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Canyon48.
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June 27, 2017 at 2:36 pm #27277
yitzchokhaffner
Hi I’m looking to buy my first road bike. I mainly need it for a commute to and from university, about 4 miles each way, the way home is mostly uphill. I want something that takes mudguards and possibly a rack. I also need something to cope with Manchester weather ie rain and cold! My budget is aroun 500. I know pretty much nothing about bikes but from reading reveiws online I have narrowed it down to 3 prospective bikes Boardman road sport, Marin argenta a6 and specialized allez e5. The specialized probably won’t be good for me but I threw it in there because it looks so exciting. Can anyone advise me. Thanks
Yitz
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Daveyraveygravey
wellsprop wrote:The Allez would be a very sound choice. Always a lot of Allezs parked at the uni where I study! Be very careful where you lock it though, a bike like the Allez is the exact sort that thieves target.I bought my son an Allez from Ebay to try and get him into cycling. It was a great choice, when I rode it I thought it was pretty close to my bike which cost about 6 times as much. I had planned to turn it into a winter hack for my own use, but he decided to take it to Uni. It got nicked, although it had the back up cheapo lock on it at the time. (The expensive decent one I had bought him was left at a mates house after a visit…)
It was easily the nicest bike at his Halls, so it was just a matter of time I think. One of his mates has had 6 cheapo 50 quid specials stolen.
kil0ran
Get down to Decathlon if you
Get down to Decathlon if you have one nearby and try a few of their bikes out. Cracking bikes for the money with good kit levels and perfect for commuting. Save £100 of your budget for accessories (most of the Decathlon stuff is good). Their in-store mechanics are well-trained and should be better than the guys in Halfords if you’re looking at the Boardman.
Triban 520 Flat-bar will take mudguards and panniers, is very well-specced and is a triple so will get you up the hills on the way home.
The lower spec 500SE is very good value at £299 but I can’t remember if takes rack and guards.
The other option is to buy secondhand from eBay – but you do need to know what you’re looking for and also be able to assess the bike mechanically (i.e. what will need replacing and when – worn drivetrain, brake pads, pedals, tyres, bar tape (in order of cost)
StraelGuy
On a slightly different note.
On a slightly different note… If you get very sweaty riding under a load of clothes it’s worth getting a long sleeved merino underlayer top? I got one, reluctantly – they’re not cheap, and it’s transformed my winter riding. They keep you really warm and, no matter how wet or sweaty they get, they never feel wet. I don’t know how they manage that but they’re great.brooksby
yitzchokhaffner wrote:Thanks for all your advice so far!! Does anyone know if you can fit a regular rucksack onto a rack or do I need to buy a special pannier bag?You *could* bungee the rucksack onto the rack, but that’s a bit of a hack and you’d be better buying a pannier if you’re going to make use of the rack.
Thanks for all your advice so
Thanks for all your advice so far!! Does anyone know if you can fit a regular rucksack onto a rack or do I need to buy a special pannier bag?
Simon E
Like you, I have to start feeling cold to avoid overheating so most of the time a superlight showerproof jacket is fine. I vary what to wear underneath: on a mild day a short sleeved cycling jersey is fine, if it’s cooler I’ll add arm warmers, maybe slip in a carrier bag as an additional wind barrier for the first 15 minutes or so. If it’s particularly cold I’ll wear a merino baselayer and a cap (easily removed once I warm up).yitzchokhaffner wrote:thanks for the advice. re the gear I usually get very sweaty halfway there even if I start off freezing in the winter. I would be looking for something that keeps me warm but also wont make me sweat buckets. any advice?Which jacket is best for you is down to fit as much as anything so try a few on for size, preferably while sat on a bike.
simonmb
Go singlespeed / fixed. You
Go singlespeed / fixed. You can probably pick a used one up for £200 where you are, so no need to feel precious about it. It’s a short journey, you’ll hardly be in your stride after 4 miles and you’ll be happy you kept it simple when winter comes and you’re not having to worry about a gritty chain grinding your rings away. Just need to get the gearing right for that climb home! Check out BikeBlogger and his ss / fixed commutes.
The Allez would be a very
The Allez would be a very sound choice. Always a lot of Allezs parked at the uni where I study! Be very careful where you lock it though, a bike like the Allez is the exact sort that thieves target.
Bigtwin
yitzchokhaffner wrote:knowing nothing about bikes, how do I know if a second hand bike is a dud or not?Try to find somethign that wasn’t dirt cheap in the first place – no Haulfrauds. Old quality is far far bettern than newer rubbish. Assume you might have to give it a git of TLC – cables and pads etc. Get something around the 7 speed mark – chains and other consumables are cheap and durable. Then see if the wheels are pretty straight and run OK (not excessive play and grinding noises) and the tyres aren’t shot. Check bottom bracket isn’t all wobbly/noisy. Talk to the owner – do they know what they are doing and how to look after a bike, or is it just a pub runner they never touch? Once you have ridden a few, you get a feel for what’s half decent and what’s rubbish. If you are using Freecycle or similar, try to use one somwhere other than around the centre of a uni town, where demand is huge. You’d be amazed what people give away in more rural areas – well worth giveing someone some petrol dosh to go and collect.
knowing nothing about bikes,
knowing nothing about bikes, how do I know if a second hand bike is a dud or not?
Toast
Unsure about the mounts. You
Unsure about the mounts. You can get mudguards for bikes that don’t have them – I use Crud Roadracers. Racks I know less about, I use a backpack for the commute so there’s nothing on the bike the rest of the time. Google is probably your friend here.Simon is quite right about not needing SPD for a short commute, was thinking more if your miles build up.
As to other bike and kit recommendations, I suggest reading the reviews on here & Wiggle etc.
If you are spending £500 on a
If you are spending £500 on a uni bike and don’t have proper secure storage, I’d advise spending about £100 of that on some serious lockage. I used to commute to one as a lecturer, and having scoped the place for the scraps and remains of decent bikes still attached to railings etc, I got a 14 speed Thing from Freecycle, put a new chain, freewheel and cables etc on it, and wrapped it in old tubes. Locked it with 2 decent D locks (which I could leave on site luckily), always front wheel out locked to frame, take seat, post and post QR collar with me. It survived, and saved me the worry of wondering if my £50+ rear mech or whatever would still be there at the end of the afternoon if I was using a “decent bike”. Lost of my bright eyed new students who bought their nice bikes to commute on had very different outcomes…..
For that use and that distance, you need cheap transport you can afford to lose.
Toast wrote:
Toast wrote:It’d be difficult to spend £500 and get a bike that’s no good for 4 miles each way. I bought a £200 hybrid and wanted to upgrade within a year, so disagree with the £90 option – it might even discourage you from recreational cycling :p If you’re spending £500, I’m going to assume you’re using the commute as an excuse to spend the money on something more fun that you might get out on at the weekend. Personally I’d get the Allez, they all have the same Shimano gears but the Allez looks like a more speed-oriented frame. You’re not going to have time to get uncomfortable doing four miles on it, so I wouldn’t worry about “endurance geometry” from the Marin or Boardman, and you’ll get more of a kick out of it when you decide to stamp the pedals a bit on a longer route home! http://road.cc/content/review/221424-specialized-allez-e5-sport-2017 There’s the road.cc review of one with a slightly nicer build kit (more gears, nice wheels, but I think the same frame – so potentially in a couple of years you could spend £400-ish upgrading that kit and have a very respectable bike to show for it). As it comes, you could definitely take that e5 on some longer rides, and hold your own with a club if the bug really bites, without immediately wanting to upgrade to a whole new bike. If you’re more likely to go on relaxed Sunday rides out of town on your own exploring, maybe look at the other two, the more upright positions may be more comfortable and more importantly (in my opinion) they give you a higher vantage point for taking in the view over hedgerows :)Thanks for your advice. Does the allez take a rack and mudguards? Is there anything to choose between the other 2? would you reccomend anything else within a 500 budget?
Simon E wrote:University sites are hotspots for bike thefts so I’d buy something less desirable (but I’d still buy 2 decent locks as well, a thick cable lock and a D-lock). Cheap ‘n’ cheerful would be my suggestion. Try to find something that’s not stolen via forums, ebay etc. Maybe a hybrid/flat-barred bike?A decent waterproof jacket will make life more bearable in the rain, you might find one in Millets for a third of the price of a cycling-specific one. I wouldn’t bother with fancy gear like padded shorts or SPD shoes for 4 miles. If you get into riding longer distances you can always get these later, along with a nicer bike.
thanks for the advice. re the gear I usually get very sweaty halfway there even if I start off freezing in the winter. I would be looking for something that keeps me warm but also wont make me sweat buckets. any advice?
Toast wrote:
Toast wrote:It’d be difficult to spend £500 and get a bike that’s no good for 4 miles each way. I bought a £200 hybrid and wanted to upgrade within a year, so disagree with the £90 option – it might even discourage you from recreational cycling :p If you’re spending £500, I’m going to assume you’re using the commute as an excuse to spend the money on something more fun that you might get out on at the weekend. Personally I’d get the Allez, they all have the same Shimano gears but the Allez looks like a more speed-oriented frame. You’re not going to have time to get uncomfortable doing four miles on it, so I wouldn’t worry about “endurance geometry” from the Marin or Boardman, and you’ll get more of a kick out of it when you decide to stamp the pedals a bit on a longer route home! http://road.cc/content/review/221424-specialized-allez-e5-sport-2017 There’s the road.cc review of one with a slightly nicer build kit (more gears, nice wheels, but I think the same frame – so potentially in a couple of years you could spend £400-ish upgrading that kit and have a very respectable bike to show for it). As it comes, you could definitely take that e5 on some longer rides, and hold your own with a club if the bug really bites, without immediately wanting to upgrade to a whole new bike. If you’re more likely to go on relaxed Sunday rides out of town on your own exploring, maybe look at the other two, the more upright positions may be more comfortable and more importantly (in my opinion) they give you a higher vantage point for taking in the view over hedgerows :)Thanks for the advice. does theallez take a rack and mudguards? also is thereanything to choose between the boardman or the marin?
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