New bike suggestions for commuting to work

[Aegophor]

Hi, I'm looking to buy a bike for commuting to work and I'd like some suggestions on what kind of bike I should be looking for.

I don't know a lot about suitable bikes, but in my younger days I had a hybrid Saracen bike which I bought for around £250 which I though was pretty good. I'm 5ft 7in about 11 stone and I'll be travelling about 4-5 miles each day on mainly roads and cycle paths though I imagine there will be a few pot holes on the way.

I'd like to try and keep costs low because I don't have a lot of money but also would like something that's going to last me a couple of years, would really appreciate some advice and suggestions please. Thank you.

[NUKe]

What is your commute like long/Short Flat/ Hilly, onroad/ offroad. Will you ride all weathers ? is Speed a factor
For commuting I would consider looking at Second-hand if budget is tight. But there are some good budget brands Halfords Carrera Subway is one I would recommend in a budget a look at or the Edinburgh bicycle Coop, many people also recommend Decathlon.
What extra will you need Mudguards are good addition to a commuter hack , also a rack , lights if your commute incurs dark rides

[Fairweather]

If your route involves an lot of hills or stop/start town center journeys an electric bike might be a big plus got you.

[Brucey]

could you buy a bike on the cycle to work scheme? This can work out pretty good value.

If you are mechanically ept -or sometimes just lucky- then buying secondhand might be an option too.

FWIW you ought to think about luggage, mudguards, lights, locks etc now, whilst planning your purchase; they can all add up.

You usually get good value (commuting wise) with BTWIN 'elops' models. They are fine for a flattish commute. The 120 is currently £180 and the 520 is £230. I think the extra is well spent on the 520, if you need the front rack especially. I'd only criticise them for

a) having a screw-on freewheel (which leaves you with a hub axle which might be prone to breakage) and
b) having the rear brake in a stupid place; it will need lube in the pivots often if it is not to seize up
c) not having low gears, so won't suit a route with steep hills
d) being a bit heavy

but for the money these criticisms seem somewhat churlish TBH

cheers

[Jamesh]

I think you want to get a hybrid bike for about £200.

Light enough to be reasonably fast.

Cheap enough for the gears to be cheaply replaced, above 8spd the cost of components increases greatly.

Cheers James

[Greystoke]

In addition to the above advice chose a bike that's comfortable to ride the distances you intend to cycle.
An uncomfortable or compromised ride will see you driving to work rather than cycling.

[[XAP]Bob]

4-5 miles each way is a pretty easy on virtually any bike...

For commuting you want to think about:
- What do you need to carry to work/home.
Luggage is very much best carried on the bike - pannier(s), rack top bag, saddle bag, bar bag...
Laptops will happily tolerate being in a pannier.

- Full length proper mudguards, with a decent mudflap (flaps can be added later)

- Lights
Depending on the paths you may want some serious lighting, or you may want some basic "be seen" lights.
If you need serious lights then I'd look at a dynamo, if you just need "be seen" lighting then grab some basic battery lights.

- Clothing
It's rather rare, even in this country, that it is very wet. Particularly if you can shift your commute by half an hour in either direction. Things that are fully waterproof are rarely breathable, so your risk being a 'boil in the bag' cyclist (or just going slower in the rain).

- Office space
Befriend your security/cleaner/janitor/caretaker.
They'll know the best place to dry out any clothes that *do* get wet, and the best place to keep your bike during the day - possibly inside.
They'll also let you bring the bike in for the odd occasion you need to do some lunchtime maintenance (repair after a visit from the fairy for example).

- Tools
You'll want a toolkit that lives on the bike, spare chain link, and tool, fairy repellent kit, and a selection of Allen keys should do the job.

[BlueRider]

Giant Escape.

Best bang/buck for commuting

Of course, this depends on your commute but as a general purpose bike, the Escape is excellent.

[Aegophor]

What is your commute like long/Short Flat/ Hilly, onroad/ offroad. Will you ride all weathers ? is Speed a factor
For commuting I would consider looking at Second-hand if budget is tight. But there are some good budget brands Halfords Carrera Subway is one I would recommend in a budget a look at or the Edinburgh bicycle Coop, many people also recommend Decathlon.
What extra will you need Mudguards are good addition to a commuter hack , also a rack , lights if your commute incurs dark rides

The commute will be fairly flat with some slight inclines. I'm not bothered about going too fast, I'd like a fairly comfortable ride whilst getting a small amount of exercise. I will likely be riding in all weather conditions. Yes I would like a mudguard for the rear definitely, a rack I don't need, Lights are a must have but I can buy them separately.

[Aegophor]

could you buy a bike on the cycle to work scheme? This can work out pretty good value.

If you are mechanically ept -or sometimes just lucky- then buying secondhand might be an option too.

FWIW you ought to think about luggage, mudguards, lights, locks etc now, whilst planning your purchase; they can all add up.

You usually get good value (commuting wise) with BTWIN 'elops' models. They are fine for a flattish commute. The 120 is currently £180 and the 520 is £230. I think the extra is well spent on the 520, if you need the front rack especially. I'd only criticise them for

a) having a screw-on freewheel (which leaves you with a hub axle which might be prone to breakage) and
b) having the rear brake in a stupid place; it will need lube in the pivots often if it is not to seize up
c) not having low gears, so won't suit a route with steep hills
d) being a bit heavy

but for the money these criticisms seem somewhat churlish TBH

cheers

My workplace does have a cycle to work scheme but I'm not sure what the benefits of it are, I thought it sounded similar to a form of finance? like a loan which I don't really want to do. I'm not very mechanically ept but I'd like to learn how to maintain my bike once I've bought one.
I have a padlock and chain so I shouldn't need that, I'm a little bit concerned about theft but hopefully that'll be covered under house and contents insurance. ...Side note I've never been one two alter gears I usually adjusted to one I've felt comfortable with and then adjusted up or down once if tired/not tired.

[Brucey]

my understanding is that the C2W scheme can be of great benefit depending on whether they attribute any residual value to the bike after ~three years or not. Often they don't or it is a very low value; best ask your employer. IIRC accessories that are purchased along with the bike can be included, which can work out to a lot of ~half-price stuff for you. A downside is that the retailer pays a percentage whenever a C2W voucher is used, so they don't often allow you to use a voucher if bikes/parts are not priced at full retail.

Doubtless someone who knows more about it can explain more if required.

cheers

[The utility cyclist]

A higher end mint condition second hand Specialized Sirrus or Trek FX, does everything you'll be needing it for.
Example here, it's an older new old stock model but with decent spec and carbon forks to reduce the buzz on the roads, my son used to ride one of these to school for 5 years (it was a Sirrus Sport so minus the carbon forks)
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/specialized- ... SwJe9eWDuO
Here's a Trek FX https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Trek-7-5-FX- ... Sw00JeSQvr
of course you can buy new bikes for not much money and for many that's fine, finding a good one at the money you are looking at is tough to say the least.
Here's an interesting site with some ideas, this bike in particular would suit your needs and has guards and lights already affixed, you'd be buying from a distance though. https://www.bikester.co.uk/978998.html

[David9694]

a) having a screw-on freewheel (which leaves you with a hub axle which might be prone to breakage)

cheers

I’ve got a couple of very old rear wheels running 6s freewheels- should I be especially worried about breaking an axle?

One of them is a Regina Extra which goes in large jumps to 32t - I needed to splice in several chain links (how nice to be able to do that) to make it run with a 52/42 chainset.

[Brucey]

…..I’ve got a couple of very old rear wheels running 6s freewheels- should I be especially worried about breaking an axle? …..

Some folk appear to lead charmed lives in this respect but IME breakage is somewhere between 'quite likely' and 'very likely' depending on usage and -perhaps most importantly- how/how hard you push on the pedals.

If the rear axle is solid 3/8" and of average quality then it is quite likely to break. Most LBSs have to deal with this on a weekly or even daily basis; it is the single biggest cause of rear wheel failure (in wheels with non-cassette type hubs). Even a small increase in size to 10mm makes for an axle that is significantly stronger. If the axle is solid and it breaks, it is 'ride over'. However if the axle is QR type (i.e. hollow with a skewer in the middle) and breaks, then you can usually ride the bike home (with caution) because the skewer holds the broken parts in place. It is even possible to break a QR axle and not to notice, which is incredibly bad; it very often breaks the frameset near the RH dropout, if you ride far like that.

In heavily laden use, it is usually possible to install an additional 'outrigger' bearing beneath the freewheel and thus prolong the life of the axle.

cheers

[Jamesh]

If budgets tight something like this would be a good choice. Reasonably light, but not flashy!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/124105211333

Or this one?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/123891512258

Cheers James