UKC

It's about time I leave the road bike at home and get a proper commuter. Doing a round trip of 20 miles per/day.

- Budget ~£1000
- ideally pannier eyelets
- disc brakes
- ideally nice looking (of course!)
- preferably a compact but not essential

I've been considering cyclocross bikes with eyelets as I do a bit of tri and would be up for trying cyclocross out too. Bikes that have caught my eye:

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/trek/73-fx-2015-hybrid-bike-ec068198#fe... (love the internal cabling but caliper brakes)

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/specialized/diverge-2015-adventure-road...

In reply to Voltemands:

My wife has a Kinesis FiveT cyclocross bike that she uses as a winter/commuting/touring bike. Has eyelets for panniers and there's a disc brake version which is slightly over £1K - the £1K version has caliper brakes.

In reply to Voltemands:

http://boardmanbikes.com/cx/cx_team.html

In reply to Voltemands:
Have you seen the Evans/Pinnacle thing that has a single chainring up front and a wide cassette at the back? Less to go wrong - I think it's the Arkose 2:


http://www.evanscycles.com/products/pinnacle/arkose-two-2015-adventure-road...

- but the Arkose 3 has £150 off if you're the right size:

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/pinnacle/arkose-three-2014-cyclocross-b...

In reply to Voltemands:

I rode many thousands of kms commuting on a Felt flat bar sports hybrid a bit like that Trek. It was a great bike in many ways but if you go for a flat bar I would definitely make sure you get hydraulic disc brakes - it's much cheaper on a flat bar because they just use MTB ones but they work SO well. I changed that bike for Boardman CX Comp (cheapest one), very good in many ways but with cable disc brakes (BB5s) are not as good and are more fiddly than the Deore level hydraulics on the older Felt. Its the brakes I miss most on the Boardman.

I've now ridden the CX for over two years and it is great - very multipurpose, I don't use panniers but you could. I would look for a CX bike (or maybe one of these new fangled "adventure road" bikes that look pretty much the same as the less racey, more multipurpose cheaper CX bikes) but if you can afford it, go for a model with hydraulic brakes - more and more are available on drop bars.

My conclusion was the drop bars on a CX gave about 2-3 kmph higher average speed for no more effort. Not much on one journey, but a time saving if you are riding 2-3 000 kms a year as I seem to do.

In reply to Voltemands:

The first bike looks crap - I would never go back to rim brakes for commuting and you are correct to have discs on your list.

If you were shopping at Evans you could look at this - it has hydraulic discs:
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/pinnacle/arkose-two-2015-adventure-road...

I wouldn't buy a cross bike as a commuter if I was buying now (and I've been commuting for years on a Croix de Fer). For a start I wouldn't want to use knobbly tyres if I was mainly committing on roads as they feel sketchy, so you'd have to swap to a heavy duty road tyre.

Eyelets are not essential. I fitted SKS mudguards to my cross bike and it is such a faff, the front one is impossible because it interferes with the disc, and they are ridiculously heavy - I wouldn't do it again. Instead you can get much better mudguards that fit to the seat stay and fork, well out of the way of the discs. Luckily anyway it has been much drier this year and you can get away without guards.

The Specialized looks nice but [broken record time] the groupset is shit. I think it would be daft to economise a bit and get a poor groupset given you can now easily get 105 on sub-grand bikes.

Anyway, for £1000 I would probably get the GT Grade. Looks amazing. In fact I want one.

Canyon Inflite also looks amazing but I think they are web only.

Also the Whyte commuter/urban bikes look nice.

If you wanted more of a road bike the Ribble winter bike might be worth a look - has guards and 105 for about 700quid I think.

In reply to TobyA:

BB5s aren't particularly well regarded, I've BB7s on my commuter (On-one Pompetamine) and they are fine, easy to set up and adjust and with decent stopping power.

To Andy:

Interesting to see 1x10 crossing over from mountain bikes. Even on MTBs it's pretty niche and not everyone gets on with it.

In reply to andy:

The more I look at the arkose 2 the more it looks amazing. I think I would choose it over the more expensive 3 for the hydraulics and the lack of front shifter. 38-11 is quite low for shifting it on the road though perhaps??

In reply to Bob:

Thanks Bob, yep I've actually even looked at the cost of a set of BB7 as I've heard much the same as you.

What I would say about the BB5s is that when set up perfectly, they are actually really good. But they somehow get out of that shape really easily and as I'm mainly commuting on that bike (i.e. get home knackered, forget about the bike until having to get back on it in the dark at 0730 the next morning) it often means you notice that the brakes aren't working so well while riding down a steep hill and having to brake when car pulls out! A twiddle of the red wheel on the brakes normally helps, but it easy to do it too much [some rubbing/drag particularly if your wheels are well used and not perfectly true] or not enough - no appreciable increase in braking power.

With the hydraulics on my old Felt, from -20 to +30, they always worked absolutely fine. I bled them maybe twice or three times in 5 years, and rarely had to replace the pads because they self equalise so wear equally. The BB5s don't equalise so you seem to wear on pad faster than the other.

But yeah - the OP should at least go for a bike with BB7s, but hydraulics might be even nicer!

In reply to Stig:

I think it looks really nice too, but have never tried a bar end shifter. Seems to be in the wrong place as my hands are never anywhere near that, and I think I change gear a lot.

I bought a Boardman CX Team on the 'seconds' section of the Halfords' website and now after a year or so, I still can't believe how good it is as a winter/wet weather bike.

I fitted a set of SKS guards (using plastic cable ties on the front fork) and some Schwalbe Durano tyres.

It's brilliant and with lights, pedals and rack would still be under your £1000 budget.

In reply to Stig: I commute on a single speed so have (I think) 38-16 - that lets me pootle along at 15-16mph ok, so 38-11 should be fine, I'd have thought.

Alternatively save up another grand and get a Rose DX-pro 3100 (my latest N+1) - alu frame, but Ultegra Di2 and hydraulic discs, DT Swiss wheelset etc for £1900! I've put 28mm tubeless tyres on it and it's grand.

In reply to TobyA:

Yeah that seems ripe for improvement/innovation. It would be better with some sort of modified rapid-fire shifter integrated with the right hand lever. Or a hydraulic lever with road style shift? not sure if that would be possible.

In reply to andy:

Please don't, I am already fantasising about my next purchase and I only bought a bike in September. Though, how do you find the alu frame. I got the impression Rose bikes are already pretty stiff? But I guess that's why you went for 28mm?

In reply to Stig:

I've also looked at the Arkose 2, I think it looks fantastic. Sorely tempted by one.

Yes, the limitations of 38-11 would probably be noticeable on the road (38-11 would give you about a 92 inch high gear, a standard road set up of 50 - 12 would give you about 111 inch gear).

However, I wouldn't buy this and expect the same gearing as a road bike, its a different animal. The beauty of the bike is it simplicity, and relatively low weight (for the price). I think you would become accustomed to bar end shifter pretty quick, and adapt to ride in a more 'single speed' shift less style.

In reply to Stig:


Buts that's why they can sell it for £850. Start putting hydraulic brifters on (as per the arkose 4) then the price goes up well over £1K.

In reply to Stig:
I put the 28mm tyres on as they're about the thinnest the wheels will take safely - they're CX wheels and the supplied tyres are 34mm I think.

But I've not noticed any real difference (only had it a few weeks and I tend to ride my "other" winter bike (a Ribble Sportive 365) quite a lot if I'm going out with the fast lads), but I love the braking on the Rose - which is helpful as I'm probably the most tentative descender on the planet.

In reply to Phil79:

Those newish style hydraulic brakes where the reservoir is on the caliper and is activated by a standard cable seem the obvious solution. Had a look at the GT bike Stig mentioned earlier where they do one with 105 gears and hydraulic brakes using that system for under a 1000 - they do look very good!

In reply to Voltemands:

Do it. I got a Cross bike about 10 months ago. £500 from Wiggle for a Verenti Substance Steel with disc brakes and have done more miles on that than the road or the MTB bike this year. It's my rough ground, tow path, cycle path, rough roads, good roads, wet roads, dry roads, busy roads, quiet roads commuter all year round. Now sporting a full rear mud guard. I'm looking forward to taking it touring sometime too as it has all the attachment points to make panniers etc. possible (as well as the mudguard)

In reply to TobyA:

Yes, I looked at a Whyte Dorset road bike with TRP mech/hydro discs. It does look like a good compromise, reviews indicate *almost* as good as full hydraulics in terms of modulation/power. Better than cable discs anyway.

Still, I do like the look of the Arkose, something about the simplicity of 1X10 or 1x11 that appeals.

In reply to Voltemands:

I've been commuting on a cross bike for about 6 months now, love it. I got a Focus Mares Ax from Edinburgh Cycles in a sale and it's been great. Mine has caliper brakes, but the disc version still comes in under your budget.

I've used mine for commuting, as well as some quite rough and muddy off road stuff and never found it wanting. Very comfy over the bumps as well.

http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/products/focus-mares-ax-3-0-disc-15?bct=bro...

The 50/34 chainring is great for pace on the road but I'm not sure whether this model has pannier eyelets unfortunately, kind of looks like it in the photo though.

In reply to Voltemands:

Wow. A wealth of advice and recommendations. Thanks a lot.

In reply to Jim Lancs:

I have come across this via a forum search. the only thing that put me off was the mech disc brakes. seems a great bike otherwise.

In reply to andy:

This manufacturer hasn't been on my radar tbh. Though they look good for the price. I'll pop these Arkose models on my comparison list.

In reply to Stig:

To be honest with you, the knobbly tyres is one of the reasons I'm looking at bikes with a greater diamter rim. I'm currently on 23c commuter tyres which don't inspire much confidence. And I ride almost 100% regardless of weather. The only exception being severe weather warnigns where it sounds totally idiotic to go out. I really want to have some chunky knobbly ice tyres in the cupboard.

The GT sora and 105 are great aesthetically. Love the colours. Spec looks good to, too my limited knowldge of these things.

In reply to andy:

I've got pretty good legs on me. Probably average about 19/20mph if traffic lights are kind to me. Would I find myself spinning out a lot with this limited range?

In reply to Stig:

Ah, I was unaware that was a notoriously bad groupset. Thansk for the info.

In reply to Voltemands:


Doubt it - I almost never have my road bike in 50-11 on the flat (probably 50-14) and happily tool along in a group at well over 25mph. On my single speed I seem to spin out at about 17mph, and that's far lower geared than the Pinnacle.

In reply to Phil79:

I've a 1x10 setup on my MTB, like you say the simplicity is appealing (so much so that the guy who built it converted his bike to 1x10!) 1x11 is currently an SRAM only thing though it's possible that someone has hacked together a Shimano version. The SRAM 11sp cassette is a thing of beauty but it's really expensive for what is a consumable.

To the OP:

a commuter bike just wants to be a dependable workhorse rather than a finicky thoroughbred. Tiagra is more than good enough as a groupset and you'll be much less worried about it in dodgy conditions. If you get a basic bike that you can add [insert your upgrade component here] to at a later date then you will be fine. Don't get hung up on tyres - easy enough to swap, the standard for durability seem to be Schwalbe Marathons which is what I run with. About a third of my commute is on canal tow path and they cope with that OK but become a bit dodgy in six inch mud .

In reply to Voltemands:


It's actually quite new, but is their cheap end groupset. I've got Sora on my CX, one or two steps up from Claris. It's OK, but not nearly as nice as the 105 on my road bike. If you can get Tiagra or 105, you'd appreciate it I think.

Have you looked at the Planet X options? They are generally seen as super good value although they are using the SRAM group sets which I don't know.
http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBPXLDNRIV/planet-x-london-road-sram-rival-22-... Looks very sensible. They do a commuter version of the XLS CX bike for 100 quid less than that too, and it has a carbon frame.

In reply to Voltemands:

Claris isn't notoriously bad - it's Shimano's entry level road gear. For that price however, I would expect most road bikes to have Sora which will be a bit harder wearing. I agree with Bob though - look for Tiagra kit if poss as it is perfectly adequate for commuting and in my experience lasts a long time. (but Shimano trickle down their tech every year so Tiagra is probably better now than 105 was a couple of years ago!)

I do have knobbly CX tyres on my cross bike at the moment as most of my normal commute is off road and pretty muddy/soft/gravelly. However they don't really inspire confidence on the road especially when it is wet and especially if wet and cold. I commute all year round as well and if I was on the road > 80% of the time I would keep my 25c slick tyres on. Sounds like Swalbe Marathons or Conti gator skins would be about right for winter commuting.

Regarding the gearing on the Pinnacle - maybe get down to Evans and have a ride? I've never ridden these new fangled single chainring bikes so take what I say with a pinch of salt!

In reply to Bob:

I agree. I've Tiagra on my Trek 1.5, why has performed excellently through my maintanence-neglect and rain or shine. The Mrs has Sora and mine has definitely lasted better, still much smoother shifting after an almost identical mileage.

My last tyres were the mara plus, used 'em until you could see the blue Kevlar underneath! Using Gatorskins currently, don't think much too them.

In reply to TobyA:

Talk about visible!

In reply to Stig:

I would of course visit an outlet and try the bikes in real life. I've only ever bought off line without seeing 1st once, and that was because I saved 50%+ on RRP.

Interesting that you say that. I find slick far less comfortable in the wet. I swear I can at times feel the front end skip/slide. Though not with say the mara plus. Probably all into head.

In reply to Voltemands:

In theory on a decent road surface slicks should perform better as they have a greater surface area in contact with the road. Tread on car tyres enables the tyre to act like a pump, helping to remove the layer of water between road and tyre. I imagine that bikes don't go fast enough/have enough surface area to make this process efficient.

In reply to Voltemands:

" . . . the only thing that put me off was the mech disc brakes . . ."

I don't know why. There's plenty of videos about how to set them up easily with a business card spacer that allows them to then work perfectly for months before needing another 2 minute adjustment. Even BB5s.

In reply to Voltemands:
If I was going to buy a commuter now I'd probably get a Charge Grater - http://www.chargebikes.com/grater/grater-3

8 speed Alfine, Al frame, mudguards, flat bars, hydraulic discs, 32c tires. Perfect for all year round commuting and not bad for £750. Although if they did one of these with a steel frame from the Plug series I'd be all over it!

In reply to Jim Lancs:


IF you can get months without needing adjustment out of my BB5s Jim, I'd buy you a pint!

In reply to Voltemands:

I've been using a Specialized Sirrus for 4 years now and it's been a fabulous bike. The disc version comes in about £600 which isn't bad as I paid £500 for mine with v-brakes. I'd happily buy another, but this one has a good few years left in it.

Blackburn rack on the back and Schwlbe Marathon 28's on the wheels. Never had any problems other than the usual maintenance.

In reply to thedatastream:

It seems they've given up on the steel version - http://www.wiggle.co.uk/charge-mixer-8-special-edition-2013/

Which is a shame as I've got one and it's brilliant.

In reply to wilkesley:

that makes sense.

In reply to Removed User:

Great. Thanks for the feedback. They do look nice.

In reply to Jim Lancs:

I've simply never heard much good about them and my mechanical skills are less than ideal for someone who has as much £ in bikes as I have already. I've planned to remedy this for some time but I'm currently writing a dissertation.

In reply to Voltemands:

I'd say the best options look like the Arkose Two and GT grade so far. Think i'll start keeping an eye out for sales.

Just a shame the GT grade tiagra is white. My mrs has a white commuter and it's a real ballache for me to clean.