Which road bike?

[lemmy]

Hi all,
First post here.
I'm a London commuter, using a Brompton to go partly by train at the moment. After about a year of doing that I'm ready to cycle all the way in to work now (at least on some days) - it's not all that far, about 7 miles, but as you might know cycling in central London is not always the best fun.
I'm also interested in going on some runs with my local cycle club.

I have a Trek hybrid at the moment but am looking to replace it with a road bike, as I would prefer a lighter bike and dropped handlebar riding position.

I'm wondering whether to go for a modern road bike - something like the Genesis aether10 is roughly in my price range, or go the ebay route and get a bike with Reynolds 531 frame or similar, and maybe spend some money on doing it up.

Lifting bikes like the Genesis in a shop, it seems really light (alu frame). Would a steel framed bike be significantly heavier?

I'm looking for something quite flexible, as it would be for commuting / modest touring, but I also like pushing on and going fast so I'm looking for something nippy.

Thanks for any pointers!

 

[threebikesmcginty]

I think the Genesis Croix De Fer looks the business for an all weather commuter.
Light steel frame, disc brakes, enough clearance for mudguards.

http://www.genesisbikes.co.uk/bikes/cross/croix-de-fer/croix-de-fer/overview/

BTW - welcome to the forum.

 

[lemmy]

Thanks!
Maybe I overstated the commuting bit. If it's bad weather I will probably go with the Brompton. So it doesn't have to be a cyclo-cross type.
Nice looking bike though, but also more than I wanted to spend.

I've been looking at some nice looking 531 frame bikes online and I like that look. Just wondered if I will be losing out in terms of performance by going that way instead of getting a new aluminium / cromoly / whatever-they-use-thesedays bike.