The do it all bike that I don't hate to commute on

J89eu

Hi all

I'm in a big of a quandary.

I currently have a Giant Trance 2 2012 that I commute on down the canal, it's a mere 2.5miles. I occasionally use it off road at Cannock Chase Trails, Llandegla etc where it's still pretty decent to get about on despite by 3x10, 26" wheels and none trendy geometry.

I also have a Hoy Alto Irpavi .004 which I bought from Evans on the Ride2work scheme, it's a road endurance bike that will just about fit 28mm tyres but I use as my full time road bike and never as commuter, mostly due to going on the canal towpath and not wanting to carry SPD shoes etc with me. It's just a bit of a hassle.

So I got to thinking, I can take up a new Ride2work offer and put some money towards a new bike to commute on and either replace my full sus or compliment it for different scenarios. I do not get as much time these days to go trail riding but I don't want to lose the ability to do that. I also do tend to do a chunk of riding with the Mrs who also has a road endurance bike, though she also really likes riding on trails like the Monsal trail etc, She wants an adventure bike for this so I got to thinking, why don't I get one as well? But the more I searched about them the more I thought it's just the same as my Hoy bike, with bigger tyres, and I'm not sure I want that..

So I then got looking at hardtails, thinking that I'd still be able to go on the routes with the Mrs, commute and still go offroad on the trails on the occasions that I do that, hopefully I can pick up more of that this year. So I looked around Evans and was struggling to find something that I liked and also had a good spec.. I know I'd need to spend more to get a decent hard tail but with the Ride2Work scheme I'd at least be saving something, though I ended up not finding what I was after. They have some Santa Cruz Chameleon's but not great specs for the money.

I then looked further afield, found the Whyte 909, beautiful bike, very well specced, very much pushing my budget but doable, only it has MASSIVE 2.8inch wide tyres, probably terrible for commuting, though maybe fine for the short distance I do? Perfect for off roading at all but the bigger bike parks.. Perhaps it's the one? Just can't save that lovely 31% on the tax through the Ride2Work scheme

What do you guys think? Would I get by? Should I just get an adventure bike? Am I looking at the wrong things entirely?

These were the considerations:

Hardtail:
https://whyte.bike/products/909
https://www.evanscycles.com/santa-cruz- ... e-EV361527 (I think a 29er would suit me more due to being 6ft2)

Adventure bike:
https://www.evanscycles.com/cannondale- ... e-EV338216
Though I really want a Ti bike so I was then looking at this
https://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/ribble-c ... imano-105/ (Orgasmic!)

slowbike

Canal paths are usually pretty rideable on just about any bike - may be not slick road tyres when it's been raining - but otherwise ....

If you're considering N+1 then personally I'd look at an adventure/gravel/CX bike - these are all rounders and you're probably looking at something that takes ~35mm knobbly tyres to make the trails doable.

2.5miles of commute - you could ride that in normal shoes on the SPDs - I do 4 miles of country cycle path on my CX in trainers - the only reason I'd have separate shoes to the ones I'd wear at work is because they will get mucky (even with mudguards on!) - but you can get SPD "converters" which just clip into the SPD giving you a flat base - I use mine sometimes.

greenamex2

I do canal paths, and worse, in all weathers on a CX bike with 35mm slicks.

During the summer I drop to 30mm tyres for a bit extra speed.

During the snow/ice I either fit 35mm winter tyres (at a kilo a piece!) or use the hybrid which is fitted with 40mm winter tyres but is 2-3 minutes slower.

Love it.

Haven't done a weekend club ride on it...yet. With some 28's it would be a little slower than my "club ride bike", but won't get dropped.

Klaus B

I would build a monstercross if I'm in you. Best of both worlds. Take a 29er or 27.5 (if you're short) frame of your size (so you have a back up plan) put a wide dropbars that gives you stability and super short stem to balance the reach of the drops. For 2.5 miles commute I wouldn't bother about the tire width, just use mtb tyres that are not for mud if not you're gonna shake on tarmac..and happy funny days!

Klaus B

The only problem with drops and mtb stuff is compatibility..but if you use shimano 7/8/9 speed you shouldn't have problems with road shifters and mtb mechs. With sram it's easier but more expensive with their 1x systems

andyh01

I was looking for something similar, I do about 9 miles each way down the tow path/cycle network family rides around county park etc as well as club run 50 odd miles once a week.

I ended up with a Mason Bokeh I was torn between the Bokeh and the Resolution (steel less tyre width) £3k though for the Ultegra but I love mine I did some blue trail routes on it recently on 700x35.

I can also switch to 650b for more off road/winter if needed

bartimaeus

Not quite the same, but my wife now has an e-MTB... and as she also wants to use it to ride to work (10 miles) a couple of times a week I'm going to get a second set of wheels and put 47mm WTB Horizons on them. A decent hardtail with a second set of wheels and some 'adventure' tyres might suit your needs.