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I'm looking for a decent town bike. I spend a lot of time on my only (MTB) bike, but now I'm in new territory, I need a town bike. (I have considered a cx bike, but think this may not be the time to get one). I've considered, the (overpriced?) rat and a planet x.
Any suggestions on models?
What minimum tyre width do I want to make it feel less fragile, it's just for road riding.
Do I want flat bars or drops?
The road rat isn't overpriced, but perhaps nicer than needed - if you need a pub / hack bike that you'll be leaving secured with the kind of lock you don't mind carrying.
Imho, 32mm tyres still feel a bit 'roadie', 35mm is the point at which tyres start to feel more familiar to a mountainbiker.
Another humble opinion: drop bars are great for nipping through gaps, flat bars allow for cheaper hydraulic discs.
Drop bar Kona Paddy Wagon. A superb introduction to road bikes, singlespeeds (or fixed) and reliability. Just put my old one's parts on Teen1's Langster after he crashed it at Uni and bent the forks.
A decent town bike?
Gazelle Chamonix C7, or something similar by Batavus or Koga. Get the proper tool for the job.
£249 http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/vitus-bikes-dee-29-city-bike-2016/rp-prod135365 or they do a Nexus hub geared version for £350 & put Land Cruisers on it.
Midlifecrashes is correct. Get a proper town bike. Or, an old Raleigh Cameo.
Triban 520 or something else from decathlon
Workmate has a Carrera Subway.
Basically a rigid MTB with slicks.
Nephew has a 29'er from Decathlon that does the same thing.
Both about £300, tough wheels, big tyres, cable discs, easy to fit a rack and guards, gears that will keep working.
Not flash, but they get hammered and seem to have lasted very well.
Town bike as in reliable robust bike for hauling shopping and 'stuff' around in all weathers as a primary mode of transport or town bike as in a bike to ride from place A to place B as quickly as possible with minimal luggage?
The two are very different, and although there is lots of room for overlap have a proper think about what you actually need the bike to do.
If it's mostly cross and inter-town commuting then you'll be wanting something nice and light and nippy, but still reliable, and you can get buy strapping a bag onto a road bike for occasional stuff, but if you're meaning a proper town bike to do a weekly shop on, haul you and your stuff around and whatnot then you want something very reliable, cheap to run, full guards, racks at both ends and nice stable relaxed handling.