Cycling newbie!

[Daston]

Hi guys,

I currently walk just over 2 miles to work and back again and thought a bike would be the best idea! I have a canal cycle path pretty much from my door to work so it will be a doddle and take no time at all. Plus my work offer a cycle to work scheme so should save a fair chunk of cash in the process.

I am after more of a hybrid than a straight road bike but want some speed and light weight limit is £900 through the scheme so cant be too fancy.

I really love the look and sound of this;

http://www.bmc-switzerland.com/int-en/bikes/lifest...

but I thought I would ask some more knowledgeable people first before committing.

Any other ideas around a similar theme?

[nammynake]

For a 2 mile canal path commute I'd pick up a cheap second hand single-speed for £100 or so. Really no point spending more for such a short journey unless you're planning to ride longer routes / at weekends etc?

[RicharDC5]

BMC bikes tend to have cheaper wheels and/or groupset than equivalent price bikes from other brands, so if value for money is a priority a BMC probably isn't the best way to go. I'm sure it's a very good bike nonetheless. Wont stop me buying a teammachine when I have the money

[Some Gump]

For 2 miles, just buy a 50 quid halfords job off ebay, with mudguards.

If you then find yourself taking a 5, 10 mile route home for the fun of it, get a nicer bike. By that time, you'll know what sort of riding you like - loads of people start with an expensive hybrid, then realise that rather than jack of all trades, it's a master of none.

The marketeers love selling a bike for every niche - but my drop bar roadbike on 23mm slicks has been all over the shop, inc the mud and moderate offroad. This new idea of a gravel bike / adventure road is just daft!

[Daston]

Some Gump said:

For 2 miles, just buy a 50 quid halfords job off ebay, with mudguards.

If you then find yourself taking a 5, 10 mile route home for the fun of it, get a nicer bike. By that time, you'll know what sort of riding you like - loads of people start with an expensive hybrid, then realise that rather than jack of all trades, it's a master of none.

The marketeers love selling a bike for every niche - but my drop bar roadbike on 23mm slicks has been all over the shop, inc the mud and moderate offroad. This new idea of a gravel bike / adventure road is just daft!

Good plan, long term plan is my bro in law is trying to get a job in the town I live and buy his first house he will also be getting a bike so we can do more touring/road biking. I guess if I am still keen at that point I can upgrade

[covmutley]

Spend the money! A decent bike will make the journey nicer and you may find that you enjoy it and want to start doing longer rides at the weekend. You may not like it on a rubbish bike.

This would be good for a towpath:
http://www.genesisbikes.co.uk/bikes/adventure/mult...

Or this is great spec for the money:
http://www.dolan-bikes.com/dolan-cyclo-cross/cyclo...

Edited by covmutley on Friday 8th July 00:09

Edited by covmutley on Friday 8th July 00:12

[RicharDC5]

Daston said:

Some Gump said:

For 2 miles, just buy a 50 quid halfords job off ebay, with mudguards.

If you then find yourself taking a 5, 10 mile route home for the fun of it, get a nicer bike. By that time, you'll know what sort of riding you like - loads of people start with an expensive hybrid, then realise that rather than jack of all trades, it's a master of none.

The marketeers love selling a bike for every niche - but my drop bar roadbike on 23mm slicks has been all over the shop, inc the mud and moderate offroad. This new idea of a gravel bike / adventure road is just daft!

Good plan, long term plan is my bro in law is trying to get a job in the town I live and buy his first house he will also be getting a bike so we can do more touring/road biking. I guess if I am still keen at that point I can upgrade

I was given a cheap Halfords bike as an unwanted gift a few years ago. Within 100 miles riding there was so much wrong with the bike it was a write off. You don't need to spend £1000 on a bike to get something decent, but going really cheap (say sub £200 new) you are likely to end up with a bike which is breaking all the time.

[pembo]

Yes, do it, it's a lovely looking bike and that will encourage you to want to ride it more. Kit is also decent enough that you won't feel the need to upgrade too soon and it won't fall apart when the weather gets dodgy.

I only have a 2 mile commute too but I started with a cyclocross bike to get there faster than walking, then I started cyclocross racing on it, then I started extending my route home (my ride home last night was 30 miles) and now I've ended up with 5 bikes in the shed and have a go at loads of cycling things throughout the year.

It only takes one to get hooked but you have to make sure it's a nice one.

[Black can man]

pembo said:

Yes, do it, it's a lovely looking bike and that will encourage you to want to ride it more. Kit is also decent enough that you won't feel the need to upgrade too soon and it won't fall apart when the weather gets dodgy.

I only have a 2 mile commute too but I started with a cyclocross bike to get there faster than walking, then I started cyclocross racing on it, then I started extending my route home (my ride home last night was 30 miles) and now I've ended up with 5 bikes in the shed and have a go at loads of cycling things throughout the year.

It only takes one to get hooked but you have to make sure it's a nice one.

[Kell]

There's certainly no reason to spend almost £1,000 on a bike to do 4 miles a day, but then there's no real reason not to either.

Having a nicer bike will make you more likely to start looking for the long way home and to start using it at weekends.

Are you limited to a particular shop with your voucher scheme? When I got my first bike to work bike, it was Evans only, this time around we had a different scheme and allowed me more freedom with where I bought from.

Concerns for me would be bike parking at work - is there somewhere secure to leave a 'nice' bike, if not invest in a very good lock.

[Type R Tom]

I'd spend less on the bike and more on good kit. Waterproofs (including shoes) will make cycling in the winter easier, save looking out the window and getting the car out.

Also consider a bike that can take panniers and mudguards, it's much nicer to load the bike up then wear a back pack if you need to carry stuff back and forth to work.

[idiotgap]

I'm the guy who always crops up on threads like this and says "buy secondhand".

Buy secondhand!

Plenty of people buy decent bikes, barely ride them and then want rid after a few years. I harvest these when I or my friends are looking for a bike so I've had a bit of practice hunting out options on ebay and gumtree. I've not bought a bad one yet. My wife rides a perfectly decent giant mountain bike I picked up for £26.

[Deerfoot]

idiotgap said:

Buy secondhand!

I`ve just bought a very nice Specialized Allez from Gumtree. The guy selling it bought it to get into cycling, did around 5-6 rides and lost interest. It was in his garage covered in dust complete with the factory safety stickers and LBS installed reflectors etc.

After a good clean it looks like new apart from a small scratch on the top tube. He even threw in some lights (will fit to my son`s bike) some GT85 and a Specialized helmet. He paid over £800 for it (invoice was supplied too) in 2013 and I paid roughly 25% of the original cost.

I`ll sell my present Giant and treat it to some new tyres...

[Watchman]

Not sure what the condition of your towpaths are, but around here they can be lovely in the summer but very messy in the winter. For a regular commute, I'd probably want something simple - a single speed. Very little to go wrong, and consequently reliable.

Towpaths also tend to be fairly level, unless you have a lot of locks, so a single speed should be all you need. Something lightweight, flat bars, narrow spuddy tyres (CX).

I would probably build one up from parts but I am not sure whether that's possible with cycle-to-work schemes.

[familyguy1]

watchman makes a great point.

The canal paths round my way are covered with a fine gravel which is flat and sharp, so my hybrid tires used to get punctures very easily, buying new tires and tubes was a pain but solved the issue.

So worth thinking about.

[Watchman]

I will be building a "geared" bike with my son when he grows a bit taller. I have all the parts, based around a lovely Planet-X London Road frame.

Why I think this is relevant is because we'll use Continental CX tyres which are highly puncture resistant. That, and it's a fascinatingly lightweight frame and fork which you could use for a SS bike.

I org'd a Christmas bike ride down our local towpaths a few years back. The slush and sand could be heard grinding away in our gears and disc brakes. When we got to Knowle locks, we dunked our bikes in the canal to rinse that paste off - worked a treat too - but it's that kind of wear that will quickly damage gears, whereas a SS is just simpler to maintain, and cheaper to replace when it wears out.

[Dizeee]

OP if your seriously going to spend such a large amount on such a pointless journey, then for goodness sake, buy a Roadlite and spend the change on a load of decent accessories.

The link is the model I would go for although you can go cheaper still and save even more money by going Tiagra. Still had discs though!

https://www.canyon.com/en-gb/fitness/roadlite/2016...

[Daston]

Hey guys,

Turns out after chatting to my HR guys that although we want to promote local business I am unable to take advantage of any discount unless it's through halfords!

With that in mind I popped to my local store as we were heading in that direction anyway and I got to have a look at what they offer.

I really like the idea on these two, first choice is:

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/end-of-line-...

It looks to have a good spec and would be good for the odd dirt trail as well at the weekends, plus with a £100 of extras that will cover pedals and helmet for now (the guys confirmed that it wont be a problem through the cycle2work scheme).

Down side is it's end of line but it looks like there are plenty left.

Plan B if they all magically go is this:

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/road-bikes/b...

But then I do have to buy the extras on top......which is why I would be half tempted to go for this (dosn't really effect the monthly cost too much)

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/end-of-line-...

My bro in law picks his bike up on Saturday and is keen to go for a shake down lol

[johnwilliams77]

covmutley said:

Spend the money! A decent bike will make the journey nicer and you may find that you enjoy it and want to start doing longer rides at the weekend. You may not like it on a rubbish bike.

This would be good for a towpath:
http://www.genesisbikes.co.uk/bikes/adventure/mult...

Or this is great spec for the money:
http://www.dolan-bikes.com/dolan-cyclo-cross/cyclo...

Edited by covmutley on Friday 8th July 00:09

Edited by covmutley on Friday 8th July 00:12

This would be the route I would advise and what I took
I only have 3.5miles but it's tough, mostly uphill. Started on a crap bike then bought a decent boardman hybrid and it transformed my enjoyment

[Daston]

Turns out the CX has sold out and they can only find one up north that they apparently cant ship to their store!

So its the Road Comp bike instead, application went through today so will be a couple of weeks until I get it.

Thanks for the suggestions and help guys I will no doubt get some photos of my travels.


Any bets for how soon I will fall over because I can't unclip my feet?