/CCross/Touring bikes that people have so far recommended have been the following:

Raleigh Royal, Cannondale CAAD, Specialized Allez & the Surly Cross Check - How would these hold out? Would I have problems with spokes breaking etc on a commute such as this?

3. Finally, I KIND of semi-made up my mind that I wanted a bad Boy, just because I really like the look of it, the only problem is that a lot of other forums say you will REALLY miss having drop handlebars, especially on longer rides and when it becomes windy. So, I guess I need something with the looks of a bad boy, but with drop handlebars? =(

Clothing wise, I think I would look and feel a complete plank in spandex of any kind haha, so with the above bikes, how would some decent Army/navy surplus trousers (waterproofs), thermal tshirt, hoody hold up for commuting? I have some nice gloves/boots from my Motorcycle days...so they're no problem.

Any help is very much appreciated as i am new to 'proper' cycling. Thanks!

PS - Budget is pretty much around what these Bikes go for, I don't want to go overboard as I will need other things like Lights/Trousers/Grease/Lube etc etc. However, I want to spend a little bit as this bike will likely be used for years. Thanks

nation

Buy what appeals to you and is comfortable. Having said that, road bikes are for riding on the road, and these very forums have seen a fair number of people that buy flat bar hybrids only to switch to a drop bar road/cyclocross bike six months to a year later.

If you like a hybrid, great, but don't buy one because you're intimidated by drop bars. They really are very comfortable and pleasant to use. The only thing you should really steer clear of is mountain bikes unless you genuinely harbour ambitions to ride off road.

Don't worry too much about breaking stuff unless you're really heavy or particularly lacking in finesse. Until you start getting into obviously performance oriented bikes for road racing bikes tend not to be too delicate, though in general a hybrid will be sturdier than a cyclocross bike, which will in turn be sturdier than a road bike (though there are "fast hybrids" which are, to all intents and purposes, pure road bikes that happen to have flat bars, road bikes that are tough as old boots, and cyclocross bikes that run the gamut from being as biased towards pure performance as the raciest of road bikes to being lumbering pseudo touring bikes). Having said that, I commute on a Giant Defy road bike which I mistreat horribly by battering through potholes and bunnyhopping speed bumps, and I haven't broken anything on it yet.

I don't think you'll really go wrong with any of the bikes suggested. I'd say have a look at them, sit on and test ride them if possible, and go with what you like best. The road bikes might be a little quicker on dry days, the hybrids a bit more confidence inspiring in the wet, some of them will be more flexible in terms of things like taking racks, etc. Decide what your priorities are and ask the bike shop what they think.

In terms of clothing, not all bike gear is lycra, though usually it's designed to be fairly close fitting purely because loose flappy clothing is something of a hindrance. MTB gear tends to be looser (and MTB shorts seem to be a fairly popular commuting choice) but still cut and designed to work well when riding a bike. You also probably don't need to wear as much gear as you think you do, but you'll figure out how much you need to wrap up by trial and error. One thing that is fairly important is that whatever you wear allows sweat to evaporate - it's the difference between sweating and being sweaty, so wicking gear designed for sports or outdoor activities tends to be the order of the day. Avoid anything that will soak it up (like cotton).

Long_Time_Lurker

Your choice of bike will be dependant on what you will be riding.
Don't get hung-up on the drop handle bars. For your 12 mile commute any bike (road/hybrid or MTB will do), it's not that far that it would make a big difference.
My commute a 28 mile round trip and my hardtail MTB is fine. I would probably shave 15 minutes off of my time with a road bike, but then I wouldn't be able to so my detour through a 3 mile section of muddy trails!

But will you ride it at weekends too? And where will you ride it - do you want to put in some serious miles or mess about on the local muddy trails? That should ultimately sway your decision.
If you catch the bug again, you will want to spend more and more time/money on your bike. Try the different bikes out and make sure that you buy the right one the first time. I didn't - I bought a bike that looked good and ended up replacing it after 18 months.

If your LBS is any good, you should be able to go in an ask them for help. They should give you some decent advice and should give you the time to browse and try a few bikes out.

As for clothes - any bike specific clothing will serve you well. (I don't do lycra either - MTB clothing hides my bulk.).
I wear MTB clothing as I ride MTBs on an evening/weekend, so haven't needed to spend additional cash on 'commuting' clothing. The only exception is my Night Vision jacket - I need to be seen on these dark mornings.

tonye_n

http://www.cyclesurgery.com/ridgeback-u ... duct/20077

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/rid ... e-ec025132

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/rid ... gn=froogle

I have got the Ridgeback T3 (2008) which is basically the current UltraFlight 03.
Very light, takes mudguards. The silver (titanium) colour is very good looking. I use mine with silver tortec ultraslim mudguards. It is a road bike with flat bars and even has caliper brakes. This means that should you wish to convert to drops in future, it will only involve changing the handlebar and sti levers.

essjaydee

That's a good point made by 'longtimelurker'.
If you are planning on using the bike for weekend fun, then that may sway your choice.
I got a Hybrid for my 24 mile daily comute and love it. It's comfy and fast enough for my old bones to cope with, but I now wish I'd gone for a Hardtail MTB as I really fancy playing in mud at the weekends :!:

Could have put a set of faster rolling tyres on for the commute and would have gone for a bike with a fork lockout fitted, and be damned with the additional weight. Good for fitness

esspeebee

12 miles is that sort of distance that you could do on anything, but will be easier and faster on a 'proper' road bike. Just because you've got drop bars doesn't mean you have to go into a full-on head-down racing position; you can still set it up to be nice and relaxed, and the drops just give you extra options for different positions if you fancy a change.

As others have said, don't be intimidated, try both options, and see which you prefer over a longish test ride. Most decent LBSs will let you test a bike over 10 miles or so, which should be enough for you to get a feel for it. Head into your LBS and say you're not sure whether you want a hybrid or road bike, explain what it's for, and see what they've got to offer.

In that sort of price range, pretty much anything you buy will be plenty robust enough once it's set up properly -- bikes only start getting fragile once you get into the ultra-lightweight high performance stuff, which is considerably more expensive.

paulintheforest

I third (I think) the point about it's what you do with the bike that decides what to get.

I got a full sus mountain bike on special because my office was moving to the New Forest and thought it would be fun in the mud, then found out that actually bikes are only allowed on the gravelled fire roads, so I've hardly needed the full sus in 5 years.

Then I signed up for cycle to work but as the journey is 45mile round trip I got a road bike for speed and efficiency, while I've been happy with this bike I struggle on some of the cycle paths on the way to work. One is very bumpy and hard work, another is gravel so I don't use it thus upsetting lots of drivers on a 60mph section of rural road. I'm also not sure how much good it would be into the winter with clip on mudguards and skinny tyres with leaves etc on the road.

Now I'm thinking of getting some kind of cross bike (specialized Tricross disc) for the following reasons

It will be good enough to use on the fire roads in the forest
It will be good enough to use on the bike tracks in the winter
It will hopefully be helpful in the winter to keep me on the road with grip.(I'm off to hospital on Thursday to get my collar bone pinned after coming off my road bike in torrential rain on skinny tyres and riding too fast)

Sorry that post went on it bit, I think I'm rehearsing the arguments for my wife, all it was meant to say was that it makes sense to think about what all of your riding will be and do your best to get one that ticks as many boxes as you can, or get a big shed and buy one for every purpose.

Oronare

Just wondering which I would be getting better value for? Is the price difference going to be worth it? Made up my mind it will be one of these;

http://www.leisurelakesbikes.com/produc ... ?&id=15459

http://www.leisurelakesbikes.com/produc ... ?&id=17421

http://www.drakescycles.co.uk/m1b100s18 ... RS_GB/9887



http://velospace.org/node/6200 - Here is what I would hopefully be turning it into for the winter months, would the weird sized rims on the Leisure Lakes models be able to accommodate larger, more mountain bikey style tyres? or do I need to go for the 700c model.

Thanks.