What bike?

For a while now, I've been cycling to work and back, partly to get fit and partly to save money on fuel. It's a 13 miles round trip so not excessive but very hilly.
The problem I have is that the bike I'm using is a rusty old mountain bike that had been stood in the garage for about 7 years without moving. I gave it a few drops of oil, pumped the tyres up, wiped the cobwebs off the seat and set off in the hope that everything would be fine. The effort it took just to pedal up the slightest incline was ridiculous.

On day 1, I walked out of work to find a puncture. Fair enough, that can happen at any time.

Day 4, my left pedal fell off when I was still 2 miles from work. I pushed it the rest of the way and a Maintenance Fitter managed to tap out the thread and get the pedal back on.

In week 2, my freewheel gave in. For those who don't know, this is like a ratchet mechanism in your rear wheel meaning that when you pedal, the chain drives the wheel but when you stop pedalling, it 'freewheels' instead of stopping dead.
This failed as I was pedaling hard up a hill. All resistance was suddenly lost mid-stride and I fell off, ripping the seat and badly bruising my inner thigh (I count myself lucky that I didn't land on the crossbar!).

In week 5, my right pedal snapped in half. I was only 5 mins from work so again, pushed it the rest of the way. I got a lift home after work, bought another pair of pedals and set about replacing the broken one. As I removed the pedal, the thread just turned to filings. Clearly whoever had originally fitted the pedal had crossthreaded it. There was no chance of re-tapping it.

So all-in-all, despite my determination, it has become pretty impossible to continue riding without investing in overhauling my current bike or getting a new one.

Recently I stumbled across the governments Cycle To Work scheme which is part of the Green Transport initiative. In short, you choose a bike from any participating retailer, your employer pays for it, you pay them back over 12 months via wage deduction. You save on VAT and it comes out of your wages before any other deductions so is entirely tax free. You end up saving 41.3% on the price of a bike + safety equipment (helmet, lights, locks etc). The employer also wins because with it coming out of your gross pay, they have to pay less National Insurance AND they get an extra benefit to offer employees with very little administration.
I approached my manager about it and did all of the legwork of gathering the information, clarifying the terms and getting together a list of colleagues who would be interested and he was very interested and agreed to proceed with it. Unfortunately saying he will do something and actually getting around to it are two entirely different things so now I'm just waiting. My bike is still knackered and there's no point me spending money on it if I will soon be getting a brand spanker.

So, now you've read all of my waffle, I'll get to the point .

Assuming he goes ahead with the exact same scheme, I will almost certainly be using the retailer below. They're the best priced shop around here and also proper cycling geeks.

Ideally, I want a road bike as that would make the journey quicker and easier. Once fit, I may look for a cheap mountain bike on ebay for the weekend though that wouldn't be for some time.
Either that or just go for a hybrid now but I'm not that convinced they're that good.

With a budget of around £400-500 for the bike itself, which would you recommend? :

http://www.cyclistdiscount.co.uk/Mens-Bikes-Road-/Racing-Bikes/c8_25/index.html

 

Look at this: http://www.cyclistdiscount.co.uk/p836/Onza-Blade-2010-Model/product_info.html 

Seriously I would choose this: http://www.cyclistdiscount.co.uk/p631/Viking-Milano-Bike-2010-Model/product_info.html

For a while now, I've been cycling to work and back, partly to get fit and partly to save money on fuel. It's a 13 miles round trip so not excessive but very hilly.
The problem I have is that the bike I'm using is a rusty old mountain bike that had been stood in the garage for about 7 years without moving. I gave it a few drops of oil, pumped the tyres up, wiped the cobwebs off the seat and set off in the hope that everything would be fine. The effort it took just to pedal up the slightest incline was ridiculous.

On day 1, I walked out of work to find a puncture. Fair enough, that can happen at any time.

Day 4, my left pedal fell off when I was still 2 miles from work. I pushed it the rest of the way and a Maintenance Fitter managed to tap out the thread and get the pedal back on.

In week 2, my freewheel gave in. For those who don't know, this is like a ratchet mechanism in your rear wheel meaning that when you pedal, the chain drives the wheel but when you stop pedalling, it 'freewheels' instead of stopping dead.
This failed as I was pedaling hard up a hill. All resistance was suddenly lost mid-stride and I fell off, ripping the seat and badly bruising my inner thigh (I count myself lucky that I didn't land on the crossbar!).

In week 5, my right pedal snapped in half. I was only 5 mins from work so again, pushed it the rest of the way. I got a lift home after work, bought another pair of pedals and set about replacing the broken one. As I removed the pedal, the thread just turned to filings. Clearly whoever had originally fitted the pedal had crossthreaded it. There was no chance of re-tapping it.

So all-in-all, despite my determination, it has become pretty impossible to continue riding without investing in overhauling my current bike or getting a new one.

Recently I stumbled across the governments Cycle To Work scheme which is part of the Green Transport initiative. In short, you choose a bike from any participating retailer, your employer pays for it, you pay them back over 12 months via wage deduction. You save on VAT and it comes out of your wages before any other deductions so is entirely tax free. You end up saving 41.3% on the price of a bike + safety equipment (helmet, lights, locks etc). The employer also wins because with it coming out of your gross pay, they have to pay less National Insurance AND they get an extra benefit to offer employees with very little administration.
I approached my manager about it and did all of the legwork of gathering the information, clarifying the terms and getting together a list of colleagues who would be interested and he was very interested and agreed to proceed with it. Unfortunately saying he will do something and actually getting around to it are two entirely different things so now I'm just waiting. My bike is still knackered and there's no point me spending money on it if I will soon be getting a brand spanker.

So, now you've read all of my waffle, I'll get to the point .

Assuming he goes ahead with the exact same scheme, I will almost certainly be using the retailer below. They're the best priced shop around here and also proper cycling geeks.

Ideally, I want a road bike as that would make the journey quicker and easier. Once fit, I may look for a cheap mountain bike on ebay for the weekend though that wouldn't be for some time.
Either that or just go for a hybrid now but I'm not that convinced they're that good.

With a budget of around £400-500 for the bike itself, which would you recommend? :

http://www.cyclistdiscount.co.uk/Mens-Bikes-Road-/Racing-Bikes/c8_25/index.html

 

I wouldn't entertain a mountain bike buddy for road work they are really poo. I ride a Claude Butler out and out racing bike and built it myself, for £450 you should be able to get a reasonable racing/road bike.
A mountain bike would be hard work for the job you want it for, a racing/road bike is a lot more efficient energy wise if you lived in Liverpool I could put you on to a retailer.

Scrub that
Just checked out Clint's recomendation below and it's a cracker - go for that all day.
Simply because I have a Claude Butler I would go for the one they've got for £300 but they're both excellent pieces of kit.
And you're in luck the dealer is based in Stoke on Trent it's on your doorstep.

I don't like that you don't own the bike after 12 months, you have to par a fair market price for it.  If you've been paying for it anyway, what would this constitute?

I had a bit of luck when a mate gave me an old Claude Butler frame so I built it up from there, I suppose if you're committed the bike scheme could work. Can't see it being anything but beneficial if they want to encourage people to take up cycling, the only drawback to it really are the manic roads and lunatic drivers who will not give an inch let alone enough space for a cyclist.

I don't like that you don't own the bike after 12 months, you have to par a fair market price for it.  If you've been paying for it anyway, what would this constitute?

That's actually nothing more than a technicality, mate. If your employer says that at the end of the term, you can have the bike or buy it for X amount, it's classed as a Hire Purchase and taxable. By simply saying that you can purchase it at the end of the 12 months for 'fair market value', it exploits a kind of loophole meaning you can pay by deduction BEFORE tax. Considering how much you've paid for the bike over 12 months, your employer will 'sell' it to you for peanuts.
Someone might correct me on that as I'm not sure of the legal ins and outs but it's something along those lines.

Seriously I would choose this: http://www.cyclistdiscount.co.uk/p631/Viking-Milano-Bike-2010-Model/product_info.html

Scrub that
Just checked out Clint's recomendation below and it's a cracker - go for that all day.

Thanks lads. As I know next to nothing about bikes, I going with the assumption that the more expensive the bike, the better. Given that I was setting aside a bidget of maybe £4-500, what is it that makes that bike a good choice? Are there certain features I should be looking for?

what is it that makes that bike a good choice? Are there certain features I should be looking for?

Frame: Lightweight alloy tubing, road geometry, mudguard clearance.

If you stick with the established names you won't go wrong and can be sure the gears,brakes,wheels and actual frame will all be of a good standard quality. My preference as stated would be Claude Butler simply because they have all the previous components and I do have one but I've no doubt that the Viking is equally as good.
As with everything it's down to personal choice and your best bet is get down to Discount Cycles and check them out, if they've got the bikes on site have a look at the components mentioned and see how the bikes compare weight wise obviously you're after the lightest frame.
    If you're not sure about which are the better gears it's Shimano you're after, as for brakes and what have you, check out the more expensive bikes and see what's on them.
I'm very tempted to go for the £300 Claude Butler myself by the way and use my own for spares.

Ok, thanks again to both of you for the advice. They have most of them in-store so I'll have a good look at them sometime soon.
Time to go and bug my manager about it again!

 I have got a Raleigh and the frame is all aluminium,it has shimano gears and I find it quite copmfortable to ride and often go for a 10k ride.(weather permitting.I would suggest you get a road bike and not a mountain bike if you are riding on good roads.

I've been warned off buying Raleigh because their nuts and bolts are all different sizes and types to everybody else's. purely so you HAVE to go through Raleigh for repairs. Not sure how true that is.

I've been warned off buying Raleigh because their nuts and bolts are all different sizes and types to everybody else's. purely so you HAVE to go through Raleigh for repairs. Not sure how true that is.

I bought mine about 2 years ago and have not had a problem with it.It is worth noting that most bikes are made in China and sadly you do not get the quality like when they were made in Nottingham.Cheers.

I bought mine about 2 years ago and have not had a problem with it.It is worth noting that most bikes are made in China and sadly you do not get the quality like when they were made in Nottingham.Cheers.

Fair enough, I didn't realise they were still made here. I'm not doubting the quality of the bikes, I just heard that rumour about the parts.

After watching a special about the one and only Mat Hoffman I've decided that bmx is the only way to go.

I don't fancy 13 miles a day (either side of 10 hours of work) on a BMX!

I don't fancy 13 miles a day (either side of 10 hours of work) on a BMX!

No way

July. f***in July I opened this thread and I've JUST managed to get the scheme started! Long story but rather than being introduced just in the plant where I work, it's being rolled out to the other UK plants as well. I should have negotiated comission!

Anyway!
I'm now looking to go for a hybrid rather than a full-on road bike. I'm not going to bother donning all the proper gear for a 13 mile round trip so I'll just throw on a t-shirt and shorts and get going.
The people running the scheme try to nudge you towards using Halford but do have facilities for you to go to an independant retailer (like the one in my original post) and come to an agreement.
I had got it into my head that I would avoid Halfords (or Halfrauds) because they tend to be expensive but actually, now I've started looking specifically at Hybrids, they're not that bad.

So once again, I'm back to ask for advice on which model to pick.

I don't really want to go much over about £600 for the bike itself becasue I'll also be getting lights / locks etc.
If any of you who are into bikes have a bit of free time, please take a look at this bike, give your opinion and suggest any alternatives that you might know of for similar (or lower) prices.
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_502585_langId_-1_categoryId_165534

Although the bikes at http://www.cyclistdiscount.co.uk/Mens-Bikes-Hybrid-&-Trekking/c8_24/index.html seem quite cheap, you seem to have to go quite high to get features such as disc brakes.

I may well pop into Halfords tomorrow if i get time so hopefully someone will get chance to offer advice today.

Thanks in advance.

Plenty of bargains on Ebay for that price also I think Cash Coverters have them too.I bought a Scott MB from them about 5 years ago.

Oh! Been looking at bikes recently since if i move into town ill try to bike alot more to get places and such. Used to be a big biker as a kid, living on the farm gave lots of areas to hammer a bike around through the hills.

So what if i want a bike that i can take up the mountain to trails, but at the same time ride around town? Its not a huge deal to have a decent mountain bike as a daily rider for town as well right? Pretty flat more or less in town being a valley, so hills on daily commute wouldn't be an issue.

Plenty of bargains on Ebay for that price also I think Cash Coverters have them too.I bought a Scott MB from them about 5 years ago.

I know mate. I don't know if you're familiar with the cycle-to-work scheme but essentially your employee buys the bike (saving VAT) and you pay for it over 12 months via salary sacrifice before tax and NI are deducted. You save approximately 42% and for someone like myself who can't afford to buy a new bike, it's ideal. There's a bit more to it than that but it works out well for me anyway.

So what if i want a bike that i can take up the mountain to trails, but at the same time ride around town? Its not a huge deal to have a decent mountain bike as a daily rider for town as well right? Pretty flat more or less in town being a valley, so hills on daily commute wouldn't be an issue.

Nothing wrong with riding a mountain bike around town at all, it's just a lot easier on a road bike or hybrid due to the narrow tyres and (generally) lower weight as much as anything. The mountain bike I had was a cheap piece of crap that weighed almost as much as me and was covered in rust.
I was a big biker as a kid as well, wish I'd kept it up as I got older. Used to have a BMX, one of those with no brakes that you had to pedal backwards on to stop. I'd ride it everywhere, even if it was 200 yards down the road to the football pitch with a ball tucked under my arm. Cost very little back then but now they're all the rage again.

Yeah i had a BMX as a teen (not long ago really ) but didn't use it as much once i hit 17-18. Yeah i might just look into getting a decent mountain bike that can handle a little bit of town riding as well. I wanna have one that can take a good trail up in the hills somewhere so thats probably more important than worrying about ease of riding in town. I used to hammer my mountain bike i had as a kid around town no problems anyways!

Reprobate, I would go for this: http://www.cyclistdiscount.co.uk/p1004/Claud-Butler-Urban-300-2011-Model/product_info.html 

Even the design is brilliant.

Thanks for getting back to me. As someone who knows next to nothing about bikes, I was going along the 'you get what you pay for' lines. Don't you think it's worth paying extra for disc brakes? I've never had a bike with them.