muesy

Alright.. Where do I begin...
Friday night I had a terrible car crash, caused by ice, and took out three stationary cars and a locals fence.
It wasn't the greatest thing, but nobody was hurt, and my car didn't flip, just gained a few cuts and bruises along with some muscle damage - nothing time won't heal though!

Anyways, for the time being, I'm looking in commuting to work and to college (I'm 19) cheaply and quickly. I was talking to a friend about this and due to the amount of charges I'm going to get, I'm not looking to go over the top, just something reliable, quick and if possible a little stylish.

I've got two bikes in mind, if you wouldn't mind having a look, they're road bikes as thats what I'll mostly be commuting on, though I'd love to gain abit of skill on this kinda of bike, as I'm just utterly fascinated with them..

The two bikes are:
: https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/M...?ModelID=25456
and
: https://www.raleigh.co.uk/b_details.aspx?id=168

I prefer the first, but would like to know which is actually better...?
Any help would be lovely, thanks.

- Adam.

bhikkhu

I don't know either bike, being in the states, but l'd says the BeOne specs out better. 8 speed cassette (which is easily changed out to 9 or 10) vs 7 speeds on the Raleigh, a set-up a little harder to upgrade. The fork on the BeOne is aluminum, vs steel on the Raleigh. They both look good, but I'd go with the first myself.

And good luck with all that accident stuff...I have been commuting myself for months in every kind of weather and the rides to and from are the best part of my day.

Busta Quad

There is a commuter forum...

Treefox

Heh; I started reading your post assuming you'd crashed your bike into cars... until the bit about the three stationary cars you took out, which would be very impressive on a bike...

The BeOne is a vastly superior bike. Vastly. That Raleigh has downtube shifters (pre-1995 style), whereas the BeOne has shifting integrated into the brake levers, as with any modern road bike. And once you're all set with commuting, it would be a perfect entry-level ride for getting into more serious road cycling.

Are you ok judging frame size?

Treefox

Also, the BeOne is available in assorted frame sizes, whereas the Raleigh only comes in 56.

HigherGround

Welcome to Bike Forums Adam.

I'd add another vote for the BeOne, because the shift levers are integrated with the brake levers, rather than mounted on the down tube (as on the Raleigh). You will probably find the integrated style of shift lever to be more comfortable to use, since you won't have to take your hands off the handlebars in order to shift.

It looks like some assembly will be required if you have a BeOne shipped to you. This is a good opportunity to learn bicycle assembly and maintenance skills, as long as you know what you're doing! Take your time, use good resources (such as ParkTool.com), and pay attention to the details! For example, the right pedal usually threads in clockwise, but the left one threads in counter-clockwise. (or do you say "anti-clockwise"?)

Not to start a "mail order vs. local bike shop (LBS)" debate, but if you assemble it yourself, it might be worth having a local shop perform a safety check on the final product. Of course there are also benefits to purchasing a bike through the local shop, such as professional assembly, having the bike fit to you, and being able to test ride the bike before purchasing. You may be able to find a good deal on a previous year model that has been marked down.

Don't forget to allow for additional costs such as a helmet, a good floor pump, supplies for fixing a flat tire on the road and other maintenance, a water bottle and cage, lock, lights, etc. Good luck with the commuting, heal up quickly, and keep the rubber side down!

HigherGround

I was wondering about that too. However other Raleigh models that I looked at, including their top of the line racing bikes and framesets, also display just one size on the specs page. The model Adam is considering may be made in just one size, or the other sizes may not be readily apparent due to a poor web site lay out.

Treefox

If he's in the UK, Halfords, on occasion, does free safety checks. That's not always on, but it shows up from time to time.

Alternately, go to a local bike shop, get helmet, flat kit, lock, lights, etc. there, be really nice and talk about how you just assembled a bike yourself for the first time, and oh-so-sheepishly ask if you could drop by with at some quiet time just to see if they'd have a quick look to see if you did it right... They may very well take a look at it for you for free.

muesy

Wow, wasn't expecting so many replies.
I'm going to pop to the local bike shop before I consider purchasing the 2.0
and I've got a friend who builds bikes, so that options sorted - I will still get it professionally checked out though.

Thanks for the advice guys, looking forward to joining the cycling community!

Treefox

Welcome to the cult!

Come on back when you catch the bug and decide you really want to spend more money. We can provide the necessary encouragement whenever your real-life non-cycling friends and family think you're nuts for putting so much time and money into bicycles!