£1000 All year round commuter - Evans C2W

[BattleTron]

Hi guys,

I used to cycle to work all the time and I loved it. It started off as a 2 mile journey. Then I moved and it became an 8 miles journey. I moved again to make it a 14 mile journey. Finally it ended up as a 26 mile one way journey after another move (I move a lot) and I started getting the underground into work instead.

Fastforward to today and I've got a new job, moving cities from London to Brighton, and I want to get a new bike. The commute is 8 miles, fairly flat along the coast road (I'm expecting some serious windage!). The rest of Brighton is quite hilly though.

Currently, I'm tempted to go for fixed/single speed, mainly for the low maintenance (salty air!) and fitness aspects. I don't do any racing or road riding. And whilst I'd love to get started on stuff like that, I need a bike that'll get me to work in any weather.

On the other hand, it would be awesome to have a road bike that I could do the long rides on at the weekend.

I'm using Evan's cycle to work scheme, so whichever bike I choose, it has to come from www.evanscycles.com - I need to buy the accessories so the bike needs to be around £850 or lower.

Also I'm 6'4" so any bike has to have at least a 60cm frame.

I'm leaning towards this: http://www.evanscycles.com/products/genesis/flyer-2015-singlespeed-bike-ec073930 but would love any opinions!

 

[MartinQ]

The charge plugs are also a decent single speed commuter. Would leave an extra £200 or so towards another geared bike if/when you find you're enjoying it again.

 

[vickster]

Pearsons and Condor do some lovely single speeds if looking for something different

 

[BattleTron]

Pearsons and Condor do some lovely single speeds if looking for something different

Sadly I'm limited to bikes sold by Evans!

 

[vickster]

Ah you did say that - my bad. There's some feedback on the Genesis by a recent purchaser in the Single Speed forum if you have a search

http://www.cyclechat.net/threads/genesis-flyer.165703/#post-3326042

The Langster is always a popular choice if you can get past the brand

 

[Wobblers]

As you say, Brighton is quite hilly - I wouldn't really recommend a fixed/single speed. Don't forget, if you're going to be commuting in all weathers there will be days when you'll have to face a blustery 30 mph head wind - that's the sort of day when you'll be grateful for those gears! Gears should last even in a salty coastal environment, as long as you make sure you clean them! (Even a single speed would need regular cleaning to avoid premature wear.)

Think carefully about what sort of weather you expect to be commuting in. Gears and dropped handlebars will help with head winds. Being able to fit proper mudguards is a blessing in wet weather - if you need mudguards, look for a bike that has mudguard eyelets on both the frame and fork. If you want to fit a rack to carry luggage (which might be more comfortable than a rucksack), again you'll need to get a bike with eyelets. Do you want disk brakes for reliable stopping in wet weather? Is there a chance you'll be on the bike in icy weather - if so, I'd strongly suggest you get a bike which has sufficient clearance for studded ice tyres such as the 35 mm Schwalbe Marathon Winters.

Perhaps a cyclocross bike? Good for both off and on road, if you ever want to try your hand at longer weekend rides. Having just gone through the same process, I've just settled on the Boardman CX Comp - 15% off from Halfords was too tempting!. For me, it ticks all the boxes: mudguard and rack eyelets, sufficient clearance for Marathon Winters, disk brakes, and a geometry close to that of my Caad 10, so should be a more engaging ride than my plodding Galaxy. Take a look at the Pinnacle Arkose One or Norco Threshold A3 from Evans - having looked them over in Evans, they both look to be very capable all rounder all weather bikes.