UKC

Hey, I need a bike for general nipping around the city. Something that won't be the end of the world if (when) it eventually gets nicked. Would mostly be for 1-2 mile journeys and occasional 6 mile round trip to work. Should I be looking at a road bike or a hybrid? I suppose something that I could use on gravel tracks if necessary would be good.

Cheers

In reply to cha1n:

Have you already got a bike, and if so what is it?

In reply to cha1n:

An inexpensive hybrid (700c wheels but not skinny ones) sounds best.

In reply to felt:

Thanks for your reply.

I have a specialized hardrock pro disc 2010 (can't remember the size off of the top of my head), that I've owned for 3 years and used only a handful of times. I had plans to take up mountain biking but am no longer interested in that. I plan to sell the mtb.

I quite like my vehicles to be mechanically sound but be able to be abused a little bit/don't care if they are a bit scratched up.

In reply to felt:

I had a 1990 Raleigh road bike that I salvaged from a skip but sold it before I bought my mtb. I quite liked it (possibly mostly because it was free) but it felt a bit fragile. If I went for a hybrid, what do you think is best regarding handlebar configurations? As many as possible? I'm thinking it would be nice to have the option to hold them differently but then again, I'll rarely be riding it for very long.

In reply to cha1n:
That you're giving up the MTB project and are a bit non-committAl about gravel ('I suppose') might mean a second-hand road bike is a good option, but with clearance for 28mm tyres. This would be fine on a lot of gravel but would shift it on the road.

Drops, I'd suggest.

In reply to cha1n:

Pretty much anything for those miles - a mile or two is only going to take you 10 minutes, if that. At an average city speed of 12 mph your commute is only going to take 15 minutes.

If it's flat, gears won't matter much. A fixie is a common choice with very little to go wrong, but arguably more likely to be stolen.

You're unlikely to use the drops much on a road bike, so common sense suggests a dull hybrid type or flat bar road-ish bike

If you want to buy new, something like this http://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-500-flat-bar-road-bike-black-id_8322664.h... or go to one of the bike-recycling projects and get something from there.

In reply to cha1n:

Use your mountain bike, maybe change the tyres.

In reply to cha1n:
For that sort of stuff I would buy one of these:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/vitus-bikes-dee-290-city-bike-2015/rp-pr...

Or a single speed cross bike....

In reply to cha1n:
A hybrid with fittings for rack & mudguards and no suspension.

That Triban looks very good but limited to 23c & 25c tyres.

Briefly had a go on one of these - very practical but it weighs a tonne so only if you have level access to storage and live somewhere flat!
http://elephantbike.co.uk/elephant-bike.html

In reply to cha1n:


A cyclocross with 28mm tyres gives you 95% of the performance of a road bike with ability to do soft off-road.

Don't mean to be dismissive but buying a road bike for 6 mile rides is like driving your Ferrari to the shops.

In reply to cha1n:

save your self some money and put hybrid tyres on your mountain bike!

I've never had my bike nicked and nothing stolen off it for years (I have anti theft bolts on my seat & axels and a good lock)

In reply to Sir Chasm:


Agree. Schwalbe City Jets are brill. I run them on a 20 year old Marin MTB and I don't need anything else.

In reply to cha1n:

For 1-2 mile journeys and the occasional 6 mile run is spend £50 on a used mountain bike from the small ads in the local paper....put some road tyres on it and all done....it's less likely to be nicked and you won't be worried about it when you leave it locked up somewhere! I used to get the train in an old job but ride 5 miles at the other end....I just locked the bike overnight on the station bike racks and got on it the next morning, it cost me about £30 all in and was great...

In reply to Dogwatch:



Hardly!

Moreover, I've got the sense he'll rather like it and will regret not buying one. A common enough phenomenon.

My road bike would go into a big sulk if only let out for 6 miles. And I am England's slowest road cyclist.

In reply to Dogwatch:

Yeah, me too. Before he knows it, 6 will become 9, then 20, 40, 62, &c.

Or perhaps it's just displaced wish-fulfilment for me as I lie stricken here with a nasty bout of flu.

In reply to cha1n:

regarding handle bars - for short commuter trips I'd have riser bars and a fairly upright cycling position, its safer as you can see the traffic better and vice versa and also more comfortable and slack geometry bikes with this type of bar tend to be more controllable also

In reply to cha1n:

Thanks for all the replies, this is really useful info.

I'm going to sell the mtb and use the money to go towards a new bike as the mtb is overkill (hydraulic disc brakes, front suspension, etc), and looks very attractive to steal.

I'd quite like a bike that someone would look at and decide that getting caught stealing it is not worth the hassle. I went for that approach with my car and I regularly leave unlocked by accident and nobody has bothered going in it, even when left in dodgy areas!

In reply to cha1n:
my commuter bike looks attractive to steal (its worth about £650 - marin san rafel DS3 - with rockshox paragon forks fitted after sale) but most the steal able stuff has security bolts on it and the lock is very good plus its insured. Plus give it a few years and it will look a lot less stealable.

disc brakes are not overkill, they've saved my bacon already and I wouldn't be without them on a bike now. I have front air suspension set quite stiff and I love it on my hybrid.

I also have a full susser at home but that is overkill for commuting

My previous commuter was more towards a racer geometry but still upright with straight bars, I much prefer my new one for cycling in traffic and on edinburghs pot holed and cobbled streets. Its also far superior having wider hybrid tyres on wet or icey surfaces.

In reply to cha1n:


At one time my girlfriend had a shiny new Merc and I had a rusting wreck. We'd lock valuables in mine. Twice her was broken into while mine parked next to it was ignored.

In reply to cha1n:

Right thanks for all the replies everyone. I've finally had a chance to look at some cheap second hand bikes in my area. What do the experts reckon to these (yes they are old and crap) in price ascending order:

https://www.gumtree.com/p/bicycles/good-quality-bike-brake-repair-needed-fr...

https://www.gumtree.com/p/bicycles/raleigh-esprit-frame-bike-minus-wheels-/...

https://www.gumtree.com/p/bicycles/men-s-raleigh-pioneer-commuter-hybrid-to...

https://www.gumtree.com/p/bicycles/beautiful-vintage-bike/1166127475

https://www.gumtree.com/p/bicycles/vintage-bike/1165024801

https://www.gumtree.com/p/bicycles/holdsworth-road-bike-new-alloy-wheels.-o...

https://www.gumtree.com/p/bicycles/classic-racing-bike-triumph-with-sprint-...

https://www.gumtree.com/p/bicycles/vintage-peugeot-road-bicycle-/1166855459

https://www.gumtree.com/p/bicycles/road-vintage-bike-60-inch-frame/11670951...

https://www.gumtree.com/p/bicycles/classic-emmelle-bike-bicycle/1167095838

https://www.gumtree.com/p/bicycles/c-nc-special-/1167977912

https://www.gumtree.com/p/bicycles/gents-3-speed-bike/1167691697

Not sure what frame size I should be looking at, I'm about 6 foot in height.

In reply to CurlyStevo:

Hi, having read this posting I am interested in buying some security bolts for my mountain bike. Any recommendations?

In reply to cha1n:

I'd be pretty wary buying a bike off Gumtree. Its a fence site for stolen gear, especially other people's bikes. I'm sure there is legit stuff amongs on there amongst the hooky gear, first one looks okay.

D

In reply to Dauphin:

Yeh, I'm fairly sure my mtb was previously stolen (bought it from a gumtree ad) but I didn't realise until I went to clean it 6 months later and the area of the frame under where the pedals go through appears to have been slightly sanded down. I guess there's usually a frame number of some sort there? Who knows but seemed pointless to try and do anything about it as I was part-way through a long road trip in Europe and didn't fancy losing out on the £250+ I spent on it either. This time around I won't be buying off of sketching looking guys on council estates, lesson learned.

I liked the look of the first one the least, any particular reason it looks good? Cheers.

In reply to cha1n:

Those sort of miles I'd go cheap n cheerful road bike, someone else has suggested Decathalon. But a second hand bike for say 100 quid would do the job for,you.