…… World of the trendy. I m after a pop down town / pub bike . Something that can handle a little rough stuff but nothing to severe . Be happy on the road and not going to break the bank. I keep looking at thing like the single malt from merlin and the bombtrack arise ( an ss cx bike ) . Both look really nice but I m struggling to justify the price for such simple bikes. I mean for an extra £40 from the bombtrack , I could get a pinnacle ramin. Which has gears and hyd disc etc. so why the price? Do you have to pay for simplicity or for the trendy factor? And am I mad for still wanting one?

Sorry, what was your question?

I’ll take a guess, and answer that the Bombtrack and Ramin are two very different bikes. If you want to keep it super simple, and singlespeed, then either get the Bombtrack:

…or, if you want something a bit more MTB-like, a Vitus Vee for £260:

Ok fair point. I suppose my question is are these bikes actually good value for money or are they just cashing in on the whole urban cyclist trend. The vitus seems ok for the money. The example of the ramin was just to show how much more seemed to be on offer for similar money .

Call that trendy?

THIS is where it’s at for a trendy pub bike.

You don’t buy a pub bike. A pub bike is something that evolves fromyour spares bin, or is somethng resurrected from a skip/tip.

You don’t buy a pub bike.

yeah this 100%. The idea of a pub bike is that it’s so ratty that you have to be pissed to ride it.

The only exception to this rule is if you’re trading a 4 pack of Stella pint cans with a local pikey for a bike “his mate gave him”.

What stoffel said, it’s when you suddenly realise your spares box actually amounts to a bike. Mine’s a rigid singlespeed kona fire mountain from 1993 with road cranks with the extra tabs ground off, a 25mm rear rim, xt v brakes with shoddy levers and some very wide bars and a stupidly long stem. Actually more fun than you would think!

If it’s a pub bike you want something old and a bit knackered – if your in Scotland check the various BikeStations for reconditioned things – and it’s all for charidee mate!

http://www.thebikestation.org.uk/bike-station-glasgow-shop/ this sort of thing. There is possibly some sort of english version!

I think I shouldn’t have mentioned the pub bit. Think of it as more of an everyday bike. The thing is do you over pay for these ss bikes or is the quality in them .

I had a Vitus Vee 29er, and it was great for the money. £260 is a bargain. Did a few 40-50mile XC jaunts on it, as well as using it for my town/gym bike. Nice and basic, with bolt on everything, so not a major worry to leave locked up.

I had the 16″, and toe clipping was a bit of an issue, so might not be ideal for tight manoeuvres round town.