new hybrid commuter bike for someone who weighs 135kg

Hi,

I am new to this forum so apologies in advanced if I miss any etiquette.

I started cycling to work a month ago and have a 9 mile commute to work and then 9 miles back home in the eve. I was doing it on a clapped out old mountain bike which was a huge effort and alas it has fallen to pieces now so I am in the market for a new bike.

I popped into Evans yesterday and they seemed a bit stumped at first given my budget of around £500-£700 and the fact that I was looking for a commuter bike and weighed 135kg.

In the end they advised I go for the Pinnacle cobalt 3 http://www.evanscycles.com/products/pinnacle/cobalt-three-2015-hybrid-bike-ec071290

with up-rated Mavic rims
http://www.evanscycles.com/search?query=ev155864&x=0&y=0

and up-rated discs
Shimano XT M756 Freehub 6 Bolt Disc
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/shimano/xt-m756-freehub-6-bolt-disc-ec016841

Shimano XT M756 Front 6 Bolt Disc Hub
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/shimano/xt-m756-front-6-bolt-disc-hub-ec016840

They were very helpful and took out a lot of time to help, I thought it would be wise to get a second opinion though. What do you guys think of the above?

Thanks in advanced and sorry about the long nature of this first post.

why are you looking at a mountain bike?

Also, particularly as you're buying this for commuting, have you asked your employer about the bike to work scheme? Certainly something worth doing.

I can see the attraction of the bike you're posted and certainly as house brands go, Pinnacle are one of the better ones in terms of build quality and componentry. However, as a heavier rider, you might something along the lines of a steel framed touring style bike a good option too. If you do become lighter through riding (9 mile each way daily can do that) it will continue to serve you well.

^This.
A tourer also gives you the option of getting a rack and pannier which is much much nicer than cycling 9 miles with a rucksack on.

Im sure people will have much better advice but this is a decent start point. Rolls nicely and has a good low gear for getting up any hills, and though nothing special Claris is decent and will last.

Might be worth looking towards hand built wheels. If you find a good wheel builder they shouldn't go out of true as fast and better accommodate your err build. They will be the weak link of whatever you ride and give you the most hassle if you are forever in and out of bike shops getting them made true again. Beyond that it's about what fits you, I'm guessing you went "hybrid" as you wanted flatbar and not hunched over on dropbars. Suspension forks if they don't have a lockout will make your ride feel longer as energy goes into them bumping up and down even on flat clean roads, if your bike doesn't fit no amount of suspension or gel saddles or whatever will ease the pains it causes.

I've never ridden on dropbars but I guess that will just take some getting used to.

To be honest I didnt go into the store with anything in mind, I just told them I needed a bike for commuting and thats the one they suggested.

Thanks for all your suggestions guys. So that I understand correctly a tourer is essentially a strong sturdy bike that will be able to take my weight and not take as much effort to ride as my previous mountain bike did.

A touring bike is a good shout: strong, stable, designed for eating up the miles and with all the mountings for getting the wieght off your back and onto the bike.

This might be a good shout. It's not fancy and it's fairly heavy, but it looks sturdy as hell, has decent disc brakes and includes mudguards and a pannier rack. Plus it gets good reviews on the shop site and independently, the CTC also compared it favourably with AWu-Tang's suggestion, but I can't make the link work (google it).

To be fair, the model that they offered would probably be less effort but I would question it's appropriateness solely as a commuting machine. I think some bike shop employees probably see a bunch of first timers coming in and buying a cheaper bike, which will be aluminium framed, and then finding it uncomfortable and blaming potholes and hard saddles. The Cobalt will probably mitigate a bit of that but you may not find it the magic bullet that they kind of make it out to be. Maybe they're hoping that you'll get on well with it and in a few years when your lighter and faster you'll come to them for a bike that it lighter and faster.

If you were to get a steel tourer on 35c tyres run at a decent pressure (80ish psi) a comfortable saddle that isn't too much of a sofa, perhaps some cycle shorts, and you pick your lines well on the road, you'll travel a bit faster and be pretty much as comfortable after a short period of conditioning. As for drop handlebars, they don't take too long to get used to. The added benefit for a larger rider is that they offer a range of hand positions including ones that will have less orthopedic strain.

Do try before you buy though. Even if you're trying out models and styles that are out of your price range. Evans do have steel road bikes in their catalogue. Take them out on a circuit that includes some up and down and tight corners. Make sure you're out for at least 15 minutes on each machine. You're buying something you're going to commute on, you want to make sure you're going to be comfortable as you'll spend quite a bit of your time on it. If after that you do want a hardtail then that's cool, you'll be making your own informed decision.

Touring bikes are essentially supposed to provide a stable, comfortable ride over long distances. The fact many of them have drop bars is because drops offer a range of hand positions - good for relieving pressure on the wrists or back on long rides. Drops aren't anything to be afraid of if they are set up properly for you.

(Edit: I see everyone else has expressed the same thing rather better)

thanks for all the advice guys, its very helpful! I will look into touring bikes (there seem to be less options for them out there and they don't look as cool) but if they are better suited to my commute thats what matters.

The_Seldom_Killer has again given excellent advice. Try as many as you can before making any choices, its a decent amount of money to spend.

Also on a personal note, don't discount how you think it looks you'll get more enjoyment out of riding something you think looks ace. You should get something that you feel good on, that includes function, practicality and comfort etc, but also the aesthetics.

I also think that tourers look ace.

flat bar option - Genesis Borough
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/genesis/borough-2015-hybrid-bike-ec073903

That's an odd recommendation from Evans for a commuter.

I also commute on a tourer .

On the whole I prefer flat bars for town riding

what is the faster bike in general a tourer or a hybrid? So to keep up with traffic and building up speed etc.

Agree you should look into the tourer. Can't see the point of that suspension fork unless you're planning some off road adventures. Tourer will be faster for sure, and it' not like you have to use the drops---most spend the majority of time on the flats or hoods.

True, but it is nice to tuck down for long descents and when the wind's blowing a hoolie

Depends on ya legs :)

In London traffic it won't make any difference unless you are the most twattish agressive cycle-goon possible. Then you'll only get hit by a car anyway.

evanscycles.com/products/gene­sis/borough-2015-hybrid-bike-ec073903

Looks perfect. Like a crosscheck with a flatbar. Has everything you need. Do it.

As someone who has commuted in London at your weight and above I would say don't worry too much about the bike being tough enough, nearly everything from a reputable brand will be able to cope.
I rode around on a second hand aluminium Langster for a 3 years before it was killed by a car reversing into it when it was parked, so aluminium, steel etc will be fine.

I would suggest having a look at CX bikes as well, with a set of road tyres you should be able to go fast enough to have fun, and the more fun you have the more you will ride.
It will also have drop bars (tops and hoods are perfectly comfortable and let you tuck in a bit to go downhill).
I've never ridden a road bike with disc brakes so I don't know if they are much better or will let you feel more confident, I have had no issues stopping on calipers or mini-Vs.
I don't know how strong stock wheels will be on most OTP bikes, but if a wheel is designed for skinny fuckers to smash around off road it should cope alright with the odd pothole for you or I. I've had a lot of joy with the basic wheels from v-sprint.

For a commuter bike you could do a lot worse than a Pompino, mine has been great, put up with a lot of abuse and a very lax maintenance schedule with no complaints.

If in doubt, go to evans, test ride all the bikes, then buy whichever puts the biggest grin on your face off the internet.

zoom, so in your experience the manufacturers guidelines are quite conservative? I am working just outside london, so some stretches are nice and quite with long straight roads which is why I didn't want to get limited by a bike which is slow and would become more of a chore than fun.

I think the genesis borough looks like a great choice if you're dead set on the flat bars - but as you get fitter, if your commute has some nice quite fast stretches on it, you may come to wish that you had gotten drop handlebars. But in fairness, it wouldn't be too difficult to just swap the flat bars on the borough for drops further down the line. So start with what you're comfortable with.

Unless you're going off road at the weekends, ditch the suspension idea. It's just heavy and saps your energy.

Borough also comes Scoble Recommended [TM]

https://www.lfgss.com/comments/12219995/

...and he is someone who knows his functional bikes

So I reckon some of this depends on your build.

Last year I was a 105ish kg cyclist, this year a 75kgish one

I started on a Ridgeback Flight which was falt barred. I also had a fairly aggresive 853 steel Ribble which is utterly lovely but actually when I was heavy it was a nuisance. It was a small bike and I was a big chap. My thighs would hit my gut when pedalling, I felt very self conscious. Perhaps a more touring oriented bike would have been better but I am inclined to think otherwise.

Some of the advice I think depends on how you are built and what your intentions are. If you are, to put it bluntly, fat and want to lose some weight then I would tend towards a flat barred second hand bike. I wouldn't let your weight sway you too much in which bike to get, though disc brakes and 32 spokes/wheel is probably good. You can then look at selling/replacing for what suits you when you are ready.

I'd get a decent old steel MTB with rigid forks, put faster tyres and clean-grease-replace everything until it runs smooth. Those things are hard to break.
At some point you'll be fitter/faster, then put all the money in something quick and enjoy.

I'm really coming around to the idea of drop bars now. Apologies if it sounds like I am ignoring advice but I have been looking into touring bikes and came across this......what do you guys think?

http://www.cheapelectricals.co.uk/Item/Claud-butler-torini-sr2-gents-road-bike?gclid=CLXKu8bmwMUCFaMewwodhbQAgA