Yet another bike advice needed thread

[Debian]

I'm not a beginner to cycling but until fairly recently I didn't commute by bike. Almost all of my riding was mountain / XC stuff and as a consequence all of my bikes are MTB types.

Now I use my older MTB for commuting, it has panniers and still has the knobbly tyres and I've been considering putting slicks on it to make life a little easier.

I'm quite happy with the current bike, however, I've been thinking that maybe a dedicated road commuting bike might be the better option and I'm looking for suggestions as to which bike. My commute is about 7 miles each way and flattish, all of it is well surfaced and mainly tarmac. I'll be using panniers carrying up to ten kilos of laptop and other gear.

The bike would be used for nothing else but the commute apart from maybe the odd shopping trip.

I have no experience of anything other than MTBs and I want to spend as little as possible, absolute maximum of £400 and preferably less.

Any suggestions?

 

[scott s10]

sorry but i have to say try looking through the other million threads on new bikes

 

[Crackle]

Hybrid or drops?

 

[Debian]

sorry but i have to say try looking through the other million threads on new bikes

You're welcome to say that.

However I wish to have my own thread; anyone who wishes to contribute then that's great. If anyone doesn't want to contribute then don't, it's fine.

 

[Debian]

Hybrid or drops?

I'm not sure, drops probably otherwise I might just as well keep my MTB and put slicks on it as I see it?

 

[Norm]

I'd try changing the tyres on your current steed. I found it made me about 15% faster on a 10 mile route, it's created a great "fun" bike that is also useful for shopping and, because of its age and skankiness, I have few concerns leaving it in town. Best of all, it was only £20-odd to try it.

 

[Debian]

I'd try changing the tyres on your current steed. I found it made me about 15% faster on a 10 mile route, it's created a great "fun" bike that is also useful for shopping and, because of its age and skankiness, I have few concerns leaving it in town. Best of all, it was only £20-odd to try it.

Yes, I've been toying with this idea. However, my GT is not yet in the "old hack" category, I still enjoy the odd XC ride on it and I certainly wouldn't feel comfortable leaving it in town. Hence the thought of getting a new (but relatively inexpensive) commuter bike, or even secondhand if I can identify exactly what I need.

 

[rich p]

Norm's right but if you want a road bike for the buzz then £400 and a bit will get you something nice. £499 would get you the highly rated Spesh Allez
http://www.cyclestore.co.uk/productDetails.asp?productID=21398
Trek
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/trek/11-compact-2010-road-bike-ec020773

 

[Sheffield_Tiger]

What most threads like this fail to address is the sort of route that will be ridden.

Cycling for me started initially with an old '70s 3-speed. Every time I go back to Hull I still see hundreds of SA-geared old "16th-hand" bikes tootling aroound at a fair old rate of knots.

If I still lived in Hull where the railway flyover is the nearest thing to a hill, and the nearest hill is about 16 miles away, for commuting I would never have gone for the bike that I ride in Sheffield, with a steep enough hill right at the start of my ride home.

If I still did that flat commute, I'd probably still be running the auction-sourced old things, cobbled together with the best bits of a bunch of £10 buys to make something serviceable.

If the roads weren't so bad on my route, I'd still be riding the '08 Virtuoso to work, but with potholes and a load, I got bored of constantly truing back wheels.

In short, what's right for me for my commute would be wrong for another person.

 

[rich p]

What most threads like this fail to address is the sort of route that will be ridden.



In short, what's right for me for my commute would be wrong for another person.

This bit in the OP is the give-away

My commute is about 7 miles each way and flattish, all of it is well surfaced and mainly tarmac.

 

[HJ]

sorry but i have to say try looking through the other million threads on new bikes

This is the beginners section and that is not the way we do things on this forum, if you don't like that, then kindly go elsewhere.

 

[Norm]

I don't have much knowledge at that price range, but I think you could probably pick up a decent 2009 spec machine in a sale, or a ruddy excellent 2009 spec machine second hand.

If you can go a little higher, the Allez is good or, if you are enough of a fashionista, a Langster is a lot of fixed bike for £500.

 

[HJ]

I'm not a beginner to cycling but until fairly recently I didn't commute by bike. Almost all of my riding was mountain / XC stuff and as a consequence all of my bikes are MTB types.

Now I use my older MTB for commuting, it has panniers and still has the knobbly tyres and I've been considering putting slicks on it to make life a little easier.

I'm quite happy with the current bike, however, I've been thinking that maybe a dedicated road commuting bike might be the better option and I'm looking for suggestions as to which bike. My commute is about 7 miles each way and flattish, all of it is well surfaced and mainly tarmac. I'll be using panniers carrying up to ten kilos of laptop and other gear.

The bike would be used for nothing else but the commute apart from maybe the odd shopping trip.

I have no experience of anything other than MTBs and I want to spend as little as possible, absolute maximum of £400 and preferably less.

Any suggestions?

I would suggest something like the Revolution Courier Classic £349.99 or the Specialized Globe Vienna £399.99, but ideally you should ride before you buy to make sure it is right for you.

 

[Sheffield_Tiger]

This bit in the OP is the give-away

My commute is about 7 miles each way and flattish, all of it is well surfaced and mainly tarmac.

Well that tells me not to reply to threads whilst watching telly and not paying attention

In that respect, if that were my commute, I'd probably still be riding the virtuoso, with some mudguards fitted in addition to the pannier rack

OR - a half decent old machine. An oldish 12-speed would be fine, in all honesty. That sort of run, something like the old dyna-tech that's in my shed awaiting a quick resto job would handle in its stride.

Spend £3-400 if you like, but I'd say if theft is a risk, it doesn't need it. Go retro second hand and spend the rest on toys for your main bike. Or beer

 

[Crackle]

I'm not sure, drops probably otherwise I might just as well keep my MTB and put slicks on it as I see it?

Not necessarily. Something like the Sirrus is closer to a flat bar road bike than a mtn bike. I was just thinking about the bar position and if you wanted to make the transition.

http://www.specialized.com/gb/en/bc/SBCBkModel.jsp?spid=47262&eid=4356&menuItemId=9341