recommend me a singlespeed road bike for less than £1000?

I have bike vouchers for Evans and the choice is quite extensive…charge plug, fuji feather, trek district, kona bandwagon, etc, etc…I can always top up the £1000 with gear so dont worry about recommending a bike for well less than £1k. Obviously 1000 is a lot to spend on a singlespeed!

I want the bike for a relatively rolling/hilly 10 mile commute

Specialized Langster, if the wheels ever break upgrade them for summink lighterer

This http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/dawes/sst.htm is the best value bike I’ve ever owned. And I paid half as much again as its at currently. For a grand you could fly to the States pick it up and still have change!

More seriously though it’s the same frame as an SE Lager so you may want to add that to your list

i don’t know how prices compare to the UK, but…..

http://www.bike-mailorder.de/shop/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=charge+singlespeed&x=0&y=0

I used to have a SE Lager…nice bikes!

Genesis Flyer would be my choice, or the new Langster.

Save the vouchers for a MTB, buy a second hand langster (i just paid £130 for a 2006 and its superb) and enjoy having fun getting the right sprockets for your fitness!

Pearson Touché. Lovely

http://www.pearsoncycles.co.uk/store/product/29718/Pearson-Touché-Gunmetal-480mm/

+1 for Pearson – they have a list of options as well, and they take proper mudguards (i squeezed 28c under the SKS on mine) and a rack

though if you have proper Evans scheme vouchers then they do not sell Pearson (cycle surgery do as well as the two Pearson stores

yes proper Evans vouchers 🙁

I like the look of the classic Coopers as seen on the Evans web site…what do others think?

Probably leaning towards steel rather than Alu…

Charge Plug Prestige?
Drp bar, singlespeed, yada yada yada

Read a review of one of the cooper frames in cycling weekly back in the summer (limited read material when on holiday). They really Liked it IIRC

Kona Paddy Waggon. Unlike the Langster, it will take full mudguards, and has sealed hub bearings. Recent versions are a little less eye-injury inducing than mine. Geometry of the 56cm frame is fantastic, such a lovely ride. How Hilly is your commute?

My commuting set up cames to about £1000
Bike £550
Orlieb Bag £110
New Durano Plus tyres £60
SKS Guards £30
KEO Pedals £40
Topeak Rack £30
Strada light £240
B&M Rear light £25

A modified seat clamp is needed for the rack (or fit a Tubus Fly).

I liked the Langster, but not being able to fit guards (they can be bodged but there is no chainstay brace) and a rack to a commuting bike was a no no for me. I may eventually upgrade the frame to a Grand Waggon or something shiny and Ti. I like it that much… And here’s a picture…(now I’ve worked out linkage)

EDIT: having looked on the Evans site, they don’t seem to have the Paddy Waggon this year 😳 . If you want drop bars, go for the Dawes or perhaps Trek District. Coopers look nice, but I think commuting bikes should have eyelets for guards and a rack.

Thanks for the suggestions thus far!

I’ve got one of the 1st generation Langsters and it’s a brilliant bike. Wheels were rubbish and eventually the hubs broke (wheels seem to be the weak point of all the Langsters) but when you can pick up the 2011 model for £399, who cares?!

Slightly off topic as you can’t use Evans vouchers but for anyone that flies a lot and wants a nice SS start using Lufthansa or Swiss the you can get this

https://www.worldshop.eu:443/lws/product/wscatalog/1739474/detail.jsf?

You can mix points and cash too, got my camelback through them for about 6 flights from Manchester to Zurich annoyed at myself for dithering and not getting the Garmin 800 they had don’t stock it any more and I’ve still got over 100k miles left…

Surly Cross Checks are worth considering – mine is by far the most versatile and ridden bike I own. Cost just under 1000€ all in, including two pairs of (OpenPro / slx) wheels with road / CX tyres.

Does it have to be Evans?

I have a Pompino, had it 5 years, I ride it 20 miles each way to work a couple of times a week over lumpy Shropshire’s crappy country lanes, I’ve changed the tyres and brake blocks and freewheel/chain once, have done about 4000 miles on it. Still in same bearings cables etc. Great bike.

Some might disagree, but I would recommend you go for steel where possible.

I bought a Genesis Equilibrium earlier this year and it just feels like it’ll be a bike for life.

sorry has to be Evans …I have fancied the Pompino for some time 🙂

The Swiss air bike looks immense!

Wallop – the Genesis Equilibrium looks brill but I was looking at SS so would prefer the flyer!

so steel is real…

I got a 2011 langster for 400 quid. Its a good bike, doing my 24 mile round trip commute daily on it at the moment. The hubs may be the only weak point, but I reckon bashing in a load of grease will prolong the life. Other than the hubs, hard to find fault for 400 quid

I’ve just upgraded a steel to a dolan precursa frame, and the difference is noticable – quicker, more responsive and no supposed comfort payoff

the langster would be a good choice – or if you are sure about steel then the genesis day one would be a good choice as it’s the same tubeset as the flyer but more versatile

my brother (who is on this site as tthew) has the day one and he really likes it

There should be a whole bunch of them with skinny-jeaned moustachioed corpses attached at the bottom of the white cliffs of dover and they would be pretty cheap.

i have the giant bowery 2008 iirc (chrome both ends) and find it superb for a 30mile round trip from one side of hilly bristol to the other converted it to flat bar with ends weighs in at about 17lb
carry all i need on my back and get changed when im at work so said no to rack and gaurds(ruins the lines 😳

Wallop – the Genesis Equilibrium looks brill but I was looking at SS so would prefer the flyer!

Oh god, absolutely – I wasn’t suggesting the Equilibrium, more using it to illustrate the point about steel frames.

I’m sure the Flyer is great too. My husband has a steel Genesis hardtail and loves it. Great frames.

WTF??!! Bicycle gearing is a marvel of mechanical engineering and efficiency – why not make use of it?

(Unless – fashion or you are a charitable sort who like young people laughing at them)

Remember 2 save money for your SKINNY jeans, spooky dokies and pisspot… 😯

Cue all the maintenance, cadence and other BS arguments used by fakeenger wannabes :-p

Still more pack fodder for people who actuall KNOw about bikes rather than reading what bellends in cycling + wrote

Benders 😈

Thanks for all the comments and help…I went for the genesis flyer in the end but the Langster, Paddy wagon, Fujian feather and cooper classic were all on the shortlist!

I paid £699 so was able to get a lot of extra kit with the spare £300

I cannot wait for it to be delivered 🙂