I can't really give you any definitive help with your question, but in the absence of other
replies...
I've got a CB Urban 300 and I'm very happy with it. It deals well with the fact that I am very heavy
and a lot of the roads I commute on are plagued with major pot holes. It is not a particularly light
bike, but it is sturdy and that is what I needed. With the slick(ish) tyres that can as standard it
is also quite fast, despite being an unfit fat b@$#@rd I still manage to overtake more often that I
am overtaken. My only complaint (and this is just a ****le really) is that the front gear derailler
seems to go slightly out of alignment quite easily and since the changer is indexed I get some
rattling in some gears until I adjust it again. I have to stress this is a very minor issue, it was
the only negative thing I could think of.
A friend of mine has a Dawes Discovery 301 which I tried out a while ago. I'm not sure how different
this is to the 401, but I assume it is quite close. Unfortunately I can't compare very well since
his bike is a lot smaller than mine and so it was quite uncomfortable by comparison. The Dawes
seemed a lot lighter, more so than the smaller size would seem to indicate. It also seemed to have a
much shorter top tube (once again seeminlgy more so than the general size difference) and this meant
a much more upright cycling position than on my CB, which was already quite upright. How upright you
like to ride seems like a matter of taste, personally I like being able to see what is going on
around me in traffic more than the aerodynamic benefits of a more lean forward posture. My friends
only complaint about the Dawes (he really likes it in general) is the saddle. It has quite a soft
padded saddle which absorbs water when it gets wet, making for an unpleasant ride home after it has
been outside in the bike rack on a rainy day. The CB has a firmer, though still padded saddle, that
is some sort of pseudo leather, a quick wipe with my gloves and it is dry.
I did a quick search on google to see what the 401 was like and I found one place that seems to have
them at a big discount though, making them much cheaper than any Urban 300 prices I saw. Url below,
but caveat emptor, I know nothing about this site.
http://www.rutlandcycling.co.uk/dawes_discovery_401.htm
Eric
