I have cycled every day to work for the last 4 years (7 miles each way on roads and footpaths, town to town) through almost every conceivable weather condition. I currently use a tired mountain bike frame with front disc, rigid forks and moto digger tyres.

Was looking around for a replacement when I began to be intrigued by the bikes set up more specifically commuting (which is really all I do now).

It looks like the Halfrauds near me has a 54cm Van Nicholas Yukon set up with a flat bar for £700 (allegedly saving over £1K and seems to me to be a fair price).

How much will I miss broad wheels and a disc brake in the winter months?
Will punctures become more regular?
Would a plane racer be better or is a mountain bike best for my hamfisted riding style and neglect of mechanics?

a plane racer? sounds **** fast to me! 😉

depends how muddy the footpaths get really.

If they're more 'towpath' quality (i.e. don't get muddy) then got for the van-nic – you won't really miss the discs, you can get puncture proofed 700c tyres.
re: racer – issue will be tyre size and clearance – maybe a tourer (or CX if you don't want to be seen on a 'tourer').

Get 25mm tyres and top up pressures regularly and punctures won't be a problem. Disk brakes are not necessary on road tyres. Flat bars are not nearly as good as proper drops – drops don't have to be super low, but the choice of hand positions is much better. Do get full mudguards.

Only thing that bothers me about rim brakes on my commuter is that I wear through rims fairly often (1.5-2 years per rim for a 4 mile each way dirty city commute). Fine riding 23mm tyres on towpaths as long as you keep the pressure high (pump up tyres weekly) to avoid dinging rims and getting pinch flats – if that sounds like too much maintenance I'd suggest you stick with fat tyres. I very rarely puncture (but do run puncture resistant tyres)

If I was riding on more open roads – sounds like your commute – I'd go for drop bars. Don't go for a bike just because it's "good value", it's all the same once it's covered in cack.

If you don't want to just buy a set of slick tyres for your current machine, and are looking for something specifically for the ride in and out of work, you could do a lot worse than a Pompino (or similar):

– takes full mudguards
– decent tyre cleance (up to about 32, I should think)
– provision to take a rack for panniers
– can run it flat or drop barred (drops are best IMO)
– SS/fixed for low maintenance

IMO you would be better getting a dedicated commmuter – the ideal would be discs, not because you need the power, but they are more reliable and cheaper to run (less wear on pads and rims). You could also look for a hub gear for even less maintenence. As for tyres, the wider tyres will resist pinch flats and obviously have more grip in winter. I'd still go for 700c wheels.

Kona Dew Drop

(mine's actually a dew deluxe then transfered my cable discs, and On-one Midge Bars)

Perfect position as compromise of sporty, but handles well in traffic/offroad

Room for 700 x 45 (dry) or 700 x 40 (muddy cloggy) tyres

No more punctures than before(I run latex inside my rear tube though)
I do notice a 'firmer' ride than a modded MTB .. but that's the price you pay for less drag on the road

Stick in a sus' seat post .. perfect for 5 miles road 4 miles Landrover track/field edge)

… I actually find it more fun on the Landy tracks and weaving between cows across the fields.

and not overly expensive if it gets nicked

thanks for all the advice. In the end I was overwhelmed by shininess over practicality.

Though it may be a death trap in winter these are my lovely new wheels. £700 seemed to be a bargin from Halfords. First new bike in over ten years….

Pains me to say this of a flat barred road bike, but that's a nicely proportioned sweet 'n' shiny bike. £700 is a stonking bargain.

Please though – get some nice pedals! And mudguards.

that's really nice – good buy 🙂

Wow – a titanium frame for commuting on. Hats off to you!

I was going to second the Dew recommendation, but that looks delicious!

Looks like a good buy to me! which halfords was it from? I've still got a damn cycle 2 work scheme voucher that I haven't spent yet (I'm stuck with the damn thing!)

Andy

The Halfords is in Crawley, Sussex.

They don't have any more Yukons, though I think a Zephyr was reduced to around a grand and looked very sweet. The guy who served me said he had just bought one of the Zephyrs.

Looking suitably fast!

Shiny! Personally I tried the flat bar commute thing as I thought I wouldn't get on with drops. Stuck some Salsa bell laps on and woah! It's so much more comfortable.