Hi all,
My first post on this forum. A bit of background info: I'm 23, female, originally from Belgium but I've been living in the UK since about 3 years. About a month ago I moved down to London from Newcastle to start a new job. I live in East London (E10) and work in the City/Shoreditch - Tabernacle street, you know, where the massive fire was today (which is why I'm at home today and have been able to do some cycle research
).
I grew up riding bikes - going to school etc. cause that's what Belgian's do. Am very much used to the Dutch style bikes, my old one which my mum sold a few months ago
was of this make and type. So in the last month or so I've been commuting by tfl - usually I take a bus to Leyton station and then central line to Liverpool street. Now I'm not enjoying that very much as you can imagine. So I've been thinking about getting myself a bike as this should be faster (about 25-30 min compared to 40min on public transport), cheaper (current travel ticket costs me £119/month), good exercise, and just a lot less uncomfortable.
Now, the question is what bike. It needs to be something fairly comfy - I don't like the race bikes so it needs to have decent wheels and preferably a fairly straight sitting position (if you get what I mean). I went into two bike shops here in Leyton today.
First one was Ditchfields who mainly do Raleigh cycles. I looked at the Raleigh Metro and Raleigh Caprice but was not very much convinced. Also the guy in the shop wasn't very helpful. I want to make sure I get my bike from a shop with decent aftercare (which is also why I won't be buying online or second hand) so that one drops off.
Then I went into The Bike Shack who sell TREK and Gary Fisher. I liked the guy there a lot more - he was just a lot more helpful. Also gave me the TREK catalogue and price list so I could have a look at home. He showed me the TREK T30 for £350 - said it was quite a popular choice. They didn't have the women's version (well, unisex lowstep) in stock but I looked online. Seems alright to me. What are your thoughts on this?
Or is there anything else that you can recommend? Needs to be a women's version or with lowstep as I won't be changing clothes at work (even though there's a shower room) and I tend to wear and cycle with a skirt. Preferably with rack, chainguard and mudguards (I don't want to start a discussion about this, that's just what I want). Definitely don't like mountain bikes and the like - I NEVER go offroad so needs to be a decent bike, not too light and not too heavy, that can carry some shopping etc. I'm about 5'8" so I'd go for a larger size bike as my back hurts if I use a small bike - so would be 21" version of T30. Budget: up to 350 (400 if it's something absolutely amazing, brilliant). And yeah, if I'd have a spare £1000 I'd get myself a Gazelle but I don't so will need to find a good cheapish bike.
Also, I've no idea about laws, regulations etc when you ride a bike in this country. The guy at the Bike Shack advised me you only need a light when it's dark (whereas in Belgium you ALWAYS need a working light, even if you never cycle at night). Do I need to get some kind of insurance? Anything else you can think of?
Your help will be much appreciated
My first post on this forum. A bit of background info: I'm 23, female, originally from Belgium but I've been living in the UK since about 3 years. About a month ago I moved down to London from Newcastle to start a new job. I live in East London (E10) and work in the City/Shoreditch - Tabernacle street, you know, where the massive fire was today (which is why I'm at home today and have been able to do some cycle research
). I grew up riding bikes - going to school etc. cause that's what Belgian's do. Am very much used to the Dutch style bikes, my old one which my mum sold a few months ago
was of this make and type. So in the last month or so I've been commuting by tfl - usually I take a bus to Leyton station and then central line to Liverpool street. Now I'm not enjoying that very much as you can imagine. So I've been thinking about getting myself a bike as this should be faster (about 25-30 min compared to 40min on public transport), cheaper (current travel ticket costs me £119/month), good exercise, and just a lot less uncomfortable. Now, the question is what bike. It needs to be something fairly comfy - I don't like the race bikes so it needs to have decent wheels and preferably a fairly straight sitting position (if you get what I mean). I went into two bike shops here in Leyton today.
First one was Ditchfields who mainly do Raleigh cycles. I looked at the Raleigh Metro and Raleigh Caprice but was not very much convinced. Also the guy in the shop wasn't very helpful. I want to make sure I get my bike from a shop with decent aftercare (which is also why I won't be buying online or second hand) so that one drops off.
Then I went into The Bike Shack who sell TREK and Gary Fisher. I liked the guy there a lot more - he was just a lot more helpful. Also gave me the TREK catalogue and price list so I could have a look at home. He showed me the TREK T30 for £350 - said it was quite a popular choice. They didn't have the women's version (well, unisex lowstep) in stock but I looked online. Seems alright to me. What are your thoughts on this?
Or is there anything else that you can recommend? Needs to be a women's version or with lowstep as I won't be changing clothes at work (even though there's a shower room) and I tend to wear and cycle with a skirt. Preferably with rack, chainguard and mudguards (I don't want to start a discussion about this, that's just what I want). Definitely don't like mountain bikes and the like - I NEVER go offroad so needs to be a decent bike, not too light and not too heavy, that can carry some shopping etc. I'm about 5'8" so I'd go for a larger size bike as my back hurts if I use a small bike - so would be 21" version of T30. Budget: up to 350 (400 if it's something absolutely amazing, brilliant). And yeah, if I'd have a spare £1000 I'd get myself a Gazelle but I don't so will need to find a good cheapish bike.
Also, I've no idea about laws, regulations etc when you ride a bike in this country. The guy at the Bike Shack advised me you only need a light when it's dark (whereas in Belgium you ALWAYS need a working light, even if you never cycle at night). Do I need to get some kind of insurance? Anything else you can think of?
Your help will be much appreciated
