What bike to buy

[Blue1]

Hi all,

I have decided to take my current longer distance bike off the road for full restoration, this means I need a new/temporary bike during the restoration (which I intend to be a labour of love, having ridden this bike 3 days a week for 10 years).

To give you a feel for what I like, I ride a single speed bsa with rod brakes 11 miles each way to work, 3 days a week. The other 2 days I ride a 1975 bickerton portable for just just a couple of miles each way.

The bsa is coming off the road for a long overdue full restoration. I need a bike to fill this gap. I have no idea what to get.

The brief is-

It will be used for road use only
It should not draw attention to itself, (it will be locked up on public bike racks in less than desirable places)
It should not be new, maybe a couple of years old
Dark coloured, black preferred (due to not drawing attention to itself)
I would like some gears
It needs to be able to take full mudguards (I ride whatever the weather)
It needs to take a rear pannier
I would like it to be light
It will be kept outside

I'm not too fussed on price, maybe not more than £500, as whatever I spend eats into the funds for the bsa build.

I'm in no rush to buy, so what should I be looking out for?

 

[DCLane]

Public bike racks? Not desirable?

I'd suggest a much lower budget. Some form of hybrid, like a Raleigh Pioneer, would be suitable. You'll get a decent older one for £50, newer they're about £150.

 

[Gunk]

A clean used Boardman team hybrid would fit the bill. Hydraulic disc brakes, lugs for pannier racks and mudguards. The best used examples are less than £250. Plus if you decide to move it on you’ll get your money back.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

To give you a feel for what I like, I ride a single speed bsa with rod brakes 11 miles each way to work, 3 days a week.
I'm in no rush to buy, so what should I be looking out for?

You're obviously an old-school roadster fan, and a pretty hardcore one at that if you're doing 22 miles a day on a rod-braked single speed one. So why not get another secondhand roadster, but a 3-speed cable-braked sports one, as a temporary replacement? It will go better, stop better, and be lighter in weight than your existing one.
I picked up one of these a few months ago, for just one earth pound. OK, it's scruffy, and isn't dark coloured, but believe it or not it was a fully functional bike all the same.

I'd suggest a much lower budget. Some form of hybrid, like a Raleigh Pioneer, would be suitable. You'll get a decent older one for £50, newer they're about £150.

Alternatively, if you want more gears, a Raleigh Pioneer, a proper Nottingham-built one with a steel frame, is an excellent choice. I have a couple of them, the nicest one being this 1995 model with a Reynolds 501 butted frame. This one cost me a Tenner as a fixer-upper, although I ended up spending £50 on it by the time I had sorted out the brakes and replaced the tyres with new Schwalbes. Still one of my favourite bikes.

There's really no reason to spend anywhere like £500 on a replacement bike, and if you are savvy purchaser, and have a bit of good luck, you can pick up some very nice machines for the price of a few beers.

 

[slowmotion]

Where in the country are you and how tall are you?. I might be able to give you a perfectly decent Dawes 501 that I don't need.

 

[Cycleops]

Raleigh Pioneer would be a good choice. Here's one I found on Gumtree for forty quid. Add in a bit for consumables etc and you'll have a serviceable bike;

 

[Blue1]

Thanks for the replies guys, I picked myself up a hercules this week for £10. It will need a quick strip down, a wheel build and a brake overhaul and then I will begin commuting on it. As a bonus it has 3 gears! Still running rod brakes on the daily commute!