Road Bike with fixed mudguards

[AlastairS]

Hi, I would like a lighter bike than my Galaxy. How light ?I don't know. Let's say a weight in the middle of the lightweight range(what weight would that be?)!
Use it for day runs and commuting.
I would like it to take mudguards.
I've heard that 28mm tyres are more comfortable. Plenty of road bike users using 23-25mm tyres I guess.
So the bike should take 25mm tyres with mudguards.
I would like a double chain wheel.
Thought of an audax bike, but i think these are heavier than a mid-range light road bike.
Can you please recommend me a bike ?

[Brucey]

Hi, I would like a lighter bike than my Galaxy. How light ?I don't know. Let's say a weight in the middle of the lightweight range(what weight would that be?)! .....Thought of an audax bike, but i think these are heavier than a mid-range light road bike.

Take a look here;

http://www.cyclescheme.co.uk/community/round-ups/round-up-four-season-road-bikes

take a look at a genesis equilibrium. Take a look at some CX bikes. Take a look at some audax bikes.

Believe it or not, 25s or 28s are heavier than race-spec 23s, and by the time you have those and mudguards on your 'road bike' it will weigh at least 1.5lbs, maybe 2lbs more, even if those are the only differences.

cheers

[AlastairS]

Thanks Brucey, the Equilibrium 20 looks good. Quite light (~9.4kg), but it is quite expensive £1300.
I notice the Boardman Team Carbon Road bike for example is 8.6kg and dosen't have mudguards not a steel frame.

Two questions:

1. Is there a bike with the features of the Equilibrium (steel, lightwieght) that is cheaper ?
2. What are the pros and cons of the Boardman Team versus a bike like the Equilibrium ?

I would be very grateful for your help.

[chocjohn9]

Take a look at Charge bikes - there is a review of their Juicer Hi 105 here. It's 9.9kg. Mine have 28mm Gatorskins on it.

http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/reviews/ ... uicer-hi-2

I can vouch for them being a very tough and comfy bikes and mine has served me well over my commuting years. They go on ebay for about £400 ....and there is a Juicer model which comes with Tiagra, which go for even less.....

However, they are old models now and also there is no rack fixing points (I just use those metal hoop things and I've been fine)
So, Charge have a new model which comes with back fixings plus disc brakes.... here-

Plug 3 with sora (£849) and plug 4 with 105 (1099)
http://www.chargebikes.com/plug/plug-3

No weights are mentioned but I'd imagine similar to the Juicers, which are considerably less than your Galaxy.

[Brucey]

well I would take a set of scales along with you when you go shopping; I weighed a Genesis Equilibrium and with pedals and mudguards (and a few minor spec changes) it weighed 23.5lbs. Nice bike, but 25mm tyres and mudguards is about it. After a few years you may start to wonder (worry) about the carbon fork.

A Spa Audax is a similar weight to that BTW.

The Boardman has mudguard eyes but I do wonder why; 23s and mudguards is going to be pretty snug. When it is a couple of years old the frame warranty will be up and you may just decide that to get another one is the best thing. Previous versions have not been entirely trouble-free;

http://forum.ctc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=66529

A nice bike but just short of the mark in some respects.

Faced with a similar choice a little while ago a chum of mine just said 'stuff it' and bought a bike with no real mudguard clearances and then fitted the short SKS raceblades to it. Much better than nothing, but nothing like as good as proper mudguards.

If you decide to do similarly, then you could save a wadge and just buy a cheap road bike like a Triban. About 10kg for about £300 is possible. If you use it for a year and sell it on for £150 it has cost you £150 for a year's cycling.

But in general terms;

Cheap, light, mudguard friendly;

-choose two.

cheers

[niggle]

Cheap, light and mudguard friendly- possibly the Ribble Winter Trainer at £520 for the Sora 2x9 build, but not sure about tyre clearance, maybe only get 23mm in there?

http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/bikebuild ... BRW&bike=1

Also the Pinnacle range from Evans but again not sure re tyre clearance and some Halfords Carrera brand road bikes have mudguard eyelets and deep drop brakes, so maybe clearance for 25-28mm tyres with mudguards- definitely worth popping in to Halfords and having a look, but the Carreras do seem to be going down market and some have chromo steel forks which adds to the weight, but at least will make you feel more confident in their structural integrity after a minor crash.

I like my Genesis Equilibrium but it is quite expensive, not as light as alloy and Brucey is right about the fork, though I can get 28mm tyres in OK.

I guess you could also look at the Dawes Audax models, HTH

[pete75]

Cheap, light and mudguard friendly- possibly the Ribble Winter Trainer at £520 for the Sora 2x9 build, but not sure about tyre clearance, maybe only get 23mm in there?

http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/bikebuild ... BRW&bike=1

You can squeeze 25's in but it takes some v. careful setting up.
There's also this at Ribble http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sed/road- ... ERW#Wheels

Spa are currently doing this under 700 quid http://www.spacycles.co.uk/products.php ... 060&z=4148 . Seems a good price for abike with £100 worth of saddle and it certainly gets a good review here http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/reviews/ ... gh-clubman. Smart looking bike too - there's something classy about having mudguards the same colour as the frame.

[Brucey]

shame that the Raleigh is 52cm only at Spa, it isn't a bad bike that.

cheaper bits hung on a similar frame (more sizes available too)

http://www.londonbicycleworkshop.com/3538/products/raleigh-gran-sport-2013-white.aspx

quoted weight of 11.8kg (~26lbs in real money) with mudguards and pedals. Less than £500, and when the cassette wears out, it'll cost peanuts.

cheers

[foxyrider]

Just buy a Giant Defy - prices from £500, all will take mudguards and a day rack. Its a sportive model so it has a relaxed riding position and wide gear range.

Its very popular because its very good - even the entry level machine is lighter than my old steel time trial bike!

[OnYourRight]

You may not want another Dawes, but the Clubman and Century SE (the Audax models niggle mentioned) tick most of your boxes, depending on what you will accept as light weight. They come with a triple chainset though. Check carefully whether the racy geometry suits you.

Beware of claimed weights. Most of them are highly optimistic to say the least. The problem is so bad that many reputable brands have stopped quoting weights altogether rather than lie or be seen in a bad light against the liars.

Several of the bikes in the Edinburgh Bicycle Cooperative’s own-brand range (“Revolution”) have special attention to mudguard fittings. They have a shop in Aberdeen.

[iandriver]

How disciplined are you with tyre pressures etc. I got fed up forever pumping up 25mm tyres which is the max most these bikes will take. A set of 32 fully slick isn't noticeably slower for me, but a lot less faff and a lot more comfort. For a general reasonably quick hack around capable of long day rides, a CX bike is an extremely flexible choice.

[AlastairS]

Thank you. I'm very grateful for all your replies. Please send in more if you can.
I would be grateful for a brief pros/cons alumiunim/carbon bike versus steel framed bike.

[Mick F]

......I got fed up forever pumping up 25mm tyres .....

I was forever pumping up my 20mm and then 23mm ............ then I discovered why.

It's not necessarily the same problem you have, but it was my track pump that was letting them DOWN.
Had I checked the pressure with a separate gauge ........ like I did in the end, I'd have seen what the problem was. My pump connection let air out as I connected, so I inflated to get the correct pressure thinking they needed it, then it let air out on disconnection!

Since using a Lezyne with a far better system, my 23mm tyres go for nearly two weeks before needing attention.

[iandriver]

......I got fed up forever pumping up 25mm tyres .....

I was forever pumping up my 20mm and then 23mm ............ then I discovered why.

It's not necessarily the same problem you have, but it was my track pump that was letting them DOWN.
Had I checked the pressure with a separate gauge ........ like I did in the end, I'd have seen what the problem was. My pump connection let air out as I connected, so I inflated to get the correct pressure thinking they needed it, then it let air out on disconnection!

Since using a Lezyne with a far better system, my 23mm tyres go for nearly two weeks before needing attention.

I hear what you're saying. I can feel it when I just push a thumb on the tyre. 120 down to 100 seems to take about 48 hours. 100 to 80 about a week, 80 to 60 about a month as far as I can tell (very rough estimates). I like to keep 'em bang up to pressure. Can't see the point in skinny tyres if your not going to keep them topped up (not saying you don't, this is just my set up). Save the skinny ones for the audax bike now. The 38mm marathon +s on the 15 mile each way a day commuter only need topping up about once a month.

Edit: Sorry OP, thread hijack. Something like this, http://www.genesisbikes.co.uk/bikes/adv ... oix-de-fer , bags of fun.

[Brucey]

.....I would be grateful for a brief pros/cons alumiunim/carbon bike versus steel framed bike.

there's no such thing....

cheers