New Commuter, Which Bike?

pabotto

Hi all,
I am fairly new to cycling, last year I did a charity 150 mile weekend ride and got the bug. Unfortunately the only bike I had in the garage was a cheap muddy fox thing, I am 6ft and it was way to small for me and I ended up ruining my knee. For the ride I managed to borrow a Trek mountain bike with front suspension, I can't remember which one. which was a lot less painful (apart from the 150 miles!). Unfortunately it took a few months for my knees to recover after that so I have missed cycling, I want to get back in to it and use for my commute to work in Poole, it is about 15 miles each way, about 60% road and 40% trails/off road. I did it a few times training last year on the Trek bike and it was fine. I have been looking at hybrid bikes but in reality know nothing about what I need. I am looking for a cheap bike with disc brakes ideally and then forks with a lockout (or is this just a gimmick) as I think some suspension for the trails/off road might well be needed but I don't want suspension to slow me down on the roads.
I have a maximum budget of around £300.00 which limits me massively I know, I have seen some Claud Butler one, a DIAMONDBACK CONTRA FLOW 2012, and a felt one I think I saw. Any advice? I am happy to buy second hand and did like the Trek bike I borrowed but figure Trek will be too expensive for me.

Keith1983

If your budget is £300 then a used bike will potentially provide much better spec for the money. I have a Voodoo Hoodoo which has a reasonable fork which has lock out, the biggest chnage you could then make would be tyres.

The Rookie

I'd agree, any bike at that price with the added cost of a lockout will be poorly specced and probably have undamped forks making it nastier over bumpy stuff than a rigid forks.

2 choices as I see it
1/ A Hybrid with larger volume tyres to smooth the rough stuff but still with rigid forks
2/ A used semi decent MTB such as the Hoodoo upwards, better forks will even come with a pedal platform negating the need for a lockout.

pabotto

Thank you, without sounding really thick what is a pedal platform? I do think having some suspension was a huge help especially on bumpy bike trails but see so many hybrids without suspension and don't understand how that won't be uncomfortable? But maybe I have just been fooled by marketing over the years?

markhewitt1978

You don't need suspension for off road paths. A hybrid will suit you fine take a look at the Trek FX range.

voodooman

Edinburgh bicycle cooperative

have a look at the cheapest revolution cross (cyclocross bikes). If you could stretch to the budget of £375 and the size is right, it'd probably be just the ticket. 15 miles can be a looong way on a mountain bike - speaking from experience, a cross bike has revolutionised my 12 1/2 mile commute (through the New Forest, 40% on tracks / gravel trails).

The Rookie

pabotto wrote:

Thank you, without sounding really thick what is a pedal platform?

It's never thick to ask....

Pedal platform is a part of the suspension systems on better modern mountain bikes that means the damper makes the component near rigid against the typical movement seen as a reaction to pedalling yet moves freely in reaction to lumps and bumps, I have that feature in my Manitou forks (Manitou call it SPV, other manufacturers have their own name).

The Rookie

Davidxyz wrote:

Redacted so as not to promulgate!

And your post stinks of tinned pork meat....

You stumbled across the website or you own it?

pabotto

Thank you, ah another New Forest cyclist, its from the edge of there that I travel to Poole from, hence why I have to go off road. A31 would kill me. But would you get pedal platform on a bike with no front suspension? Is it worth me hunting around for ex-hire bikes? Or would they mainly be full suspension?

pabotto

Does anyone have any thoughts on the Giant Revel 2?

I'm seeing that fairly cheap.

Could I add disc brakes at a later date or is that impossible?

pabotto

or a Saracen Tufftrax Disc 2014?

jonnyboy77

I'm in the Hybrid or Cross camp for a 15 mile commute. I started an 8 mile commute a couple of years ago and on the hybrid its a lot more enjoyable than the MTB, even on gravel/dirt paths.

With the right tyre choice, something like the Specialized Sirrus (if you prefer flat bars) might be a good choice, available here from Cycle Surgery for £300 - spend a little beer money on a change of tyres to suit your commute (maybe some CX tyres) ...

http://www.cyclesurgery.com/pws/UniqueP ... lsrc=aw.ds


Edited to add, that a low cost CX option, something like this: http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/product ... ross-bikes at £75 over budget might be viable, but if you're used to mountain bikes with flat bars, I'd recommend a few drop bar test rides to be sure you're happy with the change in riding position. I bought a road bike last year and it took a few rides before I was happy, and I've yet to commute on drop bars, simply because I'm happy with the flat bar hybrid.

- Jon