Hi,

Previously I mentioned that I was commuting by bike. Lots of things have happened since then. Which means I can get a new bike!

So basically what is the best in your opinion commuter bike under £1k and under £500? The commute route I’ll be taking is mainly on road and hilly. But I may want to spice it up off road.

CX?

is that cannondale?

is theft an issue ? if not I would get this: http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBPXSLP105/planet-x-pro-carbon-shimano-105-road-bike

sorry did not see the off road bit. I have a roadat that is bombproof and can be setup to do pretty much anything, but it is heavy. Surly Crosscheck would also be worth a look

is that cannondale?

i think he means, how do you feel about a cyclo-cross type bike? rather than a specific model, but i’m an idiot.

What ahwiles said (not about being an idiot though!), plenty of cyclocross bikes around in that price range.

It will be spending the day at my place of work and Monday – Thursday will be spending the night at a train station

In that case reduce your budget and get a singlespeed with v brakes, flat bar and tape over the logos.

Pinncale Arkos are lovely. They do lots of different models in your price range.
Mine is great offroad too.

Hmm, the train station thing would make me nervous! How long is the commute and how secure is the train station? If the answers are short and not very then I’d just get an old pooper, make sure it runs well and be done with it. I wouldn’t feel great about leaving anything worth more than about £100 at a train station, and even then it would be disguised to look worth a lot less.

If the answer is long and very, and you want to mix it up with some off road a touring/CX type bike might be good. Not a full on CX but something that’ll take mud guards and a rack. You’d also be surprised how much abuse a standard road bike can take, perhaps a steel framed (more comfortable than alu) second hand road bike with some sturdy wheels and 28-32c tires would be a good option.

bfreeman0 – Member

…Thursday will be spending the night at a train station

then i’d start looking in skips for something like this:

if not worse.

my ex leaves a bike locked on a train platform overnight and all weekend, but it’s some old raleigh hybrid thing that she got for free on gumtree though. risky business doing it with anything that cost you more than a few quid, i’d say. you’d have to be prepared to lose it and not be bothered.

I leave my roadrat 7 days a week at a station and it has been fine. I have removed all logos, put pitlocks on the wheels and I never clean the frame.