okay, i finally think that i'm gonna look at the possibility of cycling to work...

its 8 miles, single carriageway through the countryside, no town work, but dodgy condition of road....

will £250.00 get me anything usable??

any recommendations??

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will £250.00 get me anything usable??

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Originally posted by Jumpy Guy
okay, i finally think that i'm gonna look at the possibility of cycling to work...

its 8 miles, single carriageway through the countryside, no town work, but dodgy condition of road....

will £250.00 get me anything usable??

any recommendations??

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Any bike for £250 is likely to be half decent and more than enough for a normal commute.

What I would say is to get a mountain bike with hybrid or road tyres fitted - they're generally more comfortable to ride, but the thrum of proper off road tyres on the tarmac will drive you insane after a while (plus you'll go a bit faster with road tyres).

Also - fit Crud guards to the downlink on the front of the frame (between the handle bars and peddles) and also over the rear wheel - save you arriving at work with a black stripe up your back and a face spattered with muddy water!

Secondhand from bike shops may be a way of getting good value for money with a guarantee of some sorts.

Going a bit retro will also save cash / buy more. eg. look for V brakes rather than disks and forget about full suspension, front suspension may be nice though.

Totally agree on the hybrid / road tires on an MTB will make life easier and give better grip on the tarmac.

- Jim

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Originally posted by 02GF74

There is also bonthrone bikes, in London, that sell previous years models for really good prices;

here you go

[Edited on 17/10/06 by 02GF74]

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My brother and my dad are both into bikes in a big way

my brother goes for full on down hill and a bit of x-country - building and maintaining the bikes himself saves allot of cash (lots of people seem to spend £20 to 50 + parts getting there bikes serviced, when the tools would cost you less than £50 !) - and I'd guess that you'll not find it that difficult if you can build a car there is even a haynes manual if you want

defiantly v brakes - discs are a bit OTT for commuting
my brother has just fitted 4 pot calipers to his downhill bike with 200mm discs on the front and 180mm on the rear - because he was boiling the fluid (dot 5.1) with his 160mm discs and 2 pots !!
but for what your doing they'd probibly send you over the handle bars

I'd say go second hand too - my last bike was a rusty steel mountain bike style frame that we found in the ditch at the end of the road (the right size for me) - clean up, paint and fit the components of a few other scrap bikes that we found/ had + some tyres = perfectly good bike for £20
as an added bonus no one wanted to nick it - my brother used it at college for a year or so in the centre of Edinburgh (often without locking it) and no one even tried

[Edited on 17/10/06 by mcerd1]

What can I add. Yeah agree with above. I was into road biking big time and have a Trek but the attitudes on the road now I've moved back down to England put me off and the fact that after peddling 1000 miles Lands End to John O Groats (got a little lost!) my gonads came up like plums and stopped me doing any sport for 2 years so I'll add, get a decent seat!

Buy a racing bike - far easier for commuting than a mountain bike with those great chunky tyres. I don't understand why we need mountain bikes any more than we need 4 x 4's - it's another marketing exercise. Try Sterling House
http://www.sterlinghouse.co.uk/, cheapest bikes in the country & they don't charge much to deliver to your door.

If you are doing on-road only riding or even light commuter trails you are best off with a full rigid with street (smooth tread) tires. I do XC and some downhill and have a Kona hard tail with wide, knobby tires. They take probably double the effort to ride around on pavement than a set of street tires. I need a dual suspension bike for the faster stuff, but Im too damned lazy to pedal one around XC. Shocks do take up the bumps but they will also suck up your energy. Cheap front shocks aren't worth the weight IMO. For commuting I would think a rigid with narrow tires and the lowest weight affordable would be your best bet. Road racing bikes are faster/easier to pedal but if you hit a stone wrong you'll fall.
Oh ya, lights and mudguards are probably very wise too .

Road bikes are great as said and the gearing's much better (get you home quicker!) but trust me, come a little rain or snow, you're on your arse!

put another zero on the end of your budget and ive got one awsome machine available will take everything you give it very high spec 4 grand spent bargain
pic in archive

Try doing 16 miles a day on that bike with them gears, you'll have legs like a bas**rd gorilla. Good for off road but on road because of the highly tuned suspension you go up and down rather than forward and they're geared for hills so you're legs just blur on the road. Nice bike in the right situation though.

try www.paulscycles.co.uk some very good deals on all types of bikes

I have a Giant hybrid with front suspension and a suspension seatpost which cost £200 new. Road tyres are best if you ride on the road (duh) as offroad tyres take about 15% more effort to propel on tarmac, V brakes will pull you up from 45mph, mine do downhill. If you've any sense when it snows you'll leave your bike at home . You don't need an awesome machine to do 16 miles a day, I've done 20+ on mine no problem and no swollen plums. Don't get carried away with all the hype

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Don't get carried away with all the hype

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