Evening guys

have a look at these: http://www.giantbicycles.net/au/030.000.000/030.010.000.asp?year=2007&range=169 there is one with disc brakes. 😉

thanks clark
never bought a road bike before so wouldn't know the first place to start.

hi george (just saw it in your sig)
yer had a look but none of the road bikes had disc brakes. Not sure what you call them but i'm referring to the bikes with underslung handlebars.
Just gets a little wet in london and a little dangerous if you can't brake

I thought the flat bar road bike may be safer for a first bike. You do have more control in traffic and better visability.

gclark8 said:

I thought the flat bar road bike may be safer for a first bike. You do have more control in traffic and better visability.

Hi george, well got to learn someday!
Just thought road bike would be good to learn as they are quick (good to keep up with traffic) and both light and efficient.

jack06 said:

Hi george, well got to learn someday!
Just thought road bike would be good to learn as they are quick (good to keep up with traffic) and both light and efficient.

Only if you are.

I would suggest the CRX zero as well. It is lighter than many road bikes, it is 20speed, has great components, has the ability for bar ends, better control in the city, etc etc etc.

jack06 said:

hi george (just saw it in your sig)
yer had a look but none of the road bikes had disc brakes. Not sure what you call them but i'm referring to the bikes with underslung handlebars.
Just gets a little wet in london and a little dangerous if you can't brake

I haven't found much of an issue with newer bikes and braking in the rain. The rims are ribbed and a bit gritty and it's a big change over any "older style rim" I (or you) used to ride on. Also try this site for fenders: http://www.lexcobike.com/adfender.htm

Jack,

I just dug up your original question.

Are you looking for a bike for Aus or London?

Where are you riding and parking it?

I thought it was an educational thing.

I just spent 2 years commuting to our local uni, of the majority of bikes, 60% are $99 supermarket (MTB) bikes, 39% flat bar MTB/Road bikes, 1% drop bar road bikes. Occasionaly you see a tri bike.

Bikes that are being advertized as "cyclo-cross" look more or less like road bikes, with drop bars, etc., but have more like hybrid tires so they can go somewhat "off-pavement". They're probably not bad for pot-holed city roads, as well. Some of these also use MTB-style cantilever or "V" brakes, and sometimes use MTB cassettes and rear deraileur, for a wider gear range.

Trek makes a fairly high-end commuter bike (Portland model??) which looks mostly like a road bike, but has front and rear disk brakes, as well as small "mini-fenders" to keep you dryer in the rain. I seem to think that this wasn't too cheap, though, as it had some fairly good components on it.

gclark8 said:

Jack,

I just dug up your original question.

Are you looking for a bike for Aus or London?

Where are you riding and parking it?

I thought it was an educational thing.

I just spent 2 years commuting to our local uni, of the majority of bikes, 60% are $99 supermarket (MTB) bikes, 39% flat bar MTB/Road bikes, 1% drop bar road bikes. Occasionaly you see a tri bike.

hi george,
I'm currently looking at the CRX 4 after many of the bike shops i skyped in australia told me its definetly worth the extra money. Is there anything tha really goes wrong with the CRX 4?

jack06 said:

hi george,
I'm currently looking at the CRX 4 after many of the bike shops I skyped in Australia told me its definetly worth the extra money. Is there anything tha really goes wrong with the CRX 4?

No, but they do need the Premium Un-leaded Fuel! 😄

When comparing bike weight it is also worth considering the weight of the rider and anything carried. In those terms differences in weight suddenly seem much less important.

Drop bars are great in some circumstances, but in start-stop city commuting you'll be spending quite a bit of time with your hands on top of them and away from the gear and brake controls. Cyclocross bikes have two sets of brake levers to compensate for this.

As rwinthenorth said braking is better than what it used to be.

hi anth
the suburb in which I live in is not at all city like. The busiest road near me is a 70 zone and is a long stretch about 2-3miles long (blunder road) which has never seen traffic ever. My mate who frequently rides to work on an old style racing bike, can ride to his work 2 suburbs away without stopping at all. Have had a look around on the web, and it seems for 500 I can't really get much, are there any stores in brisbane (I can catch the train if need be) that would be able to do me a deal? Was looking at the rider cyclery in southbank but even then looking at $750 minimum
George, what about Giant CRX 4? (and no I mean exactly the same size🙄 )

You should be able to get a CRX4 for $550 or less.

http://www.giantbikes.net/dealers.html

gclark8 said:

You should be able to get a CRX4 for $550 or less.

giantbikes.netdealers.htmlOpen ↗

Would it look off with a $39 paid of drop bars?

Where in London do you live and how far will your commute be?

Don Shipp said:

Where in London do you live and how far will your commute be?

hi don
will be living in brisbane, australia in a months time or less, commute would be minimum 2 miles to maybe 6-7miles.

Are you living in England right now? First post said London, but there are Londons everywhere.

Don Shipp said:

Are you living in England right now? First post said London, but there are Londons everywhere.

yes live in SE london at the moment, but need the bike for when i'm in australia