Best Spare Bike?

I’ve got a ‘fast’ hybrid for my commute to work (18 miles a day).
I’ve also got an old, more robust hybrid (38c wheels) that I use for
bad weather, as a standby bike and for weekend cycling on (easy)
trails & towpaths with the kids.

I need to replace the old, spare bike maybe with something a shade
heavier, but don’t want to spend a fortune. Edinburgh Bicycles own
brand has a good reputation for VFM, so I’ve looked at the Revolution
Cuillin Pro '09 (http://bit.ly/8vpwkY ) or the Revolution Courier
Classic Disc (http://bit.ly/7ouLoV). A couple of questions:

- Is the Cuillin a bit of a tank for a commute (albeit occasional)?
- Would changing the nobbly 2.1" tyres to semi-slick 1.6” tyres
make much of a difference?
- I’ve had back problems in the past. Someone suggested that the
Cuillin has a less aggressive riding position – is this right?
- One of the reasons I slightly prefer the Cuillin is that it’s got
hydraulic disc brakes. At this kind of a price is there much of an
advantage over the mechanically operated disc brakes on the Courier?

Thanks,

Michael

On Mon, 18 Jan 2010, Michael D wrote:

I need to replace the old, spare bike maybe with something a shade
heavier, but don?t want to spend a fortune. Edinburgh Bicycles own
brand has a good reputation for VFM, so I?ve looked at the
Revolution Cuillin Pro '09 (http://bit.ly/8vpwkY ) or the
Revolution Courier Classic Disc (http://bit.ly/7ouLoV). A couple
of questions:

For a spare, utility bike I think a hub gear has lots to commend it.
At the moment Halfords Carrera Subway 8 seems to be 350 quid (ie 50
more than either of those two). It comes with mudguards, which are
probably worth 20 quid, which halves the increment (good bloke maths
there - for girl maths, simply observe that it's 100 quid off,
while the courier classic is only 70 quid off, so saves you less).

I think it's worth a second bike being basically maintenance free.
With hub gears and brakes you get well on the way to that. Things to
beware of:

The brakes are not as 'sharp' as disks. You stop, and I
can lock the back wheel, but the front does not instill as much
confidence as well setup rims or disks.

If the hub is the older motel 8R25 it will expire at about two years
old. If it's the 8R36 it should do much better (I don't know what
Halfords are fitting at the moment). My hub experience is he
http://www.astounding.org.uk/ian/hubgear/index.html and there are
numerous accounts on the internet of the early eight-speed Shimano
hubs filling up with muck and dying at about two years old.

- Would changing the nobbly 2.1" tyres to semi-slick 1.6? tyres
make much of a difference?

Yes. Very much so. Consider trading off fast for reliable, though.
For ultimate reliability Marathon plus will be tolerably fast, should
be better than knobblies, and won't puncture. This is my first
modification to make the Subway 8 yet more reliable.

- I?ve had back problems in the past. Someone suggested that the
Cuillin has a less aggressive riding position ? is this right?

I don't know, but a change of stem is relatively easy if you find
everything else right. Some stems let you adjust the angle to raise
them up and give a more upright position. The Subway used to have
that facility, I don't know if the current one does.

I can't comment on your other specific questions.

The other advantage of a hub gear is you run a more durable chain
(longer between replacement). You can also buy galvanised chain
relatively easily, which means if your chain maintenance regime isn't
all it's intended to be it doesn't rust solid in the garage between
uses. Alternatively, you can use a wax-based lubricant that's not as
good at inhibiting corrosion as oil based, but cleaner. This is my
second reliability improvement.

Possibly that narrows your choice down from two to three options.
Sorry. Of the two you identified, I wouldn't buy a bike with
suspension at that price point. I especially wouldn't do it if the
bike were intended for utility use - I just don't want to spend time
maintaining utility transport. Of course, some people enjoy it - I
think I used to enjoy tinkering with my bikes in my carefree
child-free youth. Now I just don't get time.

regards, Ian SMith
--
|\ /| no .sig
|o o|
|/ \|

On 18/01/2010 22:10, Ian Smith wrote:
Alternatively, you can use a wax-based lubricant that's not as
good at inhibiting corrosion as oil based, but cleaner.

But was is pretty useless as a lubricant. I use good quality (thin) oil
and it lasts well in dry weather, doesn't collect the dirt and is
clean(ish). In the wet it washes away, but can simply be re-applied.

Happi