It’s a bit milder today….just been down to town and playground with my boy. But wasn’t equipped with locks or any luggage, so rode home and went back out in the car for actual shopping. We have a similar problem when camping…normal MTB is too nice to leave unattended and not very practical either. What do you use for pub / errands / shops / holidays / beach?

[url=https://flic.kr/p/fbbgcb]Lagos & Luz[/url] by Anne Brown, on Flickr

My pub bike is a 2007 (maybe) vintage Marin Belvedere I used for actual commuting back in the day.

I don’t think I’ve got any pictures of it 😉 but it does have a funky octagonal top tube, which was obviously a major selling point.

its my utility bike – also used for my commute. Actually well over £2000 worth believe it or not! Rucksac and a decent lock you can use any bike for shopping
[url=https://flic.kr/p/RZm8fD]IMG_0009[/url] by TandemJeremy, on Flickr

The Mrs has one of these for her commute, and it is a hoot to pop to the shops on:

[url=https://flic.kr/p/faVmsp]Lagos & Luz[/url] by Anne Brown, on Flickr

Cannondale with an Alfine 8 speed, bomb proof if a bit heavy.

Do the slicks on that on-one and cannondale take everything you throw at them when fully loaded up?

TJ – did you buy that as an ebike or convert it yourself?

Pretty much, I have some 35mm CX tyres I’ll chuck on it if I’m expecting to do much off road, but as long as you aren’t hooning on wet mud the old Gatorskins are OK.

Do the slicks on that on-one and cannondale take everything you throw at them when fully loaded up?

?? What do you mean?

I’ve not had problems with punctures or slipping (unless riding in mud then yeah it spins out).

plums

Its a conversion using the sunstar so3 kit. Expensive but high quality

Maybe one gets a false impression as a mountain biker, but I think i’d feel happier with some volume between heavily loaded bike / casually attired rider and the road

every day ride

and

someones nicked half yer bike aracer

Spot – love both of those. Trying to source a LOCT also crossed my mind for the youngest.

I think for Spanish campsite duty i’d probably go for small blocks or semi slicks.

Anne – is the toptube mounted lance for promenade clearing purposes?

I love me a bombproof zero-maintenance super-ute that carries all manner of stuff with not a twitch or grumble. Have waxed lyrical about the hefty-gliding non-nonsense loveliness of this beast/beaut for a few yrs now, and no sign of growing weary of these Dutch charms. Amazing bike. Anyway, turned out to be a used bargain and a 100% keeper. Love it so much it’s getting a respray, new headset and new bolts after years of Cornish coastal air finally began making inroads into the metal.

Batavus Personal Deluxe

Unisex step-thru steel frame
Heavy duty 26 rims with puncture-guard tyres
Onboard combi lock (rear wheel + retractable cable)
3 spd (all it needs)
hub-magneto
Shimano roller brakes
Rust-resistant chain
Dynamo stem-light with daylight sensor (I switch to ‘always on’)
USBWerk charger for phone etc
Hefty steel rear rack and fitted rear light
full-cover steel mudguards
Jerry-rigged bottle carrier
Chunky flat pedals (not fitted in pic)
Spesh Sonoma BG 155mm saddle
Big kickstand

^. Forgot to say it’s so ‘non-UK’ looking and so fugly that I hardly think about locking it. Although locking outside a shop is literally the twist of a key. It being gigantic and over 55lb in heft means is a daunting thing for prospective tealeaf to carry more than a few feet so the wheel-lock normally suffices in busy towns. If I’m away from the bike for longer then a big lockable cable extracts from the frame. Same key for both.

Can’t think of a better setup for the purpose. Used to have a Kona Ute and it was OK but shimmied and flexed. This Batavus (is in my opinion) not only better quality, lower-priced, but far, far better equipped and better suited for purpose. Also infinitely more stable when loaded, and (for many reasons) much, more more fun to use and live with 😀

Built this for summer village pub runs. Has a different saddle on it now. Thinking about giving a city bike the same ratty treatment for Zoe this summer.

Here is my bimble to the shops and pub bike 😀

Malvern….yes that is very non-UK, as you put it! See loads like these on the continental campsites. Didn’t realise they were that heavy though!

Colournoise – you’ve taken that under the radar look to the nth degree there!

More generally, what do you reckon the key aspects of making a bike look less nickable are? (Assuming you want some paint on it….)

I was thinking no decals or suspension forks….what else?

Big bag for life just goes in the box, no clips or straps.
I based it on my old liverpool bike which was a black hammerited shopper with the red box tied on with rope. It was the only bike in Liverpool that you could leave outside a shop unlocked without it getting nicked

Being unrideable by the average person helps a lot 😉 The funny thing is, whilst there are some non-cheap bikes on this thread (those which I’m not sure I’d want to leave around locked up whilst I go to the pub), my offering is far from the cheapest, and worth significantly more than the drop bar fixie I used to use as a pub bike. Though of course a utility bike for carrying stuff doesn’t necessarily have quite the same criteria as one where the most important thing is not to get nicked.

reduce the nickability – a really bad paintjob or rap it in electrical tape badly – you want it to look like a cheapo students wreck

Just picked one of these up for the 3 mile pootle into work and back and associated ‘would you mind just picking up…’. Enjoy it so much its remit has been expanded to include ‘bike rides to places with the kids’, where the other bike was just a bit silly. Fitted with a rack/pannier for picnics or work crap. The indexing on the nexus 3 spd hub makes sprinting out of the (21 sets of) lights on the way to work er… exciting, and hopping off a kerb with a coaster brake in front of a queue of traffic? LOL.

My dads old 1995(ish) raleigh amazon, fitted the bars and fitted mudguards because I commuted on it for a year or so, sow it just has the odd run to the shops so just wanted it to look as much like an old man bike as possible. (notice the rear V-brake and front canti)

My Carrera Subway, resplendent in its road-grime-grey paintwork. 1×10 with 48t up front. Can be a bugger up hills. The stem sets it off. Mary bars are comfy.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/rhsMue]IMAG4788_1[/url] by pten2106, on Flickr

Now with higher handlebars after unsiezing the quill stem and a horseshoe frame lock.

26er Inbred utility bike, with basket and unnecessary 4 pot front brake. Just gets used for shopping and pottering.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/PuhQ53]Bimblewagon[/url] by Matthew Walker, on Flickr

Love that, faustus. Just needs low profiling with a bit of tape over the decals.

Out of interest, what do you see as the pros and cons of your front basket vs rear rack or panniers?

Schwalbe Kojaks FTW.
Immensely good fun in the snow. 😀

Plums- went for basket just to dump stuff in and carry a little shopping. I don’t own panniers and didn’t want to buy any for this build as it isn’t used for the ‘big’ shop. Will get round to taping over soon too. Basket is a bit unwieldy with heavier stuff in i’d say but otherwise pretty handy- and I got a wald one because it bolts up nice and solidly with no rattles or rubbing. 2 inch Kojaks are spot on too and give easy speed!

I ride a Kona Minute, nice big rear deck and load capacity. Great for work and shops still quite small and nimble.