City bike buying advice - split from Is bike theft really...

[Tatt]

Hey Beanbag,

I'm looking for a dependable city/short country bike for the Sunday afternoon - what can you recommend apart from the Specialized Sirrus Hybrid?

Price say around €500, to €700 tops.

[beanbag]

The Sirrus always comes to mind as for €500 it's hard to go wrong. Mine is bulletproof.

However, if you don't get on with it, the Cannondale Badboy is a quality piece of kit and also doesn't stick out as it's matt black. There are some dealers in Vienna but I'd have to look them up.

There's also the Trek Soho (with gears and great choice) or District (single speed). You can find these at http://www.citybiker.at.

Whatever you choose, make sure you go for simplicity and avoid hydraulic disc brakes and also suspension. It goes wrong if not maintained correctly and unless you're into bikes, it'll probably never get seen to. Cheap suspension will clog up over time and just make your bike feel crap. Keep in mind a decent set of forks alone will set you back €600 and this is what you're spending on the bike!

Also try and go for hub gears. Modern hubs will offer you up to 9 speeds. They're protected from the elements and rarely go wrong.

Apart from that just try a bunch out and buy what you think feels best. I love Specialized. I have a Stumpjumper MTB, and Sirrus but I also have a Trek road bike as I didn't get on with the Allez from Specialized so it's purely down to how the bike fits you.

And remember to budget for a lock. Around €100 for the Albus. Don't buy anything cheap. You might as well just not lock the bike at all.

[Tatt]

Cheers BB, you've just saved me about a month of heavy online research and analysis! I'll have a go on the Sirrus, and the Bad Boy looks great in black.

Don't suppose you could also recommend a bike shop in the city which may have these in stock? There are a few family shops knocking about I can just pop in and see what they say.

[beanbag]

No probs! Try www.citybiker.at for the Sirrus and Trek.

I don't think they do Cannondales but its worth giving them a call first. Otherwise you have Ciclopia in the 6th. Not been there but heard of it: http://www.ciclopia.at/bike_kategorie.php?k=6

And there's Velocity in the 2nd: http://www.velocity-vienna.at/

They seem pretty nice there but I only bought some accessories for my roadie. Let me know which one you decide on!

(And I blame you entirely for spending another €200 on upgrades for my mountain bike and roadie as talking about bikes made me look at bikes...and that usually results in credit card abuse! )

[Tatt]

OK, so I went to Ciclopia and had a good look round the Bad Boys, unfortunately the one I really liked was quite the wrong side of €1000... that's just a bit much.

However they're building me up a Cannondale Quick CX8 for €849; looks the business. They didn't have one made up in my size today so I'll pop back next week and have a test ride.

At Citybiker I had a go on a Specialised Sirrus Comp with carbon fibre forks (yours for €799) which I have to say was pretty amazing, effortless cycling! Then I had a go on the Source 7, with hub gears and fatter tyres and well... it was more comfortable but not as amazing as the Comp.

So, now I've pushed the total package budget up to a grand (it's only money, after all) and am smitten with the Sirrus Comp but I'm not sure it's something I can take through a field if I wanted to.

Decisions, decisions...

[Tatt]

by the way, I went over to Velocity yesterday and it doesn't exist anymore, just a couple of Kabine Sex brothels and a Miss Sporty women's gym on the top end of Franzensbrückenstraße. A guy told me Velocity has been closed for a year.

However I wandered down to RoadBiker on the Praterstrasse and was pretty pleased with those guys. I tried the Specialised Sirrus Elite but at €649 it was not as nice as the €799 Sirrus Comp variant.

I will try out the Quick CX 8 next week but actually I think my mind is made up for the Specialised Sirrus Comp - it's just such a fun bike to ride!

Cheers again for the advice.

[beanbag]

Interesting stuff....I would also massively recommend the carbon fork not just for the bling factor, but carbon is great for absorbing bumps and vibrations that would otherwise shake your hands to pieces.

Unfortunately my budget didn't go that far at the time so I had to skip and settle for the aluminium forks. No big problem but I've ridden both and you can tell the difference.

The Sirrus is a very fast bike and coupled with some good quality 25c wheels, you're onto a winner although that Quick CX8 looks awesome. Wouldn't mind a go myself!

[Tatt]

hey, just out of interest what do you think of the hardtails for around the city, something like the Specialized Rockhopper:
http://www.mountainbiker.at/de/BIKES/Ha ... opper-2012

With the lockout I would expect this to be a decent city bike, but a bit meatier for out of the city?

[beanbag]

They're not bad bikes but they're slow, heavy and they have wide bars. If you want to do a little off-road biking at the weekend or take short cuts down steps, then it would be ok, but after owning a hybrid for 4 years, I'd never go back to a mountain bike for the city.

Narrow tyres mean faster riding with less effort, the frames are light and nimble and the bars are narrow for squeezing through the tightest of gaps. They're also mechanically simple so there's less to go wrong.

On another note, these brakes are hydraulic and I would really steer clear of that. Shimano ones are quite bullet proof but maintenance is expensive (€60-€70 for an overhaul), unless you know what you're doing and the pads cost twice as much and wear out twice as quick. I think you pay about €25 a pair.

You can tell I'm not a fan but it should be down to you entirely with what you feel comfortable with, but my recommendation is a hybrid in the city.

[beanbag]

So unfortunately I bear some bad news. Today, some tosser drove into the lamp post securing my bike, knocking it over and in the process wrecking my bike. I'm utterly gutted.

RIP Specialized Sirrus...

I need a bike so after a bit of hunting I've bought a 2011 Trek 7.5 FX for an absolute bargain. I did think about the Bad Boy but I'm a bit short of cash right now as I've just splashed out for two birthday gifts, two holidays and a small fortune in bike parts for my mountain bike. (It never ends!!!)

I'll let you know how I get on once it's delivered....

[Tatt]

Hey BB, bad luck on the Sirrus - but buying a new bike is always a fun process, as I am learning!

Citybiker have run out of the Sirrus Comp in Large frame size, and they said the next stock delivery for these is likely November because the bike is sold out across Europe! I didn't find anywhere else selling them in Vienna so far. They have sold out the Trek 7.5 FX in large as well.

The guy said a medium frame would also work for me, but I'm a little sceptical as all the guide sizes say large for my height; I'm 5'11 (180cm) and relatively normal proportioned, in my opinion at least.

I know it's a comfort thing, and the medium I had a go on seemed fine at the time, but in the long run should I hold out for a large frame as recommended or does it not make that much difference?

[beanbag]

Definitely hold out and never compromise....you can change anything on a bike apart from the frame so you should buy something you're totally comfortable with.

My 7.5 FX is large but it's technically second hand...it belonged to my brother in law but he only ever used it a couple of times and it just sat in his garage for 6 months without use so my sis forced him to sell it to me!!!

Looking forward to it arriving!

[Tatt]

Yesterday I had a go on the Cannondale Quick CX 8 and although it was very comfortable, and looks great, it just wasn't very... quick. The hub gears were easy to use but not that much fun.

Then I had another go on the Sirrus Comp (medium frame) and loved it. Today I'm going to test ride a Sirrus Pro with the large frame and see which suits me better.

[beanbag]

The Sirrus is an epically quick bike. I've never ridden the Cannondale but I would imagine the same as your told me. It's for cruising about whereas the Sirrus is designed for speed.

I hope my Trek 7.5 FX is just as fast although the tyres are quick fat (32c) so no doubt I'll change them to 25c's.

[Tatt]

So I bought the Specialized Sirrus Pro 2012 this morning with large frame and immediately took it out for a couple of hours through the Prater and Donauinsel. Really pleased

Got it second hand three months old (practically unridden) for a great price.