Which bicycle?

I ride bikes a lot and there is now way I would bicycle to work in peak hour traffic. I did it once down William Nicol a 9km route and by the end my nerves were shot.

Also 17km each way at roughly 20km/hour (robots etc) is 1hour:45mins per day cycling that is going to get tiresome very quickly.

I would rather get a cheap motor bike and use that.
 
Scary_Turtle said:
I ride bikes a lot and there is now way I would bicycle to work in peak hour traffic. I did it once down William Nicol a 9km route and by the end my nerves were shot.

Also 17km each way at roughly 20km/hour (robots etc) is 1hour:45mins per day cycling that is going to get tiresome very quickly.

I would rather get a cheap motor bike and use that.
Click to expand...

Also knew a guy that rode into sandton who was robbed multiple times and got stabbed twice for his bike. As much as I wish it was this isn't the Netherlands.
 
Pho3nix said:
With petrol/diesel prices being the way they are and in-office being pushed aggressively I figured I need to consider this as an option since we have showers at work.
Around 17km away from the office and not fit per se but not not fit. I do the odd park-run and have won the last 2 parent sprints at the athletics days :D

Just need something affordable and easy to ride. Not looking for the fancy R100k bikes please. I'm poor.

Thoughts and suggestions?
Click to expand...
Town bicycle? She may be expensive..
 
I cycled from Tableview to Cape Town centre (and back) every day for a few years. A road racing bicycle with clip-in shoes, no problem.

Idiot drivers were more of a problem than muggers.
 
Scary_Turtle said:
I ride bikes a lot and there is now way I would bicycle to work in peak hour traffic. I did it once down William Nicol a 9km route and by the end my nerves were shot.

Also 17km each way at roughly 20km/hour (robots etc) is 1hour:45mins per day cycling that is going to get tiresome very quickly.

I would rather get a cheap motor bike and use that.
Click to expand...

To be fair driving home takes an hour already in traffic. Might kill the gym membership also for more savings :p

Will be on Rivonia Rd so that’s my biggest hurdle
 
RedViking said:
Also be prepared to be mugged or worse. South Africa crime has skyrocket. Make sure to take out insurance and life insurance.
Click to expand...

Ag crime is everywhere. I’ll be fine. Broker/Insurance has treated me well so don’t expect any issues if something was to happen
 
Sepeng said:
That's not at the end of the bike ownership journey; you start doing that right away.

Back to OP
I'd do mountain bikes cos they're easier to handle than road, can also do pavements and bad roads better.
Hardtail, to keep costs down.
Like my wife often says, size matters, so make sure you get the right size and are you're comfy on the thing.
Safety, not just from a gear and visibility point of view, but are you carrying a laptop/ iPad or whatever. Also don't assume someone at work wont knick it as well, have an appropriate lock.
Get the best brakes (hydraulic) you can get cos you can assume you'll need to lean on them heavily from time to time commuting.
Click to expand...

Wait you can use a mountain bike on a road?

Been thinking of getting one but **** they are rather expensive to make a mistake on
 
Whatever you decide on buying, please do not succumb to the temptation of getting a Makro/Game bicycle. Rather then go for a decent second-hand one. As indicated in the thread, there are some decent deals on the BikeHub classifieds section. CycleLab currently has a new bike that will fit your budget and for and also have a look at the offerings at Solomons Cycles.

I had a colleague that wanted to start cycling to work and back and he approached me for advice since I have been cycling to work and back for probably about 35 years. I also told him to stay away from the Makro/Game/PnP bicycles and rather start off with a decent second-hand bike. However, he went against my advice and got himself a new retail store bike. After about a year later I saw him driving to work again and asked him what was wrong with his bike. Almost all the bearings and bushings have worn out and the bike shop he took it to for repairs told him it would cost almost double what he paid for the bike to service and repair it. He just left the bike at the shop and gave up on cycling to work.

I would definitely try and source a decent pre-owned bike, your local bike shop will probably also have second-hand bikes available.
1777961865565.png
1777961891916.png
 
ShaunSA said:
Wait you can use a mountain bike on a road?

Been thinking of getting one but **** they are rather expensive to make a mistake on
Click to expand...
In the last 25 years of cycling to work, I used three MTBs. The first one was a blue Giant, the second one was a white Cannondale that I used for about 12-15 years, and the last one was a green Cannondale. My last MTB was purchased October 2018. The Giant and white Cannondale. I gave away but I still have the green Cannondale. I only cycled to work and back on the normal tar road.
1777963376169.png1777963452258.png
 
ShaunSA said:
bikehub.co.za

Signal S610 MTB 26 inch with Road Setup | Hardtail Mountain Bikes | Bike Hub

Selling my well-maintained Signal S610 MTB (3 years old) – perfect for someone who wants both road...
bikehub.co.za bikehub.co.za

Thoughts?
Click to expand...
For starting out, this is a good option.. It's good that the original flat handle bar is included and some other spares, so you can go back to the flat handle bar if you don't like the road bike drop bar..

Once you have been using it for a while and decide to continue committing, I would recommend looking at upgrading to hydraulic brakes..
 
WAslayer said:
For starting out, this is a good option.. It's good that the original flat handle bar is included and some other spares, so you can go back to the flat handle bar if you don't like the road bike drop bar..

Once you have been using it for a while and decide to continue committing, I would recommend looking at upgrading to hydraulic brakes..
Click to expand...

Pretty sure I won't move passed the starting out option. Just intend doing a bit of riding around the neighbourhood to supplement my running
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X