need new commuter bike

bigbulldog

fred246 wrote: »

Rohloffs are supposed to be super reliable but are still very heavy and everything about them is expensive.

There are super reliable at a cost for that part alone your looking at over £400 plus.

System

fred246 wrote: »

Yes servicing a car is very easy. All the tricky jobs have gone. The only thing slightly tricky is a cambelt change.

you cannot be serious ! cambelt change is ridiculous nowadays. You cannot get your hands down the sides of the engines.You need a pit . I used to be able to change an alternator in less than 20 minutes but it took me nearly a weekend fighting my way to get at the thing just in an old Corsa C hatchback So much extra stuff has been rammed into the engine bays nowadays. theres no room . I have a Corsa D and cannot even get at the headlight bulb without major surgery. Unless you are talking about an old car or are a pro mechanic "you cannot be serious "
To the OP I implore you to look out for a Planet X London road commuter bike on Ebay. I ve seen these quality lightweight commuters appearing for less than £300 in either straight or drop handlebars . I got a virtually brand new carbon fibre Planet X 8 kilo bike for only £600 with top quality group set. They will come up eventually. Planet X are leading the way in offering the best prices for really good gear.

fred246

I have a pit but don't use it for cambelts as it doesn't help. Alternator removal is not part of servicing but have done it quite easily on my last 2 cars. Sometimes you need to do some disassembly but it's not rocket science. People who work in garages don't have smaller hands than anyone else. Parts and tools seem cheaper than they have ever been.

Richard53

esuhl wrote: »

There's absolutely no way in hell that servicing a car is going to be easier than cleaning a bicycle! :rotfl:

He didn't say easier, he said it didn't take as long. I can believe that. On my Mondeo, I could change oil and oil, fuel, air and pollen filters in an hour. Add a full check of the brakes (wheels off, pads and discs), and a change of coolant, two hours.


If the bike is mucky and/or I want to do a really thorough job, I can easily spend half a day on just 'cleaning' the bike.

esuhl

Richard53 wrote: »

If the bike is mucky and/or I want to do a really thorough job, I can easily spend half a day on just 'cleaning' the bike.

You're kidding me? All that really matters is the drivetrain and the brakes. There's not much more to a bike anyway!

Hose the bike down, spray on cleaner, wipe, rinse. Then clean the drivetrain, derailleurs and brakes.

I don't know if it helps, but I've found that using wax instead of oil on my chain has made a big difference and stops any gunk build-up. And there's some fluorescent yellow Muc-Off drivetrain degreaser that is incredibly good at degreasing any part of your bike that really needs it.

You don't need to spend hours cleaning your bike... there are probably lots of shortcuts you can take.

What is it that takes so long?

andrewf75

Just ressurecting this thread. Thinking about getting this:
https://www.decathlon.co.uk/nework-500-urban-hybrid-bike-id_8376372.html
I know much is down to personal choice, but any thoughts?

parking_question_chap

Its quite heavy.

andrewf75

Thanks. Compared to what though? I thought 13.5kg wasn't bad.

Johnmcl7

It looks a good bike for the price, I assume some of the weight comes from the gear hub as I had an eight speed one which added a chunk of weight to the back of the bike. That said though it seems it's what you're looking for when you say your commute is short and not hilly and therefore the lack of gear range isn't an issue. I've a friend who has a short commute to work and back who didn't need the range of gears from the derailleurs but wanted a little more than a single speed, he bought a cheap Dawes hybrid with a three speed hub and he's been pleased with it so far.

I had a look over some of the other bikes in this price range although one big plus of the Decathlon bike is the disc brakes which for day to day cycling in all weather I'd prefer over the rim brakes.

John

elverson

If you're going to spend that much you may as well go for either a Decathlon road bike (Triban range) or a last-season Specialized hybrid if you can get one.