Replacing a stolen hybrid bike for commuting...

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Tunster

Member
Hi everyone!

I'm brand new here and hope that your advice will help me choose the right bike. Unfortunately, I had my bike stolen from the train station on Monday. Something that isn't a surprise and something that's never been dealt with at the said train station. Partly my fault for not using a good enough lock (thinner multi-threaded with a thick plastic coating - pretty much cut through cleanly).

The old bike was a 6 or 7 year old hybrid bike; plenty of gears, good on the road but could go over flat grassy terrain easily. I was only riding it 10 minutes to the station and 10 mins back (just over a mile). However, it was very heavy and most likely a cheaper bike with a heavier frame. It was quite difficult to ride up consistent slopes. It could of been the gripped tyres rather than being smooth which made it more difficult.

I'm looking to replace it with something similar, but possibly going to suit my needs for much more road cycling when I move into London hopefully later this year. The aim is to cycle into work through 6 - 7 miles of road when this happens. I'm tempting towards taking advantage of the Ride2Work scheme rather than getting a second hand bike to take advantage of the discount. Our work uses Evans cycles, so I'm planning to go down to one of the shops in London near to where I work to get an idea of what I might get. My budget will be between £350 - £450 and hoping it'll cover my needs for a hybrid bike that's light enough to do short and longer journeys.
 
The two that spring off the top my head are the Specialized Sirrus and Giant Rapid, I think Marin and Ridgeback do similar flat bar roadbikes.
 
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Tunster

Member
Thanks guys! I'm looking at using double locks in future (motorbike one which I already have to put on the back plus a D-Lock at the front). Yup, it's Evans only. Any other suggestions welcome, but had a look at the Sirrus and Trek 7.1 before coming here. Looks like the right bike. Hoping the shop has some in to try.
 
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Tunster

Member
Just relooking at the Trek, I think I had one of those before. Is the Sirrus any lighter, or would I need to go to a higher price braket to get that?
 
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Tunster

Member
I wish I'd read into the Ride2Work more and realised that 32% is knocked off! I may be able to go up to £400 - 450 and looking at the road bikes, it's seemingly more convienient to invest in something that I'll use on the road mostly. Any suggestions?

(sorry for continually posting!)
 

billy1561

BB wrecker
I wish I'd read into the Ride2Work more and realised that 32% is knocked off! I may be able to go up to £400 - 450 and looking at the road bikes, it's seemingly more convienient to invest in something that I'll use on the road mostly. Any suggestions?

(sorry for continually posting!)
A £400 bike on the bike scheme will set you back around £28 a month (13 payments) which obviously = £364, but the thing is you will save on tax to get your saving down to around 30% overall as it's a salary sacrifice scheme. Best way to look at it, is an interest free loan, but bear in mind there will be a final 'scrap value' payment to complete the deal.
 

Berties

Fast and careful!
vote here for the giant rapide,i have the 2012 4 in grey for commuting,fitted gator skins does the job fast and well,leaves the carbon bike for the weekends,it is a entry level set up flat bar road bike,has similar geometry to the defy,should get one round the £500 mark,if you want a good hybrid the marin fairfax with carbon forks was on a offer a nice bike as well
 
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Tunster

Member
A £400 bike on the bike scheme will set you back around £28 a month (13 payments) which obviously = £364, but the thing is you will save on tax to get your saving down to around 30% overall as it's a salary sacrifice scheme. Best way to look at it, is an interest free loan, but bear in mind there will be a final 'scrap value' payment to complete the deal.
Thanks Billy! I took a look around Evans Cycles yesterday and have arranged to try out a Norco CCX 3 Compact 2012 Cyclecross bike tomorrow. I'm hoping the mixture between road and hybrid will be the best mixture as I don't want to put all my eggs in one basket and always ride on the road. From searching on here, there isn't much info about the bike. That doesn't worry me as long as I can get on with the road bike style of riding.
 
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