http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Topic: Which bike? Commuting, shopping, days out, touring. en Tue, 19 May 2026 22:48:03 +0000 http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=18816&page=2#post-283264 Thu, 24 May 2018 09:55:39 +0000 the canuck 283264@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>i like my specialised Vita Sport, sold without mudguards or a rack.<br /> with a rack, i do find it slightly heavy to carry on the shoulder, but that's partly because i have issues with my right wrist and shoulder. also, i think i could have gotten a lighter rack.</p> <p>i'm not a fan of the kevlar tires. the idea that i should have to clean my tires every day that i'm on the bike is a bit high maintenance for me.</p> <p>i probably need to do one of those evening 'maintain your bike' courses to get me back in the habit of better care. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=18816&page=2#post-283167 Tue, 22 May 2018 19:45:52 +0000 Rosie 283167@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@crowriver I'll use them again, even if the way home to the west is via Princes Street 'midst trams, buses, taxis in high volume. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=18816&page=2#post-283151 Tue, 22 May 2018 16:21:58 +0000 Nelly 283151@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Steel framed Single Speeds (with Carradice) are my everyday do everything bike. </p> <p>Pretty lightweight and soak up a decent bit of the road surface.</p> <p>Last one only went to scrap as the bottom bracket thread was gubbed, and then only after the final BB was glued in and lasted a further 18 months !</p> <p>Current one is a fair few years old now has a lot of dings and scrapes but does everything round town well. Have had to renew a few wheels / chains / rear hub / 3 or 4 freewheels on over the years, but frame is as robust as ever.</p> <p>Anything "difficult" gets done at Bicycle Works.</p> <p>My road bike gets a decent amount of use now I am "retired" but I really cant be bothered with the faff of MTB any more - getting to somewhere to "do" MTB, gassing up suspension, all the cleaning of disks etc is just too much like hard work these days. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=18816&page=2#post-283039 Mon, 21 May 2018 13:31:19 +0000 Arellcat 283039@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>+1 for Eastside, who were able to ream out a fifth of a millimetre of metal from my bike's headtube, and to circularise an ovalised seat tube clamp and ream it to 27.0mm.</p> <p>My USE seatpost hadn't fitted that well in 13 years. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=18816&page=2#post-283038 Mon, 21 May 2018 13:11:45 +0000 I were right about that saddle 283038@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@unhurt</p> <p>That's a Sterling idea. I still have the till receipt. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=18816&page=2#post-283037 Mon, 21 May 2018 13:03:16 +0000 unhurt 283037@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Does the Scaffolding Bike™ get a bicycle birthday party each year? </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=18816&page=2#post-283032 Mon, 21 May 2018 11:37:07 +0000 I were right about that saddle 283032@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><em>I'm a bike monogamist unlike you polyamorous lot here</em></p> <p>I have owned only two bicycles as an adult. The current one is eighteen years old and going strong despite having the equivalent of a couple of circumnavigations under its belt. </p> <p>Heartening therefore to learn that the life of yours can be extended. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=18816&page=2#post-283030 Mon, 21 May 2018 11:09:04 +0000 crowriver 283030@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@Rosie, that's great to hear. Eastside are really helpful in my experience, sounds like this was a very positive experience. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=18816&page=2#post-283002 Sun, 20 May 2018 23:01:13 +0000 Rosie 283002@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@acsimpson. Thanks for the offer. I have low ceilings - unusual in an old property in Edinburgh but it's the bottom floor of what was probably a labourer's cottage. </p> <p>I did take the cycle to Eastside who gave me an estimate of about 25% less than the other place, so it was worthwhile getting the Dawes repaired and keeping it for a couple more years. I'm a bike monogamist unlike you polyamorous lot here, and with monogamy it's better the devil you know, and it's what you're used to, and it has its good points i.e. it's a comfortable ride. Also being a bit battered looking it's less likely to be nicked.</p> <p>Pleased with Eastside who chucked in a free bottle of cleaner and were quick with the repair. </p> <p>They fitted one new Marathon tyre and put the front less worn Marathon tyre to the back. I got them in 2012 and haven't had a puncture since.</p> <p>Thanks for the advice, everyone. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=18816&page=2#post-282323 Fri, 11 May 2018 07:08:23 +0000 gembo 282323@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I passed that place on Niddrie Street (is it?) ends up at radisson blu on high street. The shop looks shut but is open, it hires out bicycles. If having n+1 for a temporary period is feasible.? The cycle service lend you their courtesy bike but they normally turn things round quickly. It is a folder that never really gets folded? </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=18816#post-282320 Thu, 10 May 2018 22:12:07 +0000 crowriver 282320@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@Rosie, fair enough! </p> <p>Hope you find one that suits. </p> <p>(You could try a folding bike for the 'spare'?) </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=18816#post-282319 Thu, 10 May 2018 21:57:39 +0000 acsimpson 282319@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Do you have high ceilings? I think I still have an unused bike pulley somewhere if you want to relieve me of it. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=18816#post-282316 Thu, 10 May 2018 21:33:40 +0000 sallyhinch 282316@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>There's always room for a Brompton... </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=18816#post-282311 Thu, 10 May 2018 20:59:29 +0000 Ed1 282311@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Part of my n is rusting outside </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=18816#post-282310 Thu, 10 May 2018 20:41:06 +0000 acsimpson 282310@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I'm not sure what crowriver describes is n+1. IIUC it's only ever possible to own n bikes. As soon as n+1 is purchased then n increases and n+1 moves to the next item of desire. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=18816#post-282232 Wed, 09 May 2018 22:09:15 +0000 Rosie 282232@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@crowriver I really don't have room for an extra bike, so I try and get one that is fit for several purposes. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=18816#post-282223 Wed, 09 May 2018 21:08:42 +0000 crowriver 282223@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>"I am grumpy that I was bikeless during the beautiful May weather you may remember earlier in the week."</p> <p>Which is why n+1 is usually a good idea (in moderation). If you'd had a spare, or "Sunday best' bike, you could have ridden it while the workaday bike was out of commission.</p> <p>n+1 is quite affordable if you go "the refurbished second-hand route". :-) </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=18816#post-282221 Wed, 09 May 2018 21:04:08 +0000 Rosie 282221@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Thanks for the advice, guys.</p> <p>I am now reunited with my clapped out bike and a list of the things that are wrong with it.</p> <p>I've booked it into another bike shop for a second opinion.</p> <p>I can see myself going the refurbished second-hand route.</p> <p>I am grumpy that I was bikeless during the beautiful May weather you may remember earlier in the week. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=18816#post-282145 Tue, 08 May 2018 23:02:08 +0000 minus six 282145@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@rosie</p> <p>i think you probably want a <em>croix de fer</em>, but might not know it yet</p> <p><a href="https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&amp;_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.Xcroix+de+fer.TRS0&amp;_nkw=croix+de+fer&amp;_sacat=0" rel="nofollow">https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&amp;_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.Xcroix+de+fer.TRS0&amp;_nkw=croix+de+fer&amp;_sacat=0</a></p> <p>more comfort than you'd expect </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=18816#post-282144 Tue, 08 May 2018 22:55:49 +0000 unhurt 282144@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Hmm. @Rosie I have a 2007 Cannondale tourer (sans saddle or racks and I THINK sans mudguards as they have all moved on to other bikes) mouldering in a friend's garage... Size M. Came with drops but ended up with butterfly bars &amp; v brakes. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=18816#post-282136 Tue, 08 May 2018 21:52:02 +0000 crowriver 282136@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I see Eastside have what looks like <a href="http://eastsidebikes.com/second-hand-bikes/revolution-streetfinder">a nearly new Revolution Streetfinder for £180</a>. 19" frame. Could be a perfect replacement for your existing bike? Has mudguards, rear rack, and seems to have front rack bosses on the forks too so it would go touring no problem.</p> <p>I have a very similar bike (from Globe bikes) which I have used for all the things you want to do, plus cycle camping with a kid on the back. A decent hybrid really is a good all rounder. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=18816#post-282128 Tue, 08 May 2018 18:10:38 +0000 Greenroofer 282128@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Elephant Bike very lovely and totally awesome for shopping. Pretty good for commuting if not too far or too steep. Shrugs off the destroyer of rims due to drum brakes. Suitable for negligible maintenance regimes. Not great off tarmac. Only suitable for the lowest of low mileage touring (less than 20 miles a day, I'd say). Impossible to carry up stairs unless you are excessively muscle-bound. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=18816#post-282125 Tue, 08 May 2018 17:06:38 +0000 chdot 282125@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>“I also have a fondness for lugged frames and old fashioned curving front forks so there's an element of aesthetics as well as practicality”</p> <p>Definitely. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=18816#post-282121 Tue, 08 May 2018 16:28:04 +0000 Trixie 282121@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I have an older Specialized Crosstrail but they start at £450 new. <a href="https://www.edinburghbicycle.com/specialized-crosstrail-mechanical-disc-2018.html" rel="nofollow">https://www.edinburghbicycle.com/specialized-crosstrail-mechanical-disc-2018.html</a></p> <p>Fast as heck on and off road and handles gravel and tracks no bother. I can't overstate how much I enjoy riding mine. I fell in love as soon as I tried her. I'm short and a bit of a weakling but I can carry her up several flights of stairs to her stable without drama. Sadly, does not come with rack or mudguards but they can be added. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=18816#post-282115 Tue, 08 May 2018 15:45:23 +0000 sallyhinch 282115@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Also with a modern bike it's easier to get replacement parts, as I'm increasingly finding (I think my bike shop wants me to buy a new bike) </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=18816#post-282114 Tue, 08 May 2018 15:41:21 +0000 sallyhinch 282114@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Heh, I was going to chip in with 'rebuilt steel-framed second hand tourer' but I've said it so often I didn't want to be boring! Mine certainly suits me down to the ground, has done 9 years on D&amp;G's equally rubbishy roads (about 60-100 miles a week) and works for all of the above except I don't really go off road at all unless I've got really lost (it handles dirt tracks fine, not so happy on gravel despite its allegedly mountain biking pedigree - it effectively looks like any other touring bike except for a lack of bosses). I also have a fondness for lugged frames and old fashioned curving front forks so there's an element of aesthetics as well as practicality</p> <p>With a £500 budget (and some time) I would get myself down to Common Wheel in Glasgow as they seem to have an inexhaustible supply of touring frames and will effectively build you something from the ground up. OTOH a modern flat bar hybrid will likely do equally well, weigh a bit less, and will be available now rather than in the fullness of time. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=18816#post-282113 Tue, 08 May 2018 15:33:53 +0000 I were right about that saddle 282113@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><em>I think you might be looking for a bike that is similar to hers...</em></p> <p>I think @sallyhinch may have the last of that breed - an early nineties Saracen MTB frame built into an upright tourer.... </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=18816#post-282112 Tue, 08 May 2018 15:30:07 +0000 fimm 282112@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Flat bars, drop bars, butterfly bars?<br /> sallyhinch has a bike with butterfly bars which suit her very well I believe - hopefully she'll be along to comment. I <em>think </em>you might be looking for a bike that is similar to hers... </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=18816#post-282111 Tue, 08 May 2018 15:29:52 +0000 Roibeard 282111@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><em>as an over braker, my Marvel comic name is Wheel Destroyer, Death Dealer to the Rims.</em></p> <p>&lt;grin&gt;</p> <p>Hub or disc brakes are the way to go for this. And you probably want a belt drive...</p> <p>Have you checked out the "expensive advice wanted" thread?</p> <p>;-)</p> <p>Robert </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=18816#post-282109 Tue, 08 May 2018 15:27:30 +0000 Morningsider 282109@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I was looking at Gazelle bikes the other day, some of which might fit the bill for you:</p> <p><a href="https://www.gazellebikes.co.uk/" rel="nofollow">https://www.gazellebikes.co.uk/</a></p> <p>Harts (of this parish) is their Edinburgh dealer - so might have a better idea of what might suit. </p>