Which tough, fastish commuting bikes?

[abo]

Funny old place this, Halfords are hammered on the forum for poor quality bike builds yet everyone recommends their bikes!

Still pleased with my Carrera btw

 

[jay clock]

I had a Subway One for four years and it is a superb all rounder. I did replace everything on it over time, but a really great "slight" MTB, commuter, tourer bike

Jay

 

[Cubist]

Funny old place this, Halfords are hammered on the forum for poor quality bike builds yet everyone recommends their bikes!

Still pleased with my Carrera btw

Don't generalise. I have a Boardman. It's 'kin awesome. A quick look at their range of proper bikes will show a range of well-designed, well specc'd machines and great value for money. Some benighted posters believe anything from Halfords is the work of Beelzebub, the majority say "Nice bikes, same about the shop staff" I say my Uncle Philbert went into Halfords on Wednesday for a bottle of de-ionised water, and by Friday teatime he had been consumed by firebreathing ants.

 

[abo]

Don't generalise. I have a Boardman. It's 'kin awesome. A quick look at their range of proper bikes will show a range of well-designed, well specc'd machines and great value for money. Some benighted posters believe anything from Halfords is the work of Beelzebub, the majority say "Nice bikes, same about the shop staff" I say my Uncle Philbert went into Halfords on Wednesday for a bottle of de-ionised water, and by Friday teatime he had been consumed by firebreathing ants.

Ah I was only taking the mick a little I was riding past today and popped in for some of their citrussy chain cleaner stuff, ended up having a little perv at their Boardman carbon road bikes...

 

[abo]

Ooh just as an addition, I saw their new Carrera Kraken and Vulcan MTB's while I was in there, they look pretty tasty.

 

[Cubist]

Citrus degreaser is faggotty. Be a man and use Gunk Green, diluted 5 to 1 in a spray bottle.

 

[uphillstruggler]

a mate of mine picked up one of the carrera subway 2's for 50 quid from a bloke from work, jammy bleeder.

it had disc brakes and they are pretty good. obviously depends on the type of commute you have but on the whole, the bike seemed pretty good tbh

i would recommend one of those if you want a do all bike that would be easy to maintain.

good luck

 

[Schneil]

I've got a Scott Sportster. Tough bike, have done light trails in it, but mainly use it as a commuter. A little heavy though

 

[The_East_Stand_View]

Recently bought a giant seek 2 bike. Glad i made the purchase.

 

[I like Skol]

I bought one of these last November and it is a bit over your budget but in my opinion a lot of bike for the money and built GT tough.

Bar ends, SPD pedals and pannier rack are my own additions and since also fitted full mudguards and apart from a new chain early on and a few punctures it has had almost zero care and attention in 1200 miles. I weigh a little over 14 stone most of the time and at 6' 1" I am no lightweight. I like to hop and jump a little and even ride down flights of steps occasionally (although more gingerly than on my GT MTB) and the bike and wheels seem to be very adequate for this kind of abuse.

Still available from the supplier I used at a bargain reduced £499 -
www.jejamescycles.co.uk/gt-traffic-10-item151401.html

 

[johnr]

I bought a Charge single speed in the Wiggle sale. I've been commuting on it for the past week after gear problems on my main bike. It's tough on the big hills, but fun to ride and virtually maintenance free. Looks cool too.

 

[abo]

Citrus degreaser is faggotty. Be a man and use Gunk Green, diluted 5 to 1 in a spray bottle.

Well, I broke the cleaning machine so maybe it was a bit faggoty lol.

 

[Chilternrides]

If you are commuting through a busy town or city and therefore likely to be dabbing on the brakes fairly frequently, for a year-round commuter I would also opt for discs brakes - I have worn out a number of decent rims over a comparatively short time in the past thanks to the grinding paste effect of road scum generated in grotty weather.

Discs are generally cheap compared to new rims and rebuilds, and are quick to replace as are the pads (the adjustment is a slightly different story though! If you are not mechanically inclined, or simply can't be bothered, it is a job worth paying a few quid to have done for you - it won't be too regular a requirement).

Good luck!