£800 to spend 1st time commuter

Gozzer1234

I have £800 to spend on my 1st bike for commuting mainly road odd canal path on occasions.wanting fairly relax geometry as suffer from a bad back.Any recommendation on what bike to choose.thanks

imatfaal

It's a very personal thing - but main piece of advise is to try out a few bikes first. If the bikeshop won't let you trial them then find another bikeshop (although you may need to leave CCard) .

Really makes a huge difference to get out and ride the bikes - if this is impossible then at least get them to put a few on a turbo. Try lots before you choose - far more important than the gears/brakes/etc. You can spend hours choosing gears/brakes/etc for your second bike!

fenix

How far are you commuting ? Carrying kit ?

daniel_b

I'm a big fan of the Synapse, so for me, I would not hesitate to recommend this:

https://paulscycles.co.uk/m7b0s6p6601/CANNONDALE-SYNAPSE-ALLOY-105-DISC-2016


I too have a bad back, and this bike was a revelation to me in terms of comfort, but still being a very engaging and enjoyable ride. I didn't know why some people raved on about Cannondale until I bought my first synapse.

Mine came with factory guards, but I'm pretty sure you can get thin guards, or the Giant ones to fit.

imatfaal

I have the hi-mod carbon synapse and it is an absolute joy. Normally in that price range I would say GT-Grade - but the Synapse with 105 is close. Cable brakes though

milemuncher1

Testing a bike as a cyclist, is as important as tasting your food as a chef. I would advise anyone after a relaxed geometry bike, who also needs a bit of versatility, to be looking at 'Gravel / adventure' bikes. They are drop bar bikes, with certain geometrical quirks, which make them typically better on rough stuff than road bikes, but more practical than cyclocross ( CX ) bikes. There are many choices available, from all sorts of manufacturers. Go and have a look at some, test them, get the one which you like best.

daniel_b

I would agree the mechanical discs on that Synapse are unfortunate (I went for a SRAM Rival with Hydraulics myself), but prices are on an upwards trajectory sadly due to the strength, in inverted comms, of the pound I would assume, and the same or virtually identical bike for this year, in a much blander colour is £1200 - the Tiagra bike is the same cost as this one was last year :?

bikegangster

There's also a Giant Defy Disc on Paul's Cycles. £800 or less depending on Tiagra or 105 drive system. Both with TRP's instead of the Synapes' brakes. There may be more bikes on the Paul Cycle just like the Defy or the Synapses.

Or the cheapest option... Pinnacle Dolomite 2 on Evans for £650, obviously inferior to the two bikes above. Still blows other cheap bikes out of the water super hard.

Thick Mike

What about the Boardman CX Team just reduced at Halfords for £800 on the nose?

milemuncher1

Thick Mike wrote:

What about the Boardman CX Team just reduced at Halfords for £800 on the nose?

Not a bad bike at all, but a bit CX sport / racing in its geometry. And the standard rear free hub is gash.

Gozzer1234

Thanks for all the replys I have been out this afternoon and managed to get myself a boardman hybrid pro for £750 and will hopefully be picking it up soon.Then to buy some mudguards and get on with it.Quite impulsive I know but If I wait too long I talk myself out of doing it and keep commuting the 8 mile in a car.

milemuncher1

Gozzer1234 wrote:

Thanks for all the replys I have been out this afternoon and managed to get myself a boardman hybrid pro for £750 and will hopefully be picking it up soon.Then to buy some mudguards and get on with it.Quite impulsive I know but If I wait too long I talk myself out of doing it and keep commuting the 8 mile in a car.

That's a nice bike.

imatfaal

Gozzer1234 wrote:

Thanks for all the replys I have been out this afternoon and managed to get myself a boardman hybrid pro for £750 and will hopefully be picking it up soon.Then to buy some mudguards and get on with it.Quite impulsive I know but If I wait too long I talk myself out of doing it and keep commuting the 8 mile in a car.

If it is the one I have looked at after googling looks very nice. 1x11 gears is plenty for commuting and cuts down on lots of places for crud to build up and need for maintenance, hydro brakes, mudguard and pannier mounts, carbon front fork...ticks all the boxes.

Now you just need to ride it! 16miles a day - 80 miles a week - fitness will come on leaps and bounds. And it is just fun

Gozzer1234

Just had a call from Halfords there is a stock mix up and they have no medium 2016 left so will do the 2017 model for the same price.Pick up tomorrow evening

imatfaal

Gozzer1234 wrote:

Just had a call from Halfords there is a stock mix up and they have no medium 2016 left so will do the 2017 model for the same price.Pick up tomorrow evening

Check specs are actually not a downgrade before you pick up! When I bought my first hybrid Whyte "upgraded" the basic spec from all around Sram/Avid Apex to no name OEM parts and FSA - I was glad I had the previous years when I saw the replacement; they also charged an extra 50quid for the newer version

Gozzer1234

The only difference is the colour the spec list looks exactly the same

imatfaal

Gozzer1234 wrote:

The only difference is the colour the spec list looks exactly the same

Cool. Enjoy

apreading

You should enjoy it. I got the Boardman Hybrid a few years back after starting on a mountain bike. I have ridden thousands of miles on mine across several countries and still love it as much as the day I bought it. Last year I spent alot more on a carbon road bike, did the summer on it and then went back to the Hybrid for commuting in the winter to keep the best bike nice - I am still riding it and I think if I am honest, I prefer it to the road bike. And I have had a professional bike fit on the road bike so its not like there is anything wrong with that. the Boardman is not quite as fast but its more fun and more comfortable. I will switch to the road bike soon though because it is a better bike and lighter (it should be as it cost alot more!).

Gozzer1234

Picked the boardman up done just over 100 miles so far commuting 8.5 miles each way.best time home was 31:47 averaging around 37mins cannot wait for fitness to improve as well as speed.did the 1st commute in the rain at 4.30am the other day might take some getting used to.Legs very tired today so spent a few hours looking at road bikes online.the missus would kill me.ha

daniel_b

Gozzer1234 wrote:

Picked the boardman up done just over 100 miles so far commuting 8.5 miles each way.best time home was 31:47 averaging around 37mins cannot wait for fitness to improve as well as speed.did the 1st commute in the rain at 4.30am the other day might take some getting used to.Legs very tired today so spent a few hours looking at road bikes online.the missus would kill me.ha

Well that took less time than expected