Cycling to work..

DermotFlanigan

I have decided to invest in a bike and start cycling to work.

I spend around a tenner a week on parking and fuel for work so in the long run it will save me money and help my waistline

I basically want some advice on what to buy? It has been over 10 years since I last owned a bike as a kid.

I've seen this bike on the argos website...

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/3322462/Trail/searchtext%3EMUDDYFOX.htm

Seems quite a good deal, does anyone know any other places that I would get something decent.

benjus

I wouldn't go for a cheap bike personally - it's a false economy. I had a terrible cheap mountain bike from Halfords (their Apollo range) for my first year of cycle commuting. The damn thing was always failing and being repaired (pretty much every time they tried to get out of repairing it under warranty and blamed me for the problem). When it failed for the nth time after almost a year I marched in and demanded a full refund - they put up a little resistance then gave in.

You need to think about what kind of terrain you'll be riding on - road, towpath, off-road, etc. If you're staying on road all the time I'd personally recommend a road-style hybrid such as the Specialized Sirrus range. Otherwise you could get a mountain bike or a mountain-style hybrid. Beware of suspension on cheap bikes - you'll probably just find all your pedalling effort going into making the suspension bounce. Better to get one without any suspension unless you're prepared to pay for decent suspension. The Halfords Carrera range is often recommended as good VfM, but stay well away from their Apollo range.

If you have a Decathlon near you they are also worth a look - the bikes look pretty well made and are reasonably priced.

If you have a good local bike shop, give them a try first.

If your budget is tight, it's often better to get a second hand good bike than a new cheap bike.

Limey

Go for a dedicated road bike or hybrid rather than an all out mountain bike. No point having 2 zillion gears which are made for climbing hills but you can't get up to a decent speed on the flat.

I use an old battered Peugeot road/race bike and you can keep up with the traffic easily. Bonus is no-one wants anything like it so it's never been nicked. Only thing I'd want on it that some mountain bikes have is disk brakes.

Strider590

Limey wrote: »

I use an old battered Peugeot road/race bike and you can keep up with the traffic easily. Bonus is no-one wants anything like it so it's never been nicked.

Makes good sense, avoid mountain bikes, especially those with full suspension. If it looks "cool" it'll get nicked.....
A racer or hybrid with mud guards and panier racks, no matter how expensive, simply wouldn't be a prime target for theives.

flea72

so i take it you wont be biking that far, if it only costs you £10/wk for fuel and parking?

in some ways i agree with the above poster. its not worth buying a cheap bike, as they tend to be heavy and have cheap components that wont last, but (theres always a but lol), if you arent biking that far, or over rough terrain, then weight really wont make that much difference, nor will cheap components (unless you are 15st+), and the main crux, you dont actually know if this is going to be a long term thing. yes, in your head it makes sense to bike it, but in reality life takes over, and driving is easier

personally i would go for a cheapish bike (£150max). cheap doesnt always mean poor quality, and alot of people seem to forget that you get wear and tear on bikes, just like on a car. parts will break, and need replacing, and thats when you can start to think about upgrading the components - you dont need to replace the whole bike, but once you start to cost the big parts like a new bottom bracket, crank, etc it is usually cheaper to buy a whole new bike, and if youve enjoyed riding, then that may be the time to get into the 'name' brands

i would recommend visiting a local bike shop. if they are any good, they should have a wide range of bikes and prices, and be able to put you in the right direction. getting the right set-up shape wise for your body, is more important than anything, as is a good saddle. if you arent sitting comfortably, then it makes for a very painful ride, and an aching back

Halfords are actually quite good for bikes, and knowledge - yes, they stock some cheap bikes, but they also stock Chris Boardman, so they arent just into fleecing the clueless cyclist

One bonus of buying from a bike shop is, they will set the bike up for you too, and are always there in the future for any problems. if you buy a bike from argos, it doesnt always come assembled, and the brake and chain may need adjusting, as will the handlebars and saddle

hth F

TiTheRev

+1 on avoiding the Argos' of this world. Find a local bike shop (Evans/Halfrauds etc), and see what they've got. A Hybrid would serve you better longer term IMO, and parts are cheaper/easier to fit yourself. You can get the best of both worlds then, with the lighter options/disc brakes/slightly more rugged for cycle paths etc.

DermotFlanigan

I only work about 5 miles from home but from 8am to 9 am there is a huge queue and traffic lights along the road where the school is. I spend a minimum of 15 mins per morning queuing there which is a pain.

I would probably get to work a lot quicker on a bike too. I will probably look into biking aroung the coastal paths etc in the summer so didn't want to limit myself to a road bike.

Thanks for all the useful advice so far.

TiTheRev

What sort of budget did you have in mind for it then?

DermotFlanigan

Around £100..

TiTheRev

Lol...er...ok!

You will not get anything like a good bike for that money, so you will need to expect some compromise on quality. Your best bet might be to try eBay etc for decent 2nd hand ones that others want rid of but haven't used much. The Subway range from Halfrauds are fairly well spec'd and you might get a 2nd hand one for that sort of money, but IMO there's no bike out there for that money that will last or serve you well on a 10mile round trip each day.

Limey

I'd go to Halfrauds and try out some bikes to get an idea of the frame size you need then start trawling newspapers/e-bay/gumtree/preloved for a second hand one.