Recommend bike for a commute 12.5 M road/path

Jack Bauer

Jack Bauer

Jack Bauer

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Oxford
I cycled to work for the first time today. Roughly 12.5 miles from Witney to the centre of Oxford along the a40.

While it was certainly not painless, for my first try I was happy enough with a time of 1 h 9 m. Plenty of room for improvement, but as I don’t cycle at all good enough. Not so sure about the return trip but let’s see what happens tonight!

Regardless of that, now that I know I can make the journey in reasonable time (at least equal to my bus/car commute) I want to considering getting a better bike for this purpose.

Something around the £300 mark would be good. At this price it will pay for its self in 10 weeks. If I am still cycling to work by then it will be a good investment and maybe, I will consider something more expensive.



I have had a quick look at the forums and found recommendations for the following.

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-500-se-road-bike-id_8306187.html

with new tyres.

MICHELIN PRO4 Endurance 700x25 Flex Bead Road Bike Tyre / ETRTO 25-622

The was an old thread/recommendation. Is there anything better I should be considering?

Thanks for the help.
 
What are you riding at the minute? What are the road surfaces like? Do you think you'd like to get into any leisure riding in your own time?

Basically your choice is between a road bike and a hybrid, road bikes will be a bit faster and more comfortable on longer, multi-hour rides but less capable on uneven terrain and at this price point fairly basic. The Triban is still a solid bike though, and if that's what you want then I'm sure you'd be happy with it. Downsides are mainly the microshift groupset, which works perfectly fine tbh, and I've heard some complaints about how well the wheels hold up in wet weather. Short of EOS deals, you're probably not going to do any better for the money unless you go second hand.
 
Currently I am using a second hand bike I got given

APOLLO KALAMUNDA MENS BIKE

Quick search indicates it is a cheap halfords bike.

Unlikely to get any leisure riding unless it with the kid. This would be slow riding over various terrain so the Apollo will do the job.

The route is all bike path or road. Surfaces are good apart form the last mile in Oxford where the roads can be poor. In summary, the bike is only for the commute so if I gain a little speed from the road bike then I will go with that.

I know little about bikes so didn't want to go second hand. Looks like this is as good an option as anything.

Cheers
 
You'll definitely notice a difference with a road bike, the question is whether it's best suited to the type of riding you're looking to do. Ultimately that's a decision you'll have to make for yourself. Road bikes are faster and more efficient, but honestly the main advantage is the comfort over longer distances. 12.5m is a fairly long commute to start out with, and if you're spending around an hour in the saddle each way it might be worth it. Normally people use road bikes for longer leisure rides though.

If you're looking at swapping out the tyres (which I wouldn't say is an absolute necessity straight away but there you go) I'd consider 28c ones instead, just for a bit more comfort. May cause issues if you want full length mudguards though.
 
The tyre suggest came from

FrenchTart said:
Good call on the tyres too. Pretty much all bikes at this level will come with awful tyres and the first thing you should do is swap them out. If you can get the bike shop to do it for you during the build then all the better. I recommend Pro4 Endurance 25mm for good all-round awesomeness (and not breaking the bank).
Click to expand...

Don't want to spend money if I don't have to.
 
Then just ride the stock tyres until you feel the need to upgrade. I don't like spending too much on tyres anyway, especially on a commuter. You can normally find something good for less than £15 each. Can get 28c Vittoria Zaffrio Pros for £12 on CRC.
 
Cheers will do.

Think I will sleep on it and then decide if I want to commit to the commute tomorrow. Feeling fairly positive about it today and looking forward the the time neutral (no extra time out of my day) cardio.
 
Also strange your commute takes you an hour... Du-dum, du-dum, du-dum. Anyone watch Legacy? Quite liked it but wasn't as gritty as original 24, a little bit too much 'prime time TV'.

You can't go wrong with the Triban for what you're looking at using it for. My only gripes (being a commuter myself) would be the cheap groupset and possible future higher maintenance costs due to it. Also mudguards if commuting in the UK are almost a requirement, there's not much point compromising any efforts to make a long-ish commute more bearable in bad weather (basically, get mudguards. It's miserable without - this is the UK!).

As you say it'll have paid for itself in 10 weeks, so you could easily ride it for 3 months, decide you need something 'better' and flog it.
 
I'm going to pick it up today.

Cycled home last night. It was a pleasant ride tbh. Looking forward to the new bike as my current bike feels like I am riding a tank after a few miles. Will consider mudguards towards the end of the summer.

Also...I stated watching Legacy and it seem to capture the feeling of the original. Only got 1or 2 episodes in so will have to finish at some point. It was certainly better than 24 London.....
 
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