Which Commuter Bike Thread #3513

chrispardo

Hi Guys, I'm new around here so be gentle I realise there are similar threads to this already, but I don't want to hijack someone else's thread.

My old bike (bought second-hand 18 months ago when I wasn't sure I'd stick with this cycling to work lark) has given up the ghost, so I'm looking to buy my first new bike and getting a bit bewildered by all the choices out there. My budget is £300, so I appreciate that I'm going to be looking at the budget end of the scale, but I was hoping you'd all be able to point me in the right direction.

My commute to work in Stafford (West Mids) is only around 2.5 miles each way, mainly on cycle paths on pavements, mixed in with a bit of road and a path along a river. It's not totally flat; veloroutes.org estimates that I have a climb of around 50ft over 1/3 mile about half way through. It currently takes me around 15 minutes to get to work; we have no showering facilities here, so I try not to exert myself too much and get too sweaty on my way in.

I don't intend on using it for any off-road use, so I'm probably not looking for a MTB.

The bike would also need to be able to accommodate a pannier rack, and I'm 6' 2" in height.

Any and all recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

bails87

Do Decathlon have anything in that price range? A rigid forked, flat barred hybrid tpye bike?

You could do that commute on almost anything tbh.

godders1

Evans always seem to have a good range of Hybrids at that price range and they have a decent sale on atm. Go to their website, search hybrids and narrow the price range to £250-£300. Should be something from the likes of Trek, Dawes, Scott etc.

Quality wise they’ll all be much of a muchness at that price point.

nick5573

I have just treated myself to this I am a novice but I think it is a good deal especially since its 50% off a £600 bike. I have a similar commute to you so should be ok for you

Haro Roscoe Bike (2011)

http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/produ ... _Bike_2011

•Frame: 2011 Haro Metro 6061 T6 Aluminium
•Fork: 700c alloy w/cromo steerer tube
•Cranks: Truvativ ISO-Flow Road 26/38/48
•Bottom Bracket: Truvativ sealed bearing
•Pedals: Wellgo nylon body w/alloy cage & toe clip
•Front Derailleur: Shimano C051
•Rear Derailleur: Shimano Deore
•Shifters: Shimano M410 8-Speed
•Cassette: SRAM PG-830 8-speed 11-28T
•Chain: Shimano HG-40
•Front Hub: Alloy 32H QR
•Rear Hub: Alloy 32H QR
•Rims: Ritchey Grinder XC
•Front Tyre: Kenda Kwik Trax 700x38c
•Rear Tyre: Kenda Kwik Trax 700x38c
•Front Brake: Shimano Direct pull w/linear spring
•Rear Brake: Shimano Direct pull w/linear spring
•Brake Levers: Shimano Alloy
•Handlebar: Ritchey Mtn Flat OS 600mm wide 31.8mm thick
•Headset: FSA Drop in
•Stem: Pivit alloy clamp on 7 degree rise 31.8mm clamp
•Grips: Dual density
•Saddle: Haro race
•Seat Post: Alloy 27.2mm micro adjust
•Seat Clamp: Pivit alloy

chrispardo

Thanks for all the help and advice so far guys. I popped by Decathlon this evening, mainly to have a look at the B'twin Fitness 3 which they class as their most basic road model:

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/btwin-fitnes ... 88895.html

But I saw another couple of B'twin models that you could say are either side of the Fitness 3 in terms of what they're intended for:

Riverside 3 (hybrid): http://www.decathlon.co.uk/riverside-3- ... 02746.html
Triban 3 (road): http://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-3-id_8167038.html

So I guess the question here is for £250, given my requirements, is there any reason why I should go for the Riverside rather than the Fitness? And even though I wasn't looking for a 'proper' drop bar road bike, is the Triban worth the extra £50?

godders1

Cheap suspension forks= bad
Twist grip shifters= bad

I'd go for the Triban 3, definitely worth the extra £50. In fact i's staggering how they can sell it for that price. I read a gushing review on it but can't remember where unfortunately. :oops:

chrispardo

Ah I know the one you're talking about, they had it printed out and pinned-up in store! All sounded very positive I have to say.

My only concern is that the Triban 3 is 'overkill' for what I want. I've never had pedals with toe-clips before, and I have such a short commute that I wear either an old pair of work shoes or my gym trainers (if I'm going to the gym straight from work) to cycle in. I'm definitely not one for specialist kit. My ride is also quite stop-start; the cycle paths are on footpaths, so I'm often stopping to cross a road or wait at a crossing. I'm also not really looking for a racing-style body position when I'm cycling in half my work clothes in the morning!

I do however appreciate that the Triban 3 has excellent reviews and seems like fantastic value for money, and is probably the best piece of kit I can get for my £300 budget.

bails87

You can flip the stem to bring the bars up a bit, and a road bike will be easier on the road (or any tarmacced surface) so you could argue you'll be able to put in less effort and get to work in the same time.

MichaelW

Carrera Subway is pretty good for a £300 allweather/all terrain short-range commuter bike.

godders1

You have to spend around £300 to get a decent (new) bike anyway and seeing as there is a pretty decent road bike available at that price point I say go for it.

“Overkill” would be spending silly money. Don’t get hung up on the fact it’s a road bike; it’s a bike, it’ll get you from A to B (but with the advantage of being more fun to ride than the alternatives and will more likely encourage you to get out and about on your days off).

That said if it’s purely going to be for getting to/from work and you’re confident that cycling isn’t going to become a hobby for you then maybe a hybrid is more suitable.

I know what I’d get though .

matt@theforce

What is your reason for not wanting drop bars? I didn't want them when I bought my Forme5 as I was used to flat bars on my MTB's but after a few months I've just converted to Drops and really like them.

With regards to cyclepaths etc I have Schwalbe Marathon Plus 25c tyres which are the largest you will get on the Fitness/Triban and they work really well down unmade cycle paths, IMO no need for a hybrid.

The Review of the Triban3 is in the August 2012 issue of Cycling Active
Matthew

chrispardo

Some great advice there guys, thanks. Godders, you're right, I need to get out of the mentality of thinking that I can't get a "road" bike for my commute. The Triban 3 has the fixtures for my pannier rack, so that should do the job. And it would be nice if a new bike made cycling enough fun so that I actually want to do it outside of commuting, which certainly isn't the case at the moment.

Matt, I don't think I have anything against drops per se, it's more that I still want a fairly upright riding position. But I'm guessing that with a combination of seat height, frame size and flipped stem (I'm seen it mentioned that Decathlon are happy to do this kind of thing during assembly) I'll be able to achieve this.

My only remaining concern would be the pedals. I know I could replace them, but I'm probably going to have to replace the tyres (and my lock!) so it's already going past my £300 budget.

You're all slowly convincing me that the Triban 3 is the way to go

matt@theforce

You can always ask @ Decathlon if they have any spare pedals knocking around or even see if they would swap the ones off the Triban for some off the shelf pedals, I found the Sheffield store extremly helpful.

Locks, you can spend as much or as little as you want, Decathlon have a section for locks and arrange them in a way that its easy to see what suits your needs.

Tyres are very much a personal choice. I like my Schwalbe's, others like Continental etc etc. If I'm honest punctures are probably more down to bad luck than anything else.

Matthew

Big_Paul

Gonna say it again, Vitus Vee-1, I have a clip on rack on the seatpost and it's fine, I'm 6'1 and have no issues with the 19 inch version. One 50ft hill won't over exert you.

chrispardo

I was considering the Vee 1, but if I'm paying £250-300 I'd prefer the flexibility to use it for longer rides if I wanted. While I'm not going to go off-road, living right at the edge of Cannock Chase means most main roads are pretty up-and-down around here.

Though as someone who's got fed up of having to take my old/current bike to be fixed in one shape or another every couple of months, I can certainly understand the appeal of a fixie!

JamesB5446

Godders1 wrote:

Cheap suspension forks= bad
Twist grip shifters= bad

I'd go for the Triban 3, definitely worth the extra £50. In fact i's staggering how they can sell it for that price. I read a gushing review on it but can't remember where unfortunately. :oops:

Cycling Active magazine, last month I think.

chrispardo

Well having tried a Triban 3 63 last week, I decided this was too big for me and I'd need the 60 frame. And now they're out of stock country wide. So I'm faced with a decision of waiting 6 weeks or so (apparently) or trying to pick something else. Meanwhile I'm bike-less.

By the sounds of it, the only way I'll get something that matches the value-for-money of the Triban 3 is by picking something up second hand. With that in mind, what are anyone's thoughts on the following:

Carrera Virtuoso #1: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/130763782652? ... 500wt_1414

Carrera Virtuoso #2: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261097204593? ... 500wt_1414

Specialized Sirrus: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/200818301118? ... 059wt_1397

Specialized something: http://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/like- ... tem-full-1

Any other recommendations, new and old, most appreciated.

rubertoe

I use a Virtuoso for commuting 16 mile each way in all conditions and have racked up nearly 5000 miles on mine this year alone. So I reckon that you could just about get away with it as a commuter (the one linked to in the first picture)

I only ride on the road though, but run 25mm Gatorskin tyres for their puncture protection. I have changed a few of the bits, lighter wheels, new handle bars & stem and changed the chain and cassette after about 6000 miles.

It also takes mudguards and rack of your that way inclined.

So

chrispardo

How about a Specialized Sirrus? More specifically this one: http://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/speci ... /111204028.

I'm trying to find out from the seller exactly which model is, but if it's a 2011 it's at least an Elite because of the Carbon forks. The only thing that concerns me here is that the 2011 models seem to lack quick release wheels; this might be a deal-breaker for me.

Any opinions on the Sirrus, at a £300-400 level?

godders1

Quick release systems are separate from the wheel itself. i.e. you don’t get “quick release wheels” as such, but wheels with quick release skewers fitted.

QR skewers are relatively cheap so this shouldn’t really be a factor in your decision making.

No experience with the Sirrus but seems failry well regarded.