Best Bike?

G-man7T2

I'm currently thinking of buying either the 2012 Trek 7.7 or Whyte Stirling and wondered if anybody has an opinion on other bikes that may be better for around the same money or less? it's to be used as a daily commuter with the occasional long 'event' (London to Brighton etc), weekend rides alongside the river, cobbles, gravel but no real off road use at all. Advice would be very much appreciated.

Thanks

dhope

Sounds like the ol' Hybrid vs Road bike

See
viewtopic.php?f=40012&t=12811962

And EKE's roundup

EKE_38BPM wrote:

Welcome RP3.

Roger is right when he asks what you will be using the bike for.
If all of your riding will be on tarmac, I would suggest getting a road bike rather than a hybrid. If its mainly off road, I'd suggest getting a mountain bike, but, lots of people (newbies on here, friends in the real world and customers in the LBS) ask the same thing:
"I'm thinking about riding to work to help me get fit. Most of the riding is on the road, but I want a bike that I can ride along canal tow-paths and through the park at weekends with the wife/girlfriend and/or kids."
This very minor off-roading leads them to think that they need a bike with at least front suspension or full suspension bikes. In my opinion, unless you are planning on getting busy "on some gnarly single-track, dude" or doing proper downhill rides, you probably don't need any suspension. Suspension reduces your efficiency, saps your energy and slows you down (because of all that bouncing around and extra weight).
I'm very glad to see that you haven't fallen into that trap with the bikes you listed. Kudos.

Roger is right about the gearing on those two bikes you listed and the Scott he linked to is a good one, but as he said, choosing the right bike does depend on how you will be using it. Generally, if you are mainly riding on road, I would suggest going for a road bike (also known as a 'racer'). If its mainly to be used off-road, go for a mountain bike with lower gearing.

I guess that the general concensus on here will be that a hybrid is too slow on road and not capable enough off road so the various camps will try to drag you to their point of view.

Many on here will sing the praises of Cyclo Cross (CX) bikes. These look pretty much like road bikes but are stronger and more rugged than a standard road bike and will (usually) have the eyelets and clearances for mud-guards, wider tyres and panniers (that a road bike probably won't) and are faster than a mountain bike. Best of both worlds for commuting and a bit of light off-roading? If you get one, Kieran_Burns will give you a cape, welcome you to the Dark Side, call you a pervert (with a nudge and a wink) and you will become strangely attracted to your sister (even though you don't know she is your sister at the moment).
The MTBers will say that road bikes are too fragile.
The roadies will say that MTBs are too heavy.
The fixie riders will say that you don't need gears and point you towards a tree to hug and shops which sell skinny jeans.

Try a few bikes before you take the plunge, but ideally, ride whatever you have at the moment for a while and then when you are used to the ride you will be doing, you'll know the short-comings of your current steed so you will know what to look for in your new bike.

SimonAH

Hi,

They both seem fine and pretty similar in specification - I've no experience with Whyte but they are a good name.

At this sort of price point however have you considered looking at CX bikes? You don't have to ride in the drops all the time, but when faced with a good headwind on your commute you'll love the ability to get down out of it. Plus you get a cape (apparently).

DrLex

Cape? I was told it was a gimp mask...

sketchley

G-man7T2 wrote:

I'm currently thinking of buying either the 2012 Trek 7.7 or Whyte Stirling and wondered if anybody has an opinion on other bikes that may be better for around the same money or less? it's to be used as a daily commuter with the occasional long 'event' (London to Brighton etc), weekend rides alongside the river, cobbles, gravel but no real off road use at all. Advice would be very much appreciated.

Thanks

Speaking as a man who recently transitioned from flat bar to drop bar go try out some drop bar bikes you'll adjust very quickly. For your requirements stay away from out and out race geometry. Look for something with a more relaxed geometry. Cobbles and gravel will be fine if you go for something with fatter tyres. I'd take a good look at some cyclocross bikes for example,

http://www.genesisbikes.co.uk/bikes/cro ... oix-de-fer
http://www.genesisbikes.co.uk/bikes/cro ... de-fer/cdf
http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/CBP ... ybrid_bike
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/spe ... e-ec030755

Of course there are others.

Also this is really nice bike, I run mine with 28mm tyres and would not have problem riding down gravel or river banks with it.

http://www.genesisbikes.co.uk/bikes/roa ... librium-20

Ibb1982

I went for the Whyte Stirling yesterday and absolutely love it! Tested out my normal commute route (20miles in total) and knocked off easily 15mins (and thats with not riding for a year!) compared to my mtb. Was soo fast and easier to maintain the speed, really ace handling!

Have you bought a bike yet?

EKE_38BPM

dhope wrote:

Sounds like the ol' Hybrid vs Road bike

See
viewtopic.php?f=40012&t=12811962

And EKE's roundup

EKE_38BPM wrote:

Welcome RP3.

Roger is right when he asks what you will be using the bike for.
If all of your riding will be on tarmac, I would suggest getting a road bike rather than a hybrid. If its mainly off road, I'd suggest getting a mountain bike, but, lots of people (newbies on here, friends in the real world and customers in the LBS) ask the same thing:
"I'm thinking about riding to work to help me get fit. Most of the riding is on the road, but I want a bike that I can ride along canal tow-paths and through the park at weekends with the wife/girlfriend and/or kids."
This very minor off-roading leads them to think that they need a bike with at least front suspension or full suspension bikes. In my opinion, unless you are planning on getting busy "on some gnarly single-track, dude" or doing proper downhill rides, you probably don't need any suspension. Suspension reduces your efficiency, saps your energy and slows you down (because of all that bouncing around and extra weight).
I'm very glad to see that you haven't fallen into that trap with the bikes you listed. Kudos.

Roger is right about the gearing on those two bikes you listed and the Scott he linked to is a good one, but as he said, choosing the right bike does depend on how you will be using it. Generally, if you are mainly riding on road, I would suggest going for a road bike (also known as a 'racer'). If its mainly to be used off-road, go for a mountain bike with lower gearing.

I guess that the general concensus on here will be that a hybrid is too slow on road and not capable enough off road so the various camps will try to drag you to their point of view.

Many on here will sing the praises of Cyclo Cross (CX) bikes. These look pretty much like road bikes but are stronger and more rugged than a standard road bike and will (usually) have the eyelets and clearances for mud-guards, wider tyres and panniers (that a road bike probably won't) and are faster than a mountain bike. Best of both worlds for commuting and a bit of light off-roading? If you get one, Kieran_Burns will give you a cape, welcome you to the Dark Side, call you a pervert (with a nudge and a wink) and you will become strangely attracted to your sister (even though you don't know she is your sister at the moment).
The MTBers will say that road bikes are too fragile.
The roadies will say that MTBs are too heavy.
The fixie riders will say that you don't need gears and point you towards a tree to hug and shops which sell skinny jeans.

Try a few bikes before you take the plunge, but ideally, ride whatever you have at the moment for a while and then when you are used to the ride you will be doing, you'll know the short-comings of your current steed so you will know what to look for in your new bike.

Err, yeah. What I said!

asprilla

Just steered one chap at work successfully towards a CAADX 105. Great bike.