[AndyR]

Cheers for advice so far - suspected that a road bike would be the recommended option being as I plan to be almost aways on roads (the clue was in their name).  Just that to man of my incredibly indecisive nature they just seem so.... extreme - especially for one more interested in ease than speed (and I have nightmares about hitting a grate in wet weather and finding myself under a truck).  Still, I guess there's no point in mediocrity and pretending that I am in the Tour de France would make pedalling around Selby more interesting (and the steroid abuse might benefit my climbing).  Any recomendations for cheap road-bikes etc? 

I have a hybrid (Kona Dr Doo), that I use for commuting (just over 40Km round trip), and I really like it - my route contains about 3-4 kms of gravel trails, which would be tough with a road bike. Disk brakes are great in the wet, and a touring tyre gives oodles of grip on normal roads for making emergency stops  (entertaining in the snow/ice though.......).
I also do a few hill climbs on them (road behind our house climbs about 1000m in 10km), but not nearly as quickly as the roadies......

[Falling Down]

Cheers for advice so far - suspected that a road bike would be the recommended option ... they just seem so.... extreme

Perhaps have a look at some touring bikes ? they are much less 'extreme' than road racers, usually have 21 gears with a small granny ring so they'll eat up hills like a MTB, have mudguards if you are going to be commuting and they'll take panniers etc. in case you want to go climbing/camping.

[Percy B]

Good friend of mine got into cycling a few years ago with a veiw to getting fit and getting around the quieter parts of the Peak to fulfill his bird watching proclivaties - he is mid fourties with chronic arthritis in his nech so was very wary of chosing a bike with a riding position that would be comfortable. Naturally he assumed this would completely rule out road bike and he would be limited to a mountain bike 'sit up and beg' type of riding position. (He also assumed that a road bike would not be appropriate 'cos the 'bloody razor blade of a saddle would play hell with me farmers', much to my amusment!)
Anyway, after forays into mountain bikes and hybrids, he eventually tried a Decathlon road bike because he was sick of pedalling a big heavy lump of steel with fat knobbly tyres up all the hills in the Peak and was sold completely on the thing. A bit of experimentation with the riding postition (slightly shorter stem, etc) and he was good to go and was much happier whizzing around without the constant road noise from fat tyres. The Decathlon road bikes and the Boardman ones from Halfords are supposed to be very good for the money. He now also has a nice lightweight rigid mountain bike with thin tyres on and hydraulic disks for the winter - but change the tyres and its good for a bit of cross country too.

I guess there is no perfect solution. Road bikes are best for the road, mountain bikes are best for mountains, hybrids are best for doing both reasonably well.......

[webbo]

cycling plus budget race bikes of the year 2006
1st trek 1000 triple £500
2nd specialized allez £529
3rd focus variado £ 699
the specialized allez has the same frame as more expensive bikes their range so is good for up grading.
www.royles.biz have a cannondale cad 5 tiagra at £549 again this would be a good bike to up grade when you have more dosh
cycle surgery have a couple of giants at good prices scr £650 and tcr2 at £799
these are out of this months cycling plus and theres loads more.
at the end of the day its what floats your boat and your wallet as most bikes all come out reasonably well in reviews.

[chappers]

http://www.bianchi.com/en/products2007/Road_Y7B50.aspx  ?

[webbo]

it looks o.k. decent frame.however as i come from the angle of sell the wife and daughter in to slavery to afford a better bike i'm not the best judge.
my best bike is a 928l carbon ultegra that i got for £1500. £600 less than the normal price.the trouble was i only went in to buy a new winter bike for about £500.

[moose]

thanks muchly for all the suggestions so far.  I suspect a tourer / road bike or a very road-orientated hybrid will be outcome depending on preferred riding position / feel / suitability for lank-creature.  I guess advice is no substitute for trying before you buy.  Although hopefully your words / links will have minimised the chance of an expensive mistake.  Cheers.... as of today I am unemployed and netless (well at least for a fortnight until I move in with my parents!) so apologies and thanks to all who deserve them...

[chappers]

the ride to work scheme is looking good! potentially i can get up to 50% off the bike. lancs county buy it, then i pay em back in my pay cheque, no interest or anything.
i tried the bianchi, but now, since i wont be paying i think i may go for a higher spec model in the c2c range by them. 

so thanks for all you help guys!

[webbo]

once you purchase said bike on ride to work scheme do you actually have to go to work on it.i'm thinking 50% of something with disc wheels low pro bars etc or a nice titanium jobbie would go well in my stable of bikes.
is there a minimum number of days i.e. once a year.

[Bubba]

I'm pretty sure they don't check up on your cycling habits or anything like that...

[slackline]

once you purchase said bike on ride to work scheme do you actually have to go to work on it.i'm thinking 50% of something with disc wheels low pro bars etc or a nice titanium jobbie would go well in my stable of bikes.
is there a minimum number of days i.e. once a year.

The only catch is it would have to be < £1000 (prior to applying the discount I believe).  No idea if you could get that sort of spec for that money though 

[SA Chris]

Wonder if you could just buy a frame and get the shop to doctor the paperwork, then just pimp it from there?

[webbo]

the problem might be how do i get round the fact i have a lease car from work.do i try and get them to belive i leave my car at work and just use it for visits but cycle in to and from work.i notice you can get help with cycle safety equipment do oakleys count as safety equipment.

[tommytwotone]

once you purchase said bike on ride to work scheme do you actually have to go to work on it.i'm thinking 50% of something with disc wheels low pro bars etc or a nice titanium jobbie would go well in my stable of bikes.
is there a minimum number of days i.e. once a year.

You do indeed have to use it for your work commute - me and a few of my colleagues have done it recently. How your workplace polices this is another matter though 

My experience was being given a cheque payable to Evans for the amount I chose, and I had a free run once I got into the shop (I used £100 worth of mine for a helmet and some lights) so yes, I reckon you'd be fine to use the voucher as part payment towards something better.

I got a Specialized hybrid with my stuff - very happy with it but now enviously eyeing up road bikes! That said, I'm in London so that info is probably of little relevance.

[Duma]

little taster of something I put together this spring:

[webbo]

is that a toe strap i see there

[saltbeef]

has anyone travelled abroad (spain) with a bike (mountain). anyone got any beta on how to stop them getting trashed by baggage handlers?
is it a real effort?

[Houdini]

Rather fall out of a toe-starp than SPD's.

[webbo]

why.

[Yossarian]

has anyone travelled abroad (spain) with a bike (mountain). anyone got any beta on how to stop them getting trashed by baggage handlers?
is it a real effort?

i travelled back from malaga (having ridden to morocco and then back to spain) in 1998 with a mountain bike. not in a box, but strapped together with bungees and zipties.  it was a last minute decision, but the bike actually arrived unscathed.  the airline was the never before and never since heard of "peach airways".  football hooligans and alcoholic teenage mothers our speciality, etc.

since then i have used a neil pryde bag twice, for a trip to chile/argentina (5 flights in all) - nothing damaged, and india (slightly bent brake disc - if you have them then unbolt them as they are quite prone to being bent).

i have taken a road bike abroad (precious litespeed to vietnam) but for that i fabricated a box out of laminated polystyrene and heavy duty cardboard.

bike boxes are probably the best option, but most of them are quite expensive.  a soft bag packed well is what i'd go for, especially with an mtb...

[saltbeef]

good knowledge. cheers beast.

[fatboySlimfast]

Sorry Foals, didnt reply to you. Problem with tranposrting mtb on planes now is baggage limit. Fly with most air lines  with a piece of sports equipment(your bike) you get 35kilos, your bike I presume is hardtail so your looking at <30lbs which is round 12kilos(I think) Just whatch your other baggage and make sure you book it in with the airline to make sure.
Now go to a bike shop and blag a cardboard bike box off them, the ones the bike are sent out in. Take bike, remove wheels(no need to release tyre pressure but if your paranoid then do so) put cardboard or some other packer in between disc pads on the brakes(stop em shutting, not prob if they do but abuses the pads a bit when you lever them out) Remove bars and zip tie to leg of fork. Remove rear mech and gaffer tape to inside of bottom chain stay. If you want you can remove crank arms and zip tie to frame but definitely remove pedals, whichever you do now pack front rings with some sort of packing. Line box with packing especially under forks(some people remove them completely and pack them alongside frame) put wheels in, pack it all out making sure nothing rubbing and bobs your relative.
http://www.switch-backs.com/switchbacks-pack-mountain-bike-travel.html

[fatdoc]

you can pre book some extra weight for sporting goods.....

totally up to the airline though

[Yossarian]

i had an idea for future trips, which involved getting a custom bike bag made with the words "cycle for life - raising money for poor orphaned blind and deaf children with leukemia" prominently displayed on both sides, possibly with a picture of a very sad child, with tears in her eyes. you'd have to be one truly heartless check-in assistant to slap an excess baggage charge on that.

however, i am not quite that much of a cunt...

[Houdini]

I'll give it a go!