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Decided to sell the hardtail to fund a more suitable commuter bike. Been looking at some of the builds Charge do but what else do folk recommend?
How far is the commute, what's the terrain like, traffic, on road/off, what's the budget.
Commute isn't far, a couple of miles with a train journey included. Might end up using the bike for extra rides around home, so bit of road and off road paths, cycle routes etc. Don't want to spend too much really, been looking around the £500 mark but can be flexible.
Robust tyres.
Full mudguards.
Single speed if it's flat.
Make and model isn't important really
A CX bike with slick tyres is ideal in my opinion, with flat bars if preferred. Your Charge builds, (presuming the 'guards will fit) or an On-One Pompino or a Genesis Day One, (which is what I ride) fit the bill nicely.
edit - actually, if it's that short and includes a train jouney, a folder may be better.
a couple of miles
Don't want to spend too much really
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Whats wrong with the Hard tail ?
Robust tyres.
Full mudguards.
This a thousand times.
It's a bit small and heavy for what it now gets used for, might try use the new bike for some fitness miles over the winter so something more road friendly is required.Whats wrong with the Hard tail ?
The Genesis Day one looks ok, not a fan of drop bars but can switch them if needed.
Selling your HT! Are you feeling alright? Have you banged your head?
Do you want drops or a flat bar? Personally I'd go for a CX bike with eyelets for racks and guards and disc brakes (cantis are too sketchy for my liking in traffic).
Really enjoy taking mine on mixed road/brideway spins out to explore since I moved up here. And the shorter TT (than a road bike) makes it great in traffic. Wish I had disc brakes though!
Ha ha yeah i'm feeling fine (I think). I was tempted to just go for a 29er hardtail and use that for commuting and some trail use but it probably wouldn't see much trail use so a commuter style bike is most likely the better option.
I'm also after a commuter/pub bike/town bike of some description - flat bars and non-disc brakes. Charge Grater looks good. Anything else out there?
couple of miles with train? get a brompton.
I received an e-mail from crc which after a cursory glance seemed to have some great deals on hardtail 29ers... Which would be my preference. Rigid fork if you are really bothered about weight.
Actually, what about an on-one bundle? Inbred 29er or pompino? Then build up a project to your liking.
Oh and for commuting, I swear by an Alfine hub. I bought a carrera from halfords with an alfine hub years ago for a ridiculously cheap price and it morphed eventually into a 29er hardtail.
islabikes Beinn 29 - bargain bike, good price and quite flexible in terms of setup.fat tyre, thin tyre you can customise when buying, rack mounts, space for mudguards etc etc £449..
http://www.islabikes.co.uk/bike_pages/beinn29.html
BUT if you want to use wth train.. check train company policy on full size bikes at the times you wish to travel [i]and[/i] even if they are allowed is that actually space on those trains for a full size bike?
Part train commuting?
Would a folder make sense?
I'm looking at this too for a friend, same budget more or less.
Needs to be fast on road but capable of off road commutes too, fully eyeletted for rack and guards, preferably disc brakes, so looks like a cross bike fits the bill.
These charge and genesis ones seem to be a lot for a pretty heavy bike though, any other recommendations?