Bike stolen ;-( excuse to buy a new one ;-)

[therams]

Hello, this is my first post here and any advice would be appreciated.

I have been cycling to work for about 3 months now, about a 10 mile round trip into the centre of Manchester. To be honest it’s been a revelation, I had not cycled since my teens (15+ years ago) and forgotten how much I enjoy it. Plus I feel 100% better in my self.

Anyway, I was using an old MTB, but had recently upgraded the pedals, tyres and seat to make the commute more comfortable. I went to get my bike to cycle home on Monday and it was gone! After some head scratching (was I sure where I left it) I contacted security. After looking at the CCTV, at 1.37pm to be exact, somebody cut the lock with some bolt cutters and made of with the bike. Did not get a clear look at the **** face. To be honest, although I am p****d of at having just spent £100 on upgrades (and I left the lights on the bike, doh) I now have an excuse to get a shiny new toy.

I have talked to security and they are fine with me brining my new bike into the office, so getting something more flash is not a real problem. Anyway, sorry for the long post but here is my question.

What do I get? In my teens I always rode a “proper” road bike. And like the idea of getting one again, the MTB just seemed very heavy. I could spend up to £400 for the right bike, but I (and my wife) would prefer to spend about £200. This is on ebay and looks good.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260306270506&ssPageName=ADME:B:WNA:GB:1123

This also looks good for the price

http://www.mailordercycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m1b0s6p7340

My main concern is that a road bike will not be tough enough for a daily city commute. The road are not that bad, and my route is cycle lanes most of the way. But I don’t want to be on the look out for pot holes and constantly repairing buckled wheels (as I was in my teens). Are wheels much stronger than they were 15 years ago? Do you think these bikes would stand up to the daily commute, or am I better of with something less fun…..

 

[goo_mason]

My Giant SCR2 has stood up to 7 months of Edinburgh's worst road conditions (as well as a collision with the back of a car last week) without any ill effects. The Mavic Aksium wheels I put on it back in May are still as true as the day I got them.

Can't comment on the other bikes (can't view eBay at work) and the other link wasn't working when I tried), but I'm sure others will be along soon.

As long as you get a decent, fairly-new roadbike for a reputable manufacturer you should manage a city commute no problem.

 

[Sh4rkyBloke]

I commute into Manchester from Urmston daily, it's about 12 miles round trip and yes the roads can be bad.. but my road bike seems to be coping pretty well (fingers crossed!).

Obviously pot-holes are to be looked out for, but they haven't overly damaged my bike to date, nor the one prior to that.

Damn sight quicker than an MTB too, and much more fun (IMO).

Enjoy it, whatever you get... and welcome to the forum!!

 

[therams]

Cheers, it seems that a road bike is the way to go (and what I wanted to hear

Any suggestions for about £300, of should I keep my eye on ebay?

 

[hulver]

I commute on a Dawes Giro 300 road bike. Cheap model, but it's robust enough for me (I'm not exactly a small guy) and it copes will with Sheffield potholes, which are numerous.

Even new they can be had for < £ 300, but if there's much in the way of hills around you I'd recommend you go for a bike with a triple chainset, rather than the double that the Giro 300 has got.

You can pick up a very good road bike second hand for 2-300 quid.

 

[Twenty Inch]

I have known aluminium frames to break under the strain of a daily commute. One of my commuting buddies has one. I use steel myself - it can be repaired more easily.

Other than that - go for it! Get stuck in and have a good time.

 

[Lazy-Commuter]

Can't help with the road bike thing, sorry, for I have no experience there. Here's a thought, though: you might be able to stretch your budget a bit using the Cycle 2 Work scheme if your employer does it. As I understand it, they buy the bike for you and then deduct x amount from your salary each month for a year (or whatever) to reclaim the money. The good bit is that the x is deducted before tax so you effectively claim the tax back on the price of the bike.

 

[therams]

Thanks LC, your one step ahead of me.

I am lucky enough to run my own small company so had just started to look at the Cycle 2 Work scheme. I seems that we can put it in place quite quickly, and its a good incentive to other employees. Looks like you can easily save 40% of the price of the bike and the company benefits from reduced NI payment. Seem too good to be true.

Now i just have to convince the wife that buying a £500 bike, is not like spending £500...

 

[Lazy-Commuter]

You're welcome. I've not used Cycle 2 Work, but wish I had. I did, however, use the nursery school voucher thing a few years ago when my lot introduced that* and it was a great way to save 40% off what was quite a big outgoing at the time. I think Cycle 2 Work is basically the same idea. Only for buying bikes and not nursery school places, natch.

It does sound too good to be true, but I suppose the government can hold it up and wave it about as an initiative to get cars off the road. To show how caring they are.

* Then my wife said, "oh my lot have been running that for ages .. I didn't know what it was". And kicked herself a lot.

 

[jay clock]

Personally I would only consider a bike with mudguards for commuting.

2 ideas.... first is a Trek 1.2 road bike. I just got one reduced from £500 to £400. I added mugdguards and a rack - it has all the mountings. It rides like a road bike and operates like a light tourer. You may need small panniers to get good heel clearance.

The other option is a Halfords one (I would not normally recommend them....). The Carerra Subway 1. A very cheap go anywhere urban mtb with room for mudguards, rack moutings and looks good. No suspension and slicks so fast on city streets. I have replaced the wheels and all the drivetrain over the past 4 years but it is a fantastic bike for commuting.

I work from home but the Subway would be my perfect commuter bike

 

[hulver]

You can clip mudguards onto a road bike. I've done that with mine. It's lightweight, quick through traffic and generally awesome for commuting.

I'd recommend it to anybody.

 

[Lazy-Commuter]

Personally I would only consider a bike with mudguards for commuting.

Seconded.

And I think you can get accessories on Cycle2Work as well. Now I sound like a government spokesman.

 

[fossyant]

What sort of lock were you using - ideally wou need a d-lock and a chain - both fairly heafty....

If you can keep it out of sight, then all the better.

Also worth looking at Decathlon for road bikes.

 

[HLaB]

Personally I would only consider a bike with mudguards for commuting.

I'm of the same opinion but when I sugested that to one bloke in the office who bought his bike through cycle scheme, he didn't think it was neccessary. So far he's only had 2.5 dry commutes unfortunately I don't think his luck will last.

 

[therams]

It was a pretty substantial (thick) cable lock. On the CCTV the guy took some big old bolt cutter out of his bag to bust it open. The bike was not worth that much, its the lights, pedals and tyers that P**s me off.s

Anyway, i will be keeping the new bike in the office, so security is less of an issue.

As for the cycle to work scheme, it seems that lots of bike stores offer to do lots of the paper work for you. I might look into doing that my self though, so we can shop anywhere for bike (get a bargain). Also, it looks like you can get the Bike, Helmet, Lights, Clothing and Locks on the scheme.