What bike ?

[ian emmerson]

In need of some advice,
I have been commuting for the last 2 years during which time i have gone from a cheap bike to a hybrid ( scott sportster) which i am currently using.
The scott has been great but i now intend to buy a new bike in order to incorporate more off road trails both commuting and at weekends etc.
The question is what do i buy?, i have been looking at both scott and orange bikes which seem to have good reviews.
I have a budget of around £700 - £800 and would appreciate any advice.

 

[shippers]

Bit left field- I quite like the Specialized Tricross- £699.
http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/ebw...upersetQRY=Kspecialized&f_SortOrderID=1&f_bct

Sadly I'm not allowed to buy another bike as my last one is just under 2 months old...

 

[hotmetal]

The Tricross is probably not a bad idea, as it will commute and handle mild off-road. Certainly faster than a mountainbike with slick tyres. I've only ridden one once (cheers Norm) but was quite impressed. It's always tricky to know what to recommend when people say they want to do a bit of off-road, because it's hard to know what their aspirations are and what sort of terrain. By 'off-road' some people mean 'canal towpath or bridleway', which would suit the tricross down to the ground. Anything approaching 'mountainbiking' (ie singletrack with fallen trees, humps and bumps, mud…) would be better off dealt with by a proper mountain bike, which of course is hard going for commuting. If that's what you're up for I'd say keep your commuter and get a mountainbike for weekends. If, however, you mean that your commute could be made more fun by taking a shortcut across the park, think about a cyclocross bike like the TriX.