Or will I destroy it on Sheffield's pot holed roads?
I know nothing about road bikes at all having never owned one!
My commute is short (4 miles each way) but on the return journey entails climbing some pretty big hills.
As such I'm wondering whether I should get a cheap secondhand roadie or a dedicate commuter/hybrid?
Depends how bad the potholes are.
The difficulties with any cheap bike are i. crap to ride, ii. fall apart quickly due to cheapness.
Thin/ big wheels can be very tough.
Maybe get a flat barred hybrid stylee as bit sfater IMHO in traffic..
carrera gryphpon gets my vote
Well this is the roadie I was considering in the classifieds:
[url= http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/clearout-bikes-wheels-hubs-bargains ]Clicky[/url]
Not knowing anything about roadies I have no idea how long it'd last?!
My budget is also only around £200 too
Halfords had a good deal on one of their hybrids the other week, about £270 down from £400+. Looked like a perfect commuter bike
Yes, it does make sense. Road bikes are easily strong enough for pot holes etc.. especially the cheaper ones.
My road bike was 100 quid 2nd hand and the budget 8 speed the Sora groupset seems bombproof and its done 1000's of miles.
Depends on what bikes you currently have, I reckon.
You're £200 would easily get you a second set of wheels that you can stick some slicks on if you have a suitable hardtail to use. That's what I did so I could get some after work rides on on the road and now for commuting too - the wheels go on the Inbred.
I think I got a set of wheels from my LBS with QR skewers, cassette & rim tape for about £115. Wiggle were doing a deal on tyres so I got a pair of city jet's with 2 skinny tubes for £20 or so.
The wheels are fine for their intended use - they are the same wheels as he indoors has on her Spesh Myka Sport.
Well I used to say no - been riding on my carbon race bike with decent grp set for 1 year - got covered in sh1te 2 weeks ago for the first time of the year. I then bought my work colleagues winter bike off him for £190 last week and don't regret it as its got full muddies on and I use MTB pedals on it. The race bike will commute when its dry and sunny next year me thinks 🙂
I'd say yes - stick some mud guards on and keep better bikes for sunday best.
I rode one of those once, They actually aren't bad!
+1 for the second set of wheels with slicks on. I used a pair from an old bike and shoved some 1.9 city jets on them for when my Scandal is in commute mode then put other wheels with nobblies back on when not. That said I found myself using the city jets all through the summer on and off road with only a couple of tyre choice fail moments.
Ah well the thing is I only have one bike at the moment.
After getting my hardtail nicked and having to sell the bouncy bike due to financial crisis I had no bikes at all.
However, I've just built up a lovely new Intense Tracer but really don't want to ride that to work!
So I guess it's really between a roadie like the one shown or a halfords hybrid?
Excuse my ignorant but can mud guards be fitted to the roadie above?!
cheapo gumtree special old steel road bike for £20 + decathelon wheelset for £60 + SS kit & chain for £20 = the perfect short distance commute bike IMO. mine's now got a flat bar & old bar ends from the spares bin. been going strong for 2 years.
Get something classy and indestructible like my [url= http://audaxing.wordpress.com/2010/10/29/commuting-bike/ ]Cotic Roadrat Alfine with drops[/url]
My commute to Dronfield is much nicer on something with wider tyres, than on my road bike with 23mm. I'd personally go for a nice hybrid for a short ish commute.
What's wrong with the bus Dan 😛
Hmmm decisions
Martz - make yourself known, who are you "over there" ??
I'd say you'd be better off on a cheap commuter that can take proper mudguards - even a SS for such a short commute. Edinburgh bike's Revolution couriers for example, I imagine you could pick them or something similar up for cheap on eBay or the classifieds
ahh, it's you Mart - didn't know you lurked on here!
anyways, bus aside... what to do!?!?
I stuck a Wanted add in classifieds a few times and got nowt of any interest really :-S
OK, another newbie-roadie question (please don't laugh)..
Is it possible to put flat bars on a bike like the roadie above and not completely f00k the handling??
A road bike will survive the road no problem I'm sure. They handle a lot of abuse. You don't need one for a 4 mile commute, but it makes sense if you don't want to ride your best bike all the time and the have that backup etc.
If you are getting a road racer, make sure it's geared for steep hills. You can get clip on mud guards, although having proper eyelets maybe better.
Almost any bike would be suitable for a 4 mile commute, so I would be thinking about what else do you want to use the bike for?
anyways, bus aside... what to do!?!?
Gumtree? Sheffield Forum? Something big cheap and old enough not to be desirable to tea leaves. Recycle bikes?
for 4 miles I would use a hybrid personally or mtb with slicks as the time saving would be minimal. about 7-10 miles you get some actual savings in time.
The bike will survive the roads and you will become aware where the worst pot holes are and avoid them on your regular route.
If you plan to use it for more than 4 miles yes if the hill is large get a triple.
Hmmm well I might be tempted to ride a roadie for fun on occasion too ..