Winter/Commuter bike

teebs_123

Morning all,

Looking to get myself a winter/commuter bike within the next couple of months. I ran my Scott Foil through last winter and it's a process I don't want to repeat this year!

Budget of ~£1500
Bought on cycle scheme (partner's voucher can go upto £1500)
Will take full length mudguards

Will be used for winter rides/some commutes.

I was looking at a Kinesis TK3 with 105 and Handbuilts for circa £1500 at my LBS, but I want to make sure I don't miss anything.

Open to suggestions...

Anonymous

I would get a cyclocross bike personally.

Something like this
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/bmc ... e-ec043683

Gives you more options for use, better for commuting and means your summer bike will feel faster and lighter when you get back on it.

teebs_123

That's not a bad call. Again, Kinesis do a good range of cyclocross bikes so that would be a good idea. I'll have to look and see whether they take full length guards?

Quite like the idea of disc brakes for winter use (and possibly cyclocross races?)

styxd

Ribble?

teebs_123

styxd wrote:

Ribble?

I want to try and stay local if possible. My LBS stock Cervelo/Kinesis & Trek. The shop have been very good to me in the past year.

cycleclinic

Tifosi CK7 has everything you have stated. Can be done in any spec you like.

keef66

Unless you're now sold on the idea of disc brakes, the Tk3 is an excellent choice. I got the original Tk nearly 6 years ago when it was billed as a winter trainer. Been a brilliant year round bike with 105 and full SKS Chromoplastic guards (which stayed on last summer!). Since then they have made the head tube a bit taller / tapered and beefed up the fork.

On the other hand if you do want discs then Kinesis do have some excellent cross frames, or there's the Tripster which is a disc compatible tough drop barred do-it-all / commuter

http://www.kinesisbikes.co.uk/bikes/decade/tripster

simonhead

Trek Crossrep and spend the rest on accesories, they had one in my lbs recently and a guy was trying it out, it also had about £100 off it so was down to about £750 if i remeber rightly.

asprilla

For a cyclocross for commuting I think this is hard to beat:

http://www.merlincycles.com/bike-shop/b ... -bike.html

£870 for 105 or £1010 for Ultegra,

teebs_123

I think the Kinsesis crosslight might just be the one. Versatile enough for me not to get bored too easily.

I like the idea of disc brakes for commuting and winter rides as the roads around North Yorkshire can get pretty mucky. I've checked and you can have full length guards.

keef66

Teebs_123 wrote:

I think the Kinsesis crosslight might just be the one. Versatile enough for me not to get bored too easily.

I like the idea of disc brakes for commuting and winter rides as the roads around North Yorkshire can get pretty mucky. I've checked and you can have full length guards.

It is a very popular choice for a rugged commuter

Anonymous

What are the Tektro brakes like compared with Shimano? I know Avid ones are to be avoided.

What about the weight compared to the BMC?

teebs_123

I'll have a comparison between the bikes and weights later on. The BMC does look nice..

teebs_123

FYI-I rode a Crosslight Pro6 today. The geometry in a 54 suits me to a T (and is pretty much the same for a TK3), but I think that the disc brakes are overkill for what I'll need it for. I'm going to go for:

TK3
Grey
Shimano 105 50/34
Hope hubs/Mavic rims
Full guards.

Should serve me well as a winter bike and commuter in 1.


Andy

sloppyschleckonds

Good choice, winter weather destroys bikes even if you clean and lube after every ride.

hugo15

I got a TK3 earlier in the year. I decided that as I spend nearly half the year on my winter bike and also use I for commuting then I would treat myself to a slightly better frame than the normal winter hack. I'm been really pleased with the TK3 so far.

overlord2

Get a solid comfortable frame because you are going to be sat on it in the crappiest of crappiest weather with some solid wheels that are not going to break (32/36 spoke) and tyres that are not going to puncture (something like marathons).

Full mudguards are a must the clip on sh**e are well....sh**e.

Wrap up, get some lights, take it easy and you'll find winter can actually be enjoyable. Personally I would avoid a cyclocross specifically as a winter bike.

Get a good winter bike and you will be praying for bad weather just to see how it performs.

Teebs_123 wrote:

I'll have a comparison between the bikes and weights later on. The BMC does look nice..

Completely the wrong bike as a winter set-up (see above). When you are freezing covered in s*** with rattling mudguards you really won't careless what it looks like. It's to be used what its sold as - cyclocross.

teebs_123

Agree, and that's the sentiment from my LBS was.

I'm getting the quote from them tomorrow, so I'll see how it stacks up financially. Hoping to pay circa £1500 for the full build.