jacob sumith

Hi,

I am a regular commuter. 14 miles both ways. I ride a single speed with 50:16, relatively flat all through out. My ride is along the bumpy rugged Manchester roads. I am looking to buy a bike with the following desirables
- 28/32 inch tires (I now have 25 on and don't feel very comfy)
- a couple of gears to start off quickly and a bit more faster ratio that I have now (chain ring 50, cog 16) (don't want a hub gear though)
- puncture proof tires
- with mudguards
- steel bike

Can you advice what will be a suitable bike please?

I have the following two in consideration, the budget is around there.
Ridgeback Voyage 2015 - Ridgeback Voyage 2015 Touring Bike | Evans Cycles
Jamis BosaNova 2015 - Jamis Bosa Nova 2015 Touring Bike | Evans Cycles

Are there other bikes that would be better than the above two. I can't see the point of lot of gears (I haven't ridden geared bikes yet).

All help is appreciated..

CrankyOne

Do you mean 28/32 mm tires?

Why not internal geared hubs (IGH)?

I don't think you'll find puncture proof tyres. Most people consider Schwalbe Marathon's the closest thing.

NormanF

Bikes Direct Motobecane Bistro 3V 3 Speed:



Brooklyn Bicycle Driggs 3:




Priority Classic:



I'd say keep the bike simple and practical on your commute.

nfmisso

Avoid disc brakes - heavy, complicated, harder to service.

Stay 9 speed or less.

Avoid carbon forks.

GamblerGORD53

Both those bikes are OK for their intended purpose, touring with hills. But, for a flat land all weather commute, rather ridiculous.
All you need is a Sturmey Archer 3 spd. NO hub is better. Mine is the SA 5 spd 48/18T, which I just rode 123 miles at 15.1 avg moving and overall time of 11:45. On a bike 60 lbs and I only used the middle 3 gears. The 5 will do hills twice as steep. My tour hub is also an IGH, Rohloff 14.

I would first just figure out if your present frame dropout is suitable for converting, a slot 1" or so.
I am totally done with riding stupid deraillers, fair weather freeloaders. ha

jacob sumith

Thanks for the suggestions.

I thought IGH aren't are durable as the open ones. My concern is that the teeth on the inner sprockets can only be very small and hence it is very likely to slip gears.

I now have Schwalbe Marathon +, on which I have over 1500 miles without a single puncture. They are bullet proof for my purposes but every time I had to take them off/put back on (this was due to tube problems) I regret buying them. Moreover I thought it was the tire that contributed to a jarring feeling.

Phil_gretz

So, I'm going to disagree with everyone here. I like the two bikes you've shown, and am a big fan of touring bikes. They're versatile - should you choose to use your bike for utility riding, like going to the store, going on a short tour or weekend ride into the country, etc.

The Jamis is nice, but I'd make the outer chainring a 46 rather than the stock 50T.

The Ridgeback is all set up, including rear rack - so you can carry gear in a pannier or two, a much smarter way to go. Carry outer clothing or food, etc.

If I had to choose, for me, I'd pick the Jamis and get a rear rack with light mount. I'd also have Evans swap out the large chainring for a 46T.

BTW, I think that your present bike is over geared at 50 x 16. Even if the route is flat. You'll blow our your knees eventually. And what happens when your ride changes directions and you have to climb? Makes little sense to me. PG

jacob sumith

Thanks for the suggestion for Sturmey Archer 3 Speed. Your experience on the 123 mile ride is re assuring. Let me get it checked with a cycle shop about the possibility of adding on a SA 3 Spd.

Robert C

I am in agreement with this. As far as disc brakes, I have commuted both with and without them. However, any commuter I get, in the future, will have them; for commuting I have just found them to be significantly better. On a dedicated, good weather, sport bike I might forgo them, but not on an all weather commuter; there the lack of disc brakes would be a deal breaker.

RonH

I'd have to recommend the Jamis Bosa Nova you're looking at. Its much like the Jamis Nova I bought in 2005 for my 8 mile one way commute thru Atlanta traffic. Held up quite well on the pot-holed roads and a few cobbled streets. I had 700x28 Panaracer Pasela Tour Guards. Tough tires and a nice ride. I had to add the mudguards, but only during rainy season.

jacob sumith

Thank you, Phil, for the pointers for choosing between the two bikes.

From GamblerGORD53 experience, it seems IHG are reliable. Moreover I can then reuse my current Mongoose Maurice's frame (will only need rear wheel building) which is a nice steel frame.

I think that my current gear ratio has helped my knees . I used to have the default 48/18T when I wasn't happy about the speeds I could attain at all. I had to spin my legs very fast which made me tired soon. I used to have chondromalacia (I could hear knees grinding when ascending/descending stairs, wasn't painful though). But I have noticed that since I started riding the 50/16 (6 months now) I have put some quad muscles on and the grinding knee noise is very rare. But I have to always remember to keep my thigh muscles tight when riding, or else the knees hurt later.

BobbyG

I use Mr. Tuffy tire liners in my three bikes (road, touring/commuter, and MTB-based Commuter) No flats, no drama, and I can use cheaper tires. And the ride is not harsh.

AngeloDolce

What are your priorites, what issues are you trying to solve?
Wider tires and mudguards are normally easy changes to any bike and new bikes frequently don't include them anyways.

The Ridgeback (nice rear rack) and Jamis look like great toys if you want something new and have the money; it does seem odd to pick bicycles with 27 and 20 gears for someone who doesn't see the point to a lot of gears.

For a flat ride, I actually agree, you don't need 20+ gears. In my experience with the Sturmey Archer AW 3 speed (25+ years) and Shimano Nexus (about 2 years),
I haven't had trouble skipping gears. I am careful with gear adjustment, a 1 min task when (rarely) needed
They are more reliable than my road derailleurs in snow/ice and rain
they need less frequent maintenance than derailleurs
When they do need overhauls (roughly 20K-30K miles) maintenance is more time consuming and involved than derailleur gearing. (quite a bit more)

If you like your existing bicycle and steel frame, I'd just add tires and mudguards you like; it should also be much cheaper to fit a new wheel with IGH in a single speed frame than to buy another bicycle.

Of course, if you just want another bicycle, find one you like.

brown79

New bicycles can be beautifully designed machines (often easily acquired with the use of a checkbook). But a beautiful old steel bike is often a labor of love acquired by effort.

CrankyOne

Jacob, IGH are far more durable and reliable than external derailleurs. As are coaster, roller and drum brakes vs any other kind. This is why they are the primary bike you see outside of the U.S. People who use their bikes for transportation want very high reliability and don't want to deal with problems. In cities with high numbers of people using bicycles for transportation the overwhelming configuration is 3 to 8 speed IGH and coaster brake.

More: City Bikes | LocalMile

kickstart

Agreed,
depending on conditions, my bikes with derailleurs and rim brakes typically require weekly maintenance. My bikes with an IGH, chaincase, and hub brakes maintenance is a once a year event.

jacob sumith

Superb! Thanks for all the testimonies about IGHs. I am going for a SA 3 Speed hub now on the old bike.

Any info on gear ratios are appreciated. With the new SA 3 Speed, I am trying to achieve a gear smaller/slower and a gear bigger/faster than my current set up of 50/16T. Hope this is possible (I am yet to read up on this).

downwinded

Nothing wrong with the 3spd igh and saving some coin. However, you say you have not ridden a bike with derailleur gears, so you might want to give that a try sometime. When your wallet starts to bulge, that Bosa Nova is sweet!

GamblerGORD53

Good choice Jacob. I think you would also be good with my 48/18T. I have 35mm tires, so your 50T/ 18T will be just a hair higher with 25mm tires. You are a very strong rider. The hub will come with an 18 or 19T. I would get both to try out. Slower for winter might help. I see your frame will go 28 mm at the most.

I tried a notch lower and it was poor going into a wind with the shift point at 13 mph.
One day I then geared it 17T for a speed run and it made it tough getting into middle gear at 15/ 16 mph on a long ride.

With my 48/18T... 1st (2nd on my 5 spd) goes up to 14 mph in first which is great for doodling or stop and go traffic. I always shift down at a stop. Middle gear goes 14 to 20 mph which is about as fast as I can go without wind or slope help. Cruising at 18 or 19 is very easy. Your now 50/16 will be nicely in the high gear at 23 mph. Wizout will be about 31 mph. This is what the hub was designed for and works fabulous for me. Dialing in the efficient middle gear is THE important matter. Hill phobics need not apply ha.

Your 50/18 GIs will be 55 ... 73.3 ... 97.3. Hustling will NOT be a problem.
My 5 speed also has 45 and 116 GIs which I use plenty up to 45 mph. "Too High" they say LOL ... The range of many race bikes.

BTW For derailler lubbers ... Those 2 tour bikes would be in 3rd highest gear already at the OP 50/16T level. Nothing less than 30/44/52 would be anywhere near OK for him.

RubeRad

Another vote for a 3-speed IGH, I think it sounds like that kind of gear range would give you the medium amount of gear-ratio flexibility you want, plus super low maintenance and super-high reliability, plus you can change gears when stopped no problem.

jacob sumith

Been to the bike shop to discuss fitting IGH on my MM. The mechanic there introduced me to a 2013 model Dawes Galaxy Plus going for 30% cheaper now at 699. Would anyone recommend me to get it as it really is a bargain?

I started the following thread to discuss this -
https://www.bikeforums.net/general-cy...o-cheaper.html

jacob sumith

By the by , thank you for the detailed gear ration explanation.