jon.bob

Hello all,

Am starting a new job in a rural location soon and have decided to commute. I really want to get the right bike that will last and have about £300-500 to spend.

The ride one way is about 7.5 km on paved cycle trail and road, and 1.5 on a bridleway of a mixture of dirt, grit and deep gravel. I'd like the bike for city use too.



My questions for those kind enough to donate some advice, considering the distance and terrain are:

1. Hybrid or tourer/trekker ?
2. Rigid forks or suspension (with the option of lockout) ?
3. Tire gauge ?
4. Brake type ?

Many thanks in advance and looking forward to your replies...

aidanpringle

1. Both make equal sense.
2. I would go rigid, suspension only makes sense in really rough terrain.
3.I wouldn't go wide. I would stick with 700c.
4. V-Brakes make sense. Easy to adjust and incredible breaking power.

I has a look and found this bike it has all you need for commuting. Decathlon are the best value bikes in the UK so if the one I suggested doesn't take your fancy just have a look in their bike section.

momist

I wore out the original tyres on my Claud Butler Classic on similar terrain. I replaced them with these:

Vittoria Randonneur Trail City Tyre 700 x 38c

which I really really like. Chunky enough for the dirt trails but road worthy easy rolling tread that copes with most surfaces. Stay away from those tyres with big chunks stuck out, they are noisy and add rolling resistance. You need tyres with some form of thorn resistance built in.

shauny

i agree with aidanpringle, that bike does look pretty good to be fair. my mate is looking to buy a new hybrid and hes thinking about buying this, https://www.dawescycles.com/p-751-dis...1eq-gents.aspx. a bit dearer than the btwin one but i cant fault dawes at all, they are very reliable. today i just picked up some 700x35c marathon plus tires, you might want to look into them too, they go on forever and you'd have to be very unlucky to get a puncture with them.