[Closed] Returning back to MTB - buying advice £1k London

If you're commuting go for the HT option.

I hope you've got somewhere very secure to lock your bike up as i wouldn't fancy leaving £1k's worth of fancy HT on the mean streets of London.

Another option is get the bike you want for weekend activities and pick up a bit of a beater for a couple of hundred off the bay for commuting activities

My favourite bike of all time was a Vertex.

We have a private underground car park at work so very secure storage, plus nice showers & changing facilities etc.

Leaning towards the hardtail as I want something quick on the road but hard enough for a beating at the weekend.

I also had the Element (although mine had a different name- different shock, colour etc)- I really didnt like it or how it rode.

Another option would be secondhand if you'd consider? You'd get alot of bike for your money then.

Quite prepared to go second hand - any recommendations to look out for for this budget?

Just looking at the overall weight of the Vertex 28.5lbs - isn't this a bit on the lardy side for a HT?

2 bikes? A fixie or SS for the commute maybe and a secondhand hardtail for the weekends.

My mindset:

I'd buy a bike with brilliant finishing kit (or as good as dammit)- ride, find what you like, what feels good, what sort of rider you are now then go frame shopping.

So I reckon, buy secondhand- the best wheels, forks etc with an 'ok' hardtail frame and take it from there?

Why? Everyones taste is different- totally so. Imagine buying a car because a mate says its good and you've not driven it.

I always carry the basic finishing kit over and the frame changes.

My mindset:

If this lads reachable (collection only IMO) to you?

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/fs-orange-prestiege-pro-hardtail-mountain-bike

from your grand, spend a couple of hundred on a 'road' bike, full guards and a rack, second hand and put a new saddle/bar tape/tyres/brake blocks this will be quicker and more practical for your commute

then spend the rest on a decent hardtail to have fun on

i commuted on my hardtail for a year, but found increasingly that when i went out for 'a ride' i kinda felt like i was going to work 🙁

i commuted on my hardtail for a year, but found increasingly that when i went out for 'a ride' i kinda felt like i was going to work

Thats a good point, plus come the weekend its got niggles/wearing down etc.

only have room for one bike in my life (&flat) so the 2 bike roadie option is a no go.

I have a possible deal on a pro race 500 from 2009 but it's through a wholesaler so I'm waiting on a local shop to see if they can help as they can only provide to a shop.

It's a 51cm so maybe a little on the large size - I'm 5'10 inside leg 31.

Good option on the 2nd hand and swap frames later.
any other suggestions?

24 miles on 2" tyres would sap my will to live - I'd suggest at least a spare set of wheels w/road tyres on.

24 miles on South Eastern trains & the tube saps my will to live!

Def' will be picking up a second wheel set.

I rode the 30 mile to and fro on my hardtail last week to check my fettling. Back to the scaffold pole 80s raleigh singlespeed for this week, the knoblies were too much like hard work when going TO work.

24 miles on South Eastern trains & the tube saps my will to live!

In that case/if it was me I'd buy one folding bike and one mtb.

Think about it. You avoid the tubes and the bits in between plus who in their right mind would grind down one bike over that sort of mileage then expect it to perform at weekends offroad?

Plus- the folding bike fits into your flat nicely.

24 miles - that's at least an hour and a half commute each way. DO you really want to be riding 3 to 4 hrs a day on London/Outer London roads?

I did 13 miles each way 2 or 3 times a week and although it was great exercise (at Warp Factor 10) it did my head in (same dull roads, dealing with traffic etc etc)

hora +1

24 miles - that's at least an hour and a half commute each way. DO you really want to be riding 3 to 4 hrs a day on London/Outer London roads?

+1 at somepoint you are going to make a mistake (or someone else will) and you will be squashed.

I rode into central London each day and it was interesting. An ex-work colleague (fit as ****) rode in from 20miles each day- he lose his leg below the knee after an accident with a bus. 😥

grind down a bike? I used to put in 100 miles + per week of road on the Cannondale and kick the tits out of it on a weekend, albeit not every weekend.

3 to 4 hours per day? My friend does it in an hour +10 and takes it relatively easy. It takes me just over an hour normal commute and there is a relatively safe bus lane route for the majority of it. I reckon an hour 10 to 20 will suffice, especially as I'm missing rush hour with my working hours and will soon have a good route planned out.

This is not an every day commute, mainly summer months - prob some full weeks but may be only a couple days a week, especially on days I have meetings booked in.

slight sidetrack but any bike advice and good places to ride around home area?

Google
Holmbury Hill
Pitch
North Downs
Leith Hill

This may help?
http://www.singletrackworld.com/trailguide/uk/south-east/the-north-downs/

😀

24 miles on an MTB will be sh*t, slow and downright depressing, no matter what you opt for.. For that kind of distance on road, only a road bike will be of any use. A LOT faster and more efficient...

Boardman HT Pro with some slicks running at very high pressure. But it'll be a pain having to swap the tyres/tubes for off-roading so you'd need a second wheelset. I'd err towards the folding bike route though, a 48 mile round trip in South London isn't going to be much fun.

I've done a lot of road mileage on an MTB and was quite happy with it to be honest..certainly far from depressing.

I pretty much enjoy it no matter where I ride.

Hora thanks for the link and the names of places. May have a look at the Boardman

I should add its' 12 miles each way not 24! That would be too much.

Aha! That'll be fine then. I've been very impressed with the Boardman, only changes in a year are better pedals (DMR V12) and BB bearing (Hope). Years ago I used to commute in London on a Trek MTB with cut down bars and skinny slick tyres, was plenty quick enough, you just need to be happy with high cadence due to the low gearing compared to a road bike.

I was about to suggest you become a professional cyclist until you clarified it is 12 miles each way - that makes much more sense. It used to take me well under an hour to cycle from Twickenham in to the City (13 miles) but it partly depends on how many lights etc there are on your route. That distance is definitely do-able. Slick tyres, and bar ends to give you a more stretched position, would be nice.

I commuted every day for 2 years when i lived in London on a basic Hardtail with slicks on and found it just fine (only 6 miles each way though in between 19-23mins regardless of traffic/weather). I wouldn't even bother with spare wheels, just take off the offroad tyres it comes with and bang slicks on then it's a 5/10 minute job to switch back to the knobblies once you go off and play on the weekends. I really miss my London commute, i used to love it, even with the crazy b@stards trying to run me down half the time....

Bummer about the guy who lost his leg. Without wanting to be a doom-monger, I know two people who commute in to town on bikes daily. One had a huge accident involving a bus (unconscious, face, arm, leg ripped up. Lots of facial scars still. But body in one piece thankfully). It is something to bear in mind unfortunately but good route planning (and sensible riding) can mitigate the risks. But it sounds like you have done the commute lots already.

commuted every day for 2 years when i lived in London on a basic Hardtail with slicks on and found it just fine (only 6 miles each way though in between 19-23mins regardless of traffic/weather)

how do you manage to average 18mph in london traffic? was the journey one long dual carriageway?
there are over 50 sets of lights on my commute through central london i guess if you fancy jumping them all it's possible.

To be fair, I used to average almost that from Twickenham (13 miles in 45 mins). I chose a route that avoid lights and I have to confess to jumping them if there was no traffic (albeit at a slower speed!) I was riding it flat out though, just to relieve the tedium.

Ah 12 miles in 1:20 - more like it!

I rode in London once on main roads (over Elephnant and Castle) never again.

Done some back street pedalling there recently though - back streets seem well signposted.

sad about the guy who lost his leg but I suppose if we worried about things like this we would never do anything. I must admit it's a slight worry but accidents happen on all types of commuting, even trains/tube! that's what I keep telling myself and consoling myself that it's mainly buses to deal with. I will be out of hours slightly getting into London for 8am leaving around 4pm.

I haven't done the commute yet, sure it will be an eye opener but i roughly know the main route (bus lane roads so should be reasonably easy to deal with) and hit some back roads when I get to know the route more. It is only for the summer months and not every day, lot's of summer pubs after work!! As many as poss though.

So.... Rocky Mountain Vertex 30 a good option at that price? leaves me £300 to either grab a few essentials or make an upgrade or two.

Thanks for all the advice so far...

On the bike front didn't Evans have a Genesis. Either the core or Altittude at a grand looks good

Mr Smith

My commute was from Kilburn to Waterloo and was a lot of bus lanes so pretty clear roads and also mostly flat and mild downhill. Very few traffic lights as well. I'm not a hugely fast cyclist but i did do it nearly every working day for 2 years so i got pretty used to it. The home journey always took 3-5 minutes longer but took a slightly different route through Hyde Park. A better cyclist could easily have averaged over 20mph without too much effort.

get two bikes, horses for courses n all that! I use my hardtail to ride to work on but its only about 1.5 miles through two parks!

2 bikes is a no go - just don't have the space as the missus will want one eventually and 2 bikes in the spare room will be enough to keep as it is.

So I'm leaning towards the Vertex maybe using the savings to do some initial upgrades and shave some weight.

Have a poss wheel upgrade in mind...

Best brakes for £150 to £200 extra budget?

I'd go 2nd hand. You'll get twice the bike which someone has probably upgraded as well. If you've waited 10 years it would be daft not to wait a few weeks for something really nice to appear.

[url= http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/fs-cotic-soul-large-complete-bike-1 ]Here for example[/url] and [url= http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/fsrocky-mountain-element-giro-e2-helmet-bontrager-rxl-white-stem ]HERE[/url], both around your price range from the last day !!

Mackered,before you spend £700 on the Vertex and more money upgrading,if you are in the city go the Halfords bikehut near St Pauls and check out the Boardmans.

Some of the Voodoos are pretty good too.

Woody - it's a good point. not exactly waited 10 years for anything but I know what you mean and some good examples. Especially that Rocky mountain - maybe a bit small for me.

Jolly - also good tip, thanks - I will have a look at these as I read a good review on the HT recently. I have an initial gripe - purely on aesthetics - they just look a bit plain & too white!!

If anyone comes across and 2nd handers that they think maybe of interest then I would be grateful for info.

btw - is there a way to filter the classifieds on this site so that it only shows bikes for sale?