About to begin my cycling commute!

[KneesUp]

I'd be more concerned about breaking my neck than a laptop in a crash!

If I had a 2 mile commute and only £100 for a bike, I'd just walk to work while saving up for a decent bike

I have two decent bikes which cost me £26 combined (or a bit over £100 including replacement parts - but that's two bikes) They're not lightweight or cutting edge but they are reliable, well made and were once quite swish. And about three times faster than walking.

 

[vickster]

I am guessing that wasn't the new price from Tesco

 

[Profpointy]

Another vote for getting some panniers. I have carried a 17" laptop in a £10 Lidl rucksack but it's not something I would wish to do regularly...especially in hot weather.

whilst I agree panniers are better, the op's only got £100 for whole bike - so rack and panniers will leave about 50pence for the bike itself !

 

[KneesUp]

I am guessing that wasn't the new price from Tesco

No, but one of them was free after being found abandoned outside a Tesco (done through the police) That's the one that had all the parts. The £26 one was £26. However you didn't dismiss the bike on the basis of being from Tesco when you said

If I had a 2 mile commute and only £100 for a bike, I'd just walk to work while saving up for a decent bike

You appear to be dismissing all bikes that are cheap as being not 'decent' The OP seems to have accepted that second hand is the way to go.

Obviously at that price you're not getting anything fashionable, but it was enough for a Tange-tubed mountain bike with 21 working gears and decent tyres and brakes that work. The frame is sound. Everything else is a wear item.

OP - I've weighed my rucksack from today and it was about 9kg - laptop, SLR, power supply, laptop bag inside rucksack, rucksack itself. I'll be honest, when I put it on each ride I curse, but you soon forget it. You cannot ride with that on your back and wear the same shirt for work in this weather though! It can be done, and if it's really on two flat miles then I'm sure you will be fine without panniers. Aldi do them every year at some point, so see how you're getting on when when they appear.

eBay and small ads are great for secondhand bikes, but you have to be careful you're not buying a stolen one. Ask questions. At the age of bike you might get (mine are 25 years-ish) you can't expect receipts, but at least get a plausible story as to the provenance of the bike.

 

[vickster]

No, but a new bike that is £100 from Tesco will likely be made of cheese and value mild cheddar at that

 

[Profpointy]

Thanks for the responses


Two good points but I think you misunderstand me. I'm not worried about the laptop falling off. I'm worried about impact damage to the laptop in a crash.

With regards to my priorities, they'll always lie with "techno" geek stuff! Although I'm sure techno is a genre of music

Thanks guys

. If you do have a crash beyond the very trivial, I'd be rather more concerned with damage to you than the laptop !

 

[Cuchilo]

You appear to be dismissing all bikes that are cheap as being not 'decent'

I cant speak for anyone else but personally I do .
I make do and mend with a lot of things in my life but bikes are cheap enough to spend a bit of money on and not have to worry .
Its like cheap tools , they are crap and will not do the job you want them to do and in the end will break and end up hurting you .

 

[KneesUp]

I cant speak for anyone else but personally I do .
I make do and mend with a lot of things in my life but bikes are cheap enough to spend a bit of money on and not have to worry .
Its like cheap tools , they are crap and will not do the job you want them to do and in the end will break and end up hurting you .

Someone once paid the inflation adjusted equivalent of £800 on the bike I paid £26 for. My wife has a bike that she paid £30 for which someone once paid an inflation adjusted £1,000 for and then apparently never rode it. They are both about 25 years old and are both made from Tange Infinity tubing and are fully functioning as intended.

What, in your opinion, makes them 'crap'?

 

[Cuchilo]

The loss of £970 and your inflation adjusted prices to justify to your wife that you bought her a crap bike that was once worth 1k

 

[KneesUp]

The loss of £970 and your inflation adjusted prices to justify to your wife that you bought her a crap bike that was once worth 1k

I imagine all mass produced bikes depreciate, certainly over 25 years. It's fine though, I haven't lost anything. Someone else lost £970 (inflation adjusted).

You still haven't explained why you think a bike is crap based only on it's price. I doubt you will try.

Try this one instead. I am a rich idiot. I have bought a £6,000 bike but I don't like the colour - I can't bear to look at it. So I sell it to my paper-boy for a fiver. Is it a "crap bike"?

 

[vickster]

The crap bike label here refers to a £100 new BSO from tesco not a 25 year old bike that was £1000 new...be interesting to know which the OP would prefer to buy

 

[Saluki]

Hi
Welcome to the forums. Well done on taking the plunge on cycling to work.

I'm with the others about spending a little more on a bike or going down the second hand route. There are some good bikes to be had second hand.
A £100 bike from Tesco, especially at the weight that the one you linked to comes in at, is probably not going to be very enjoyable to ride. I love riding but would probably give up riding that bike in the first week when my back was killing me and my legs were in pain. Please consider a better bike to commute in on. You will make savings on fuel and parking quite fast.
Has your works got a Cycle-to-Work scheme that you could join?

On the laptop front. Panniers or a rack is the way to go. A rucksak will make your back all hot and in the event of a crash the laptop will break (probably) and so might your spine. Sure, in a bad fall you might break your computer if it's in a pannier but I'd rather smash my laptop to smithereens than spend the rest of my life unable to walk due to spinal damage. That's just me though.

If you could up your budget at all, Decathlon are always worth a look. Good bikes at low prices. Have a wee look. Lowest price flat bar road bike at £249. B Twins rock

 

[Cuchilo]

Rich people are not idiots . That is why they are rich . A 6k bike sold for a fiver is stolen , even a paper boy would know that and if not his mum or dad will tell him / her .
I find you rather funny as you think a £30 bike is worth a grand but you could pick up a 6k bike very soon for the same £30 .
Are you a from ooop north ?

 

[KneesUp]

Rich people are not idiots . That is why they are rich . A 6k bike sold for a fiver is stolen , even a paper boy would know that and if not his mum or dad will tell him / her .
I find you rather funny as you think a £30 bike is worth a grand but you could pick up a 6k bike very soon for the same £30 .
Are you a from ooop north ?

I don't think a £30 bike is worth £1,000. My wife bought a bike for £30 that was £466 new in 1989. If you adjust for inflation, £466 in 1989 is c. £1100 now. It would be easier if you paid attention. It isn't complicated.

Plenty of rich people are idiots. Not everyone who is rich has earned it themselves. In the example I gave (it's called a 'thought experiment' - I should perhaps have known better) the bike was not stolen.

You still haven't explained why you think a cheap second-hand bike is always "crap".

 

[geekinaseat]

I cycle about 8 miles each way with a 15.4 laptop in one of these:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/3711...f11=ICEP3.0.0&ff12=67&ff13=80&ff14=108&ff19=0

Plenty of padding and I'm sure laptop would be fine in the event of an off, any accident that is going to damage the laptop would be a serious enough off for me to care more about myself I think. Have a look and see if swissgear do any suitable for a 17?

The biggest issue is sweaty back, but after a few weeks that wont be an issue on a 2 mile ride. Just get stuck in!

On the bike, I justify silly amounts of money as I'm saving £7 a day, or almost 2 grand a year by not getting the bus & tube (not to mention getting my fitness time, leisure and de-stressing all on the commute). I'm not saying go mad but just a bit more would get you a decent bike and may still pay for itself?