Do-it-all bike buying advice

MonkeyPuzzle
MonkeyPuzzle Posts: 4
edited November 2016 in Road buying advice
Long-time lurker, first time poster.

My beloved 1995 Marin Pine Mountain is starting to show her age and so I'm in the market for a bike which will get me the 11 miles to work across cycle / tow path, and potholed A and B roads, get me around Bristol (and its hills) plus not be a worry to chuck down the odd gentle track in the spring/summertime. I'm looking to spend under £900 and am currently mulling between:

Charge Plug 4 (Full 105, TRP Spyre Brakes, decent finishing kit, 10.6kgs), Mango Point AR (105 apart from chainset, BB7 Brakes, unknown (to me) quality finishing kit, 10.8kgs), Whyte Dorset (Tiagra, TRP HyRd Brakes, 10.2kgs) and the Genesis Croix de Fer 20 (Tiagra, TRP HyRd Brakes, 11.8kgs (but steel)).

Aware that they range from more endurance road (Whyte) to full-on adventure bike (Genesis), but I can't see myself asking more of any of them than they're capable of. If anyone has 1st hand experience of any of these I'd love to hear your opinion. Help!

Comments

  • w00dster
    w00dster Posts: 880
    Not ridden all the bikes on the list, however recently gotten rid of my Genesis CDF and miss it greatly.
    I wouldn't be put of by the weight, especially as it is a do it all bike. My CDF was approx. 12.5kgs (weight with no pedals / bottle cage) and I also ride a Trek Emonda SLR approx. 6.4 kgs with pedals. Suffice to say from a speed point of view there is very little between them apart from on the steep long climbs. If you have the right gears then that to me is more important than outright weight. Before I get flamed, lightweight is faster, but spinning a steel bike up a hill isn't an issue for most, taking 5 minutes or 5 minutes 30 up a hill isn't that big a deal for a commute. (I ride in the mountains / steep hills of North Wales a lot on the Emonda and the CDF)

    I also have two alu frame bikes, steel every time for me. If I could only have one bike I would go for the Genesis. When one of my alu bikes is ready for the knackers yard I'll be back on a Genesis Croix De Fer. Also don't read too much into magazine articles and manufactures describing "full on adventure" bikes. The Genesis can do everything my road bikes can do, the disc brakes on the genesis allow it to have wider knobbly tyres. My Trek Domane with Hydraulic Brakes can take wide knobbly tyres and do everything the Genesis did. No difference, just bikes. The alu frame is a lot harsher than steel though.

    I only sold my CDF after two years because it was just a bit too big - fine for small rides (25 miles) but for longer club rides in the winter I wanted something smaller. After almost every ride on it I used to comment on how nice it was to ride.
  • andcp
    andcp Posts: 644
    If you're OK with tools it's hard to look past these at the moment:
    https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBUBPXLDN ... e-(unbuilt)
    "It must be true, it's on the internet" - Winston Churchill
  • MonkeyPuzzle
    MonkeyPuzzle Posts: 4
    ^^^^ That's a cracking deal, but for some reason the London Road isn't doing it for me. I wish more manufacturers did build kits like that though. Great idea.

    The Croix de Fer is the prettiest by a stretch, but I never thought I'd go from a 10-and-a-bit kg 20-year old MTB to a 12 kg modern 'road' bike, but they must be popular for a reason.
  • MonkeyPuzzle
    MonkeyPuzzle Posts: 4
    Just spotted an ex-display Genesis Equilibrium 10 for £800 - good bikes? I'm a bit clueless when it comes to owt with drop bars.

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