Education We Like to Ride Bicycles

I've decided since the weather is getting nicer and I live just under 3 miles from work I should really start commuting by bike.
I have an old giant aluminum mountain bike which I bought second hand and put skinny tyres on for town use. After using it to cycle in a couple of times I'm now looking at getting a proper road bike since the giant is in a bit of a state and by the time I've got it sorted I think the money would be better spent on something with 700c wheels.

I'm really tempted by a single speed for ease of maintenance since I probably won't pamper my bike past the first few weeks.

I'm looking at the Charge plug 1 which ow has an aluminum frame and the Quella one white 2015/ which seems decent and has 40% off. It's very hard to find any useful information on bikes from the manufacturers (why is weight so secret?!)

Has anyone opinions on these brands or an alternative suggestion?

 

Really like the look of that Quella one white. Thats a nice looking bike.

For commuting I went with second hand from Ebay , Im only 5 miles from work. I got a Pinnacle Lithium Four for a sweet £200 in fantastic condition.

Dont like the idea of taking the carbon road bike for commuting.

 

I found the weights out, they weight about the same. The Quella is cheaper and nicer looking (maybe a touch hipped than I'd like), so I'll most likely end up with that.

 

The Quella is very hipster, of the two the Charge wins for me because the bigger squisher tyres and it has brakes, never got on with flip flop setups.

 

Fuus have you got that bolt yet

 

Just got back from a ride in the peaks! Yeah, a mate in the cycling club actually had a spare, in return for a drink on the next social

Cheers for asking.

All I need now is a bracket to put my dropper post button on the right rather than the left...

 

Just for clarification, both bikes I'm looking at are single speed with flip flop rear wheels, and both have breaks. I'll be having it on the freewheel side with breaks front and back.

I'd have thought thinner the better for getting/keeping speed with as little effort as possible? I'm mostly on a cycle path, which is a bit of a patch work mind you.

Obviously I'm a little worried the Quella is a slippery slope and one day I'll find my gaze lingering on a pair of tan turned up corduroy trousers.

 

Stuff like that send me pics bud

 

I'll sort some out tomorrow if that's ok Kov

 

The Quella comes with brakes fitted. But they know their market well enough to advertise it without.

Nice bike, how they make them in the UK for that price is beyond me. I'm guessing they're welded elsewhere and painted/assembled here.

 

You can use a fixed-wheel bike on the road, with just a front brake fitted. No brakes, though usual for track bikes, is illegal for road use.

 

I too would go for the Charge, as it has drop handlebars and the tyre size.

The 23's on a cycle path would just be a nuisance, giving no padding. The general consensus at the moment is that a larger tyre width is more efficient and helps prevent pinch flats. You can have them less pressurized without the risk of getting a puncture every bump you hit. Also remember that you can go smaller on the tyre size but the frame is what will limit how large you can go. Oh and if you want to put mud guards on that extra clearance will be useful too.

The charge has bolts for front and back mudguards, and a pannier rack which is useful for a commute too. Mud guards will save you a lot of emergency shoe drying in the winter if you're following rule 5.

Oh the topic of the handbars, the brakes that come with a bullhorn like the Quella will be at the close grip position so not much use when you need to get to them quickly. The Charge comes with proper road brakes which general puts you in a brake friendly position when you're riding.

Overall Charge all the way for me.

 

That'll explain it then but yeah wider tyres will offer far more comfort, even race Road bikes now default to 25c tyres

Ventured out today with some mates, pretty good ride short though I'd done 80 miles Saturday an the guys I was with arnt that fit. Ground was weird lots of hardpack but also some utter quagmires, I was going full enduro so bombing through it all until I hot this, comedy fake accident pose, but the bike was very much stuck

 

Thanks for the advice. I'll likely go for the charge 1, going use my old bike till I'm sure it's not going to be wasted though.

I'm a little concerned by the 42mm wide tyres on a road bike though :-s

 

So today I had one of those you've been riding bikes for two decades but today you can't do now over the bars repeatedly on a trail you've ridden 250+ times days.

Also, the shock on my Rocket went pop, six weeks after it had a service, plus the compression lever fell off and has that suspiciously broken look to it.

So much for a nice bank holiday ride.

 

Can anyone recommend any sort-of slick tyres for a 650b wheel? (27.5*1.95) I'm tempted to swap out my tyres for something a little slicker, and the choices are somewhat overwhelming.

On a related note: Schrader vs Presta valves. Why. Just.... why? I understand the need for narrower valve stem, but it's extremely irritating when my existing tubes use Schrader but all I can find locally are tubes with Presta. Especially irritating when a tube fails, you don't want to wait for delivery before getting back out on the road, and you end up with mismatched valves on the front and rear wheels.

Moral of the story: get spares (yes, I know, I should have spares anyway...)

 

This might be better in the classifieds, but here seems more relevant.

Would anyone like a set of new Shimano XTR M980 cranks for £165 posted?

OE packaging, 170mm, 104/64 triple, includes bb. Been sat on my shelf since Christmas when I got two sets from my LBS at trade. Price is what I paid for it.

If no one's interested it's going to Pinkbike.

 

BLC how slick you thinking? like 100% slick or tourer style slick wit ha bit of tread?

FTS, Ive be all over those but im all cranked up so to speak Im sure someone here would be after a set though.

 

Slicker (is that a word?) than this: https://i1.adis.ws/i/washford/685622a

 

Forget that... I've managed to find alternative tyres, but I'm considering a second bike through cycle to work; something closer to a "flat bar road bike" kind of hybrid than I have now...