Advice on commuting bike

diamondgeezer100

I'm thinking about getting a new bike for the occasional commute in London. I'm interested in a steel flat-barred bike.
On my list is the Bobbin Noodle http://bobbinbikes.com/product/noodle/? ... ifle-green
Tokyobike cs26 http://tokyobike.co.uk/shop/tokyobike-cs26/dp/3141
or if I push the boat out a bit the Pelago Hanko https://www.pelagobicycles.com/bicycles ... m_store=en
Temple bike classic hybrid http://www.templecycles.co.uk/products/ ... ens-hybrid

I'm 5ft 7 with an inseam of 80 cms so even the small size Hanko might be pushing it (standover 79 cms in small)

Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated.

The Rookie

Of those, the Hanko or Tempo, the other two have really poor parts for the money.

If you really hanker after steel framed, fine, but you'll get much better value for your money from a more conventional bike like a Boardman hybrid. Cheaper steel frames are worse in almost every way than a decent alloy one.

If you want steel have a look at the excellent Cotic Roadrat.

diamondgeezer100

Thanks. That's helpful.

The Rookie

Here to (try and) help!

Don't worry too much about Standover, I have negative Standover on my commuter and cop just fine!

mr_eddy

Re the comments made by The Rookie I don't think the components are bad at all, Granted they are all based on Shimano's lower end groupsets (Claris / Altus etc) but they are still Shimano and will have the same QC steps made. I have used both Claris and Altus and they work absolutely fine with no issues at all. The only real difference between mid/top end Shimano mechanical stuff and Claris for example is number of gears and weight but given that you want steel the weight is not an issue and for flat rides in London the gear issue is also a non issue.

My only thought on those bikes is the Bobbin bike uses a 'Hi-Tensile Steel' which means it can be any old steel whereas the others are marked as Cro-Mo 4130 meaning they have to confirm to the standards to meet Cro-Mo 4130, To that end I would go with one of these bikes instead.

I would also take a bit of a leap here and argue that you want something stylish given that you are looking at traditional style steel bikes. For similar sort of price you can get a Pashley made from Reynolds 531 steel (very well respected for road/race bikes) , better looks (in my opinion) and also hub gears and drum brakes meaning much cleaner/stylish look with practically zero maintenance. Its a nice bonus that Pashley bikes are made in the UK by hand, Pashley also happens to be one of the oldest cycle manufacturers on the planet.

I regularly commute on my Pashley Guvnor 3 speed but they also do a Speed 5 with 5 hub gears - This would be more than enough to get over any hill and ideal for London. Spec wise they are better imo (Brooks Swift Saddle / 531 tubing etc)

Check them out:

Guvnor
http://www.pashley.co.uk/bikes/bicycles/guv-nor.php

Speed 5
http://www.pashley.co.uk/bikes/bicycles/speed-5.php

They also do a slightly more practical (8 gear internal hub / mudguards) clountryman, still looks stylish tho
http://www.pashley.co.uk/bikes/bicycles/countryman.php

Anyway just my 2 cents.

diamondgeezer100

Thank you Mr Eddy.