What to buy

[Pie-Roe]

Need a bike to travel 2-3 miles around town most days.
Should I just look at whatever is cheapest? Ideally would be useful to have something I could put panniers on, is that usually a universal rack or whatever?
I know absolutely nothing about pushbikes, I haven't ridden one in about 10 years.
____________________
Previous: GSF600, FZR600 x2, ZXR750, XT600 Tenere, CB125, CZ125, ETZ 250, ER5, CCM R30, DRZ400, RF600x4, RF900x2, GS500, VTR1000F, 640 SMC, CB250 NIGHTHAWK, GT550x3, GPX750 TE610, CB500, X11x2, SV650, ZING 125, TL1000R,CB250 Superdream, CBR1100XX

[Seb]

Don't bother with suspension, lighter = better. If you're planning on buying second hand be sure to know how to check bearings etc or take someone along who does.
____________________
2010 Triumph 1050 Sprint ST

[Pigeon]

I would say yes to suspension, but don't get a mountain bike. Way too heavy!!

Get a hybrid, light frame and large skinny rims.

I had a £180 Claud Butler Urban 200. 50mm of suspension travel was tiny but useful. They don't seem to be that cheap now, circa £300.

This looks ok

At this pirce, I'm led to believe that hydraulic disc brakes are not worth the hassle. But mechanical disc brakes (ie cable) are ok. I've got them and they crap all over v-brakes in the wet

That said, you could save £70, get v-brakes instead.

But the forks and chainset are slightly worse.

Both have pannier mounts.

It's still alot of money, but bikes seem to be expensive. Could get something better second hand on ebay. But hassle.

[G]

Most cheaper bikes should take panniers ok - it's only when you get to more specialised lighter/off road bikes that there's issues.

Personally I'd avoid suspension on a hybrid too - no real need for it unless the pot holes etc are stupidly bad.

Do you have an idea of budget?

As an idea, I recently got a mountain bike setup as a hybrid for £135 ... it came with panniers and racks along with decent road tyres.
Seen a similar set of panniers racks alone sell for £140 in the last year, which made up for the ineffectual suspension (I've now stiffened up to the max so it does as little as possible) and poor cable discs - some can be pretty bad, though not sure if in this case it's cheap pads or just cheap everything.

If you want rack and panniers, definitely worth seeing if you can get a second hand one with them already, can save you a good bit.

Note that mountain bike doesn't have to be heavy and hybrid's are often just as heavy or worse.

The lightest bike I've got is a road bike, then a 6" travel mountain bike, then a hybrid, another couple of mountain bikes, hybrid above, another 6" travel mountain bike.

[Pigeon]

[DRZ4Hunned]

I got a used Dawes commuter bicycle for £40 on Ebay. Wouldn't bother paying much more for a commuter. I've heard Carrera do some good ones though.
____________________
DRZ400-SM
FZS600

[chris-red]

I really wouldn't worry about it being light, it's 2-3 miles that's 10-15 minutes riding tops. I'd buying something heavy to make it harder so I actually get a bit of a workout.

I built a scrappy cheap fixie for sub £40, it looks shit but it well serviced. It goes OK and will NEVER get nicked. I built to to get more of a workout when I go for rides with my missus as I'm a fair bit quicker than her. Being on my Carbon or Steel racer is too easy, on the fixie I get a sweat on.
____________________
Well, you know what they say. If you want to save the world, you have to push a few old ladies down the stairs.
Skudd:- Perhaps she just thinks you are a window licker and is being nice just in case she becomes another Jill Dando.
WANTED:- Fujinon (Fuji) M42 (Screw on) lenses, let me know if you have anything.