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Terrorists? On your bike. (Advice needed)

Started by Paul Khanna · · Last activity · 6 posts · 1,847 views

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01 / Original postTerrorists? On your bike. (Advice needed)Paul Khanna · 22 Jul 2005 02 / This pagePosts 1–6Page 1 of 1 · chronological order 03 / Latest replyPost #6Batesy · 25 Jul 2005

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Original section
Bike Cafe
Published
22 July 2005
Last activity
25 July 2005
Original author
Paul Khanna
Posts
6
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Public discussion
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1,847
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Topics
CommutingMountain bikingWet weather gearAluminium frames

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  1. Original post
    Paul Khanna
    Archived post
    #1

    Hi there

    I'm a Londoner who previously had never considered a bike (I did have a Raleigh Tomahawk and a mag wheeled BMX when I was young and care free).

    Due to recent events, I have decided to rethink this. Although I'm certainly not afraid, I'm aware that educating folk takes a while, and until then, I will take reasonable precautions. It's handy when they're environmentally friendly too.

    I want to buy a bike, and although I'm a Sport Scientist graduate who's also written for Men's Health and the Evening Standard, I could still do with some advice from those with their fingers on the pulse and not the cash register.

    I am planning to take a round trip journey of about 14 miles, probably every 4 days. This is from my home to my gym, where I'll then train with weights for an hour or so. This will involve going through Hampstead, which for those of you who are London based, looks like the King Of The Mountains stretch of the Tour De France!

    Also, as I'm an actor, I may pop into town about once or twice a week for auditions. From my north London home, this is about a 16 mile round trip.

    I'd imagine this would be considered recreational cycling.

    My main dilema is whether to buy a road bike (what I'd call a racing bike), or a hybrid? Somewhat confusingly, certain manufacturers have a sub section called flat bar street bikes. From what I can see, this is just a trendy name for changing only a few things. I must admit, I hate the word hybrid as it conjures up the jack of all trades thoughts.

    I'm not too worried about pain, as my threshold is quite high (hey, I walked from London to Leeds once just for fun).

    My instinct is telling me nothing succeeds like excess, and hence I'm leaning towards a racing bike. My main priority is to get to my destination as fast as possible with relative comfort. I assume racing bikes aren't that uncomfortable?

    Or perhaps I could buy a racing bike and adapt its handlebars later if necessary? Of course I probably look paranoid at this point, stay with me! Once I get your genuinely valued advice, I really will just go out and buy one. I'd like to spend around £500 (excluding a lock etc).

    I've come up with:

    Trek 1000 (2006) Double £499
    LeMond (2005) Nevada City £499 (or is this now replaced by something?)
    Schwinn Fastback Sport (2004) £405
    Specialized Allez Double (2005) £499
    Fuji Ace (2004) £300

    or something like a flat bar street bike like:

    Specialized Sirrus (2005) £399 (will this be slow?)

    Anyone who has bravely read all of this to here, thank you!

    I look forward to you thoughts.

    Paul

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  2. Chance3290
    Archived post
    #2

    All of the bikes you've mentioned are pretty good starter bikes. You'll get some good advice from folks here, but you should also go to a couple of bike shops and take a spin on a road and hybrid. They should let you go out for a few miles so you can get a feel for the bikes. Make sure you get a good fitting for the bike. Also do some googling for bike reviews.
    Good luck to you and take care.
    Oh, and road bikes (or racing bikes, as you call them) at very comfortable, as long as you are used to them and, so a newbie, you don't start out by trying to ride like the pros and get the smallest saddle with the highest seatpost and lowest handlebars. Ouch.

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  3. roadhog
    Archived post
    #3

    As a point of interest, I heard on the news yesterday (thurs.) that one-day bicycle sales in London were *four* times the normal rate on 21 July, for obvious reasons. Not sure if it's true or not but not surprising if it is.

    Good luck in your quest. Commuting is great fun really. And shopping for bikes is definitely fun (until payment time anyway).🙂

    Edit: Oh yeah, forgot to contribute anything to the conversation..... Your distances don't sound too far, and it sounds pretty urban traveling (maybe I'm wrong). If that is true *and* this is all you plan to use the bike for, I would think a road racing bike is not the best choice. I ride a 12 mile round trip every day and I use a 10-year old rigid mountain bike with skinny street tires on it. It is plenty fast for the urban trip (tires make a big difference) and rugged enough to handle potholes, etc, and old enough to not attract vandals. I save my more expensive road bike for my real training rides (and wouldn't want to bring it near my campus work-place - vandals).

    That being said, I see fellow commuters on all kinds of bikes, to include road, and they all seem pretty happy.

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  4. shannons dad
    Archived post
    #4

    I've been using a Landrover Freelander Visalia hybrid while my roadbike is off the road, and it hasn't let me down once. I use it for everything including a bit of off-roading. The tyres are 700 x 42c which aren't much smaller than MTB tyres, 28 spoke wheels, an aluminium frame and Rockshox forks with 50mm travel, 21 gears and very comfortable and fast. I'm starting to think it's bombproof (no pun intended) as I haven't managed to break it yet. £260 should get you one.

    Bill.

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  5. wheelist
    Archived post
    #5

    Hi Paul,

    Some good advice already. I'd tend to go with RoadHog on this one - a nice rigid MTB with skinny tyres will take everything you can throw at it. I'd probably look for a second-hand one to keep the cost down (you'll probably get hold of something that originally cost £1000 for about £100-£200 quid, maybe cheaper). This way you can save some towards your nice road bike when the bug gets you. 🙂

    With regard to the terrorism issue, see my article at: wheelism.co.ukarticle.php
    - it seems you're not alone in thinking this way.

    Also, there are a couple of articles about Hampstead Heath on the site that might be of interest to you - just go to the home page.

    Check out the London Cycling Campaign too at: lcc.org.uklcc.org.uk

    Finally, for some good advice on commuting check this article:
    wheelism.co.ukarticle.php

    Now, get out and enjoy the ride mate! 😄

    Steve

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  6. Batesy
    Archived post
    #6

    I would definitely lean towards a hybrid or MTB with "skinny" tyres, a road bike is built mainly for speed over long distances (or sprints).
    A hybrid will usually come with racks and mudguards(or will have places to fit them) racks will make it easier to carry stuff to and from the gym, and to auditions mudguards will also reduce the risk of you arriving with a nice big stripe up your back....

    A hybrid or MTB will also be better suited to potholed / traffic calmed roads than a road bike would, and will also be more comfortable over rougher tarmac.

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