Recent comments

I'm sure the bookies will take your money if you want to place a bet on Elvis Presley or Lord Lucan for the TDF top ten as well.

Driving under the influence of drugs needs to be tackled rather than cutting the alcohol limit.

"Bringing in a new offence of driving with an illegal substance in the bloodstream that impairs the ability to drive."

Will be there be random testing for this also?

Thanks for the replies guys. I want to go with drop bars for sure. I just don't really like hybrids as much as they make sense in many respects. I like my mtb for offroad and would like a road bike for road, etc.

I had looked at the following bikes after reading a test in a mag. Forme Rapide, Claud Butler Roubaix, Trek 1.1 along with the Speccy and Dawes.

The other bike I saw yesterday (online) to rival the Dawes would be the Raleigh Airlite 100. It was reduced from £499 to £390. It had the carbon fork the Dawes was lacking. Any idea if it is any good?

That said my heart still goes back to the Speccy, even if it means I might have to wait an extra month perhaps to get it. I will check out Giant too as I hadn't thought of them.

The Secteur range is that bit more expensive from what I have seen. In fact a friend of mine has just purchased the Elite version and has offered me the chance to take his new pride and joy for a spin when he returns from holiday. Judging purely from the pictures the Allez seems to share a similar set up in terms of frame design.

I will try and visit a couple of shops over the next week or so in order to sit on some candidates.

There are other bikes in that price bracket and they will probably have similar specs. As Tony has suggested, Specialized and Giant both produce consistently excellent bikes so I'd suggest you'd be more than satisfied with either. Did you consider the Specialized Secteur, which apparently has a more upright riding position? Best you visit a couple of bike shops and have a sit, chat with the staff and see what suits you best.

But as far as the decision is concerned it's entirely personal - you really ought to like your bike regardless of what anyone else thinks. I suggest you go with your heart, it will surely be rewarded with many happy miles.

Anyone who has ever cycled in London will recognise that black cab drivers are some of the most difficult drivers to deal with. Interestingly, they are the first to criticise other driver's mistakes yet drive as if there are no rules for cabbies.

I once was cycling towards Tower Bridge in a cycle lane when a cabbie decided it would be a good idea to manoeuvre round the waiting traffic and drive into me in the cycle lane. I asked him politely why he did what he did and he just gave cocky answers. There was no apology or admission that he had made a mistake. This is just one of numerous incidents I have experienced.

One of the skills you learn whilst cycling in London is that black cab drivers are likely to pull over at any moment and perform the strangest manoeuvres. Never get into an argument with them though because if the police are called, they are highly likely to take the side of the police as they have done here. I speculate but many of them are masons as are the police.

The Dawes Giro certainly wouldn't let you down, but the Allez is a great bike for the money so it would be a good head and heart choice I reckon. Over the last decade or so Specialized and Giant have been the benchmark setters at the entry level road price points and something like the Giant Defy 4 or the the Defy 3.5 would definitely be worth a look- the Defy frame gives a very nice ride and you get an awful lot for your money with Giant - if you can stretch to £525 the Defy 3.5 looks an especially good deal (shop around and you'd probably find it within your budget too). The only thing not to like about the Defy are the tyres.

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-GB/bikes/model/defy.3.5/4861/38961/

The Defy also has the advantage of having a triple - which if you live anywhere hilly will save your knees. Triples are a good thing.

If you live near a Decathlon their bikes at this price point are always worth a look, again like Specialized and Giant you get a lot of bangs for your buck, the B Twin Sport 2 might be worth a look.

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/sport-2-51-63-69567479/

Taking a more leftfield approach, what about something like a Cotic Roadrat? If you've got some bits to build it with the frame and fork option might be worth a look, your budget would probably stretch to a frame, fork, headset, wheels & bars if you already had the rest of the bits and it would have the advantage of being an extremely versatile machine which would let you adapt it to the type of road riding you want to do.

http://www.cotic.co.uk/product/roadrat

now if only it read 300 officers they might stand a chance!

I second your post TiNuts... But driving is a religion, you'll always get fanatic morons

If only it had read:

"London’s a great place to get around on a bike, but the experience of being constantly cut up or overtaken too closely by motor vehicles, not to mention the abuse and bullying by a brazen minority of motorists towards those on two wheels, or the fear of this happening, stops many people from cycling - which makes us even more determined to crack down on piss poor driving in the Capital.”

One can only dream on............

I'd like to know why it is that pedestrians have to push a button and then wait (perhaps in the cold, wet etc) while cars continue to hurtle past? Pedestrian crossings really seemed designed to enable cars drivers to carry on driving (often at high speeds), rather than stop to allow people to cross roads. Why shouldn't car drivers have to push buttons and wait? Roads management need to be re-prioritised in favour of pedestrians and cyclists. For example pedestrian crossing should turn from green to amber, then red as soon as someone pushes the button to indicate that they want to cross the road. Crossings should all be fitted with cameras, too, and the owner of any vehicle going through a crossing on amber or red should be prosecuted - this would have the affect of slowing traffic down as it approached crossings rather than speeding it up as often happens nowadays. This proposal is not really going to do much positive to affect road safety as far as I can see.

I've never owned one. My parents never had one so I never got too attached to one. I do have a driving licence though, and it's useful to be able rent cars or borrow my GF's occasionally.

I used these in Romania last year. Very useful as sometimes you could choose to walk to another crossing that had fewer seconds remaining on the display.

Did he? Didn't he? Damned if I know, but he surely has the front to beat down his detractors.