need a bike to ride about town. Needs mud guards and a few gears.

I’d love a Kona Dr Good, but it’s a bit much!

this looks ok with enough left over to spend on bits

http://www.tritoncycles.co.uk/urban-bikes-c4/hybrid-rigid-c30/se-tripel-3-speed-bike-2013-p104

Any other ideas?

p.s. I could build one up, but i know i’d end up blowing my budjet!

p.s. budget is <£300

ta

guy I sit next to at work has got one of those. He likes it. Rode London – Brighton at the weekend.

Coaster brake, which you might like or not. Certainly takes a bit of gettig used to if you’ve been riding bikes without them for years. Didn’t like it on the bike I hired in Copenhagen for 3 days.

Carerra Subway.

sh!t didn’t spot it had a Coaster brake! i was planing on putting the kids seat on the back…. could be a bit risky, what are they like??

Carerra Subway, not realy what i’m after, it …. well it just looks rubbish.

Raleigh Pioneer, £275 at Halfords.

£25 over budget, but….

http://pinnacle-bikes.co.uk/city-and-leisure/pinnacle-lithium-1-2014-hybrid-bike

Merlin Single Malt £259

http://www.merlincycles.com/merlin-single-malt-single-speed-bike-61807.html

I was surprised how much relearning I had to do with the coaster brake. Loads of little things – you can’t kick the pedals round so they’re in the right spot to move off at a junction – you have to decide in advance which foot you’re going to put down (not always going to be the same one – if the road’s cambered – right turn from a one way street etc), set the pedals so the other foot is forward, then back pedal to brake.

It turns out I quite often back pedal half a revolution to reset the pedals if I’m turning through traffic, swerving for something in the road, preparing for a rough surface, popping off a kerb. Having unconscious balancing tactics being stopped halfway and the bike stopping under you doesn’t make for a pleasant bike ride.

Even given that I’d be doing a lot less of that sort of riding with a child on the back, I’d still want a lot of practice before I trusted myself with precious cargo that’s also going to bring some added balancing challenges.

Or, alternatively, I wouldn’t get a bike with a coaster brake.

It could be that I’m a stuck in the mud who’s got weird riding habits that are unusually hard wired, and there are plenty of people reading this wondering how on earth I could have had so much trouble…

thanks nedrapier, sounds like the coaster brake isn’t a good idea with the boy on the back !!

I ve been looking for the same thing. The ones I ve looked at are,

Vitus dee 29
Bombtrack arise
Merlin single malt
Pinnacle ramin

Bombtrack and pinnacle are a bit over budget but look nice . The other two are both single speeds . Just a few more options for you.

the vitus vee is ok for getting around on, and it’s ok offroad too. However, it doesn’t have rack mounts and it has a 120mm rear wheel spacing.

Also, the non-disc version (vee, not dee) doesn’t have disc caliper mounts. Should you want to upgrade later on, this is important!

Bombtrack range looks good.