Choosing a bike..

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I have been umming and ahhing about buying a new bike for a while now .. and through a combination of unforeseen expenses and potential redundancy I have put it off until now, but as the weather is improving I really want to get out and my current BSO has really had it.. I bought it for under £100 just to check that I could get on with cycling, and now I know that I can I'm looking for a quality bike that will last.

The downside of waiting is that I have reached the point where I have read so much and got so many opinions from different people that I end up baffled... I think part of the reason is that ultimately I may need more than one bike and no one style seems perfect for everything..

I want to commute to work, that would be 3.5 miles in each direction on-road in Manchester (some bad roads, lots of rain).

I'd also like a bike that I can use for leisure road riding at weekends..

and I'd like a bike that can go onto soft ground, gravel, towpaths, sustrans routes etc..

I am quite heavy (19st ish) so I'm looking for something solid but not a big heavy mountain bike hopefully,.

Do you think a cyclo-cross bike would be a good choice for someone who will be mostly commuting, but wants to be able to go gently off road?

My LBS sells the Marin Toscana which I really like the look of, although I haven't tried one out yet.

Would it be easy to fit road bike wheels to a bike like that for slicker road riding?..


And to the final question? am I on the right lines? I'm trying to make my own decision about the bike for me but I'd welcome anyone else's opinions..

thanks

 

[Angelfishsolo]

I'd have a look at something like this. http://www.evanscycles.com/products...oogle&utm_medium=froogle&utm_campaign=froogle
About half the cost and a good bike or so I have been told.

 

[PpPete]

Toscana looks like a nice spec, but so it should be at over £700
But those 700 x 35c tyres would not be my pick for any road use.

A 700 x 28 will make your life a lot easier on the commute - and can be used for easier off road things like canal tow-paths, even quite bumpy stuff with care.... they just won't be great in mud.

My hack bike (big old steel tourer frame) has 700 x 32 tyres .... I seem to take it through tougher stuff than a lot of kids do on their full-sus MTBs

 

[Arch]

the 'bike that does everything' is quite often a tourer - designed to be relatively tough, have all the bits you need (rack, mudguards etc) able to carry a fair bit (if it can carry 4 panniers and camping stuff, then relatively luggage free, it'll handle a big lad... You can always go for the chunkier tyres to cover a certain amount of off road....

(bearing in mind that I'm pretty much a road and touring cyclist, so I'm not entirely clear about what a cyclocross bike is...) I just know that my Galaxy can handle most stuff covered by sustrans tracks, towpaths etc. You won;t find a bike that can be very efficient on the road, and do serious off road stuff, but you'll probably find a compromise ok. Maybe think about which sort you want to do most of and start from there...

 

[Randochap]

May I suggest looking through the different sections of VeloWeb, taking note of the characteristics of different types of bike.

If I were looking for one bike for the types of riding you are doing, it would be my Bleriot or equivalent, hands down.

 

[l4dva]

I was kind of in the same boat as you too, I was after something that could do a bit of everything, the slight off road rides to longer distance road rides and commuting.

I went for the Specialized tricross sport similar price to the toscana, its a brilliant bike although ive only done about 70 miles on it so far. It has the 700*32 tyres ive not been 'off road' on it yet, but it handles pot holes and wet grass with no problems. I couldn't really say how the tech specs compair to others im still a newbie myself, but I am more than pleased with it! It can take all the mug grauds and panniers. I can never see myself ever fitting any of these but I can see why one would want too. It has a slightly more lighter/sportier and fun feel to a tourer (in my opinon).Try some different bikes out see what you think

 

[bongoman]

I had exactly the same problem as you, I'm a big lad and tend to put a lot of strain on bikes, I'm 6 foot 4 and nearly 15 stones and wanted something fairly robust.

I had my eye on the Tricross sport and had every intention of getting it but cycle surgery had the Toscana in stock in my size so I tried it out and loved it. I also like the chunky wheels since I'm a mountain biker. I ride about 9 miles a day across london and some of the roads are in a terrible state so I feel comfortable and safer with the chunky wheels, maybe I'll get thinner wheels later down the line once I'm used to commuting.

The big difference between the sport and the toscana (other than the stock wheels) is that the Toscana has disc breaks, this is a new thing for me and so far I have not had any problems with them. I had read that the tricross sport generates shudder on the front forks on the larger frames - I didn't experience this when I test rode it.

So far so good, the bike handles well and feels solid. When I take it in to be serviced I'll get a rack + mud guards attached.

I've not been disapointed since I purchased it and enjoy riding half way to work now (I've eliminated one train as part of my journey).