I've received some sound advice from folks posting in commuting on bikes to get me to work across road and tracks around 12 miles, and have spent a lunchtime looking in a couple of LBS's.

I looked at a few hybrids but found the 700 wheeled beasts too high and thin feeling for a coward like me. The bike that seemed best in terms of 26 semi-slicks, mudguards and a reasonably upright postion was a Falcon Adventurer. This was cheap (£159) with a lifetime guarantee on the Hi-ten steel frame but only had 18 gears and I wasn't sure whether I'd be making a false economy. Any experiences with Falcon?

The alternative is to buy a budget zero suspension mountain bike and kit it out with guards and semi-slicks. I'm looking at £250 max, which encompassed the Giant Boulder Sports easily and the Claud Butler Ravanna, which comes with a lifetime guaranteed Alu frame for only £229. I've found few reviews of either of these bikes and would appreciate any feedback or alternative suggestions.

If a bike with no rear suspension is a hard-tail, is a bike lacking seat suspension a hard-butt?

Thanks Richard :confused: