Sub £1000 bike for local commuting and keeping fit

I must admit I read a lot of these threads, and given the OP hasn't ridden for so long I'm amazed at how few respondents make the obvious comments i.e.

Low gears (a triple with at least 2 rear sprockets bigger than the smallest chainring) - otherwise you'll soon find it to hard to pedal, esp when tired on the way back from a ride uphill against a slight breeze

Mudguards - 'cos you'll soon get fed up of getting wet in all the wrong places, and having to clean crud off your (ruined) clothes

A rack/saddlebag - the most comfortable way to carry spare waterproofs, or carry the clothng you've removed 'cos its too hot. And a sarny/banana, small flask etc.

Water bottles, water bottles, water bottles and cages.

Add all these and, if ou're keen, you can get a picnic together and find your way to, perhaps, the Monsal or Tissington trails and have a nice day out at most times of the year in  most weathers, and slowly grind your way back to your start point if you get really cream crackered!

(OK I'm talking touring bike here, have a look at Spa Cycles offerings)

Just to weigh in on the suspension forks issue. I had a Specialised Crosstrail Elite as my commuter for a couple of years. I reasoned that the suspension forks would come in handy when I went off-road. Thing is, I hardly ever did and when I did the tyres were not up to muddy conditions and spun.

The bike was stolen in January and I bought a Whyte Stirling, a hybrid with a rigid carbon fork and 32c tyres (the Spesh had 38c). Honestly, I don't miss the suspension forks at all. The Whyte is much more responsive and faster with the rigid fork and feels much more stable cornering at speed. My average speed went up over 10% with no additional effort.

If you're going to be riding mainly on roads, I'd go with a rigid fork.

You don't say what size you are, but how about a medium size Genesis Equilibrium? You can fit a pannier rack and proper mudguards for local pootling about and shopping, and then it'll hold its own on group rides if you join a club:

https://www.freewheel.co.uk/genesis-2017-equilibrium-disc-20-md-ex-display-gng43mp001

Small world - I cycle past that shop quite often.  Looking at the hybrids on offer on their website and your budget I would say the Crossway Urban 100 is a good choice.  It comes complete with a kickstand and mudguards, both of which will find useful.  When you go back, I suggest you also look at the Crossway 300.  This is £50 more, but includes a supension fork, a fair jump in quality of the gears and wheels and a suspension seat post.  I find the roads around Northwood pretty lumpy, you might find the suspension useful.  Hopefully they will let you test ride both and you can decide. 

Hi Bryans58,

I can absolutely applaude you spending money on the high street instead of online because the high street needs a;; of the help that it can get right now and it’s a great idea to support your local shop!

I’d say just spend some time in your local shop and try as many of their bikes as you can and try a good variety of brands and hybrids, drop bars etc. and get a feel for yourself as to what feels good for you.

If you want to get to try an alternative to what you can try in the shop most local to you and are interested in trying a British brand then for something different if you happen to be in London you could go to the Temple Cycles shop ( https://www.templecycles.co.uk/pages/contact ).  They’re a British brand who focus on getting the basics of bikes right and might possibly have something that appeals to you such as:-

https://www.templecycles.co.uk/pages/classic-lightweight-landing
or:-

https://www.templecycles.co.uk/pages/adventure-tour

But if you try & then buy something that you like from your local shop then good luck and I hope that you enjoy getting back on a bike!

John

https://www.templecycles.co.uk/blogs/blog/a-bike-for-life

How about the Planet X London Road, you can have a flat bar version with hydraulic disc brakes and mounts for muguards and a rack for £799.99

https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBPXLDNFLATAPEX1/planet-x-london-road-sram...

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-rc-520-disc-road-bike-navy-105-id_855...

a nice bit of kit, with a decent spec, and a lifetime warranty on frame and forks.

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/rr-900-af-road-bike-black-105-id_8529249.html

or this if you want a more 'road' than 'gravel / adventure' type bike.

Tbh unless a £1000 is back of the sofa money for you, I'd advise you to keep an eye out in the local paper or eBay for something near enough to go look at before bidding. Like CIBM says it's not rocket science to throw a leg over and check it works. There are a lot of very lightly used bicycles around for not a lot of money.

I'd suggest some sort of hybrid style bike, flat bar, upright riding position, wider tyres, comfy seat, low gearing for any hills and not worry too much about method of braking or whether it has suspension or not. Hopefully you can find some nice cycle paths or singletrack locally away from traffic. You don't even really need special cycle clothing, just dress appropriately for the weather and go out to regress into a 10 year old boy again enjoying the freedom and thrill of a bicycle.

I'd say you'd have to be absolutely clueless to buy a bike 2nd hand that doesn't fit you or work, you get on it, you try the brakes and gears, if they don't work you walk away and look elsewhere, not rocket science!

Unless you are farily knowledgeable about bikes, I would suggest you are more likely to buy something unsuitable second hand.

Of what you have been offered so far the Specialized is the bottom of their suspension fork hyrbid range and is expensive for what it is.

The Merida looks nice and comes with muguards fitted but also looks expensive for what it.

Halfords (Boardman, Voodoo and Carrrera) do a good range of good value hybrids with choice of rigid and suspension front forks.  In ascending order of price.  The Carreras may be a bit cheap but still good value.  The Voodoo Marasa is very good value and gets good reviews.  Boardman do MTX with front suspension and HYB with rigid forks.

F W Evans own brand Pinnacle hybrids are also very good value.  The Cobalt range with front suspension and Lithium with rigid forks.

Don't automatically rule out a suspension fork.  They do add weight, but definiely smooth out poor quality roads.  They would also set you up nicely for some casual gravel/light off roading.

A lot of hybrids have very similar gearing to road bikes.  So where a road bike might be 50/34 at the front and 11 - 32 at the rear, a hybrid may be 48/32 at the front and 11 - 32 or up to 36 at the back.  At 60+ and unfit, unless you are hiding a potential athlete in think you will find those overgeared.

I am a fit 50+ and have just bought a Boardmand MTX with a 48/32 and 11-36.  I rarely use the top chainring.

I suggest you consider a bike with triple chainset.  Some people say they are devils spawn and too complicated but if you can read an instruction manual you should be fine.  They will give a wider range of usable gearing.

Definitely get one with disc brakes.

With your bugdet I would suggest you look at Cobalt 4 (double chainset but low ratio) and Cobalt 3 (triple chainset) both suspension forks, and Lithium 4 (triple chainset) with rigid forks.  All 20% of at the moment.

At Halfords look at the Voodoo Marasa (triple chainset rigid forks), Subway 3 (triple chainset suspension fork), Boardmain HYB 8.6 (double chainset, rigid forks), and MTX 8.6 (triple chainset, suspenion fork, and MTC 8.8 (double chainset, suspension fork).

Suspension is unnecessary weight and complexity on a bike used mainly on hard surfaces. Unless you want to visit a third store to get another option - if you have a Halfords nearby you could see if they stock the Boardman. Otherwise the Merida sounds a good choice.

Get some reasonably bright lights (see the road.cc reviews section) and a lock for leaving it parked up then you'll hopefully be all set and you can enjoy riding your bike.

Second hand is great if you know a bit about bikes and sizing.

TBH I'd go to your local bike shop.  You should at least get the right size and a working bike.  

The merida looks nice - mudguards are excellent.  Get a track pump too and you wont look back. 

As suggestion above 2nd hand will get you more bike for same or less money.

I'm currently selling my sons top end hybrid (part carbon frame/carbon forks/quality components) that has a bigger range of gears than most of the usual contenders, is lighter than bikes costing a grand and more, can fit wide tyres with guards/pannier rack fitments, basically the ideal  commuter that can do much more, however despite Its mint condition I'll be lucky to get £400 for it.

Basically it's a buyers market unless you have something very niche, so 2nd hand bikes can be an extremely good way to get started without throwing a lot of money at something that may not even 6 months down the line suit what you want. It means you have time to consider what you want/don't want and can spend a bit more on something more specific to your needs which you will understand better the more you ride.

Do not get anything with suspension forks, you're not a downhill/MTB racer, a shop suggesting that is clearly trying to shift stock!

luck finding something and enjoy riding.

It's nice to have something shiny and new, but have you thought about 2nd hand.  You will get more bang from your buck, you will have to do more maintenance and learn it quicker, but if you talk to your Local Bike Shops, they might have a few in from part exchange.  Less likely to be stolen, and easier to ask for help with fixing.  It will help you to develop thet relationship too.

Best of luck whatever you decide.

The cold is easy to deal with, good gloves a must, you will generate a lot of warmth.  But ice is not much fun.