Hello all.
I've finally started commuting. Normally I car share with a friend (always trying to help the environment), but he has gone on holiday for 2 weeks leaving me with the prospect of the bus or to get off my lazy arse and actually cycle in with my friends old hardtail mtb. I decided the latter.
Hasn't been the best week to start, with 3 out of 5 days being mainly wet, but the showers in the office are good and my clothing tends to dry out by the end of the day.
I'm from Cardiff in the UK (hello fellow Cardiff commuters) and my commutes look like this
on the way and this
on the way home, giving me quite a good work out and nice warm fuzzy feeling when i get home (probably my legs tingling from the shock of exercise). Despite the wet weather i am enjoying it and I am getting to work faster than I would on the bus, though not in the car.
I don't think i'll be commuting during the winter (sorry call me a fair weather cyclist or whatever, i'll call myself sensible), stopping probably in September/October.
The company I work for has just signed up to the cycle scheme (you get about 30% of the price of a bike and you pay for it through your monthly wage so it ends up being something like £15 a month for 18months) so i'm planning on taking advantage of that. So i've been looking for a bike for my ride and to suit me generally. I'm considering a Hybrid or a MTB (with rigid fork or lockouts) as I don't think a road bike or a cyclocross bike would suit my wants and needs.
There's a few that have caught my eye from the Kona Dew (and Dew Plus) to the Specialized Hardrock or Globe Vienna 3.
Is there anything anyone would really recommend I look at in the <£350ish range?
Also from reading the forums here it seems you always recommend a test ride. How do you go about a test ride, as riding up and down the pavement outside a shop can be a bit different from the terrains and routes i'll be encountering on my work rides.
Cheers all.
Bore da! Welcome to a genuine Welshman from a Welsh-American. Spent a week in Cardiff on one of my 3 cycling tours of the UK. Stayed w/friends on Pentre St near Millenium Stadium before it was completed. Two of them worked at the Centre for the Visual Arts-Cardiff. Did the A470 from Llandudno/Conwy to Cardiff in '99.
Regarding your bike choices staying w/a rigid fork/hardtail w/street tires(Schwalbe Marathon Plus...my recommendation) mtb would be best for urban commuting on paved roads. You'll get better overall comps w/a rf/ht mtb for the same money as one w/a shock fork. Fenders, oops I mean mudguards
are a must. Planet Bike Superflash blinkies are GREAT for the money...18-25.00US from online sources. There're plenty of sources available in the UK. Rack/bags(waterproof...this IS Wales we're talkin' about
). For a HL a Niterider Trailrat 2.0 is 10w Halogen and a good basic light for around 100.00US. There are better ones available from Germany or The Netherlands, I'm sure. You'll need a 1 LED HL w/a flashing mode, too for daytime. They're cheap...15-20.00US for one that will last 100+ hrs on flash mode. A good frame pump is a Topeak Road Morph w/guage. Multi tool, tubes, patch kit, METAL tire levers(plastic are crap), chain-tool, universal spoke wrench will complete your 'commuter kit'.
We wont even get into rain gear...
I rode from Dolgellau to Betws-y-Coed in driving rain...took me 6 hours.
I'm sure your well versed re rain gear.
BTW, this is the bike I've been using for over a year now:
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/..._cross_cx2.htm The yellow/black version is what I've got. I changed out the stock cyclo-cross tires for some 28mm SMPs as the stock tires were too soft for street use. Of course, my commute is 17.5 mi rural, but a cyclocross bike may be just the thing if you want to use it or weekend touring, day trips, etc. Plenty of gear range for light touring/commuting or utility cycling. Very versatile bike.