The Student Room Group

buying a bike for commuting - advice?

moving to london in september and considering buying a bike, as i'm about a 20 min ride from uni and the tube & bus will take longer.

i expect to be in london for the next couple of years (minimum) and i don't anticipate doing any off-road biking at any point; i'm mostly looking for a bike i can commute on (uni/gym/work) and use to tote stuff around. chances are i won't be covering huge distances, and to put it bluntly: i want something cheap and cheerful and don't need a lot of features.

any recommendations as to whether i should look for a road bike (given that roads are all i'd use it for) or just go for a secondhand mountain bike? i've only ever had mountain bikes, but i've never actually carried stuff on them, so i have no idea if it'll be super slow when i'm carrying my gym kit etc with me.
Reply 1
Get a road bike, I use mine to go to and from work which is a 4 mile ride each way. They're great!
Oh nooo, you wouldn't want to cycle in London, trust me! The roads here are very dangerous, the drivers are pricks who think they own the road, especially during rush hour which is when you would be commuting. Plus, the amount of road cyclists are given is a big joke. Basically, if you end up at Uni without getting run over by a bus or lorry then well done.
Get a hybrid or a road bike.

Community on a mountain bike is like using a tractor to get to the supermarket (unless you need to go through a field to get to a supermarket in which case move :tongue:).
Original post by SophiaLDN
Oh nooo, you wouldn't want to cycle in London, trust me! The roads here are very dangerous, the drivers are pricks who think they own the road, especially during rush hour which is when you would be commuting. Plus, the amount of road cyclists are given is a big joke. Basically, if you end up at Uni without getting run over by a bus or lorry then well done.


Whats wrong with the cycle roads around hyde park/knightsbridge/green park, they seem relatively reasonable. Depends what part of London you live in though, I can see how cycling in parts of East/North and South London can be incredibly dangerous.
Original post by SophiaLDN
Oh nooo, you wouldn't want to cycle in London, trust me! The roads here are very dangerous, the drivers are pricks who think they own the road, especially during rush hour which is when you would be commuting. Plus, the amount of road cyclists are given is a big joke. Basically, if you end up at Uni without getting run over by a bus or lorry then well done.


Ignore this rubbish.

What's your budget OP?

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Reply 6
Be prepared to have huge glutes by next year.
Reply 7
Original post by RollerBall
Ignore this rubbish.

What's your budget OP?

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I don't want to spend masses as money is tight right now - would be prepared to spend up to 150 if really necessary, but that's about it. As it's my first foray into commuting by bike I'm loathe to invest more than that right now - would rather see how I get on first :smile:


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Original post by arguendo
I don't want to spend masses as money is tight right now - would be prepared to spend up to 150 if really necessary, but that's about it. As it's my first foray into commuting by bike I'm loathe to invest more than that right now - would rather see how I get on first :smile:


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Fair enough. Work out the frame size (probably 56 or 58) and have a peruse on Gumtree. In London you can get some pretty sick deals on 3-4 year old bikes still in cracking condition.

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