Which Bike??

Marik

Not sure if this is correct forum for this one, hope someone can help...looking for something which will work as a winter commute bike, do some lighter weight touring, has roadbike handlebars, is reasonable 'nippy' so that I may still be able to use it occasionally with roadie pals, disk brakes preferable....have 3 in mind (as they're available at local bike shop) Specialised Tricross, Trek Crossrip, or Trek Crossrip Elite, but don't have any experience or knowledge of this type of bike - any help appreciated!

durhamwasp

Ridley X-Bow's are good reliable bikes at a good price and tick all your boxes

Tusher

Hello Marik-I was in the same quandary a couple of years back. I bought a Kona Jake.
To be honest, I've never really taken to it, although it does everything well.
Anyway, the only constructive comment I was going to make is that the brakes on a cross bike are generally not fantastic, and especially so when laden.

My advice is to opt for anything with disc brakes.

Trek did a Portland a wee while ago- might be worth checking if there is a nice second hand one around.

Good Luck and let us know how you get on.

andymiller

Planet-X Kaffenback? Pretty much a classic - now with the option of disc brakes.

http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/FRP ... _out_frame

Definitely worth putting on your shortlist.

pompy

Ok, here's a leftfield response! I was in the same boat and I went for a Civia Kingfield:
http://www.tritoncycles.co.uk/m14b315s2 ... d-Complete
It's a great bike! Steel frame, internal gears and a belt drive. I was unsure of its qualities as a decent tourer (rather than a commuter as marketted) but a week after getting it, I took it to France for a weeks touring, 100+ mile rides on several days and it was brilliant. SILENT running due to belt, great gearing and comfy ride. It's not light but as you are going to weigh it down with panniers, it doesn't really matter. Triton have it with a massive discount on it too!

pompy

I was looking at the Kaffenback too and its a great bike but the Civia is over £300 cheaper and already has a set of quality mudguards and rack fitted, these are often items that need to be bought separately with many tourers. If I had to buy another tourer now, I'd make the same decision in a heartbeat!

Marik

Thanks for info, really good to get some more ideas, problem is that it'll be bought through employers 'bike to work' scheme and I think you need to order with local bike outlets - so it's down to Trek or Specialised. They all sound ok, just don't know anybody who's used one - only one way to really find out...