The perfect commuting around town bike?

[bulldoze]

No more than £1000 as the more covetable the more chance it goes missing when locked at the shops or train station.

I cannot see past a Trek FX Sport 3 at this point.

Lightweight - 11kg
Carbon fork
Shimano CUES 1 x 10 setup for simplicity
MT201 hydraulic brakes
700x42 tyres

Easy to get on and off, the 42s will get you comfortably around most stuff around town
Good visibility with the flat bars and neutral geometry.

Whack a decent lock on it and it seems pretty much ideal?

 

[fossyant]

Any bike is a target, doesn't matter the value. Watched a Decathlon Riverside ladies bike get stripped very quickly over the last year. The frame still looks like new, but there is nothing left on it. That's a £300 bike.

 

[fossyant]

The train station is the issue - they know it's going to be there for 8 hours plus.

 

[Gunk]

Any bike worth over £100 here in Oxford isn’t safe. You never see a decent bike locked up and a lock makes no difference, they’ll just nick everything else.

The only expensive bikes you see here are Bromptons because you can take them with you.

 

[bulldoze]

I learnt my lesson with train stations as I have had a few stolen over the years. I park at station very rarely these days and only for short periods.

But yes, the risk is always there.

 

[wafter]

Personally the ally frame and placcy fork would put me off (appreciate I'm in the minority here), but would agree to an extent with the rest of the component choice.

1x is fine if you don't mind the sizeable jumps between gears (personally I'd rather have a triple)
MT201s are fantastic budget brakes; the only reservation I have is the use of split pins to retain the pads but this isn't all bad
700x42c tyres are going to give a decent ride - personally I'd prefer 650bx47c but this isn't particularly common on many utility bikes
Flat bars aren't without their disadvantages (wrist strain, lack of aero) but at home in an urban environment due to the control and upright position they afford

As for locking it up I'd echo what others have said; a bike of this type I'd consider Wafter theft-risk-category B (c): not enormously expensive but very nickable, so suitable only for up to 30 mins in safe spots close by with good locks. For worse circumstances I'd be looking at something that's next to worthless.

I do see the odd nice / expensive bike locked up around here but they're certainly in the minority - probably with good reason. I do also wonder if there's a bit less appetite for less "fashionable" bikes - I'd expect anything newer with flat bars to be a bit more of a target, for example.

 

[N0bodyOfTheGoat]

During a quick search, the Boardman URB 8.9 caught my eye, Gates belt and Nexus 8-speed internal hub gear for £875 before anything like 10% British Cycling discount.

But I'd be wary of leaving anything like that locked up in town for more than ~15mins.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

For a commuting bike then you need to specify what that means

if it means a 10-15 minute ride along flat roads to a company bike park with CCTV and security
then a decent bike is OK
if it is like that but hilly then the security means you can go for a better climber

but if it means leaving it at a big station then you need something cheap and looking cheaper

and decent insurance

if it is being left at a station then I would have something cheap - probably bought used
and resprayed several colours so it look carp
It can have semi decent bits on it that don;t cost too much

and you need a camera (phone is OK) to take a photo everyday when you lock it up
lock it up means at least 2 U-locks - so saving a few grammes on frame weight it useless as you just need an extra 10 grammes in lock weight

 

[biggs682]

An old 90's steel non suspension MTB fitted with slicker tyres would be my bet

 

[albion]

£50 2nd hand bike, especially so if locked up unattended.

 

[mickle]

What's the daily/round trip mileage?
How hilly?
What do you need to carry?

The answer to which, and bearing in mind the need to park it for long periods of time at a railway station bike park - is a second hand steel 'hybrid' like a Marin Kentfield, Trek 700 series, Specialized Crossroads etc with mudguards, rack, dynamo front hub front wheel puncture proof tyres and dressed down to look like a total POS.

Good enough to be great to ride, reliable and pretty speedy. Sh!t enough that you wont cry when it gets stolen, vandalised or reversed into by a postman Pat van.

£1000? Carbon forks?? For why?

 

[All uphill]

Reconditioned bike from a recycling charity for £200.

Mechanically good, rides well, not attractive to thieves, is good for the environment and provides local employment.

 

[kynikos]

No mudguards

 

[MichaelW2]

I like hub gear and dynohub lighting. Grab and go convenience.

 

[bulldoze]

What's the daily/round trip mileage?
How hilly?
What do you need to carry?

The answer to which, and bearing in mind the need to park it for long periods of time at a railway station bike park - is a second hand steel 'hybrid' like a Marin Kentfield, Trek 700 series, Specialized Crossroads etc with mudguards, rack, dynamo front hub front wheel puncture proof tyres and dressed down to look like a total POS.

Good enough to be great to ride, reliable and pretty speedy. Sh!t enough that you wont cry when it gets stolen, vandalised or reversed into by a postman Pat van.

£1000? Carbon forks?? For why?

Because it would be used every day and for the majority of journeys. We have my sons tatty old Boardman URB 8.6 for the long all day train station visits but it is a hateful thing and not suitable for anything more than that 2 mile journey to the station. I personally hate it so much that whenever I do arrive back at the station I am secretly hoping it is not there

The station visits for the new bike would be very short and it is only as there is a batch of shops in the area.

The bike is not for me by the way. My son travels mostly by cycle and I want to get him a step up in quality - then he might forgive me for making him ride the Boardman for 3 years.

I will tell him that for any long train journeys then he needs to use the old bike but of course with teenagers that kind of common sense is not always guaranteed.