Hey Peeps and Peepettes!

[Alan16ac]

I've just made a massive decision, and sold my car.... for the last time.
I don't need it now my commute to work is a 4 mile round trip, and there are other cars in the household I can drive.

I'm now in search of a commuting bike.
I have my old Mountain Bike from when I was 15 in the garage (I'm 20 now).
Not sure wether to get that serviced or buy a new bike.

 

[Glow worm]

4 miles is good- maybe not far enough- you'll be looking for longer routes soon! Maybe a hybrid bike might be the answer instead of the old mountain bike for a commute? That way you can commute and still do a bit of light off roading in liesure time. If you have a good local bike shop, they should be able to advise- anyway, welcome to the forum!

 

[kishan]

what bike is it get some pics up if its still in full working order then jsut get it serviced

 

[BrumJim]

Work out how much money you are saving by ditching the car, and go and buy yourself a new bike!

Keep the mountain bike as a back-up.

 

[Alan16ac]

I'm saving roughly £5000 a year!
However what I was spending each month on my car and insurance etc is going in a savings account. I'll get some pics of the bike I have up!

 

[Dave7]

You will be saving £5,000.00 per year???
In that case you can have my wife's old steel 18 speed Holdsworth for only £4,900.00......that will leave you enough to buy some bits n bobs.
Welcome...you will (possibly) get some good advice on here-as I did.

 

[Part time cyclist]

Hi and welcome to the forum .Work out what it's gonna cost you to get it serviced and sorted then weigh that up with the cost of a new one. If finances are tight stick with what you got for a bit till you saved up enough for something good it will also give you a bit of time to carry out some research on what you can get for your money

 

[Alan16ac]

Yeah about £5000.
My insurance was £2600 for the year. I had a modified Cooper S so the car cost a lot to service a lot to insure at my age (20), £260 a year road tax.
Hundreds in fuel do to the poor economy.... Tyres etc all adds up.
To around £5000! Lol.
Will get pics tomorrow. Off tomorrow but been in work for a long 14 hours today.

 

[Alan16ac]

Do was meant to be due lol.

 

[BrumJim]

Don't forget the depreciation on your car too. That should add another £1000 per year, at least.

 

[Alan16ac]

So just taken my bike to be serviced. It's basically going to cost £100, the chain and wheel thingys are rusted to hell!
New tyres too etc, brakes.
So I'm just going to buy another bike.
What would you guys recommend?
I only want to spend around £250 max for now as I'm only just getting back into biking.
I used to ride everywhere before I passed my test and my old mountain bike was basically ragged all over the mountains by me....
I used to be fit... but now I'm not, never walked or biked anywhere since passing my test.
Time to get back on track

 

[Alan16ac]

Oh I sat on a few to get the right frame size.
I'm 5'11" and the 21" frame felt about right.
Or should it be different for my height?
It was a Hybrid bike.

 

[Alan16ac]

Few pics of my old bike.

 

[BrumJim]

For commuting you have three choices:
1) Something sensible, called a hybrid. Sadly, that doesn't help you out much, as hybrids come in all sorts of flavours
2) Something fun, to be used for commuting. If you think mud is not just an acceptable cost of being outside, but part of the pleasure, if you would prefer to hug a tree than kiss tarmac, and like to throw yourself off a bike rather than get a car to do it for you, you want a mountain bike option. If you are a minimalist, prefer speed, and like going faster than the person in front, you want a road bike. Either will be suitable for commuting. If you are going for option 1, then you can decide whether you want a hybrid that is a road bike with flat handlebars, or a mountain bike without knobbly tyres using the formula above.
3) Singe speed or fixed for that urban warrior look. Very minimal, cool and uncompromising.

There are other options - folding, recumbent, cruiser, penny farthing, reverse steerer, Moulton, but these are more specialist. If you want one, you will know that you want it.

I'd recommend picking something second-hand up until you know what sort of bike you want. Then spend £600 + on getting something that you will really enjoy.

 

[heppy]

Hi and welcome.

I have just gone car less, although the wife has a car but that is only available to me on a weekend when I am at home. I struggled for a while to get the right choice as I also wanted to cycle for fitness etc. aswell as the daily commute. I too have a mountain bike but find it hard work to commute on.

I am not ready for the full drop bar road bike yet, so I decided on Specialized Sirrus Comp which was the best road bike type hybrid for the money. This is also a world apart from the mountain bike on the commute, fast and a lot of fun.

Good luck with your choice