B'TWIN Fit 5 of Ridgeback Velocity

RoryJP

Hi,
This site and forum is a great resource. Thank you!

I'm looking for a bike for the daily road / cycle path commute (5 miles each way) and longer road / cycle path / river or canal path leisure rides on the weekends. I have a monstrous hill on the way to work so plenty of gears to choose from would be an advantage.

Using this site and browsing the forums here I've whittled it down to two bikes.

Ridgeback Velocity:
http://www.ukbikesdepot.com/m18b159s18p ... tAodHRcAEg

BTWIN Fit 5:
http://www.decathlon.co.uk/btwin-fit-5- ... 39798.html

My preference would be the Fit 5, however, I am concerned that if I did want to go off road a bit, ie. very light dirt track along river, canal path etc., it wouldn't hold up too well. Would this be the case? Even if i replace the tyres with slightly wider, knobbly tyres (i'm not concerned with out right speed)?

I will also want to fit a panier rack. Has anyone got experience of using the Fit 5 with a rack and two panniers?

Have I missed any good options for bikes in this range (300 - 400)?

Thank you in advance for the help..

supersonic

On paper the Fit 5 is streets ahead - lighter, better spec throughout. I believe it does have rack mounts, but I'd contact Decathlon for max tyre size. i ride on 32mm slicks on light dirt tracks with no problems.

jockywilson

The Fit 5 also has the advantage of raising your bust:

Optimised posture
elevated bust thanks to the flat handlebar and raised stem

So you can throw out your Wonderbra.

Big_Paul

I remember looking at the Fit5 and thinking that it looked decidedly tight for mudguards and wider tyres.

RoryJP

Thank you for the replies. I'ill see what the people at decathlon say about potential tyre width. I'm not too concerned about getting wet, i'll be changing at work, so mud guards aren't too much of a concern. I will however make sure that I wear my Wonderbra and take full advantage of the elevated bust.