Hi,

I’m looking to get back into cycling after about a ten year break. I used to cycle everywhere but travel, injury and moving to the suburbs basically stopped me.

The main rides I’ll be doing:

  • 36km (22mi) between my place and my girlfriends - little bit of road, mostly bike path, a little bit of gravel.

  • 8km (5mi) to JiuJitsu class - road/pavement/path.

With at least one loaded pannier, possibly two.

I’m 110kg (~242lb) with a fairly solid build, the steel frames are appealing.

I may do a little touring, I haven’t done it before but Australia has some great off road tour options. It might just be a nice idea that I never get around to. I like camping and being alone which is what appeals about touring.

Being in Australia, I’m pretty limited on what bikes are actually available.

I was recommended the Kona Sutra LTD ($4k) (by a sales guy) but I feel that the wide tires aren’t a great choice for the commuting and it’s a bit more than I was planning to spend. I don’t mind spending more on getting the right bike for me but I’m also pretty frugal so would prefer to spend less if I can find the right bike for less.

I’ve also been considering the Marin Nicasio plus ($1.3K), Nicasio 2 ($2.2k), Surly Preamble ($2.9k), Salsa Cutthroat ($4.9k) or maybe a Bombtrack Hook ($3.6k).

Plus about $1000 for fenders, racks and a big fat lock to lock it up.

Thanks for any input.

  • matze@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
    2·
    22 days ago

    I bought a Surly 16 years ago, and they were decent at the time. Now all their models feel weird or dated, so I would skip that Preamble.

    Curve is Australian and has great bikes, but maybe out of your range.

    Wide tires can be pretty quick, too! They certainly add comfort since you can run them at lower pressures, very useful if you have some gravel to traverse, too.

  • Fourth@mander.xyzEnglish
    2·
    19 days ago

    Recommend defaulting to a bike with rims that can handle wide tires. You could just drop a thick slick or some other slick tire, maybe even one with side lugs and get most of the way there. That way you leave yourself open for other options in the future.

    I am in the US so I don’t know if it’s the same but there are a lot of really good used bike options here. Not sure for you. If you want to buy new though, there may be some benefit to getting a bicycle from a shop that is local to you so you can get support more readily. I wonder if any shops around you carry brands that are pretty good.

    I have turned some old, uninspired bikes into really fun and dynamic machines. I think as long as the platform is reasonable you’ll have a lot of room to make the bike that you want.