New bike advice please...?

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joe1978

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Hi folks,

With rising fuels prices and waistline I'm considering getting a bike to commute the 6.5 miles each way to my current place of work.

I'm looking for some advice for a bike about £500 to get me around and be suitable on forest paths too.

I think I like the look of these three but I'm not too sure which gives most bang for the buck so to speak:

Giant Roam 2

Specialized Crosstrail Sport Disc

Cube LTD CLS Pro

These are in the shortlist because the 2 nearest independents to work keep them!

Thanks for any expert advice, not had a bike since I was 18!!

Joe
 
My own feeling would be get a cheap bike for the commute, you've not been on a bike since you were 18. £500 is a lot to pay if you find it's not what it used to be. (Increase in traffic etc.)
 
Thanks for the replies!

munch said:
My own feeling would be get a cheap bike for the commute, you've not been on a bike since you were 18. £500 is a lot to pay if you find it's not what it used to be. (Increase in traffic etc.)
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I get where you're coming from munch. The MD (me) of the Ltd company that I work for is purchasing a pool bike for all employee's (me) to use, hence the getting carried away a little. :naughty:

I've scoped out the route and its about 70% cycle route so I'd only have 30% chance of getting killed by a motor! :nuts:

Joe
 
I got a specialised Tricross recently. My useage is about 80% on road, with 20% off. It excels at the onroad, and is strong enough for limited track riding.
 
Do you need front suspension for the commute? I'm no expert but are they not meant to sap a bit of power on the road as well as add weight?

I bought a (cheaper) Specialized hybrid recently and it is excellent on the road and good enough on fairly smooth woodland trails I use it on. Similar to you I had had a lengthy break from cycling and the new technology was a revelation (as well as a minefield).
 
Thats something i should have mentioned about the tricross - its got no suspension at all - so can be a bit rough off road.
 
Spuff said:
Do you need front suspension for the commute? I'm no expert but are they not meant to sap a bit of power on the road as well as add weight?

I bought a (cheaper) Specialized hybrid recently and it is excellent on the road and good enough on fairly smooth woodland trails I use it on. Similar to you I had had a lengthy break from cycling and the new technology was a revelation (as well as a minefield).
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The ones above you can lock the suspension when 100% on road preserving power (I only know this from the sales-person!!)

Cheers, keep opinions coming! lol
 
barneyrubble said:
Thats something i should have mentioned about the tricross - its got no suspension at all - so can be a bit rough off road.
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It's a cyclocross it's meant for off road. I've used 23mm tyres on a road bike on rough tracks before, so a cyclocross bike should lap it up.
 
It's arguable whether you need suspension on forest paths too. I don't remember suffering too much on my older mountain bikes without suspension whilst bombing through woods.

Entry level suspension forks are a lot better than they used to be but they still aren't that great, it will add to the comfort factor a little though. (as well as the weight)
 
redddraggon said:
It's a cyclocross it's meant for off road. I've used 23mm tyres on a road bike on rough tracks before, so a cyclocross bike should lap it up.
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Yes, I know its meant for off road, was just mentioning the fact that it has no suspension
 
dougietee said:
It's arguable whether you need suspension on forest paths too. I don't remember suffering too much on my older mountain bikes without suspension whilst bombing through woods.

Entry level suspension forks are a lot better than they used to be but they still aren't that great, it will add to the comfort factor a little though. (as well as the weight)
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I'm keeping that in mind too. I'm a big fan of buying once and buying right though. Be prepared and all that. :thumbs:

Joe
 
Take a look at Cycling Plus magazine or visit their web site -
www.bikeradar.com
 
munch said:
My own feeling would be get a cheap bike for the commute, you've not been on a bike since you were 18. £500 is a lot to pay if you find it's not what it used to be. (Increase in traffic etc.)
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£500 is a cheap bike! "Entry level" is what they are often referred to, for that very reason.
 
For me £500 is a lot for a bike. Amazon have several for under £100. I know how much bikes can cost and I know it can go into £1000's.
 
munch said:
For me £500 is a lot for a bike. Amazon have several for under £100. I know how much bikes can cost and I know it can go into £1000's.
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~Those things for £100 aren't bikes, they are "bike shaped objects". A friend from uni bought one, and they are nout but junk.
 
redddraggon said:
~Those things for £100 aren't bikes, they are "bike shaped objects". A friend from uni bought one, and they are nout but junk.
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Never a truer word spoken, if you really want to be put off cycling buy a £100 bike. If you want to stand a chance of enjoying cycling spend a bit more. :thumbs:

I'd see if you can ride any of the bikes you're interested in, a good local bike shop should let you.

I ride a Specialized Tricross and love it, but it does take a bit of confidence to ride well, it scared the hell out of me the first time I rode it, as I'd come from riding a big relatively heavy and stable mountain bike.
 
The cube and giant are in the same place and the specialized in a shop 100yds up the road. I'll give them all a go and see which one I like most.

Thanks loads.

Joe.
 
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Eileen had a £130 Toys r Us special and it was nothing more than junk and everything broke all the time so we got her a Dawes XC disc which is lower than £500 and it is an amazing bike for the money, light and strong and it goes on the odd off road trail and has never missed a beat if you are fancying a bike for around that sort of price have you thought about a Carrera Fury, they get fantastic write ups
 
A friends just got the Cube and it is a lovely piece of kit. As to having to spend £500 it depend on what you want, I've had this for 5 years and it's been faultless and also this as well.
 
Don't forget to budget for bits too...mudguards, helmet, decent lock, lights could easily be north of £100 before you've even considered clothing/shoes etc
 
Spuff said:
Don't forget to budget for bits too...mudguards, helmet, decent lock, lights could easily be north of £100 before you've even considered clothing/shoes etc
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A decent pump is pretty important - definitely worth getting a decent floor standing pump with pressure dial for regular use plus a compact one for emergency-only use.
 
I've been scoping around some websites. It seems bikes can be as much a money pit as photography!! ;)
 
I found the tricross an ideal bike for the commute, great on the tarmac (god my MTB seems hard work after the tricross) and can handle off road suprisingly well, one of the US bike mags did a review to see how hardy the tricross was and they found things started to get damaged beyond getting a couple of feet of air on the local trails!!! That sold it to me and I battered one with my 18stone on the commute for a year with no ill effects.
 
If you have an iPhone it’s worth having a look at http://www.screenmedia.mobi/apps I’ve just started cycling the 5 miles to work again and this little app is a beauty it tracks your distance, speed and time etc via gps tells you calories burned and plays your music along the way you can even look at a map of where you’ve been.

Also another thing to consider when you finally chose a bike is the saddle, make sure you choose one that’s not going to leave you standing up all day, I had to change mine after only a few trips as I couldn’t bear to sit down after a bike ride, I was in the same situation as you I hadn’t been on a bike for more years than I care to mention.
 
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any specialized should have their funky arse measuring stool. Its basically a bit of memory foam you sit on and it leaves an indentation of your 'sit' bones from this they can work out what width saddle you should have. Its really not a case of big fat arse needs a wide saddle and will make a hell of a lot of difference to the comfort of your bike, I'd budget about £40-50 for a saddle but you may get something back on the one the bike came with, if its new it should go in their cheapie odds and sods bin.
 
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