[Closed] Can only take 1 bike but which? Cx, mtb or road

I get a train in from Dorking on the North Downs to Wimbledon for work (And bike it from there to Chiswick). You are right by a train line straight to some of the best riding in the South East. Get off at Dorking (30 minutes from Wimbledon, trains about every half hour if you don't want to change at Epsom) and ride from there, or get a connecting train at Dorking Deepdene to get further out to the Surrey Hills.

Tough call on which bike. If you don't mind the half hour commute out, then I'd say mountain bike. Let me know when you move, and if it's a mountain bike, I'll show you 'round a few of the trails, childcare allowing. 🙂

Depends which you like best. all have limitations

mtb - you will travel to riding destination, mainly surrey hills
road - you will ride through suburban sprall before reaching the good stuff, or spend you life doing laps of richmond park

Dont move, thread closed

29er SS MTB with drop bars !!!!!!

SS MTB with a additional set of road wheels and/or a dingle set up. 🙂

In the 20 months since I've moved to Twickenham I've done 6000+km on my road bike (and joined a great club) and 50km on my mountain bike

There's no MTB at all near Wimbledon, and getting on the train with a filthy, muddy MTB from Surrey Hills is a PITA!

The road scene around west London is however, large and growing. Sigma Sport, Pearsons Cycles, lots of club rides (not the geeky/anorak kind), etc. Take the road bike, or the CX for best of both worlds.

I had to downgrade to only on bike last year. I got a CX bike, found it actually quite good on all my local single track with 35c CX tyres and after a 5 min tyre change to some road slicks it makes a pretty good roadie too.

CX bike with discs and three sets of tyres: off road, all terrain 32mm and road 23mm. Three bikes in one. Oh, and buy a tub of talc to lubricate the tyre beads for easy removal and fitting.

Can you REALLY not manage two bikes. My first flat with Mrs Clubber was a tiny 1 bed place in Putney and I kept one bike (my road bike) out because it was being used most days and my mtb under the bed in a bike bag. It would take about 5-10 mins to get it out when necessary but it meant that I had it there and could mtb at weekends.

Otherwise, if 1 bike really is the limit, I'd be going for a racy CX bike that I could use on/off road with different tyres. There's plenty of good riding around there for a CX bike. FWIW, there's also some decent mtbing but some of it is cheeky or just of unknown approval but it's definitely there.

Wimbledon common will be good for the cx bike

Wimbledon common will be good for the cx bike

The legitimate stuff there is a bit limited: the gravel road that runs North-South, a path from Parkside, a track down to Kingston and that's about it. Also gets very busy with walkers during the day. There's some cheeky stuff there as well but best to go early before the dog emptiers arrive.

CX bike for sure. I can do everything the other two can do.

But one bike and you've got to live in London!!!!

Life really is being very unfair to you at the moment isn't it?
Hugs.

dog emptiers

🙂

IME, I never had any issues with them - the park rangers were the only people to avoid and again IME, even they didn't seem too fussed so long as I wasn't cutting over the golf course greens. Mind you that was 10-15 years ago so it may have changed.

Same holds true for Richmond Park. And East Sheen Common (kind of DIY singletrack). Or you can go further out towards Richmond/Esher/Oxshott

cx, no question! 😀

@clubber

Moved away from the area last summer and some of the emptiers were often very vocal about where you should and shouldn't cycle. Fair enough as I was in the wrong, hence I tended to go out early of late when they weren't about. The rangers are a little stricter than in your time as well even on the bigger paths. Again fair play as I shoudn't have been there.

Even on the legitimate stuff the emptiers were not so friendly, walking 3 or 4 abreast across the path, dog on long lead across the path. Vast contrast to where I am now where they're, without exception, very friendly, making space and keeping the dogs controlled.

Thanks samuri *nuzzles*

Maybe I could try and get a couple bikes but think I might be pushing my luck with my better half-I was planning on thee one bike being in a bag under the bed!

Plus if only one bike maybe I could justify getting a new disc cx. Maybe an indy fab sscx disc! Well a boy can dream

I think you need to work on your negotiation skills!

howarthp - Member
In the 20 months since I've [s]moved to Twickenham[/s] [i]started posting on singletrack[/i] I've done 6000+km on my road bike (and joined a great club) and 50km on my mountain bike

FTFY. 😉

I should point out that Mrs Udder and I shared a one bed flat in Dorking with four (or maybe five) bikes, four of which were stored on a bike pole, for over a year. That was before she became Mrs Udder, too - brave woman. It is doable. Just.

Gf* just asked if she can bring her bike! This was not foreseen! Bike flat here we come!

another vote for the cx bike, as mentioned there's a big roadie scene in south west london with KWCC (500+ members) London dynamo and others. There are at least a couple of KWCC members on here and as well as a smallish mtb scene there are cx runs organised over the club forum, usualy going from esher way such as this;

http://www.kingstonwheelers.co.uk/kwccforum/viewtopic.php?t=9589

Look I thought we'd already cleared this up:

CX bike for your home.

Then buy a Jones** and store it at my house at the trail head.

** one size fits all I believe.

Ah of course, sorry I'd forgotten Matt!

He's got a point too - no one would want to have a bike that ugly in their own home... 😉

If matt doesn't have room, I have space in a nice dry garage.