Newbie wanting to cycle to work

Ush1

I haven't cycled since I was a child basically but want to start cycling to work so just looking for advice on the type of bike and gear needed, where to buy, any general tips also.

The distance is about 10km each way and I will have to carry a laptop(which I already have a backpack for). I don't want to spend much as I may only do it for the warmer months of the year but I think I can avail of the cycle to work scheme.

The route has good cycle lanes the whole way. Cheers.

droidus

10km is very doable. Its worth investing in a decent bike and gear as you will probably find yourself getting more into it once you start. How much do you want to spend?

Ush1

droidus wrote: »

10km is very doable. Its worth investing in a decent bike and gear as you will probably find yourself getting more into it once you start. How much do you want to spend?

Ideally less than 300 quid for everything.(no idea if that's realistic)

droidus

Its possible, but I would say, not realistic. You will need to spend about €100 on a lock & at least some gear (gloves, hat, etc... maybe a helmet) and a bike you end up getting for €200 will not be fun to cycle and will probably not last too long without maintenance and other issues.

Id say you would need to up that to 5-600 to be honest, unless you buy secondhand, but Bike to work does take the sting out of it and bear in mind the medium long term savings you'll be making on car/public transport costs.

You'll want disc brakes & a decent frame that's not too heavy. Something along these lines:

http://www.giant-dublin.ie/ie/escape-2-disc-2019

Yourmama

droidus wrote:

You'll want disc brakes & a decent frame that's not too heavy. Something along these lines:

Careful with lower range disc brakes. Mentioned bike has them hydraulic so ok, but don't go anywhere near cabled ones. Rim brakes with good shoes are much, much better..and lighter.

Ray Bloody Purchase

You should probably focus on the bike and pick up any gear or suchlike in Lidl. If you catch the bug for cycling, you'll regret not having a good bike.

ted1

Ush1 wrote: »

Ideally less than 300 quid for everything.(no idea if that's realistic)

Can you avail of the bike to work scheme ?
If you are in the higher bracket a thousand euro bike only costs you 480 euro.

Worth doing.


Have you changing rooms available at work ? You might be better off carrying the laptop in a bag on the back/side of the back, less sweaty.

oLoonatic

You can do it, it will not be cheap though. You get what you pay for like everything. Lock, clothing, safety equipment, wet gear. all adds up very quickly.

If its an option, try get a lend of a bike for a week or so and see how you get on. I started on big heavy mountain bike wearing football gear. travel 30km round trip up and down the hills in the park. It was torture, but i enjoyed the freedom away from the car so i got decent gear and haevnt looked back since. It would have been a different story if i went and got the bike the gear etc and found it wasnt for me, I would have been stuck with an ornament in my shed.

Ush1

ted1 wrote: »

Can you avail of the bike to work scheme ?
If you are in the higher bracket a thousand euro bike only costs you 480 euro.

Worth doing.


Have you changing rooms available at work ? You might be better off carrying the laptop in a bag on the back/side of the back, less sweaty.

Yes I can avail of the bike to work so it would be more or less half price.

Do you mean a special laptop bag for the bike? Yes there is changing rooms and showers in my job.

droidus

He means a pannier bag that goes on the rear rack, worth it if you have a heavy bag.

mirrormatrix

At that price you could probably get a single speed bike along with a lot of the accessories. If your commute is flat enough then you could probably live with one gear.

Wishbone Ash

Ush1 wrote: »

...The route has good cycle lanes the whole way...

How do you know if you haven't cycled since childhood? Many cycle lanes look good to non-cyclists. The reality is often different.

Cetyl Palmitate

https://dutchbikeshop.ie/gazelle-tour-populair-t7/

Get yourself one of these.

No cycling gear required. Just another lock. As good as no maintanence needed either.

Like a therapy session on wheels.

magicbastarder

the OP said the budget was €300...

Cetyl Palmitate

magicbastarder wrote: »

the OP said the budget was €300...

Spend 250 on flights to Netherlands and get a bike for 50 in a market in that case!

saccades

All cyclists will take a budget and ignore.


I'll try to play.

Where will the bike be stored at work? It will probably need a lock, host of options but if possible leave any heavy lock at work.

As a fair weather shorter distance cyclist you can/will do fine on a budget. Halfords axel is robust and well able. Decathlon do some really good budget bikes too.

The cheaper, heavier bikes are low fun up steep hills but have a nice upright sitting position which is comfy and gives you good visibility in traffic.

Take your time on the way in so you don't break a sweat, put the effort in on the way home. If there isn't a shower have a pack of babywipes handy.

Get a helmet, cycle gloves are good at protecting your palms if you crash. It is handy to have a puncture repair kit and pump plus a spare tube or get some marathon commuter tyres which have higher rolling resistance but are bombproof, don't worry about rolling resistance as you'll be easy in and won't feel it.

Oh, all helmets are built to the same regs so you pay extra for lightness/ventilation. In the uk there is no vat on helmets and planetX do decent cheap ones (i have two next to giro and kask).

07Lapierre

If you can use the BTW scheme, why don’t you up your budget to the full €1000?

Fighting Tao

As a fool that made the mistake of getting a hybrid on the b2w I’d recommend getting a road bike. You will want to go faster and further after a while.

eeeee

Second hand single speed, add mudguards and a good lock and away you go. It's not far a commute and there is fcuk all maintenance in a single speed just look after your chain.

Wishbone Ash

nee wrote: »

...and there is fcuk all maintenance in a single speed just look after your chain.

Add a pair of Tannus tyres and there's even less to worry about.

eeeee

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

Add a pair of Tannus tyres and there's even less to worry about.

Not a fan of them but they'd certainly cut down on maintenance!

Mickiemcfist

Going against the general theme of the thread - I was in the same boat in August, hadnt cycled since I was a teen, decided to cycle to work 9k each way. I bought the Btwin triban 100 for €260, https://www.decathlon.ie/ie_en/triban-100-road-bike-en-s145567.html

I find it good, it's not too 'racey' in setup so it's a nice transition for a newbie. I've never cycled an expensive bike so about 3k km later I'm none the wiser as to what I'm missing, nothing has broken, just clean & oil the chain every so often & job done. It's also comforting to know that if it gets nicked in town I'll be annoyed but not devastated as it's already paid for itself a few times over in unspent bus fare.

magicbastarder

Ush1 - where are you based? there are several bike shops which would have bikes in your price range (secondhand); i'm most familiar with the northside of dublin, and there's the place on bolton street and one in phibsborough which seems to cater for students in grangegorman.
was once passing the latter shop and they had a fold up bike in decent nick outside (may have been btwin? don't know if they ever made fold up bikes) for €80. figured i'd go back in a couple of days but by the time i went back it was gone.

Ush1

Mickiemcfist wrote: »

Going against the general theme of the thread - I was in the same boat in August, hadnt cycled since I was a teen, decided to cycle to work 9k each way. I bought the Btwin triban 100 for €260, https://www.decathlon.ie/ie_en/triban-100-road-bike-en-s145567.html

I find it good, it's not too 'racey' in setup so it's a nice transition for a newbie. I've never cycled an expensive bike so about 3k km later I'm none the wiser as to what I'm missing, nothing has broken, just clean & oil the chain every so often & job done. It's also comforting to know that if it gets nicked in town I'll be annoyed but not devastated as it's already paid for itself a few times over in unspent bus fare.

Thanks for that but thinking it might be better to go for a hybrid bike over a road bike?

Mickiemcfist

Ush1 wrote: »

Thanks for that but thinking it might be better to go for a hybrid bike over a road bike?

Yea it depends on the route I suppose. I'm on a straight run on the N11 from Foxrock to Stephens green so it works for me. The lack of suspension makes it a hell of a lot easier on the uphill way home. They have a regular handlebar version also. However not being able to test it out before delivery is a pain

Ush1

Mickiemcfist wrote: »

Yea it depends on the route I suppose. I'm on a straight run on the N11 from Foxrock to Stephens green so it works for me. The lack of suspension makes it a hell of a lot easier on the uphill way home. They have a regular handlebar version also. However not being able to test it out before delivery is a pain

I'd be going Tallaght to Grange Castle, looking at this bike:

https://www.decathlon.ie/ie_en/riverside-500-hybrid-bike-en-s300777.html

Would the road bike be easier then on the uphill yeah?

Mickiemcfist

Ush1 wrote: »

I'd be going Tallaght to Grange Castle, looking at this bike:

https://www.decathlon.ie/ie_en/riverside-500-hybrid-bike-en-s300777.html

Would the road bike be easier then on the uphill yeah?

Wouldn't know that area to be honest. Well I started my commute on a mountain bike until it gave up (it was about 15 yrs old) I found I couldn't get up to a high enough speed as I ran out of gears. Suspensions dissipate some of the energy you expend by peddling so it wastes a lot of energy.

I'm no cycling expert by any means though - just speaking from my experience of commuting the last few months. Decathlon do make good value for money bikes though.

Effects

mirrormatrix wrote: »

At that price you could probably get a single speed bike along with a lot of the accessories. If your commute is flat enough then you could probably live with one gear.

nee wrote: »

Second hand single speed, add mudguards and a good lock and away you go. It's not far a commute and there is fcuk all maintenance in a single speed just look after your chain.

I don't get why anyone would recommend a single speed bike for someone who hasn't cycled since they were a child. Except maybe you want to remind them of what it used to be like to ride the bike they had as a child.

Less maintenance, maybe. But how much maintenance does it take on a bike with gears? Certainly not enough that it would rule out getting a bike with gears.

Cionn

I was in the same boat 2 years ago. I ended up buying second hand and have gotten the bug since then. I still use the secondhand bike I bought as my commuter but if I am honest it wasn't a great buy. I bought for €220, invested 50 on pedals etc, new tyres +$60 and used it for 3 weeks before the crank broke +€150. Adding all those items brought me to the exact cost I could have gotten a decent bike on the BTW scheme for with a warranty. I recommend making a decision you can afford, and then just go with it, and accept some things need to be flexible. I have now got a commuter, a hybrid, and just recently got my second sportive/club spin bike in 15 month. just do it and N+1 will make sense in due course.


Cionn

eeeee

Effects wrote: »

I don't get why anyone would recommend a single speed bike for someone who hasn't cycled since they were a child. Except maybe you want to remind them of what it used to be like to ride the bike they had as a child.

Less maintenance, maybe. But how much maintenance does it take on a bike with gears? Certainly not enough that it would rule out getting a bike with gears.

Waaay less maintenance. All you ever need to do with a ss is wipe and oil the chain, no indexing issues, derailleur cleaning/fixing, far, far, far less simpler bike to ride and maintain.
I have as many fixed gear bikes as road bikes, and I only use the geared bikes if I need to train or do a road race, most of my time is spent fixed.
A ss for a beginner gets them into cycling, is a very easy bike to fix or do anything with, very simple to learn on, and cheap. A gateway bike and always handy to have.
With the right gear you never miss multiple gears. I commute 200k a week fixed, wouldn't go back to geared commuting if you paid me!

Effects

I wouldn't want to commute on my single speed all the time. Just doesn't suit my style of cycling on a commute.

I've seen more people broken down on ss bikes than geared bikes over the years.
The only indexing issue I've had in the past three years was a result of a pedestrian running into me and I came off the bike. Slightly damaged the derailleur and I had to adjust it.

I'd hate to be a beginner having to tackle some hills on a SS while trying to commute.
Any beginners I know that got single speed bikes at the start just gave up after a while.

eeeee

Effects wrote: »

I wouldn't want to commute on my single speed all the time. Just doesn't suit my style of cycling on a commute.

I've seen more people broken down on ss bikes than geared bikes over the years.
The only indexing issue I've had in the past three years was a result of a pedestrian running into me and I came off the bike. Slightly damaged the derailleur and I had to adjust it.

I'd hate to be a beginner having to tackle some hills on a SS while trying to commute.
Any beginners I know that got single speed bikes at the start just gave up after a while.

I have to say my experience of people broken down is the complete opposite - and my friends who started ss have stayed cycling!

To each their own.
My fixed gear bikes take an awful lot less maintenance from me and the bike shop than the geared ones. That said the groupset on one of my geared bikes is in the way out and it's a massive PITA. I haven't had a fixie give up on me yet!
Actually the first bike I rode, from age 10 to 23, had gears that never worked, and was stuck in it's highest gear for 10 years, despite the odd bike shop fettling.

Different strokes for different folks. Ss are a great cheap and easy to maintain introduction to cycling for a short commute.

Above all else they're so much easier to clean :pac: (I feicin hate cleaning my bikes, and I have to do it all the feicin time!)

Wishbone Ash

Effects wrote: »

I don't get why anyone would recommend a single speed bike for someone who hasn't cycled since they were a child. Except maybe you want to remind them of what it used to be like to ride the bike they had as a child.

Less maintenance, maybe. But how much maintenance does it take on a bike with gears? Certainly not enough that it would rule out getting a bike with gears.

The OP is on a fairly tight budget - single speed bikes are much cheaper to buy and maintain. I commute on a single speed (40k round trip with about 250m of climbing) and I very rarely have to do anything to the bike. My road bikes require about 5 times as much attention.

vanman99

Mickiemcfist wrote: »

Wouldn't know that area to be honest. Well I started my commute on a mountain bike until it gave up (it was about 15 yrs old) I found I couldn't get up to a high enough speed as I ran out of gears. Suspensions dissipate some of the energy you expend by peddling so it wastes a lot of energy.

I'm no cycling expert by any means though - just speaking from my experience of commuting the last few months. Decathlon do make good value for money bikes though.

That's a very heavy bike and unless you're commute is off road I wouldn't. Take a look in Halfords, probably not much difference in weight but has a better group set and will get you up hills quicker. If you're using your bike to work, I'd go for a better bike, you'd be surprised how the bug bites you when you're up and running, you might want to do a bit more. As for gear, pick up cheap stuff in Aldi/lidl, until you you know you'll stick with it. - https://www.halfords.ie/cycling/bikes/road-bikes/carrera-crixus-limited-edition-cx-bike

droidus

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

The OP is on a fairly tight budget - single speed bikes are much cheaper to buy and maintain. I commute on a single speed (40k round trip with about 250m of climbing) and I very rarely have to do anything to the bike. My road bikes require about 5 times as much attention.

The best of both worlds is obviously a hub gear.

CramCycle

Ush1 wrote: »

I'd be going Tallaght to Grange Castle, looking at this bike:

https://www.decathlon.ie/ie_en/riverside-500-hybrid-bike-en-s300777.html

Would the road bike be easier then on the uphill yeah?

If your commuting Tallaght to Grange Castle, its pretty flat and on good quality roads, I'd go for the road bike over the hybrid.

xckjoo

Another vote for second hand road bike. Forget all the suspension and off-road stuff for now. Fat tyres and suspension make the ride comfier but you lose some of your energy output to them so they're counter-productive for commuting. Also forget about racer type bikes as they have other quirks.

Find a decent bike shop in your area (someone here might recommend). You'll learn bike maintenance as you go, but a good bike mechanic is invaluable. Even if you know how to do everything, specialist tools are often needed so it's usually more cost effective to pay them to do some jobs than buy the tools. I'm usually surprised by how cheap the jobs are and saves you from being overwhelmed.



If I was starting over I'd look for a second hand bike from a decent brand, with storage (back bike rack) and dirt protection (mudguards and chain guard). Add lights, a lock, a helmet and a light rain jacket. Hold off on buying gear until you see if you're going to keep it up. Get a well known brand as it's more likely the gears, brakes, etc. will be of high quality. Minimise the amount of maintenance work.


Oh and buy a bottle of slime for your tyres. Works surprisingly well for punctures. Punctures can ruin your evening

Thargor

Fighting Tao wrote: »

As a fool that made the mistake of getting a hybrid on the b2w I’d recommend getting a road bike. You will want to go faster and further after a while.

Same, regretted the hybrid after about 6 weeks, bit the bullet and bought a decent roadbike a while later, Ill never buy anything else now.