Specialized, Giant or Dawes

willsnow8

I'd like to buy a bicycle on which to commute to work and back. Ideally I'd like front suspension and a sprung saddle for comfort's sake. The following three look good:
Specialized Expedition Sport.
Giant Expression
Dawes Street Elite

I'd be grateful to hear anyone's thoughts on which of these is the best value.

rolf_f

Front suspension is a really, really bad idea unless you are going off road. A decent suspension fork costs a three figure sum, needs extra maintenance and weighs a lot. The weight decreases comfort as you have to work harder to ride the bike and it gets worse if you have to stand on the pedals to get up a hill as you waste energy pushing the suspension up and down.

But anyway, basically, you get a far better bike for the money without the suspension.

As for the saddle - how long is your commute? If it is any significant distance, an unsprung saddle and proper padded shorts will be far better.

gosport_commuter

All 3 bikes are heavy and rather poor, I would definately heed the advice above and consider if this is really what you want.

Having said that of the 3 I would be choosing probably either the dawes or the giant, the specialised is a bit too much style over substance, and unless you really like the style (I dont) I would stay away from that model.

The companantry is fairly poor on both, but more than likely perfectly servicable. out of the 2 the Dawes has the edge in my books featuring an extra gear on the rear (24 speeds instead of 21), and more importanly a larger range of gears. It also features the "next step up" if you will in gear changers and other companantry.

However the giant also looks like a very capable bike, and also comes with a rear rack, which to add to the Dawes is likely to add another £30-40 onto the price, so bear that in mind if you require the rack.

If I was forced to choose between myself, I'd likely go for the Dawes, but given half a choice I'd search again at the same price point for something minus the suspension stuff, It would make for a better specced lighter, more fun to ride bike.

willsnow8

Thanks to you both for your advice.

It's not a long commute (currently takes me 45 mins to walk it) so I'd rather avoid padded shorts. I'll start looking for a good bike (without front suspension) with a comfy seat. Any tips here would be appreciated - I'm trying not to spend much more than £400.

supersonic

Carrera Subway is the classic choice, if a little heavy, but for a faster machine the Giant Escape 2 and Specialized Sirrus are sound choices.

night_porter

If your walk is only 45 minutes then I will guess that your work is about 3 miles away?

I don't think you will need a firm seat to ride 6 miles in a day and the weight of the bike will be irrelevant but I do agree you probably won't benefit from front suspension.

I recently looked at comfort hybrid bikes under £400 for a friend and she was looking to do similar riding as yourself.

Halfords are currently selling a Pendleton Dalby with £100 discount making it £250, the spec of this bike equally matches £400+ bikes from Giant, Specialized, Trek, etc.

If it is good enough for Queen Vic to put her name to it then it must be pretty well built. Plus I think it looks good too!