Bikes, bikes and more bikes.

Decision time for bike purchasing.... a dull post designed to help me capture my thoughts and justify next move


A year ago I had two bikes gathering dust in the garage having not been ridden for about 3 or 4 years (regularly anyway). Then we moved office and I suddenly had the twin incentive of a commutable distance to work and a good shower in the office, so I started commuting about 4 days a week. I had them serviced and tried to keep them clean throughout the wet winter but the 9 years or so I'd had them was starting to show and I was thinking it might be new bike time when two things happened


1. I was knocked off my road bike on the way home by a right turning car and the bike ( a cheap Dawes road bike) was probably repairable but equally probably not worth it. Thinking that £1k was probably the most I could justify I invested in a Specialized Secteur Elite

A much better bike than I'd been used to for sure but a mid-range bike in the greater scheme of things. 


2. Shortly after that, having been on an MTB skills course, I engaged in a spot of Urban jumping in the high street and went crashing into a very hard piece of metal street furniture and wrote off the frame of my Scott MTB.


So I'm at least a bike down and I have one bike to cover my long rides and commutes and anything else I might want to do. The obvious solution is to get another bike but here's where I become indecisive...


I've signed us up to a cycle to work scheme so I have up to £1k of bike I can invest in (with a substantial tax discount) and am thinking two purchase options:

• A Hybrid bike along these lines and use that as the commute bike. The Secteur can remain a longer ride bike... but then what if I get back into MTB'ing?

• Buy a £1k MTB which I can use for commuting and off-road rides and utilise the Secteur for some commute rides and longer road rides 

Of course, there is the option to additionally buy an MTB (with option 1) or a more expensive road bike (with option 2) should I keep up my current enthusiasms.


My commute for picture completion purposes are:


Off-Road - 4,6 or 8 mile options (8 can be extended)
Road - minimum 5.5 miles, max - whatever i feel like


I'm flip-flopping at the moment. Option 1 makes more sense as I'm not really doing any off-road at the moment but... I might.


P.S. I stayed dry for July