Help me decide - £400 commuter/road bike

Tayla13
Tayla13 Posts: 6
edited February 2010 in Commuting chat
Hey, new around here and just looking for some friendly advice :D.

Basically I need a commuter/road bike for university and have up to £400 to spend. I think I have narrowed it down to a few different options:

CLAUD BUTLER CHINOOK
Trek Soho S
Trek 7.2 FX
Specialized Sirrus
GT Traffic 3.0
Dawes Giro 200
Dawes Giro 300

Has anyone had any experience with these bikes, know anything about them?

Also is there any obvious choices that I am missing out?

Thanks in advance,

Tayla13 :wink:.

Comments

  • RufusA
    RufusA Posts: 500
    If it's any help I have a circa 2007 Specialized Sirrus and it has done me well over the past three years as a commuter / weekend road jaunt bike.

    It's been reliable (apart from spoke popping on the cr@p wheels it was supplied with), and is as you probably know a fast hybird, not far off a road bike with flats. However it can take mudguards, a pannier rack etc, so is very practical for lugging books, laptops.

    If going for a Sirrus I'd recommend finding one with a carbon front fork and inserts, as I found the aluminium version too jarring on my hands over tarmac - YMMV.

    As for the others, I have no personal experience, the Trek Soho S is singlespeed isn't it, which probably isn't for everyone unless you are going to be riding only on the level, or are willing to seriously MTFU.

    All I can advise is to carefully consider what type of riding / distances you are going to do on the bike. Whether you need braze-ons for racks / mudguards. Then find a friendly bike shop or two and test ride a few on your short list to see what suits you - sometimes it just comes down to what feels right on the day!

    Doing a paper component by component comparison is pretty worthless at that price point, and the only way to understand what a bike is like is to ride it.

    HTH - Rufus.
  • sarajoy
    sarajoy Posts: 1,675
    I have the girly version of the Sirrus Sport (Vita Sport) myself, and I get on with it very well.

    Mind you, I've come up from rubbisher, cheaper bikes and have no experience of the others, either!
    4537512329_a78cc710e6_o.gif4537512331_ec1ef42fea_o.gif
  • kelsen
    kelsen Posts: 2,003
    Have you thought about where you'll be keeping the bike and budgeted for a decent lock? General rule of thumb is to budget 10% for security. Maybe this is an unfair assumption, but I'm of the impression that bike theft is quite common around campus, and a brand new bike stands a good chance of being targeted.

    If I were a student again in your position, I'd just buy a secondhand hack and spend the rest on booze! :wink:
  • Tayla13
    Tayla13 Posts: 6
    kelsen wrote:
    Have you thought about where you'll be keeping the bike and budgeted for a decent lock? General rule of thumb is to budget 10% for security. Maybe this is an unfair assumption, but I'm of the impression that bike theft is quite common around campus, and a brand new bike stands a good chance of being targeted.

    If I were a student again in your position, I'd just buy a secondhand hack and spend the rest on booze! :wink:

    Hmm, didn't think about security, but will do now!

    I wouldn't be able to pocket the cash if I spent less, as it's going to be bought as a present :P.
    RufusA wrote:
    If it's any help I have a circa 2007 Specialized Sirrus and it has done me well over the past three years as a commuter / weekend road jaunt bike.

    It's been reliable (apart from spoke popping on the cr@p wheels it was supplied with), and is as you probably know a fast hybird, not far off a road bike with flats. However it can take mudguards, a pannier rack etc, so is very practical for lugging books, laptops.

    If going for a Sirrus I'd recommend finding one with a carbon front fork and inserts, as I found the aluminium version too jarring on my hands over tarmac - YMMV.

    As for the others, I have no personal experience, the Trek Soho S is singlespeed isn't it, which probably isn't for everyone unless you are going to be riding only on the level, or are willing to seriously MTFU.

    All I can advise is to carefully consider what type of riding / distances you are going to do on the bike. Whether you need braze-ons for racks / mudguards. Then find a friendly bike shop or two and test ride a few on your short list to see what suits you - sometimes it just comes down to what feels right on the day!

    Doing a paper component by component comparison is pretty worthless at that price point, and the only way to understand what a bike is like is to ride it.

    HTH - Rufus.

    Thankyou, that's a great help, the Soho S really appealed to me as it seemed like it would be pretty low maintance, and very durable.
  • cyberknight
    cyberknight Posts: 1,238
    Look at the carrera vituosso

    Won a test of sub £400 bikes in cycling plus last year
    and its uhm about £329 last time i looked.
    FCN 3/5/9

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