Cycle or drive to work

[macp]

SWMBO and I need a car each no doubt about it but I started to think maybe I should get a cycle and a car within my meagre 1200 quid budget.Its only about 4mls to work and I am becoming more rotund as I get into my early 40`s.I know I can do that no prob on something fast and light so thinking of a road bike maybe like a Claud Butler Echelon but we are looking at a minimum of 500 quid for a relatively decent road bike.Means the car budget is slashed to around 700 though and there are no feckin showers in our building.

Anybody else doing this or had similar thoughts.

[macp]

Thanks guys I will drop my budget to around 300 but I still think it needs to be fairly lightweight with road tyres.Dont mind 2nd hand but never seem to find anything nearby.

[macp]

Ive currently got a Halfrauds Mogul limited edition MTB.I switched the tyres to Schwalbe road tyres which helps but it still weighs a ton and gears are still all over the place even though they have had it back twice.Once because the crank was shagged from new!!

So Ive done the commute one or two times and I know I can do it but a lot of it is NSL B roads with blind bends.Scary stuff

I had a Dawes Discovery 601 which I flogged to help pay for a family holiday.It was lovely & light with carbon forks.A Rolls Royce in comparison wish I still had it.

[macp]

Deluded said:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/FUJI-NEVADA-3-0-GENTS-MOUNTA...

Get some road slicks on that and it will be spot on. Pretty much the bike I have except that has disks all round where as mine came with v-brakes (mines a 4.0). I've converted mine to disk on the rear but kept the front as Vs. Nice and lightweight and good gearing for offroad and onroad with a nice long top gear for fast cruising.

edit -

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/FUJI-ABSOLUTE-LX-GENTS-HYBRI...

spotted that too from the same seller. Might be better for you as it comes ready for the road and is fixed front suspension.

The bikes in places like Halfords are only as good as the numpty that built it. If you insist on buying from a shop, get it from a proper independent retailer. Might be a bit more expensive but will ultimately be a better bike.

Edited by Deluded on Sunday 16th May 15:21

Superb bikes and cracking prices too

Cheers

[macp]

Thanks for all the suggestions I think a 2nd hand road bike is the way to go.Have got my eye on a couple of decent looking Specialized Allez.

Walking is out as far as I am concerned as I live in the country and the main road out is NSL without footpaths or anything like that.On a pushbike I can do it in about 40mins walking would take considerably longer I assume.

[macp]

Amateurish said:

macp said:

Walking is out as far as I am concerned as I live in the country and the main road out is NSL without footpaths or anything like that.On a pushbike I can do it in about 40mins walking would take considerably longer I assume.

You should be able to do it in 15 min on a MTB, probably even quicker on a road bike.

4 miles will be a breeze for you, especially after you've been doing it daily for a couple of weeks.

15 mins maybe pushing it as I have a fairly long but steady climb out of my village.But yeah on the right machinery and fitness up I should be able to improve vastly.

[macp]

Amateurish said:

macp said:

Amateurish said:

macp said:

Walking is out as far as I am concerned as I live in the country and the main road out is NSL without footpaths or anything like that.On a pushbike I can do it in about 40mins walking would take considerably longer I assume.

You should be able to do it in 15 min on a MTB, probably even quicker on a road bike.

4 miles will be a breeze for you, especially after you've been doing it daily for a couple of weeks.

15 mins maybe pushing it as I have a fairly long but steady climb out of my village.But yeah on the right machinery and fitness up I should be able to improve vastly.

Maybe 20 min there and 10 min back

Now there is something to aim for.

Why is it though that you always seem to cycle with the wind behind you going to work but its against you going home.

[macp]

Went to my local bike shop today just to have a look round.Got offered a brand new 2009 model Claud Butler Echelon http://www.evanscycles.com/products/claud-butler/e...

Owner says its a big frame 59" and could do with moving it so offered it to me for £429.

Im seriously tempted thinking I could probably get a ton for my Mogul limited edition MTB as its virtually like new.Not mine but the only pic I could find of the same bike.

[url=http://www.freeimagehosting.net/][/url]

Edited by macp on Monday 17th May 22:20

[macp]

Talking to some on the guys on the bike forums they say one of the biggest advantages of a road bike is the drop bars making it so much easier when riding against the wind ?

[macp]

Chris71 said:

macp said:

Talking to some on the guys on the bike forums they say one of the biggest advantages of a road bike is the drop bars making it so much easier when riding against the wind ?

I do find myself gripping the inner part of the handlebars when I'm going quickly on smooth roads to reduce drag. I don't know if you get any real benefit for it, but it feels quicker! It does feel a lot less stable though - I wouldn't want to hit a pothole doing it. For that reason I prefer the MTB-style setup on the Kona.

The other thing - and again this may just be a preconception - but it feels quite solid. I don't have any qualms about dropping off kerbs or rolling over those potholes I can't avoid, but I always assumed a proper road bike would be less substantial. My other bike is a Sub 5 retrofitted with some meaty long travel forks, so I guess it's not surprising it feels light and efficient!

Coincidentally, going back to the Badboy, a friend of mine has one and the pedalling efficiency does seem to be better - it's a lot more 'road bike' in its feel, which seems a bit odd when you've just stepped off something far more mtb-inspired.

Again I was surprised to read on one or two bike forums that road bikes are much more substantial than people think,me included.Obviously a decent size pothole would feck one up but I think it would probably feckup most road/hybrids.

[macp]

I think I will stick with toeclips.

[macp]

CooperS said:

macp said:

Talking to some on the guys on the bike forums they say one of the biggest advantages of a road bike is the drop bars making it so much easier when riding against the wind ?

I'm doing a 32 mile round commute in Edinburgh. Not that bad tbh and on a day like today a joy (really it is).

Must admit i havent read the above in detail so might be going over old ground but road bikes are great, nippy, nimble and can maintain speed but they arent the most comfortable and i cant say i can ride at 50% for more than a mile or two with out putting my footdown. Whereas a road hybrid (if you choose the right one) will give you 75% of benfit of a road but give you a more relaxed postion. Which if you doing less than 10 miles a day i cant see why you wouldnt want that.

I say go for it have your eyes open to the risks (traffic), costs of the cycling (i've spent another £400 on top of my new road bike and on existing gear to do this every day) and the time it will take (although 4 miles isnt going to take 2 moments to scramble through)

Thanks hybrids generally do tend to be less money than roadbikes I notice.

[macp]

Amateurish said:

macp said:

I think I will stick with toeclips.

This is what I do on a 15 mile commute so I'm sure it will be fine for 4 miles.

Starting to feel a bt sheepish with some you guys commuting 30 odd miles.

My 9yr old daughter just bought a spacehopper which I had a go of and eventually fell off but when you get into a rythmn you can cover some ground.Hmmmmm

[macp]

Head is slowly starting to turn towards the hybrid although im desiring the road bike.Found some great deals on the following bikes.Anybody got any experience or can recommend any of them ?

Specialized Sirrus

Kona Dew plus

Giant Seek 4

GT Traffic 3.0

Fuji Absolute 3.0

[macp]

Well Ive just finished my first week of cycling to work on my two ton tessie,man its slow but I still enjoyed it and im already feeling better in myself.I know it seems sad but im getting quite excited about looking for my replacement bike.As my commute is mostly rural on fast roads Ive decided on a road bike.Specialized will be my weapon of choice so beautifully built in my opinion.

Im also hunting for a cheap car so double excitement.

[macp]

Galsia said:

Well I've finally gone out and brought a proper bicycle. I can't believe how light it is:



Its about 11kg, 27 speed with quickfire gears. Basically it seems to be a road bike with MTB handlebars. I dunno if it counts as a hybrid because I don't know the proper definition of one.

Its slightly more brown in colour than the picture shows and the metallic flake really sparkles when the sun hits it.

My commute on it only takes about 20 minutes which surprisingly is the same amount of time it takes in the car. Its only 3 miles each way but I'm quite unfit so its taken a bit of effort. I would never be able to do it on my old bike though. Done three days so far and I've really enjoyed it!

Tomorrow I'm going to buy some mudguards and a pannier rack. When these tyres burst, which will probably be soon judging by the amount of broken glass around here I'm gonna get some of those new-fangled kevlar tyre thingies.

Oh, I got myself a decent helmet too.

Nice looking machine that whats the build like ?
I would call that a road bike with flat bars.Go for Schwalbe tyres superb.

Edited by macp on Saturday 29th May 20:09

[macp]

magpie215 said:

Hopefully next week my 2009 Sirrus Comp will arrive for my commuting needs :-)

will advise what it is like in comparison the the MTB on slicks that I have been using

The Sirrus is a good bike and well regarded.

[macp]

Galsia said:

macp said:

Galsia said:

Well I've finally gone out and brought a proper bicycle. I can't believe how light it is:



Its about 11kg, 27 speed with quickfire gears. Basically it seems to be a road bike with MTB handlebars. I dunno if it counts as a hybrid because I don't know the proper definition of one.

Its slightly more brown in colour than the picture shows and the metallic flake really sparkles when the sun hits it.

My commute on it only takes about 20 minutes which surprisingly is the same amount of time it takes in the car. Its only 3 miles each way but I'm quite unfit so its taken a bit of effort. I would never be able to do it on my old bike though. Done three days so far and I've really enjoyed it!

Tomorrow I'm going to buy some mudguards and a pannier rack. When these tyres burst, which will probably be soon judging by the amount of broken glass around here I'm gonna get some of those new-fangled kevlar tyre thingies.

Oh, I got myself a decent helmet too.

Nice looking machine that whats the build like ?
I would call that a road bike with flat bars.Go for Schwalbe tyres superb.

Edited by macp on Saturday 29th May 20:09

You mean the quality? Seems pretty well built to me. Its quite light though so I'm careful about kerbs and potholes. I'm just paranoid about glass which seems to litter the whole journey to work.

Just had a look at some tyres on Evans Cycles. Is there a particular tyre that you recommend? I want something that is pratically puncture-proof and has a very low rolling resistance.

Thanks.

Yes sorry I was talking about quality.

Just found this link on a forum to anti puncture tyres,loads of info.Im using Schwalbe Cityjets on my MTB which are superb but I guess you are running 700x23C wheels.

https://www.lfgss.com/thread5985.html

Hope it helps.