New commuter

[AyBee]

I've just managed to get myself an internship in london and this means I'll need to commute about 10 miles or so I imagine. Now, the tube is going to cost me £100/month which is ridiculous so I'm tempted to take a bike and cycle instead. I don't want to be too precious about my bike (my normal roadie and mountainbike are too nice to commute on and store outside so I'm thinking about building/finding a cheap single-speed (for maintenance issues). I currently have an old road bike (Dawes) which is about 10 years old and would probably do for a base conversion with the addition of new brakes/cables (although I've always had issues with the threaded headset). What would people recommend? Find a newer frame to build up or try this frame with either a new headset or would an a-head converter solve my issues with the headset getting loose?

[AyBee]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Thanks for the suggestion. It's a bit on the high side though, I'm not getting paid very much and also, it needs to be kept outside I think so I don't want it looking very nice...May even vinyl wrap (/electrical tape wrap) whatever it is I get to make it look a little less nice

[AyBee]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Umm:
New forks: £30
Brakes: £50
Headset: £15
Bar tape: £5
Sundries: £20

£120?

Don't get me wrong, it looks like an awesome bike for the money and I will definitely consider it!

[louiebaby]

This might be worth a look if it's a shortish internship...

http://www.btwincycle.com/EN/vitamin-100634901/

I wouldn't expect them to last forever though...

[walm]

Second hand Langster (the mondeo of single speeds)?
£230
http://www.gumtree.com/london/97/67168597.html
£240
http://www.gumtree.com/london/90/67165090.html
£190
http://www.gumtree.com/london/06/67006006.html

[AyBee]

walm said:

Second hand Langster (the mondeo of single speeds)?
£230
http://www.gumtree.com/london/97/67168597.html
£240
http://www.gumtree.com/london/90/67165090.html
£190
http://www.gumtree.com/london/06/67006006.html

Is the langster a better bike than the Kona? Have found it for the same price as the Kona...! Still undecided on the buying new, but then it's only 3.5/4 months of monthly tube tickets and it's paid for itself...

[walm]

AyBee said:

walm said:

Second hand Langster (the mondeo of single speeds)?
£230
http://www.gumtree.com/london/97/67168597.html
£240
http://www.gumtree.com/london/90/67165090.html
£190
http://www.gumtree.com/london/06/67006006.html

Is the langster a better bike than the Kona? Have found it for the same price as the Kona...! Still undecided on the buying new, but then it's only 3.5/4 months of monthly tube tickets and it's paid for itself...

Steel (Kona) vs. Aluminium and Carbon Fork (Langster).
Apparently this is a big deal for some...
Kona RRPs for more: £550 vs. £450 so your resale might be better on the Kona.

Frankly most important thing is that one is LOUD metallic mint and the other is stealth matt black.

[Raven Flyer]

Or get an Oyster card.

https://oyster.tfl.gov.uk/oyster/entry.do

[AyBee]

Raven Flyer said:

Or get an Oyster card.

https://oyster.tfl.gov.uk/oyster/entry.do

It's still £99 monthly, i.e. The bikes discussed above would pay for themselves in 4 months and the bike would still have value at the end of it...! Not really much comparison for me - lemming crammed in the tube or a ride along the river at my own pace...

[AyBee]

walm said:

AyBee said:

walm said:

Second hand Langster (the mondeo of single speeds)?
£230
http://www.gumtree.com/london/97/67168597.html
£240
http://www.gumtree.com/london/90/67165090.html
£190
http://www.gumtree.com/london/06/67006006.html

Is the langster a better bike than the Kona? Have found it for the same price as the Kona...! Still undecided on the buying new, but then it's only 3.5/4 months of monthly tube tickets and it's paid for itself...

Steel (Kona) vs. Aluminium and Carbon Fork (Langster).
Apparently this is a big deal for some...
Kona RRPs for more: £550 vs. £450 so your resale might be better on the Kona.

Frankly most important thing is that one is LOUD metallic mint and the other is stealth matt black.

I had noted the frame materials but then components are also important. I'm not a big fan of the Kona colour purely from a stand out point of view but I may be able to wrap it in a tape of some sort to make it look a bit more tatty Out of interest, has anyone ever done this?

[okgo]

Not sure where your internship is going to be mate, but to be honest I wouldn't worry about leaving a Kona SS out in the racks locked up. Outside many major office buildings there are some fery nice bikes locked up. Canary Wharf the other day I saw some guy getting off a Focus Cayo and locking it up, and he put it next to a Bianchi that was well north of £1000, and this was in the street. Get a decent lock and I think you'll be fine on anything, probably even your roady tbh.

[AyBee]

I did check out some of the bikes locked up outside and they didn't look too nice. Want a SS just so I don't have to bother with maintenance and where it's kept. I'd be worrying about my roadie (which is north of £1000).

[walm]

AyBee said:

walm said:

AyBee said:

walm said:

Second hand Langster (the mondeo of single speeds)?
£230
http://www.gumtree.com/london/97/67168597.html
£240
http://www.gumtree.com/london/90/67165090.html
£190
http://www.gumtree.com/london/06/67006006.html

Is the langster a better bike than the Kona? Have found it for the same price as the Kona...! Still undecided on the buying new, but then it's only 3.5/4 months of monthly tube tickets and it's paid for itself...

Steel (Kona) vs. Aluminium and Carbon Fork (Langster).
Apparently this is a big deal for some...
Kona RRPs for more: £550 vs. £450 so your resale might be better on the Kona.

Frankly most important thing is that one is LOUD metallic mint and the other is stealth matt black.

I had noted the frame materials but then components are also important. I'm not a big fan of the Kona colour purely from a stand out point of view but I may be able to wrap it in a tape of some sort to make it look a bit more tatty Out of interest, has anyone ever done this?

Lots do where I park. Some guy painted his hybrid a sort of bogey-yellow with what looks like paint you would use on the outside of your house.
So thick that it is hanging off in clumps.

I wonder if the stand out colour actually makes it LESS worth stealing since it probably has less of a market than a Langster. A more discerning buyer shall we say.

I have a similar coloured bike and it looks like crap most of the time since the dirt in London clings to it and with winter here it won't ever stay clean for long.
Either way make sure you can undo any downgrading tape you apply.

On the components, there didn't seem to be much in it.
I probably prefer the sugino crankset from the FSA but my FSA cranks have been fine.
Standard tektro brakes vs. Spesh own label. Meh.
Formula hubs vs. ? on the Langster.
Same rims.
Same 42:16 ratio.

[esuuv]

Problem with commuting on a bike to save money is that basically you wont.

New job in London and you're young - you'll end up going out, a lot - which will involve getting the tube home - then the tube back in the next morning to collect your bike. You'll spend half of what the season ticket costs on payg trips, plus if you have a season ticket you can use it at the weekends. Once you've factored in all the shiny things everyone buys that you "need" to commute then it wont save you any money.

Cycling is good - I cycle most days from Canary Wharf to the west end - but its really no cheaper, I have a reasonable mountain bike (£800) and I use that on road tyres, couple of decent locks and it lives outside in the street in the day with no problems at all so far - I've even in a rush forgotten to take the lights off in the morning and they were still there when I got back in the evening (am sure this was more luck than anything else!!)

[okgo]

Agree at £100 its not worth it.

For me its £200 per month if I choose to do it, which is when cycling does become cheaper.

But as I told my mate, to eqaul the cost of a 365 day season ticket you only need to pay peak travel card price 130 times...

[AyBee]

The thing is, I have everything else...so shoes, pedals, coat, helmet, locks, cycling gear isn't an extra cost for me. Am I really going to end up spending £99/month using the tube over the weekends? I doubt it but happy to hear the thoughts of others...

ETA: Peak return using oyster card in zones 1-2 is £4.60 - so I'd have to do ~20 extra return journeys over the period of the month to get close to the tube monthly ticket. I highly doubt I'll be doing that on the basis that my pay as an intern is tiny...

Edited by AyBee on Thursday 21st October 12:19

[cheadle hulme]

AyBee said:

would an a-head converter solve my issues with the headset getting loose?

No. they join the fork steerer in exactly the same way as a quill stem. Gives you more choice and adjustability though.

I converted this old shed (Gumtree, £40) into a SS for around £150. Much nicer than an off the shelf bike. Flexible steel frame so rubbish acceleration, but oh so comfy.

Edit - the [pic] tags have defeated me!

Edited by cheadle hulme on Thursday 21st October 12:25

[walm]

Just cycle home no matter what.
Every time I wake up in the morning and think DAMN it's cold, dark, wet etc... I then think how much I would like £8 more in my pocket (the cost of a return PAYG commute for me).
Literally EVERY time I follow these thoughts by cycling in, by the time I reach work I am in a great mood, feeling buoyed up ready to attack the day head on.
When I break and take the train/tube I feel dirty and poor(er).

That said, there are SOME consumable costs: inner tubes, chain, cables, new shoes, inevitable bling/upgrades.
Also, you might get run over and it does snow sometimes.