Advice on purchase of commuting bike steep terrain

kev3kev3

Hi,

I am looking for some advice on a bike which would be a sensible purchase for my mon-fri commute.

The picture shows roughly what the commute would be as can be seen the journey has very steep inclines.





I have not the first clue about bikes so good advice would be very much appreciated.

As for budget the lower the better, but I dont want something which is going to make the journey unbearable and unreliable.

Many Thanks,

Kevin


Would the following be suitable

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... -11-44902/

drummer_boy

Your route looks around 50% longer than my commute, but the climbing stages look about the same. In my experience (and I'm larger than the average bear) you'll want a bike that handles the hills, as most bikes will be fine on the flats.
I don't know how heavy you are, but this is the biggest single factor in hill climbing.
The carrera looks OK, for the money, but there are a couple of things that would make me shop around:
1) It's heavy, add that to your body weight and it's not going to help up hills.
2) the rear cassette has a largest gear of a 26T. If you're not that experienced, a 28, or better still a 32T large sprocket on the back would help with the hills.
3) the Chain ring is a 52/38. Again I would be wanting a 34T for the hills

If you can eek out a few pounds more this B'Twin might be a better bet: http://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-5-roa ... nformation

It's only a 25T sprocket, but you get a triple chainset, with a 30 on the small ring for the hills. I have a friend with one of these and he loves it.

i hope this helps.

kev3kev3

Thanks for your reply, that's helpful and I will look into your suggestion.

I'm 5ft 11 and weight throughout the year fluctuates generally from 165 - 180 pounds. If that helps with any suggestions.

Initialised

Hi,

I know those roads fairly well.

Post this is the the Tyne and Wear thread in Commuting Chat for more input from people who actually ride those roads.

My bike has 50/34 x 11-32 gearing and it's plenty for those North Durham hills.

Changes I'd make, at the the Newcastle end of the route come in over the Redheugh Bridge, Up st James Boulevard and along past the RVI towards Claremont Tower. It flattens out that bit.

And don't bother with route 14 because you're adding a big climb at the end rather than taking a longer, but less steep climb up the Consett road.

Like this: Maps

The TDF is an OK bike but the gearing isn't great for a beginner.

Pop into Low Fell cycles, they often have good second hand deals and would be able to swap out for a bigger cassette.

Also are you planning on keeping things up through the winter? If so you might want to make sure you get a bike that can fit 35mm Winter studded tyres as snow's pretty much a given up on those hills.