Bike for around £300? Commuting/very occasional longer

booms

Hi there,

I'm looking for a recommendation for a bike that's a bit of a jack of all trades.

I'm looking for a bike that I can use to cycle about in London, that I can use for the occasional longer distance journey (about 80 miles). I'd like to spend around £300. One thing that I'm conscious of is that I want to be able to chain it up to a lampost without it looking too steal-worthy.

Am I trying to cover off too many things here? Evans cycles and premium cycle shops of that ilk don't seem to do anything below £450, and I'm not keen on looking in Argos. Likewise I'm not confident to go secondhand as I'm not sure I'd be able to make a good enough assessment of whether the bike is worth it.

Seems hard to spend £300! Any tips?

rozzer32

Looking at second hand with £300. Best bet would be to keep an eye out on Ebay.

Zendog1

As you've spotted £300 is below the mainstream brands low point.

Two to take a look at (both £299.99) are:

If you can get to a Decathlon store: http://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-3-id_ ... cre-detail

or Halfords (OK they get a bad press but the Carrera is well regarded for the price).

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165710

nochekmate

There are occasional bargains on eBay - went to bid on this one at the end last night via my mobile but encountered a problem and the auction ended before I could bid - AAggh!

Not sure that you could chain it up and expect it still to be there though. Nevertheless, it shows what can be bought (albeit slightly more than your budget)

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/colnago-road- ... 43ad8b8faf

rozzer32

nochekmate wrote:

There are occasional bargains on eBay - went to bid on this one at the end last night via my mobile but encountered a problem and the auction ended before I could bid - AAggh!

Not sure that you could chain it up and expect it still to be there though. Nevertheless, it shows what can be bought (albeit slightly more than your budget)

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/colnago-road- ... 43ad8b8faf

Be glad you didn't win it. Handling stolen goods ain't the best idea.

Russell160

+1 for Carrera at Halfords. It's easy to sneer at Halfords but they do make a sound bike for the price. Some of the staff know what they're doing. Buying new means minimum hassle, warranty etc. Re, stealworthy, this is more to do with knowing how to lock the bike properly than the brand per se. thieves will often have wheels away, etc, regardlesss of brand. Then it's replacement rear wheel £100 (wheel, cassette, tyre, tube, probably chain)There are good vids on you tube but I would recommend: good D lock, wire cable round front wheel, anti theft skewers eg Zefal. As you are in London this is the minimum.
PS Try Edinburgh Bicylce Coop, they do cracking deals on own brand hybrids, £179 new last time I looked.

nochekmate

rozzer32 wrote:

nochekmate wrote:

There are occasional bargains on eBay - went to bid on this one at the end last night via my mobile but encountered a problem and the auction ended before I could bid - AAggh!

Not sure that you could chain it up and expect it still to be there though. Nevertheless, it shows what can be bought (albeit slightly more than your budget)

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/colnago-road- ... 43ad8b8faf

Be glad you didn't win it. Handling stolen goods ain't the best idea.

Cynic!
Not sure that selling stolen bikes on eBay is the best idea these days (although I've no doubt tha some still try it)

booms

Thanks for all the tips guys - I'll have a good look into them! Really appreciate it.