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defy-one

Guest
My Triban has been kidnapped by my son. He took the rack/panniers and mudgaurds off today. Stuck a D Lock on the frame and promptly trundled off for 2 hours on it!
I am officially without a commuter this week, which is okay as i'm on call and use the car until next Monday.

Do i buy another Triban, another road bike or a fast road flat bar just to vary the bikes a bit?

Budget - £300-£400, new or 2nd hand



P.s rather pleased to see him riding a road bike. He is getting a lot of kudos from his friends!
 
I would go for another road bike, and probably the Triban so that you can ride together (although would it be seen as weird if you have the same bike??? Not sure how that stands). You don't want to get left for dust when he takes off (and if he isn't capable of that yet...he will be soon!).
 
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defy-one

defy-one

Guest
I have the lighter and very well equiped Giant Defy 1 for general riding with him, so it wouldn't be an issue about speed or twin bikes.

Just confused about what makes the best commuter bike. Drop bars or flat.
Really like the look of fast road flat bars such as the Giant Rapid. I guess i want to keep the speed of the drop bars,but dial in a little bit of comfort.
 

Norm

Guest
It's a toughie, as so much depends on personal preference, expected use etc. I'd go for something different, as you've a couple with curly bars, getting something with flat bars will broaden the options in your stable but are you hooked on roadies?

One of my favourite scoots is an old rigid MTB, great fun around town, getting shopping, riding canals and river paths etc. That particular option probably wouldn't work for your commuting or your rides with your son, so isn't particularly suitable in this instance, just an example to see if there's another sort of ride you might want rather than more of the same.
 

Mr Haematocrit

msg me on kik for android
Have a look @ a Kona Honky, its such a really cool bike and so practical, saw my first one in the flesh today, kinda has a funky bluey-greeny retro thing going on
 
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defy-one

defy-one

Guest
Tempted by a fast flat bar hybrid tbh. I think having the Triban at home, means me and my son can swap for a few months just to keep my commute fresh, and knowing him, i doubt he will be riding during the week, as college/studies will get in the way.
I'm about to sell my Giant Rock mtb as i don't do any offroad riding, and even if i fancy doing so in the future, i can stick some thicker tyres on the hybrid.
 
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Deleted member 20519

Guest
Could get a used CX bike?
 

MacB

Lover of things that come in 3's
The fast/light flat bar hybrids are good, it was the first 'proper' bike I bought for my long commute. But the roadier ones are roadier and it didn't do so well once it had panniers, luggage and me on top of it. I had a fairly short section of unmade/private road and it cost me spokes on 3 occasions, 28/24 spoke wheels. I ended up buying another bike for commuting on and using the hybrid for faster/unladen fun riding. To give you an idea the hybrid weighed in about 22lbs and the commuter about 33lbs before I added luggage. This translated to about a 1.5-2mph difference in average riding speed.

More importantly to me was the handling and comfort, the hybrid felt like a bike that pannier mounts etc had been thrown on as an afterthought. The heavier steel framed bike was designed with hauling capacity in mind and felt better with luggage. It also seemed to soak up the road buzz better at the end of the week. When I was tired, not pedalling as hard or as much and sitting heavier on the bike. Big tyres, a Brooks saddle and a steel frame translated into more comfort for me. If I did the same on the sportier hybrid then my comfort level dropped.

That's only my perspective but I wouldn't buy a light hybrid again, I've since moved on to a custom Ti frame but the dimensions on that are more in tune with the steel frame than the hybrid. I also didn't choose Ti for weight saving as I've still covered it in all the gubbins from racks and guards to dynamos and hub gears. My main reason was resistance to corrosion on a bike I use whatever the weather and don't want to have to wipe down regularly etc.
 
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