Help me find a bike for long distance commute please

[BikeN00b]

Hi,

I'm new to the forum and I know close to nothing about bikes so would greatly appreciate some advice.

In under a couple of weeks I'm going to be starting a regular commute via bike which consists of just over 9 miles each way. The route is pretty much all road and I'll be making this journey around 5 times a week. So throughout the year I'll be travelling through all weather types.

I'm trying to find a suitable endurable bike which will make the journey as comfortable as possible. Ideally, I would like to keep the budget between £300-400 but will consider other bikes if this budget will not suffice.

My height is around 5 feet 6 inches and I weigh around 60kg.

If someone can help me find a suitable bike, that would be brilliant and much appreciated.

Thanks

[LittleGreyCat]

For 9 miles each way almost any bike should do.

Is the ride flat, or are there hills?
Country or town?

Do you have plans to use the bike for other stuff?

I used to commute about 9.6 miles each way on a mountain bike with fat road tyres; this also made it easy to go on bridle paths if I wanted.

The standard solution for commuting is probably a hybrid (which can be very similar to a mountain bike with road tyres).

If you don't plan to go onto anything lumpy and bumpy you probably don't need any suspension, front or back.

[BikeN00b]

For 9 miles each way almost any bike should do.

Is the ride flat, or are there hills?
Country or town?

Do you have plans to use the bike for other stuff?

I used to commute about 9.6 miles each way on a mountain bike with fat road tyres; this also made it easy to go on bridle paths if I wanted.

The standard solution for commuting is probably a hybrid (which can be very similar to a mountain bike with road tyres).

If you don't plan to go onto anything lumpy and bumpy you probably don't need any suspension, front or back.

Thanks for your response.

The ride is mostly flat but there are a few hilly roads along the way. The journey is through the (often) busy city roads of Birmingham.

No other plans for the bike other than the commute.

Which bike did you have?

[Spinners]

I've just started a stupidly short commute of about 2.0 miles each way and went for a hybrid but for 9 miles I'd go geared road bike.

[531colin]

Things to consider.......
Do you need to take luggage....clean shirt, lap top, sandwiches....much better on the bike than on your back
Do you want to get blathered in filthy water off the road, or are mudguards a good idea?
Do you want to pick your way over potholed city streets (do you have the confidence and ability to do so?......in the dark?) or would you rather use tyres wider than your thumb which give you a bit of cushioning from the poor road surfaces?
Are you prepared to do regular (twice weekly, when they salt the roads) maintenance to keep the bike going through the winter, or are you looking for a "no spanner" solution?

[markfh]

Picking up on one of the points in the original post "I'll be travelling through all weather types" taking this literally may mean that you want to cycle when there is ice/snow. One solution to this is to use studded tyres which will mean that larger clearances are needed to allow for the these as well as mudguards for wet weather. This may rule out a lot of "road bikes".

Also if you are commuting in wet weather you may want to think about disc or hub brakes as they are less affected by water/muck.

[Vorpal]

+1 for mudguards and the possibility to take snow tyres.

That probably means
-a touring bike
-a hybrid OR
-a mountain bike

If you go for a mountain bike, avoid suspension, as it has a poor reputation for durability on bikes that are under ~£700.

Other than that, ride some bikes. Try Decathlon and Edinburgh Bicycle Co=op if you have either near you.

[BikeN00b]

Things to consider.......
Do you need to take luggage....clean shirt, lap top, sandwiches....much better on the bike than on your back
Do you want to get blathered in filthy water off the road, or are mudguards a good idea?
Do you want to pick your way over potholed city streets (do you have the confidence and ability to do so?......in the dark?) or would you rather use tyres wider than your thumb which give you a bit of cushioning from the poor road surfaces?
Are you prepared to do regular (twice weekly, when they salt the roads) maintenance to keep the bike going through the winter, or are you looking for a "no spanner" solution?

I probably will have luggage but it won't be much, probably just a notepad and a couple of books. If there's a way to attach a bag to the bike that would be better than carrying it on my back.

Mudguards sounds like a good idea

The roads I'll be using are generally fine so don't think potholes will be an issue.

A 'no spanner' solution sounds great. Don't really fancy regular maintenance lol

[BikeN00b]

Picking up on one of the points in the original post "I'll be travelling through all weather types" taking this literally may mean that you want to cycle when there is ice/snow. One solution to this is to use studded tyres which will mean that larger clearances are needed to allow for the these as well as mudguards for wet weather. This may rule out a lot of "road bikes".

Also if you are commuting in wet weather you may want to think about disc or hub brakes as they are less affected by water/muck.

I probably won't be travelling through snow/ice tbh. I will be travelling through rain

[Elizabethsdad]

Things to consider.......
Do you need to take luggage....clean shirt, lap top, sandwiches....much better on the bike than on your back
Do you want to get blathered in filthy water off the road, or are mudguards a good idea?
Do you want to pick your way over potholed city streets (do you have the confidence and ability to do so?......in the dark?) or would you rather use tyres wider than your thumb which give you a bit of cushioning from the poor road surfaces?
Are you prepared to do regular (twice weekly, when they salt the roads) maintenance to keep the bike going through the winter, or are you looking for a "no spanner" solution?

I probably will have luggage but it won't be much, probably just a notepad and a couple of books. If there's a way to attach a bag to the bike that would be better than carrying it on my back.

Mudguards sounds like a good idea

The roads I'll be using are generally fine so don't think potholes will be an issue.

A 'no spanner' solution sounds great. Don't really fancy regular maintenance lol

If you are looking for a 'no spanner' solution then I would say look at bikes with hub gears and disc brakes for all weather braking. Best bet would be a bike with the Alfine 8sp hub gear but you will be looking at more like £800+ for a new one - so maybe consider second hand. Apart from low maintainance, hub gears also have the benefit of allowing you change down to a lower gear when stationary. In urban traffic that can be very handy if you have had to stop quickly as is likely to happen. I would also advocate dynamo lighting although many rechargeable led lights have a decent run time these days. http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/cube ... prod141451 might be worth a look

[Bonefishblues]

Charge Grater is on sale at Evans at the moment, you'd be a commuter god for reasons I'll not trouble you with

But seriously, pretty much bob-on for the use you'd make of it.

https://www.evanscycles.com/charge-grat ... e-EV240651

[Tangled Metal]

I got a hybrid for my 7 mile commute. Front suspension and mixed use tyres so I could go off road too. £430 in end of season sale with pannier rack included and installed by the shop. Added front and rear mudguards later, definitely worth it. Good rechargeable lights plus battery rear just in.case. BTW I'd recommend two sets of lights front and rear. One 300 lumen or greater front light if you're riding where there's no street lighting. The other ones are just.to.be seen by. A decent rear light like Cateye x-lite, x2 or x3.

I got it nicked but I had already realised it wasn't the right bike. Got a drop bar "adventure" bike. PlanetX London Road commuter bike to be precise. It has 700x37 tyres and 10 speed Tiagra with compact chainrings. Reasonably good gearing for road use but it handles some off road use too. Done bridleways in the lakes on it before. Tyres were puncture resistant ones with a Kevlar belt. Now I've got better Schwalbe marathon plus tyres. Both original and current have reflective edges. My mudguards also reflective. Alloy frame with carbon forks. Disc brakes cable actuated avid bb7 brakes.

I would recommend looking at something similar. 37mm tyres with clearance to allow mudguards as well as 37mm tyres. If you put marathon tyres on you'll need clearance for 40mm plus guards because IMHO marathon tyres are bigger.volume than equivalent tyre widths from other brands.

My.shopping list would be alloy frame 7001 or 7061 with T6 heat treatment. Carbon forks to take out road buzz. Rack and mudguards. Good puncture resistant tyres. Gearing? Straight forward derailleur gearing will be ok IME winter isn't that tough on bikes, mine gets very little maintenance and didn't fall apart after last winter. Drop bars but that's my preference since it allows more hand positions.

My view is upright hybrid bikes are a slower option than road bike styles. You can get road bike style hybrids but they're upright. Just my preference though.

September IIRC is when bike shops clear out current year bikes to make way for the next year. Often there's nothing different except a different colour scheme so you can often.get a better bike for your money about now.

Studded tyres? I never got any and only ran the stock, own brand tyres Areos from PlanetX. I'm guessing if cycling in urban areas then ice might not be a big issue. I commute on a mix of main road country and town roads. A few sections are on mixed use paths and a metal decked pedestrian bridge. Learn your route and where the dodgy bits are. Slow down at those spots and chances are you'll be ok.

[Vorpal]

Go ride some bikes. It's fun & will help you figure out what you want. Also, when you test ride bikes, you are also checking out the shop, the service and advice they provide, etc.

[mig]

seems to me to be crying out for a single speed or fixed 700c type set up - planet x pompino or similar.

[NUKe]

http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/browse/ ... inSale=yes
several bikes here might fit your pocket and what you are looking for.