UKH

I'm going back to university in October and will be cycling in every day. I'm thinking of buying a new bike for the purpose and am after a bit of advice on whether it is worth it and/or what to go for.

I already have a road bike I could use but I'm thinking I might want something that I can put mud guards and possibly panniers on. I also have an old hardtail that I could put some slicks on but it is quite heavy.

Options I'm considering are a cheap decathlon bike or a dedicated tourer or cyclocross bike as I'd like to do a bit of both anyway. If going for a tourer/cyclocross bike I would be looking at buying second-hand.

My commute will be 20 miles each way with a couple of decent hills.

Also any advice on a decent set of lights that won't break the bank would be great.

Cheers

In reply to williemiller:

20 miles each way every day is a relatively long (but doable) commute depending on terrain. I commute all year round, but only 7km each way. I would say that mudguards are a definite YES and so is a rack and panniers if you have much to carry.
From what you describe, a cross bike sounds ideal. My wife has a Specialized Tricross with guards and a rack that she bought off ebay for £400 (it was virtually new). The rear cassette is an 11-32 MTB job with a road triple up front, so she has all the gears she'll ever need for hills. It makes a pretty good light touring bike too.
As for lights, I use a combination of Lezyne micro and macro drives. These can be charged from USB at work.

Tyres will be another consideration - last thing you want on a wet commute is a flat - so puncture resistant tyres are a good idea. My Schwalbe Marathons have all kinds of slits and dings, but have never actually punctured.

N

In reply to williemiller:

Twenty miles each way is a *lot* so I'd build up to it and even give yourself a day off each week if you have an alternative. My commute is 13 miles each way and I can manage five days a week most weeks through summer though today I felt knackered so got the train.

OK, to bikes. You'll definitely need mudguards and either panniers or saddlebag depending on how much kit you need to take with you each day. Try and look for a tourer style bike, they are set up to be more comfortable. Check with your LBS to see if they've any second hand ones that might be suitable, also it's coming up to the time of year when next year's models are appearing so many shops have big reductions in the current stock so that they can clear space for the new stuff. CX bikes are good in that they are pretty versatile - what used to be called "a bike". My wife has a Kinesis FiveT which takes panniers and which she uses for commuting as well, costs a Grand though so might be more than you want to spend.

Avoid going for the rucksack option as it will just increase the general sweatiness and level of discomfort. I'm assuming that you have access to changing rooms and showers at university. If you've secure storage try and leave as much kit as you can at college: shoes, jacket, the big heavy items. I only take socks, underpants and t-shirt each day. I leave a spare pair of underpants at work just in case I forget!

Is your commute going to be all on-road and if it is then is it all lit? If not then you need a more powerful system especially if you've got hills (descents) where you will be going faster. For me the ideal solution is a dynamo hub which powers front and rear lights but unless the bike you get already has one then you need to look at the cost of a wheel build to retro-fit it. They have the advantage that you can't forget them and there's no battery to go flat. Otherwise most light systems these days are pretty good, quite a few people reckon the Cree lights are fine but I've not used them myself. I'd look at having two sets of lights just in case one packs up, Moon Comet lights are small, bright, USB rechargable and have steady and blink modes - I use these as backup for my dynamo light.

HTH

In reply to williemiller:

As others have said for 20 miles unless you do that regularly now you will need to go up for it.
Would definitely go the panniers route for uni stuff unless you want to start paying for the physios holidays.
One concern though would be where will it be stored? Since you run the risk of someone nicking your shiny, albeit second hand, bike.
Decathlon make good bikes for the price.
For lights I would be thinking about a backup set as well for 20 miles.

In reply to williemiller:

Stick some hub gears, rigid forks, and a set of slicks on your old mountain bike and run it into the ground (20 miles each day will ensure that happens fairly quickly!). The hub gears will last and you can then build a more specific, commuter/roady version in a year's time.

As for lights, the USB re-chargeable Lezyne ones are bomber.

In reply to williemiller:

I've done about 12 miles each way by bike. From previous experience, 15 would probably be my cut-off for doing it on a daily basis and I wouldn't want to be doing that on a mountain bike, even with slicks, if I could avoid it.

I find a rucksack fine for the minimal amount I need to carry in it, although I have a shower at work, so getting sweaty isn't a problem. I'd ride all day on the mountain bike with a similar rucksack, so why not on my commute?

As someone else said, leave as much as you can at work, plus a spare set of everything in case you forget anything/they get wet on the way.

On the occasions I go in by car, I take clothes/towel in and take the used ones home for a wash.

I don't use panniers, as I don't have any and I figure the bike will be more nimble through traffic without.

Mudguards are definitely recommended.

In reply to williemiller:

I would probably look at getting an old steel road bike as they tend to have the clearance for larger tyres as well as mudguards. Then probably a dynamo hub and lights which would be about £150 for the wheel and both lights.

Panniers are nice as they keep the weight off your back but if one is over loaded it can make the handling a bit difficult. I currently commute with a single front pannier on the rear as it stops me overfilling it and keeps the weight down.

In reply to Andrew W:

Thats a lot of commuting - i do a 45/50mile round trip but only normally twice a week. Partly thats due to needing the car at work sometimes and getting home for the kids but any more than that leaves me too tired to ride much at the weekend and just takes too much time away from normal life. I;d think you defo want to do it on a road bike, pref with guards and with some sensible tyres, punctures on a cold dark winter night in the rain are no fun!