cheap and good commuter bike

hey folks

trying to shot a bike for riding to work cos we have the cycle to work thingie now.. like the look of these

http://www.wheelies.co.uk/products-O...2009_24261.htm
http://www.wheelies.co.uk/products-Speed-2009_22429.htm
http://www.wheelies.co.uk/products-G...2009_20968.htm

first one cos it's in british racing green and has fenders and rack.. 2nd one seems a more quality version but shitter colour and extra £100. last one looks BADASS but is it worth the extra £120? how much lighter is it actually going to be compared to first? my work commute is only like 2 miles each way so maybe i don't need such a good bike?

are there any amazing bargain ones you recommend? basically don't want to spend over £300 (to be honest don't want to spend over £200??

Make sure you get your bike taxfree through cyclescheme.

that's the sole reason im looking at these and not an 80 quid one from argos!!

no opinions on any of those bikes?

I have a Ridgeback similar to the second of those. It's very nice!

Your first and last links have truncated and don't load properly for me.

there's isn't much "cheap and good" in cycling

if it's cheap... it's cheap

There is that.

Though for small mileages something like that 2nd Ridgeback would be fine, especially if you can park it inside to keep it away from the elements.

I'm also only seeing the second link.

If you will actually use the bike everyday for commuting, then it probably makes sense to spend a little more for nicer components. Nicer components will be more reliable and last longer (and function better). Two miles isn't far, but if you're commuting 4 miles a day, 5 days a week in sometimes crappy weather over poor road surfaces, then your bike is going to get a little beat up. Better spend more now and get a reliable mode of transport, then buy a cheap bike and pay for repairs later, or worse yet, have a broken bike lying around.

That bike looks really heavy. How heavy is it? There's no reason to splurge on more bike than you need, but it also doesn't make sense to buy a POS that you won't enjoy riding. If you consider a new bike as both transportation and a very cheap gym membership, then your ought to have a decent budget. Buy a bike you'll want to ride and makes sense for your needs.

The most important thing is to go and take a look and ride them.

Sage advice.

Plz to clarify - do you want to spend no more than £300 yourself (plus £200-£300 provided by the scheme) or £300 as the max price for the bike (i.e. you are only paying £150-£200, which over a year is well under £20/month)?

Also, do you have to use Wheelies?

that website is seriously irritating. Does anyone else find it impossible to navigate?

What's your commute look like? I'm partial to singlespeeds for commuting, assuming you don't have to tackle any large hills. Singlespeeds are simple and fun. There are fewer parts to worry about and they're often lighter and agile.

Wheelies carries the Kona Paddy Wagon, which is pricier and totally different than the bikes you posted, but would make for a fun and practical commuter.

sorry guys.. here are links
http://www.wheelies.co.uk/products-Oakland-2009_24261.htm
http://www.wheelies.co.uk/products-Speed-2009_22429.htm
http://www.wheelies.co.uk/products-Globe-Vienna-2-2009_20968.htm

i actually really like the last link which looks kind of sexy...

i want to spend £300 as max price i reckon. i think i may have to use wheelies as they've struck a deal with our hospital - although i'm clarifying that just now with the person who organised it.

that website is horrendous - when you go through the bike categories i think it only works for like 30 seconds before the search resets itself!!

my commute is pretty easy - it's a striaght road there is a slight climb but nothing unmanageable (i did it a couple of years ago on a cheapo argos BMX before it got stolen)..

im actually more worried about punctures and stuff - how often does it happen - the argos one never had one in the few months that it was mine, do those with thinner tyres mean they're more susceptible??

oooooh ok so it's not limited to that website but there's a 10% discount if we use them. it actually does sound pretty good.

For about £100 more (in total) you'll start getting into the realms of genuinely good bikes - I'll see if I can find any I'd specifically recommend, one sec.

Sorry Ken, I can't, that website is impossible to navigate. Let me look elsewhere and see what I can find.

How about these, just a little dearer. All lighter and more fun to ride than yours (especially the first one), and while you'd have to check I'd expect most will take fenders and racks if you really will use them.

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/specialized/sirrus-sport-2009-hybrid-bike-ec016919
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/trek/soho-1-2008-hybrid-bike-ec001594
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/scott/sportster-p5-2009-hybrid-bike--ec016360
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/kona/dew-deluxe-2008-hybrid-bike-ec000773
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/iron-horse/transit-3-disc-2008-hybrid-bike-ec000750

Real workhorses from good brands:

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/specialized/globe-city-6-2008-hybrid-bike-ec001481
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/kona/smoke-29-deore-2009-hybrid-bike-ec017266
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/trek/allant-2009-hybrid-bike-ec016810

thanks mark - like the look of some of those.. i'm comparing

this
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/specialized/sirrus-sport-2009-hybrid-bike-ec016919
and
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/specialized/sirrus-2009-hybrid-bike-ec016920

just now

don't seem to be a lot in there between the two? what's Derailleur?

guessing it's the gear mechanism

Yeah, there's not a lot of difference between the two - the sport has sportier, slightly higher quality bits and bobs but it wouldn't make a whole lot of difference. And with the reduction in price the non-sport seems very good value. It's a good bike, the Sirrus, and the frame is excellent for the price - it could easily and effectively be upgraded if you so fancied at a later date.

ok so i should buy the bike off that website, but i kind of want to try some out first.

if i go to say evans or something to try out some bikes will they basically want to kill me if i have 0 intention of buying from them?? or do they not give a shit e.g. like folks who work at a topshop or something? or what kind of excuse shall i give for not wanting to buy one straight away?

Ken - the first bikes you linked to had carriers on the back, the more recent ones don't. Were you planning on getting panniers to carry your stuff to work (including lock(s)) or just sticking a rucksack on your back?

yeah was thinking panniers? how much do they cost to fit on?

like, the 3rd one i posted supposedly you can get a rack for it.

You're probably looking at about £20 for the carrier (the metal rack) and £50 for the panniers (the bags). Maybe. I can't really remember.

blimey. perhaps i can score some off freecycle..

Hey all...not a regular hear but I would like to get into biking more.

Been shopping around and it's really confusing.

I've looked at Kona Dew...also interested possibly in the Jamis Commuter 1.

Still, lots of bike people are really discouraging, like you have to pay AT LEAST 700-800 to get anything that's not a total piece of crap...that's a little out of reach for me right now...

reading customer web reviews is maddening obv, like it is for everything.

so...any advise?

(also i did read the thread but a lot of the links are dead now)

thanks!

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/motobecane/cafe_express8.htm

if you dont care how "cool" it is, this simple cafe with internal 8 looks good and cheap. im a nexus internal fan for commuting. that one just need fenders and a rack. (looks sold out, but they get new orders once and again).

matt, are there any places like this where you live?

might be a cheaper option which gives you more peace of mind than buying off craigslist

hunt3r - that bike cools cool to me! : )

(why isn't it considered cool?)

cozen, not sure, but i know we do have a Hub and also a lot of good independent stores, i'm probably going to check there....

the cool issue really goes more to motobecane as a cheap online thang

My bike in the mid/late 80s was a Motobecane. Lovely, it was. And not an internet in sight.

i have no beef w/ motobecane fwiw- thinkin of buying a an mtb since i want decent spec but totally unwilling to spend cash on something i will rarely use.

just got my bike!!!

very excited to commute tomorrow...

as was suggested to me by a friend i went out looking for closeout 09 models and local shops and found a Giant Transend LX...marked down from $650 to $444...the guy gave me an extra 15% off on the bike and the Bell helmet I bought...bringing my whole total to $474 after tax...seemed like a great deal...

test drove and it felt comfortable, really nice big padded seat and comfortable (first time i rode a bike that was actually my size)...

nice part about this model is it comes with a lot of extras like full fenders, a nice maple rack, and kickstand standard, which the dude said you can easily spend $200 on that stuff after the fact...

pretty happy about it, The Hub bike shop in Mpls is great, so helpful there.

http://www.bikepedia.com/Images/image.aspx?w=400&h=400&filename=Tran+Send+LX+Orange.jpg

here is all the info on the parts and stuff, greek to me, but he said they were quality components

color Orange
frame ALUXX-Grade Aluminum
fork Alloy Straight Blade
shifters Shimano EF-50 EZ-Fire
front derailleur Shimano C102
rear derailleur Shimano Alivio
brakes Hayes MX4 Disc
brake levers Shimano EF-50
cassette SRAM PG 830 11/30, 8-speed
chain KMC Z72
cranks Alloy 3-Piece, 28/38/48
bb Cartridge
rims Alloy, Double Wall
hubs Alloy 32H Disc
spokes Stainless Steel
tires Kenda Kwest, 700x35
handlebar Alloy Low Rise
stem Alloy, Quill, 15 Degree Rise
seatpost Alloy, 27.2
saddle Unity Comfort Groove Plus w/Memory Foam
pedals Alloy/Kraton Comfort Platform
Extras Rear Alloy Rack w/Wood Deck, Fenders, Kickstand,Bell

looks dope, kudos 2 u!

thx!

btw, going bike shopping i began to wonder...is there another company on earth that is as dominant and ubiquitous in its field as Shimano is in the derailer/gear/etc business? it's almost weird home almost every bike i looked at had the same shimano stuff on it

sanwa denshi in the arcade parts business?

(I guess there is seimetsu, the campag of the fighting game world)

yeah maybe that

corona in mexico?

anyway nice ride, enjoy ^^;

v. cool.

i "commuted" by bike today! went pretty well. no one was mean to me.

nice one, dude!

guess friday was commute to work day. my commute is 47.9miles. some people actually teamed up and left the city at 5.30am.

i ride with a guy that does the sf2g (SF to Google) commute at least 3-4 days a week (caltrain back), but on thursday he rode both ways. think it's about 100 miles roundtrip.

google's slightly closer than us

but still, fucking gnarly. i gotta figure out a way to get through the city to that frontage road next to 101.

one that doesn't nec make me go through bayshore. have you done this?

http://sf2g.com/

awesome. thanks! "bayway" is what i was talking about, but pretty much gotta go through bayshore. or just go all the way down mission st. that doesn't seem like fun

mission turns into ECR which is hell imfhe

alternate is skyline (35) into la canada/crystal springs bike path and then scoot over to the bay in woodside or further south (still have no idea where you work in relation to all this lol!)

ya, skyline through crystal springs is the ride i did a few weekends back. stopped at woodside (friend had to get back to city) and rode across to redwood city caltrain. i'm in sunnyvale, just north of 237, just south of moffett airfield (south of mountain view)

i really just want to do that bayway ride w/o having to ride through PJs