Reasonable road bike opinions?

[colinr]

Hi, I'm new here. I'm planning to replace my ailling mountain bike with a better road bike for commuting. I've been reading round this forum for ideas and am still none the wiser on what to go for!

Budget is around £400, it will be used on roads, Norwich's very limited cycle paths and well maintained cycle tracks.

I tend to use all of 2 different gears, so was thinking single speed as I like the low maintanence aspect - I'm confident I can deal with the one small hill on my route! Not sure if I'm brave enough to try fixed wheel, though I'm told that's good fun.

I've found these two bikes (both these shops are local to me), any opinions?

http://www.cyclesuk.com/114-201118
http://www.pedalrevolution.co.uk/product-detail.php?id=356

The Giant has drop handlebars, never ridden on them before, how's the transition from upright?

Thanks,
Colin

 

[marinyork]

That Marin Hamilton is nowt like a road bike. It's a city bike. If you have an extremely heavy mountain bike with massive tyres it will be lighter and faster than that but not by much. I have no knowledge of the Giant, I suspect though that that'd be much faster.

 

[colinr]

Thanks for the reply. Excuse my ignorance, what's the difference between city and road bike? Is city more like a hybrid? Am I even looking at the right sort of bike? Whatever I get won't be going offroad.

Before I started researching this, everything was just a 'bike'!

 

[marinyork]

I'm not very knowledgeable about road bikes (unlike loads of other people here that are), I can just tell you after riding a similar Marin "city bike" for three and a half years what it'll be like. It's certainly fine for commuting and if you have an insanely heavy mountain bike you might think it a pleasant change, but road bike it isn't. Hybrid is just a vague term.

I don't know whether you're looking for the right sort of bike. Depends what you want out of it. All I'm saying is your post contained the word road bike and I've been quoted those sort of prices for basic road and audax bikes.

btw

 

[colinr]

Thanks. I just grabbed the term "road bike" from the Advice to Newbies thread on this board. From what you say, I think I might actually want a city bike. Marin refer to that model as "street". I'm just trying to work out what means what.

I'll use it mostly for commuting - I have no intention of going any more offroad than slightly uneven tarmac and definitely not anywhere near any big hills.

 

[Globalti]

Sounds to me as if you need a hybrid - looks more dainty like a road bike with flat bars and mountain bike kit attached, so you get a wide range of gears with the speed of a road bike. You would find it fast and comfortable.

Mountain bike:

Road bike:

Hybrid:

 

[Tynan]

'with the speed of a road bike'

not really true that surely?

drops are faster than flats, all things being equal

if you want to go faster, get a proper road bike, they can handle city commuing just fine, them city bikes are made to appeal to people that think they need something special

 

[colinr]

Cheers for all the info, I'm getting a much better idea now. Really, I quite fancy something fast but have never ridden drops before.

Any opinions on single speed? I know it's all trendy and that at the moment but I like the idea of less to look after. I only ever use 2 of the 21 gears that I currently have at my disposal, and they're for "there are pedestrians" and "there aren't pedestrians".

 

[marinyork]

If you live somewhere very flat like Norfolk I'd say the difference between city bike and something faster is even more stark. 23 and 25mm tyres handle the occasional bit of light offroading/high quality trails fine. I ride with people every week that do it.

 

[scook94]

I'm pretty new here too, so not as knowledgeable as most people here. But my advice would be to visit a couple of good bike shops local to you, tell them how you plan to use it and see what they say.

 

[Llama]

I recomend this:
Revolution Courier Classic '09


http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/ebw...Y=K***_090326_0000008&f_SortOrderID=-1&f_bct=

theres a few of us who ride them on the forum and there great bikes for the money

 

[kyuss]

Singlespeed machines make perfect sense for commuting especially if you live somewhere flat. Pretty much maintenance free and lighter than a geared bike too. I'm sure you'll get on fine.

How about a Revolution Courier Single. It's much like the Marin you've linked to but cheaper. EBC make good quality bikes too.

I've got a Giant Bowery and it's a cracking bike (especially at the £225 I got it for) but it's definitely more racey feeling so if you're starting out and not sure of drop bars, maybe not ideal for using in traffic. Don't write it off though. Like scook94 says, pop down to your LBS and have a shot on a couple of different types of bike and see what you're most comfortable with.

 

[colinr]

Thanks all, much appreciated. I'll go and visit some shops at the weekend armed with this information. That Revolution Courier Classic does look really nice if I chicken out of drops. Cheers.

 

[accountantpete]

Take a look through ebay - you can get a used complete cycle or source the bits separately and for £400 should be able to get a really neat bit of kit rather than the bottom end new stuff that the same amount will get you.

 

[colinr]

Take a look through ebay - you can get a used complete cycle or source the bits separately

Honestly, I don't know enough about what's what to feel comfortable doing that. I'd rather go to a shop so I can try stuff out, ask questions etc. Especially as I'm considering making the leap to drops and fixed gear, neither of which I've ever ridden on before.