I needs me a push bike

[Chalky.]

Want to get a pushbike to cycle to work, 3.5 miles each way.

At the moment I have a very old steel framed bicycle, it's shit and heavy and the gears are about fucked.

I want to travel as quickly as possible on my new steed - what shall I get? Should I get a bike with the curved handlebars? Or flat handlebars? The roads are country lanes, one car width at some points. All tarmac.

Any old second hand racer style bike?

Those of you who cycle to work, do you have workwear waiting for you ready to put on?

[Monkeypony]

[Baffler186]

Depends what the gradients are like, but I always found a good (2nd hand) road bike was much easier up the hills and on the flat. I could never get on with the drop bars so changed them to flats. Those skinny wheels are very hardy, I never hand any problems and only got 1 puncture in about 500 miles of riding.

other option, Hybrid, but will be heavier. Buy cheap road bike and see if you like it, then if you get into it more, buy better one
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Current: 2009 SV650 S, 1990 Kawasaki GT550
Previous: 2009 CBF125, 1998 GSF600, 2004 FZ6 Fazer, 1978 CB400a Hondamatic

[Tungtvann]

I'd recommend a hybrid, I used to ride all over London on mine and still use it day to day around my base. A 3.5 mile ride on one is easy enough, probably wouldn't take you longer than 15 minutes as long as the route was fairly flat.

I have an old Trek 7.3fx, it's a good bike, light enough too. Depends what you wear to work and the weather you'd be riding in, but a 15 minute cycle needn't break much of a sweat if you don't want to, so you might not even need to change clothes. Riding as quick as you can, in hot weather or in the rain, then yes, you may want a change of clothes!

[Chalky.]

Cheers all.

Are these any good?

https://rouxbikes.co.uk/shop/carbon-drive-g8/

[Monkeypony]

[Baffler186]

[stinkwheel]

What is your old bike?

For 3.5 miles, you could probably go single speed unless there are some serious hills, ditching a whole load of weight and complexity in the process.

I ride an old 70's puch road bike with a bog basic "gas pipe" steel frame I got at the car boot sale for £35. Single speed conversion, alloy rims, alloy seatpost and more modern tyres made it a hell of a lot lighter. North road bars and a long-nose saddle took care of the comfort. I'd happily do a 3.5 mile commute on it
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[Monkeypony]

Having said that, If I was spending that sort of money and was after flat bars, I'd probably go for something like this:

https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBPXSLPFBTIA/planet-x-pro-carbon-shimano-tiagra-flat-bar

There really is a fuck-ton of choice for your budget, but if you're only ever going to go a max distance of 3.5 miles, is it really worth the money?
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Current bike - 2018 H2-SX, 2004 SV1000s, 2016 Aprilia RSV4 RF, 2017 Sherco SERF 300, 2003 Suzuki DRZ400 (stolen - AY53 JUU)

[Tungtvann]

I wouldn't spend that money unless you were planning on riding in your spare time as well and frequently doing rides of 20 miles or more. I still spent about £460 on mine (10 years ago) and it'd be more than enough for a short commute.

Unless you just want a fancy bike, in which case, cool!

[Chalky.]

This is the old babe

https://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o22/fv53wkr/Fireblade/D99798C4-14F0-4C19-A6FE-AB4064C4161D_zpsawasdxp2.jpg

A Tensor Yeti or something.

[Seb]

And on the flipside, I got a fancy £1700ish road bike to inspire me to ride more which it did in a big way. Imo that money was spent on my health, not just a shiny bike

Back on topic:

https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBPXXLSFB/planet-x-xls-shimano-tiagra-flat-bar-road-bike

Another PlanetX recommendation, very much the same vein as the Pro road flatbar linked above but a little more commute friendly with all weather brakes and more clearance for mudguards etc.

As for the Roux, it'll be a hassle free bike but that does nothing for me, it's going to be as heavy, soggy and uninspiring as the bike it's replacing. A waste of £750 given the circumstances if you ask me.
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2010 Triumph 1050 Sprint ST

[stinkwheel]

[G]

Smooth road biased tyres will probably be the biggest difference.
Personally, having occasionally ridden a bike stuck in one gear, I think single speed is silly.
If you want to do it with the least effort while riding, you definitely need gears. As the price goes up, the incremental ease reduces - not a massive difference going to a bike 250g lighter, even though that might cost you £200 extra.
Or, of course you'll get fancy stuff like 8 speed hub gears - which I do like the idea of, but there's also a good reason normal chain gears have been around for so long.

[Chalky.]