New Bike Advice

[mjcneat]

Due to an office move reducing my commute from 20 miles to 9.5, I have decided to start cycling to work again. I used to do around 7 each way a few years ago but have got rather unfit having got rid of my old bike and now need to buy a new one.

Requirements:
Hybrid style (i.e. flat bars/upright position)
700x32-35c tyres
Pannier rack and mud guard fittings / or comes with
Able to take the weight of a fat bloke!

My budget all in is around £800 but this is to include pedals/pannier bags, shoes, lights etc. Already have the clobber. I reckon that will leave around £600 for the actual bike. Obviously the less amount spent the better.

I have checked out the usual suspects Evans/Wiggle/Planet X but nothing has caught my fancy. It needs to be capable of managing around 100 miles per week, be comfortable and fit the above.

Any suggestions?

[anonymous-user]

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/hybrid-bikes...

[jamiebae]

Canyon have some really good looking stuff which fits the bill:

https://www.canyon.com/en-gb/urban/commuter/commut...

https://www.canyon.com/en-gb/urban/urban/urban-5-0...

[SixPotBelly]

I'd suggest the Pinnacle Lithium, but you say you've already checked out Evans.

[PeteSV]

http://www.saracen.co.uk/bikes/road/road/hack/hack...

And with many shops offering 15% worth of free stuff with new bikes it may all come in on budget.

[Kell]

Are you hampered by any ride-to-work schemes?

i.e. do you have to use Evans/Halfords? Or is this an entirely private purchase and you have total freedom?

[pembo]

You could have a look at these too:
http://www.mangobikes.co.uk/bikes/point-ar-all-rou...
Seems to fit the bill below the budget and I was quite impressed with them for the money when I was at the bike show, considering one for MrsPembo.

[anonymous-user]

Wow, those Canyons are

[Kell]

The Canyons do look cool, but I keep hearing horror stories of their delivery times and their attitude to customer service.

Decathlon's B'Twin Triban range normally gets really positive reviews for their out-and-out road bikes.

They do do a couple of version with flat bars, but no disc brakes.

(clicky pics)

The Triban 540 at £500



And the Triban 520 at £380

Edited by Kell on Wednesday 11th May 13:01

[Pieman68]

http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/

Were fantastic when I was looking for one and was built properly before shipping. Just had to fit bars, pedals and front wheel

If you don't have to have the very latest variant there are some great deals on there. I got the GT Transeo 3.0 with front suspension so that I have the option to do the towpath if I fancy it, but is excellent on the road as well with suspension locked

2014 Transeo 1.0 looks a good buy at £480 but I couldn't justify the extra

And I'm 6ft 2 and 19 stone so needed something substantial

[TwistingMyMelon]

canyons look ace, but again Id check waiting time, look a bit too "nice" to commute on if you get me, I really abuse my commuters!

First reply linked a Kona Dew, I had one and it was an ace buy for £300 for commuting , you could just use the rest to replace bits when they go

[mjcneat]

Thanks for all the replies. I'll try and reply in order.

As nice as the Boardman and 13 ranges look, I have personally had awful bikes and service from Halfords in the past so they are a no go.

Canyon bikes do look good but pretty sure I read (on here?) that their service is awful. I need to have the bike in the next month ideally ready for the end of June so may be out of the question anyway.

SixPotBelly - that Pinnacle Lithium range does look quite nice upon closer inspection. I am going shopping this weekend and there is an Evans in Manchester so I will pop in - thanks for the suggestion.

PeteSV - Not too keen on the look of that bike.

Kell - Private purchase. I can use www.cyclescheme.co.uk through work but would rather just pay for everything and avoid messing about with the payment to extend the loan etc at the end of the term. There is a Decathlon near where I work now so may pop in and have a look. I have read good things and that Triban 540 is within budget and looks like it would do the job.

[scrwright]

Have a look at the Giant Rapid range, just got my eldest a Rapid 1, only on 28's but very comfy over the rough stuff,

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-gb/bikes/model/ra...

[mjcneat]

I went and had a look at the Triban 520 and 540 at Decathlon today, very impressed with both. I was amazed at how light the 520 felt. It was only a flying visit so I will need to go back and check them out in more detail.

My LBS is a Giant stockist (as well as Trek) so going to check out their ranges this weekend.

[Watchman]

mjcneat said:

Requirements:
Hybrid style (i.e. flat bars/upright position)
700x32-35c tyres
Pannier rack and mud guard fittings / or comes with
Able to take the weight of a fat bloke!

My budget all in is around £800 but this is to include pedals/pannier bags, shoes, lights etc. Already have the clobber. I reckon that will leave around £600 for the actual bike. Obviously the less amount spent the better.

I have checked out the usual suspects Evans/Wiggle/Planet X but nothing has caught my fancy. It needs to be capable of managing around 100 miles per week, be comfortable and fit the above.

Any suggestions?

You say you've checked Planet X but I reckon you could build a London Road for £600 with flat bars, hydraulic discs and a reasonable level of kit, leaving you with £200 for the other bits you say you need. Shame they have recently levelled the prices of the blue-frame one - it was being offered at half price (£150) until a couple of weeks ago.

For £350, the Chinese carbon CX frames on Ebay look useful. You could always put flat bars on those. I quite fancy building one, with the Chinese carbon wheels, the On-One Og handlebar (in carbon - whenever it comes back into stock) and load of other Chinese kit. I'm fairly sure you could build one for a little budget creep.

[mjcneat]

Ended up going to my LBS yesterday (www.cooksoncycles.co.uk) - great service from Sean the owner. Purchased a 2016 Trek Allant 7.2 in blue. Would have gone for the black but only 3 left in Europe in my size and none in the UK. Pannier racks, pair of Thule pannier bags, USB front and rear lights, M520 pedals and some new shoes, all for just under £760.

Anyone in the Manchester area - give them a visit. Pick it up next weekend so very happy .