[chris05]

Hi guys

Looking to buy a bike for commuting to work (20 mile round trip) using the cycle2work scheme. I have only really used old crappy mountain bikes, so know almost nothing about road bikes. As far as I can see the main brands that I can choose on the scheme (stocked at Halfords or local bike shops) are Trek, Specialized, Boardman or Dawes. The Boardman bikes are probably the favourite at the moment, which agrees with some previous threads on here. I can spend a maximum of 1K but would rather spend less, especially as I will need to buy quite a bit of kit as well (shoes, helmet, lights clothing etc). Any thoughts on the following questions would be much appreciated:

1.   Any views on the companies mentioned and any experience or advice regarding individual models would be much appreciated. For example I could just about afford the carbon Boardman but doubt I really need it.
2.   I assume SPD pedals are the way to go? I have never used them but assume I will get used to them, after falling over comically at the lights a few times..
3.   Any components (gears, breaks) etc that I should avoid or look for?
4.   It will be used year round (although if the weather is really foul I will probably get the train) do people use mudguards or are these uncool?!

Any help with that lot would be great. If I had been choosing the bike I would probably have gone for the btwin from decathlon but this isn’t available on the scheme. I don’t need anything amazing but it would be nice to have a half decent bike in case I get into it!

Cheers

Chris

[Obi-Wan is lost...]

Theres quite a bit of advice on these threads to start with...
http://ukbouldering.com/board/index.php/topic,23549.0/all.html

http://ukbouldering.com/board/index.php/topic,23224.100.html

There are loads of brands to choose from, I'd probably avoid Dawes personally. Btwin are good value, are you sure they don't do C2W scheme? I thought they did. Boardman are also pretty good value for money. Are you resticted to certain shops? Edinburgh Cycle do some good value bikes.

SPDs are designed for mountain bikes and tourers, they get used quite a bit on road bikes. The benefit of using SPDs on a road bike/tourer is mainly that the shoes are easier to walk in than road cleats.

What are the road surfaces like on the route?
How good is security at your place of work?

[T_B]

Are you going to be commuting through the winter?

I'm no bike expert but I have commuted 10 miles a day all year round for the last 3 years and bought a cyclocross bike to do the job (Specialized Tricross) rather than a road bike (roads in Sheffield are pretty heinous). It has been v reliable though the cantilever brakes are a bit crap. Chunkier gatorskin type tyres in the winter. mud guards essential. good lights and lots of them essential.

I had SPDs until I broke my foot and haven't gone back to them in case I fall off in traffic.

My mistake as a biking punter was to buy the wrong sized frame 

[Evil]

You can also use the cycle to work scheme at chainreactioncycles.com, but it is a bit more complicated. However that does mean that you can buy their well spec'd for the price Vitus bikes (thus making the choice even more complicated). Getting a quality groupset is quite important in a road bike, and you will get a higher quality one for the price than with a lot of other brands. Check out the groupsets table in wikipedia to see where they all stand - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groupset Planet X are also pretty good for that. Bikes are a very personal thing though, so of course there will be loads of opinions, and you should probably just check a load out and pick what you end up liking the most depending on what's important to you.

I bought a carbon Planet X for a bit under £900 as I save much more than that on train fares per year, so even if I hammer it through the winter, it's still the cheapest way to get to work. So for your point 4. I have raceblade mudguards, though I usually only have the rear one on. They are the most commonly available ones which will actually fit to road bikes. I am also a small light person and my commute is hilly, so I wanted a very light bike after struggling up the hills on a steel tourer for a while.

I have never fallen in my SPD pedals even though I was very worried about them to begin with. For me the paranoia about falling over was enough to make sure it didn't happen. Make sure you loosen the tension in the pedals though when you get them, as they way they are sold are pretty much impossible to actually unclip (or clip in)!

[chris05]

Theres quite a bit of advice on these threads to start with...
http://ukbouldering.com/board/index.php/topic,23549.0/all.html

http://ukbouldering.com/board/index.php/topic,23224.100.html

There are loads of brands to choose from, I'd probably avoid Dawes personally. Btwin are good value, are you sure they don't do C2W scheme? I thought they did. Boardman are also pretty good value for money. Are you resticted to certain shops? Edinburgh Cycle do some good value bikes.

SPDs are designed for mountain bikes and tourers, they get used quite a bit on road bikes. The benefit of using SPDs on a road bike/tourer is mainly that the shoes are easier to walk in than road cleats.

What are the road surfaces like on the route?
How good is security at your place of work?

Many thanks for the reply Obi. I had searched but hadn't seen those two threads.

I thought Btwin were only sold by decathlon and so had assumed they weren't included, I'll check. I work in Huddersfield, so its either Halfords or a couple of shops nearby (velocity and wheelspin).

Shows how much I know, thought SPD's were road cleats! 

The roads are pretty good all the way in and security is good as I can bring it into my office.

[chris05]

Are you going to be commuting through the winter?

I'm no bike expert but I have commuted 10 miles a day all year round for the last 3 years and bought a cyclocross bike to do the job (Specialized Tricross) rather than a road bike (roads in Sheffield are pretty heinous). It has been v reliable though the cantilever brakes are a bit crap. Chunkier gatorskin type tyres in the winter. mud guards essential. good lights and lots of them essential.

I had SPDs until I broke my foot and haven't gone back to them in case I fall off in traffic.

My mistake as a biking punter was to buy the wrong sized frame 

Thanks for the reply. Yes hopefully all year round (apart from when its really bad). I had seen the cyclocross bikes, wasnt quite sure if they were appropriate. Its getting complicated! What do you use instead of SPDs?

[Reprobate_Rob]

If your not tied to a particular shop with your scheme then the Ribble audax is an excellent and very popular commuter bike - here

[chris05]

Evil, thanks for the recommendations and comments. That table looks useful.

Reprobate_rob, the Ribble looks good and a nice price. Will look into whether its available on this scheme.

[T_B]

Are you going to be commuting through the winter?

I'm no bike expert but I have commuted 10 miles a day all year round for the last 3 years and bought a cyclocross bike to do the job (Specialized Tricross) rather than a road bike (roads in Sheffield are pretty heinous). It has been v reliable though the cantilever brakes are a bit crap. Chunkier gatorskin type tyres in the winter. mud guards essential. good lights and lots of them essential.

I had SPDs until I broke my foot and haven't gone back to them in case I fall off in traffic.

My mistake as a biking punter was to buy the wrong sized frame 

Thanks for the reply. Yes hopefully all year round (apart from when its really bad). I had seen the cyclocross bikes, wasnt quite sure if they were appropriate. Its getting complicated! What do you use instead of SPDs?

Just flat pedals

[tomtom]

I quite like the little toe clips (like mini full size clips and without the strap) as they ensure my foot goes in the right position - and you get a little pull up on them if need be...

(but I am a total cycling punter nowadays..)

[Obi-Wan is lost...]

I'd look in the £600-800 range for the bike then get all your accessories also on the scheme. Get a decent lock, helmet, shoes, mudguards etc. Mudguards are pretty essential for commuting. They are very effective and modern ones weigh nothing and look pretty cool.

There's a lot to be said for using Cyclocross (CX) bikes as commuter/general purpose road bike.  More and more have disc brakes which are much better than any kind of rim brakes, so if you start commuting in all weathers you've got a chance of stopping when the idiot driver pulls out on you on a roundabout (had a close call last night!  ). The frames are usually more forgiving than a standard road bike, and if you change the tyres back to standard road tyres you've got a comfy road bike with much improved brakes.

Planet X have a store in Barnsley not far from you, although they don't have a lot of cross bikes under £1000, although you might find a bargain road bike... http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBHOTR105/holdsworth-trentino-shimano-105-carbon-road-bike.

TBH if you want to stick local you wouldn't go far wrong with either of these...

Budget CX from Halfords
http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/road-bikes/boardman-cx-comp-bike-2014#[object Object]

A bit more from Wheelspin...
http://www.wheelspincycles.com/bikes/cyclocross/2013-trek-crossrip/
http://www.wheelspincycles.com/bikes/cyclocross/2014-trek-crossrip-comp/

I don't know Wheelspin but my guess will be you'd get better service, more choice on accessories and a lot more knowledge than Halfords. But there's nothing stopping you buying from Halfords then taking it to your LBS for servicing etc.

You could get more for your money online but it's well worth sitting on a bike and checking your happy with the size.

Regarding group sets, most sub-£1000 bikes will have Shimano kit. The nice thing about even the cheapest Shimano stuff is they just work and are pretty well put together. Your probably get Sora or Tiagra or a mixture both of which are fine, if you find a sale bargain it might have some 105 on it but TBH you'll not notice any difference in use to the cheaper versions.

[Obi-Wan is lost...]

Got home to a flyer from Edinburgh cycles. http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/products/revolution-cross-sport-disc-14?bct=browse%2fbicycles%2froad-bikes these are on sale at £599 from the weekend. Leeds is probably your closest store.

[Grubes]

My personal experience with wheel spin is not great. I bought my bike a trek 1.1from them but never got the feeling I was getting a good service. I took my bike there for a service the other week to give them another chance but again the service did not feel great.
I live less than half a mile from wheelspin which is why I went back. Also think they sized me a 56in and I think I need a 58in frame.

If velocity is the place in lindley there online reviews are similar to my view of wheelspin. Bought some bits from the him. My mate had his bike serviced and was happy with the result but was slow.

However I was very happy with the service from try cycling in kirkburton. They serviced my bike after ended up on the bonnet of a van. Also bought cleats and set up my mud guards. He also adjusted my seat when he saw got me to ride round as I was learning to get in and out of cleats. Seat was set up by wheelspin

Can't advise you on bikes as I don't know enough but can give personal experience of hudds cycling shops
Where are you cycling to and from?

[bigtuboflard]

Got home to a flyer from Edinburgh cycles. http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/products/revolution-cross-sport-disc-14?bct=browse%2fbicycles%2froad-bikes these are on sale at £599 from the weekend. Leeds is probably your closest store.

that's great value and exactly the sort of bike I'd go for if I were commuting. Cross bikes are so much more suitable for general hacking too and from work.

[chris05]

Got home to a flyer from Edinburgh cycles. http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/products/revolution-cross-sport-disc-14?bct=browse%2fbicycles%2froad-bikes these are on sale at £599 from the weekend. Leeds is probably your closest store.

That looks really good, but unfortunately they aren't included in this scheme, nor are planetx or ribble. The basic boardman cx bike is winning at the moment.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

[SA Chris]

Check which shops are on your scheme, and keep an eye on their websites over the next month or so, if you aren't up against any specific deadline. The 2015 bikes will be getting released soon, so a lot of 2014 bikes will be reduced for sale.

I can't offer any advice on roadbikes, but a few people here have bought bikes from Halfords on the scheme and said the technical backup has been dire. I freely admit this may vary from store to store, but they are essentially a car parts shop, so not sure what else to expect?

[Evil]

Have you got some unusual scheme with your work then? Planet X accept quite a few - http://www.planetx.co.uk/cycle-scheme

[chris05]

Its the cycle2work scheme run by halfords. They do include some independent shops but not planetx among others unfortunately.

[Evil]

Ah. It is annoying there are so many schemes!

[Obi-Wan is lost...]

Something else on pedals, most bikes ship with cheap flat pedals (or no pedals at all on more expensive bikes  ). Fine to get started with but with a regular ride clipping in will be much more efficient. Another advantage of SPDs is you can get single sided SPD touring pedals, so you have the option of using either SPD shoes or normal shoes (if for example your only pair of SPDs get soaked on the way home the previous night) 

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/cycling-parts/pedals-pegs/shimano-pd-a530-spd-single-sided-touring-bike-pedals

[chris05]

Something else on pedals, most bikes ship with cheap flat pedals (or no pedals at all on more expensive bikes  ). Fine to get started with but with a regular ride clipping in will be much more efficient. Another advantage of SPDs is you can get single sided SPD touring pedals, so you have the option of using either SPD shoes or normal shoes (if for example your only pair of SPDs get soaked on the way home the previous night) 

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/cycling-parts/pedals-pegs/shimano-pd-a530-spd-single-sided-touring-bike-pedals

Those look like an excellent option for me to build up confidence too. Thanks

[chris05]

Many thanks for all the advice. UKb comes up trumps again!

I went for the boardman cx bike and it seems great. Think I will be glad of the disk breaks through winter.

[T_B]

Nice one. Yeah, when I upgrade I will definitely get something with disc brakes.

[chris05]

They seem really good, although I have to be careful not to break too hard or I'm likely to end up over the handlebars!

[Jim]

finally ordered my CX bike mainly for commuting on cycle to work scheme today which our company does through cycle solutions.
Ended up getting a cannondale caadx tiagra 2015 model (105's not back in stock until Novemeber) and the same shimano pedals as Toby posted above.
I'm going to wait until I've got the bike and rode it for a bit before buying anything else but will definately kitting it our with mudguards etc for winter commuting (already got lights - see budget bike light thread)
What are the options for footwear on the spd's?
I don't want anything too trainerish as hopefully I'll be on the bike 95% of the time but just need to be able to walk to the locker room at work.
Also options for good locks that I can keep at work so don't have to lug about?
Thanks

[webbo]

If you are on spd's get a pair of mountain bike shoes. Shimano or sidis look for last years or the year before's that should be well discounted.

[mrconners]

http://m.evanscycles.com/products/genesis/croix-de-fer-2014-cyclocross-bike-ec052633

This would be my first choice for a cyclocross bike.

[Fadanoid]

Many thanks for all the advice. UKb comes up trumps again!

I went for the boardman cx bike and it seems great. Think I will be glad of the disk breaks through winter.

How you getting on with it? I went for that model in the end recently too.

I can recommend getting the M530 pedals for it, they look better on it than the silver.

[chris05]

Really like it, although I have only had crap mountain bikes in the past so little to compare it to. Feels really fast to me though and gets me up the fairly steep hills I have on the commute.

I have the A530 pedals which have been good so far as I have just been using trainers until now. I have offroad SPD shoes which I think will be great once I take the leap to SPD's properly although I may well want to get the double sided ones eventually.

[Fadanoid]

Good to hear you're getting on with it too.

I also went from crap heavy mountain bikes to this. Massive difference in speed.

Did you have to do many adjustments after you bought yours?

[chris05]

I haven't and it seems really comfortable, apart from the saddle but that's probably just because I hadn't been doing any cycling. I was actually impressed with the service in my local halfords, they were much better than the reports I had read (obviously varies store to store).

[tomtom]

Really interesting how CX bikes are becoming commuter bikes of choice.. I guess light, racing bike riding style, but stronger and disc brakes...

Saw one coming down the track from Garburn pass when bouldering at Kentmere on Sun... thought that was pretty impressive given the nature of the track!

[steveri]

You only have to take a look at the Three Peaks cx to see what the bikes are capable of. The Whernside descent is bonkers

[Grubes]

I was actually impressed with the service in my local halfords,

Which halford. I have always been impressed with the staff at huddersfield.
Friendly knowledgeable, helpful and not pushy

[chris05]

I was actually impressed with the service in my local halfords,

Which halford. I have always been impressed with the staff at huddersfield.
Friendly knowledgeable, helpful and not pushy

It was Huddersfield. Agreed

[Obi-Wan is lost...]

That's good to hear, it could be just you're lucky with your local branch, hopefully with it's recent purchase of Boardman it's a sign that they are taking cycling more seriously and actively employing staff who are interested and knowledgeable about bikes. Fingers crossed.

[SA Chris]

If you ever consider buying replica kit, avoid the Columbian national one!

[jfw]

You only have to take a look at the Three Peaks cx to see what the bikes are capable of. The Whernside descent is bonkers

I ran most of it ( i am a big wuss!!)

Borrowed a planet x (with hope disc brakes  ) for this years three peaks - really like the fit and feel of it - though my mate has built it up with nice extras (carbon bars n stuff).  For commuting I would look for  a bike with mountings for mudguards and panniers - but that's cos I prefer to stick my laptop in a pannier bag (got a good one by vaude from my local edinburgh bike shop)

[webbo]

You might be buying some new carbon bars by the end of this years race then. 

[jfw]

You might be buying some new carbon bars by the end of this years race then.

Nah - i run round owt too bumpy! (Also haven't managed to break them riding off the back of win hill)

[steveri]

Nah - i run round owt too bumpy! (Also haven't managed to break them riding off the back of win hill)

Good effort, I'm having a year off to get over the fear! I had a couple of early crashes that knocked the stuffing a bit and ran more than usual. The PX look great, really like my SL roadie.

[SA Chris]

Fitting cassette to wheel - I've got the socket, but no torque wrench. How critical is it getting it torqued up right (40 nm) or is it ok if i just crank it up as hard as i can by hand with a socket wrench?

[Yossarian]

I've never ever used a torque wrench for fitting a cassette. I would just go for it - tight, but not trying to break the world record for the tightest thing.

(I'd worry more about torque with fragile things like stem bolts, etc.)

[Catcheemonkey]

Don't worry about it - just slather the thread in grease and give it your all. I recon 40 nm is about as tight as you can get a cassette on by hand unless you're sticking a length of pipe on the end of your wrench.

[steveri]

It'll be fine, just do it up 'sort of tight' - I've never used a torque wrench either. I do however know a clown that cross threaded one late night, thinking he was cool doing IPA-maintenance

[tlr]

Never used a torque wrench on a cassette, I'd do it up as tight as you possibly can though otherwise you might find the cassette chewing through the freehub body.

The wheel builder I know told me this, and he fits a lot of cassettes!

[SA Chris]

Thanks guys. Cranked it on good n proper!

[SA Chris]

I'm after some road biking shoes to replace my pedals and mtb spd shoes which I still use on my roadbike, which are apparently  bad for your knees if you are doing long distances?

What are the weapons of choice for 50-100km rides?

[Yossarian]

Pedals - I prefer Speedplay. If you have knee issues, they offer a lot of adjustment, inc the amount and location of float. I used Look previously, and they were almost the exact opposite. Speedplay are not cheap though.

Shoes - The fancy ones have got obscenely expensive. I don't think there are many bad designs out there, so it's more a case of figuring out what fits you best. The ones with Boa laces donlast longer than Velcro ones - I have SWorks ones that are 6 years old - have replaced the laces a few times, and Velcro would've prob worn out by now.

Sure there are some bargain previous season shoes around on Wiggle / Chainreaction / Treadz, etc.

[webbo]

I've used Look pedals for years in combination with Sidi shoes. I don't think I've ever worn a pair of the shoes out, sent two pairs to the charity shop last week that were at least 15 years old.
You usually get deals on Look pedals from most on line shops. Sidi shoes are usually discounted on Bikechain cafe or sidi cafe.

[kelvin]

I'm after some road biking shoes to replace my pedals and mtb spd shoes which I still use on my roadbike, which are apparently  bad for your knees if you are doing long distances?

What are the weapons of choice for 50-100km rides?

I ride with the same - where did you hear this? I find it odd when a lot of lads do long offroad trails over days and weeks.

[Obi-Wan is lost...]

If you're using SPDs currently distance isn't an issue. All Shimano touring pedals are SPDs. You get more side to side twisting movement (float) with SPDs. It's lack of this that knackers knees. Consider swapping to a touring pedal if you want a larger platform to push on but potentially keeping the same shoes. I say potentially because some MTB shoes have chunkier soles meaning they won't fit touring pedals.

If you want to change. I've used Shimano pedals and shoes for years and rate them. The float adjustment is in the cleats. Yellow = most float.

If you need to walk any distance stick to SPDs