Bike stolen, now I need a replacement, but what!?!

[pembo]

I started commuting to work on my bike about 3 months ago and have been loving the way it wakes me up in the morning and has helped my fitness improve in a big way.

The girlfriend has started commuting by bike as well so last night I popped over to her work to ride home with her and get a quick trim for the weekend (hairdresser). After locking my bike up to hers I came out 20 mins later to find mine had gone!

So, it looks like I need a new bike, I'm on a bit of a limited budget (£500 absolute max) but want something decent enough to survive:
4 mile commute
a bit of off road/hills
a bit of fun at the weekend
left out and used in all weather

My last bike was a 2006 TREK 4300 and that was great for what I do, looked at a direct replacement and it looke like they have gone up by about £100 to £450 since I got mine so what alternatives are there?

I have been looking at the following, any advice would be greatly appreciated:
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?Mod...
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?Mod...
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?Mod...

[anonymous-user]

pembo said:

I started commuting to work on my bike about 3 months ago and have been loving the way it wakes me up in the morning and has helped my fitness improve in a big way.

The girlfriend has started commuting by bike as well so last night I popped over to her work to ride home with her and get a quick trim for the weekend (hairdresser). After locking my bike up to hers I came out 20 mins later to find mine had gone!

So, it looks like I need a new bike, I'm on a bit of a limited budget (£500 absolute max) but want something decent enough to survive:
4 mile commute
a bit of off road/hills
a bit of fun at the weekend
left out and used in all weather

My last bike was a 2006 TREK 4300 and that was great for what I do, looked at a direct replacement and it looke like they have gone up by about £100 to £450 since I got mine so what alternatives are there?

I have been looking at the following, any advice would be greatly appreciated:
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?Mod...
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?Mod...
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?Mod...

no bike will survive being left out all winter. you will need to cover it with a well fitting plastic sheet and keep the components moving and lubed.

as to the bikes, they are all much the same, as are most bikes at that price which will have very similar spec so you wont go wrong with any of them. if you dont plan to do huge miles, fitting isnt really an issue so go for the one you like the look of. the stalethy forme is nice and subtle. cubes just shout "steal me" with their graphics and two tone tyres... also the cube is nearly 30 kgs though which is quite heavy and will be a slog off road but i doubt any others will be that much lighter.

[Sarkmeister]

Take a look at the Carrera Fury or Kraken at Halfords. If there is a sale on you may be able to get the Fury for less than £500.

[pembo]

pablo said:

no bike will survive being left out all winter. you will need to cover it with a well fitting plastic sheet and keep the components moving and lubed.

I thought this too but I accidentally left the trek outside under an apple tree at my mates house last winter (Nov-Apr) after a healthy dose of GT85 over the whole thing and it was pristine when I went back for it.

The new bike will be getting a nice cover or some shed space though but at work it will be outside in the daytime.

I didn't realise the cube was so heavy, I'll keep an eye out for that because I'd rather have less weight to shift up that hill on the way to work.

[The Walrus]

pablo said:

no bike will survive being left out all winter. you will need to cover it with a well fitting plastic sheet and keep the components moving and lubed.

as to the bikes, they are all much the same, as are most bikes at that price which will have very similar spec so you wont go wrong with any of them. if you dont plan to do huge miles, fitting isnt really an issue so go for the one you like the look of. the stalethy forme is nice and subtle. cubes just shout "steal me" with their graphics and two tone tyres... also the cube is nearly 30 kgs though which is quite heavy and will be a slog off road but i doubt any others will be that much lighter.

30 kgs I bloody hope not I think you meant 13 kgs no ? my old Hardrock pro is bloody heavy 16-17 kgs I think but once up and running you don't notice it too much.

[scrwright]

if you are on a budget look on the bay for a year old bike, just got a cube for 1/2 rrp as it was second hand, much better spec than I could afford new

[Rob81]

I think secondhand may be the way forward too. I have a 2010 Rockhopper which cost around £700. Ebay often has similar bike very lightly used for under £500.

[Gizmo!]

You could look on Gumtree and buy your old bike bck...

[pembo]

Haha, I'm keeping an eye on gumtree and ebay to see if mine comes up!

Also been looking there for my future bike but everything seems to be pretty far away and pick up only, being pretty picky about size probably isn't helping me either but I'll keep searching.

[pembo]

I always feel these should come with an ending so here is mine.

I decided to go for a new bike in the end but I reckon I ended up with a pretty good deal. I managed to pick up a Commencal Premier 27V at the massively reduced price of £320! It looks like they made a bit of a pricing error because as soon as my order went in the price jumped up to £499 so I was pretty happy with that.

I've been riding it to work all of this week and I'm feeling comfortable with it but the wider handlebars are taking a little getting used to! They seem to be considerably wider than anything I've used in the past which is fine but makes a couple of particularly narrow sections of my ride a little more tricky, especially in the dark!

I'm sure I'll get used to them though and I'm pretty happy with my bargain!

It's not a great picture but the only one I can get in the light with the winter drawing in, it's pretty muddy already so will be getting a clean and possibly a photoshoot tomorrow!

[yellowjack]

A plumber's pipe cutter and a set of Allen Keys will soon have your 'bar width issue' sorted. Remember, measure twice, cut once, as you can't put it back once you've cut it!

[Gizmo!]

Or buy a new bar. Easy enough.

[Mars]

The angle of the pic makes those bars look really narrow.