Which Bike, yet again

fosh2k · September 2008

I'm going to start commuting to work in a couple of weeks time and am trying to decide which bike to go for. It's only a couple of miles on pretty good roads, mostly flat with some light inclines (turning to declines on the way home

).

I've done as much research as possible over the last couple of weeks, and come up with a couple of bikes that seem to be well thought of (for the limited price range of £200-300), so I decided it was time to turn it over to you fine fellows for some adjudication before I take the final plunge, just in case I'm missing something and these are less reasonable than I thought (I'm really quite technically clueless)

Specialized Globe - http://www.evanscycles.com/products/spe ... e-ec001483

Dawes Discovery 201 - http://www.dawescycles.com/dawes/discovery201.htm

I also saw a bike called the Carrera TDF on Halfords, which despite trawling the internet, I have only found one mention of. The person leaving the comment said it was a rubbish bike, but as halfords claims that it is usually £350 rather than the current £220, I wasn't sure whether they just meant rubbish in general, or perhaps just rubbish for the higher price, but is now a bargain. Any knowledge people have on this would be appreciated:

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yrn_47151#

Thanks in advance for the advice, I know you are inundated with these kinds of requests, but it really is helpful when you have no personal frame of reference.

biondino · September 2008

Will you be riding the bike on weekends, holiday etc? If so, think about what you would use the bike for in those circumstances - it could even be a mountain bike would be best (because with the best will in the world, anything beyond a gravel path is going to stump a hybrid, and your commute is so short that the disadvantages of an mtb on the road won't really be noticeable.

On the other hand, if you like the idea of long rides on good roads, especially if there are hills involved, then a road bike is for you. Certainly your commute sounds fine on a roadie, and unless you have a fetish for flat bars I'd avoid anything that could be called a hybrid.

fosh2k · September 2008

Any additional riding I do is likely to more in the vein of long rides on good roads, and I have in the past enjoyed riding a drop bar road bike. My only concern with the roadies is that the prices seem to start above my upper limit of £300. I've heard a lot of people say things akin to 'spend a little more now for much more in the long run' but unfortunately there is a point where budget steps in and you literally can't afford more, and as a poor student that would be at £300 for me.

I have considered that getting an older model roadie second hand might overcome this problem, however with a complete lack of bike knowledge I would be a bit worried about picking up something rubbish that's falling apart.

If there are any reasonable roadies that fall in to £250-300 range that you could recommend though I would definitely be interested in them.

ride_whenever · September 2008

Giant bowery, tasty fixed gear/ss seeing as you don't have any hills worth mentioning. It'll take a rack and mudguards too.

RockyHopperShow · September 2008

I think the Globe is superb value. You can add a rack and mudguards for not much more really. But the Dawes is ready to go and will last forever.You could also take biondino's advice and buy a reasonable MTB and put slick tyres on it. The Specialized Hardrock at £249 from Evans would fit the bill and the lack of Lock Out on the fork won't be too problematical on such a short commute.

N0bodyOfTheGoat · September 2008

I think a single speed is the order of the day here!

Giant Bowery bargain £225 http://www.pearsoncycles.co.uk/product/ ... _NOW_22500

Specialized Tricross Single £349/£375 (size dependent) http://www.hargrovescycles.co.uk/produc ... rtno=30997

http://www.leisurewheels.co.uk/products ... oad_Racing

The Tricross takes full mudguards and pannier racks, looks great, definitely my personal vote!

fosh2k · September 2008

Well that shows my complete lack of knowledge, I'd never even heard of a single speed bike before :S Will go and read a bit about them

My only worry is that I would like to take the bike on other roads occasionally if possible (if my fitness develops

), would the single speed not make hills pretty much impossible? Or is there some crazy design thing going on here which means I would be able to manage them okay unless it was stupidly steep?

edit: Also @ NitrousOxide, I absolutely love the look of the Specialized Tricross, however it's unfortunately somewhat outside of my price range :S

giltkid · September 2008

Single speeds are a fad championed by bike fashion victims

UnworthyPapaLazaru · September 2008

http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/ebwPNLq ... 155c002912

this might be worth a look if you can find another £99.

biondino · September 2008

Second hand is your friend. Find some bikes on ebay or wherever and post links to them, and we'll let you know if we think they're worth it. Sounds like you want a geared road bike - I wouldn't get a single speed at this stage personally.

N0bodyOfTheGoat · September 2008

How about the Btwins 16-speed at Decathlon for £230?
http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/sport-2-16v-42393911/

fosh2k · September 2008

I've just had a quick look around ebay and have seen this:

Giant SCR 3

Does that seem to be a reasonable price? I think possibly the Giant can't take panniers though, which would be a downside.

Thanks for all the feedback so far, it has been very useful.

@NitrousOxide - The Decathlon looks nice, but lack of pannier makes it less viable. Sorry, I didn't specify that as a necessity before.

edit: I've just seen it here as well, which would indicate that ebays price isn't good. The colour is completely different though, so not sure if they are actually the same despite the name.

Which Bike, yet again

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