My Winter Training Bike from Ribble - looking suspiciously clean!

My winter training bike is an old road bike, that I used for racing in my first season. It is a basic Aluminium 6061 frame, Carbon fork and Shimano 105 groupset. I bought from Ribble Cycles about 7 years ago, costing around £800. Since then, the bike has done an estimated 20,000 miles – a pretty good return for £800 and minimal upgrades.

Upgrades and Downgrades to Make a Winter Training Bike.

SKS Race blades. The current mudguards are a two year old SKS race blades. They are easy to fit and keep the worst of the rain and mud off. However, if I replaced them, I would go for the SKS race blades long.

Lights Rear and Front. Essential for winter riding. I often leave rear light on flashing whenever it is overcast.

Armadillo Rear Tyre 25‘ This gives confidence for riding through gritty roads. I haven’t had a rear puncture since using this tyre. It is also very hard wearing and very resistant to cuts and scratches. It is slower, heavier and higher rolling resistance, but it is a trade off worth having. Armadillo Tyres

Continental Gator skin Front tyre. The front wheel has a Continental Gator skin. Excellent puncture resistance, though tyre lasts for a shorter time. When I replace, I may replace with Armadillo. (winter training tyres)

Saddle bag. This Altura saddle bag is a little small for my needs. I’d like  a bigger saddle bag so that I can carry a weightier waterproof. I currently just have a lightweight race cape. I can carry a waterproof in a cut off water bottle, but often need two bottles for long rides.

Cheaper Cassettes. When replacing cassettes, I’m usually taking bike to local bike shop, so I just ask for cheaper cassettes or chains. I don’t see point in buying Shimano 105 for a winter training bike.

Gearing. I don’t need a triple chain-ring, but I chose a luxury rear cassete with 28  - 12 teeth – offering a nice range of gear choices for keeping high cadence.

How Often do you Change Chain on Winter Training Bike?

On my racing bike, I change chain after 1,000 miles or even shorter (changing chain). This is because I want maximum power transfer from chain. With this method, you can get quite a few chains before the cassette block needs replacing. But, with my winter training bike, I just ride it into the ground; . When the chain starts slipping, which may be up to 4 – 5,000 miles, I will replace chain and cassette at same time, and possibly front chain rings.

How Often do you clean your Winter Training Bike?

Whenever I’m taking pictures of the bike for my blog! I just intended to take photos, but the more photos I took, the more I wanted to clean it.

Perhaps I clean once a month, but when its wet and dirty, it’s too dispiriting to wash after every ride, knowing in 20 minutes, it will be back to the same state. However, some times the dirt build up is so bad, the dirt between brakes and front wheels starts to rub, and I have to knock it off with a stick.

However, I should say – if the road is salty – definitely you should spray off the salty dirt, as it will be very corrosive. For ordinary mud, not so serious, but still worth doing!

The problem with cleaning your winter training bike is that you always fear there must be something bad hidden under all those layers of mud. If you start to clean, somehow you fear it could start to fall apart. This is actually what happened here. Cleaning bike showed paint come off carbon forks.

Position of Winter Training Bike

The position is essentially the same as summer racing bike. The saddle is the same height. I keep the bars slightly higher to make more comfortable for long rides.

Oiling Winter Bike

I regularly spray with GT-80 and also use some winter wet lube – quite a heavy oil. I also spray and grease my Speedplay pedals in winter.

Winter Training Bikes

When I bought a top of the range road bike, one justification was that I was also getting a free winter training bike. But, if started at the top, and want to buy a specific winter training bike there are quite a few options.

Specialized Tri Cross

A lightweight A1 Premium Aluminium double butted frame. Comfortable frame geometry, internal cable routing for low maintenance performance in any conditions. FACT carbon forks for improved comfort of ride. Triple chain ring for all gear combinations

• Specialized TriCross £700 at Evans

Under £500

Claud Butler San Remo £499

A budget bike leaving some cash left over for necessary winter accessories. The Claud Butler San Remo is aluminium frame, steel forks and Shimano 23000 groupset. Claud Butler at Evans Cycles

Other bikes to consider – Trek 1.2, 1.7 or 2.1. Focus Cayo.

See also:

• Touring Bikes
• Winter Cycle Training
• Cycling Accessories for Winter
• Road Bikes Under £1,000

This Continental 4000- split and punctured on a ride- I had to put new inner tube and ride home like this! If I had been clever, I would have founded strong leaf to improvise some protection between tyre and inner tube. But, I only thought of that after I luckily got home.

If I listed the biggest irritations of cycling, I would say that getting a puncture would be pretty high up.  Firstly the most common reasons for getting a puncture.

• Tyre not put on properly (inner tube caught between rim and tyre)
• Thin, cheap tyres much more likely to puncture.
• Worn tyres with cracks in.
• Rear wheel more likely to puncture
• More likely to puncture in wet.

These are some tips for avoiding punctures.

1. Puncture Resistant tyres.

Unfortunately, at the moment it is hard to get completely puncture resistant tyres for road bikes. For some bikes you can get solid tyres, which offer a puncture resistant ride, but I wouldn’t want to ride them. When racing I always choose a tyre with good layers of puncture resistance, at least 1 or 2 kevlar belts. For training and even racing, I would rather choose a slightly heavier tyre and have an improved chance of avoiding a puncture. Only on very short hill climbs, will I risk the lightest tubulars.

On my winter training bike, I have an Armadillo Specialized All Condition on the rear, and a Continental Dura Skin on the front. The Armadillo is the most puncture resistant. I put it on the rear because the rear tyre is the most likely to get a puncture. Schwalbe Marathon Plus offer one of biggest resistance to punctures. (puncture resistant tyres)

2. Avoid the grit at the side of the road.

Often on busy roads grit and debris accumulates on the side of the road;  riding amongst all this grit definitely increases the chance of getting a puncture. Don’t feel pushed into the edge, keep an eye on road surface and avoid potential problems. (BTW, don’t ride in gutter, but give yourself a good distance from edge. This gives you room for manoeuvre when avoiding potholes and thorns.)

Also, there have been times, when I’ve got off and walked by  a newly cut thorn hedge which the farmer has kindly left on the road.

3. Put on the tyre properly

The biggest cause of ‘repeat punctures’ is putting on a tyre with tyre leavers. This invariably causes a pinching of the inner tube between rim and tyre. To avoid this, it is important to always put a tyre back on with your hands.

If you have to use tyre leaves, you must check after it has been fitted. When the tyre is part blown up, you can check around the rims to make sure there is no inner tube squeezed between the rim. I go around the rim and push the tyre inwards to see any sign of an inner tube. See: How to mend puncture

4. Avoid riding in the rain.

People often find that riding in the rain causes an increased chance of puncture. I think this may be due to the fact that the water reduces friction and makes it easier for grit to penetrate the tyre. I guess no body would choose to ride in the rain unless they can avoid it. But, be prepared for higher risk of puncture.

5. Correct Tyre Pressure

Not sure how much this helps but worth doing for other reasons anyway. See: Correct Tyre pressure.

6. Use New Inner Tubes

I never use a puncture repair kit. I just buy inner tubes in bulk. At least a failed puncture repair is one less thing to worry about.

7. Self Healing Inner Tubes

For MTB’s I recommend these Green slime self healing inner tubes. They are great for automatically fixing any flat caused by thorns e.t.c I don’t use them on my road bike because they are slower.

8. Check Tyres for Wear / Scratches and embedded Grit.

I frequently check tyres for wear. I prefer to replace at early signs of wear. I have seen some riders wear tyres down so much, you can actually see the outer layer is completely gone!

Another good thing to do is to check for pieces of glass that have got embedded in the tyre. I will use a sharp point (nail or similar shape) and flick the grit out. (watch out for your eyes). This prevent the grit getting pushed further into the tyre and causing a puncture at a later date. I usually tolerate one or two scratches in a tyre, but, when they start to look deep or prevalent, I chuck tyre out. Better to replace too early and avoid that puncture!

9. Make Sure there is rim tape on the wheel.

I’ve had two punctures because the rim tape slipped off the centre of the wheel; this meant inner tube was in direct contact with metal rim, and this caused a puncture.

10. Tubulars over Inner Tubes and Tyres.

There is anecdotal evidence tubulars are less likely to cause punctures. There is certainly no chance of the ‘pinch puncture’. But, it really depends on the quality of the tubular. For racing I use tubulars, not so much for better puncture resistance, but they are lighter. However, when you do puncture it is more expensive. So road tyres and inner tubes are better for training.

11. Never Blog About How you never Get Punctures

see: the time (I got 5 punctures in a week)

See also:

• Tips for Mending a puncture
• Best puncture proof tyres

Originally posted July 2010, substantially updated Jan 2012.

In the 1960s, Amsterdam had much lower cycle rates. To try and reduce pollution and congestion in the city centre, one anarchist group launched a scheme to promote mass bicycle use. It involved giving out free white bicycles and leaving them unlocked in strategic locations around Amsterdam. Unfortunately, the scheme was not a success, some bikes got stolen, and in Amsterdam it is illegal to leave bikes unlocked in the streets. The bikes were confiscated by the police. Although, when they were returned to the Anarchist group – they equipped them with combination locks and painted the combination on the bicycle.  Alas, the great ideals of anarchist utopianism didn’t quite work out as good old human nature intervened to leave most of the bikes stolen.

The main inspiration behind this idea was the splendidly named Luud Schimmelpennink. A couple of years later he was elected to Amsterdam city council, and on election he proposed to roll out 20,000 free white bicycles to make Amsterdam a bicyclist paradise. The council didn’t vote for 20,000 free bicycles. But, the idea of mass bicycle use was imprinted strongly in the minds of people. Over the next few years, bike use  in Amsterdam did radically increases (as mentioned in this video – how Amsterdam got its bicycle lanes).

This idea of city-wide rental bikes inspired other schemes, which (with the help of modern technology and credit cards) has become quite successful in some major European cities.

Perhaps in deference to the original idea of the Provos, recently Amsterdam got its own white bike rental bike scheme.

[The Provo Anarchists seemed to have a bit of fun during their short lived political activity. They would try get arrested for smoking pot - ring up the police and say some hippies were smoking pot in a cafe, but when the police turned up they would actually only be drinking herbal teas. The police got embarrassed and stopped harassing the hippies. Dope later got legalised]

Not a herbal tea drinking anarchist in sight.

So next time, you ride a ‘Boris bike’ sponsored by Barclays Bank riding through the City of London – just remember the small inspiration of  Luud Schimmelpennink and the herbal tea drinking, hippy, anarchists from Amsterdam.

Related
Cycling Amsterdam
London Cycle hire

Earlier in the year, I reviewed the Dawes Mono – and really quite liked it. I’m tempted by Amazon.co.uk’s offer of 60% off, meaning it is only £256. Very good value.

• Dawes Mono Single Speed Unisex Road Bike at Amazon.co.uk

Stuck in the 12 Sprocket

Not such a good experience with single speed was my first ride on my winter training bike. After 20 miles from Oxford the gear cable broke, leaving me stuck in the 12 sprocket for 20 miles home. It’s really quite painful riding a 39*12 up every hill on the way back to Oxford.

Just last week, I was saying how nice it was to be spinning high cadence (100rpm). But, this training ride, turned into an unwanted strength test, getting down to about 30rpm on some hills. It didn’t feel good for the knees. I guess it could have been worse, I could have got stuck in 53*12.

Anyway this has been a good week for training.

• Sun 45 miles
• Wed 35 miles
• Thurs 32 miles
• Sat hopefully 70 miles
• Plus the usual 50 miles of commuting around Oxford.

Related

• Single speed bikes
• Best commuter bikes

I’m not sure how this bike came to have the distinctive name of ‘Raleigh’. Raleigh are the famous British manufacturer with a long and illustrious history  who sponsored one of the top Pro cycle teams of the 1970s and 1980s. Recently, they have re-entered the high end road bike market to capitalise on their strong brand name. (see: Vintage Cycle Ads). This town shopper the ‘Raleigh Oxford, is quite the opposite to this high end market. Cheap components, one speed, and upright riding position A bold bid to enter the market for sub £200 town bikes.

It is heavy and slow just as a cheap town bike should be. The riding position is very upright, you almost feel like you’re sitting on a chair (except you’re not you are sitting on a small saddle). The saddle is actually well padded and is quite sufficient for the low duration rides it will be used for. The steering is a little harsh, turning the handlebars is difficult to do for small adjustments, it tends to be a bit fidgety.

A single speed means it’s nice and simple, there’s not much to do apart from pedal nice and slow and ‘amble’ around town.

The good news is that it comes ready to go. Mudguards, panniers, bell. Just jump on and you’re away. Except don’t try to pedal off without paying, as a quick shop assistant could probably soon catch up with you on foot.

I actually enjoyed riding it around Oxford. This is the way to cycle around this beautiful city – not on drop handlebars looking at all the potholes and state of the roads, but nice and slow – admiring the wonderful architecture.

The cheap tyres will be more prone to punctures, but apart from that the brakes work fine and there is not too much maintenance needed.

Would I Buy It?

I don’t think I could bring myself to spend so little on a bike. I couldn’t justify buying a bike when I’ve bought a saddle for twice the price.

Who Would Buy It?

Students wanting a cheap bike to ride within the Oxford ring road, and not particularly worried about it rusting away at the end of their three years at University.

Alternatives

It unfortunately reminds you of the Ammaco bikes from Cycle King. At least the Raleigh Oxford only has one gear so you don’t have to deal with the clunky 18 speed gear mechanism made out of plastic (OK, it’s not made out of plastic, but it looks like it is)

Is This A Good Marketing Strategy for Raleigh?

I tried to look at the Raleigh website for more technical specifications on the bike. I noticed there was no mention of this one speed delight. It even made me think perhaps some Chinese manufacturer slipped the Raleigh name on its bike and hoped no-one would notice.

Well, I can’t imagine BMW bringing out a three-wheelered version to appeal to the motorist who only wants to pay £1,000 for a new car. But, this is not cars, it’s bicycles and we all know a surprisingly large amount of people really think you should be able to get a bike for less than £100.

Overall,

Well it does what is says on the tin. It’s cheap, and if you want to ride it 2 miles around Oxford, you’ll have a great time. Unfortunately, I won’t be doing a long term test on the bike. But, I do see many versions of this bike locked up around town.

A well used Oxford Raleigh.
The handlebars seem to rust, but it doesn’t stop it working. If you want a single speed under £170 it’s probably great value.

Related

A similar price bracket is the Raleigh Urban – £179. This has 18 gears and is like a mountain bike based on AIRlite Aluminium frame

single speed bikes

Raleigh, the all steel bicycle 1951. Sir Thomas Drake gives the silk carpet treatment. (not exactly sure why, but they look happy to be riding their Raleighs.

Simple logo – ‘the all-steel bicycle’

Raleigh, faster than a lion.

By 1973, a different kind of ad.

Not quite sure why Raleigh have this thing about carpets. ‘follow the red brick road’

Raleigh chopper takes centre stage.

Hercules, the finest bicycle built today. – Hercules cycles

American Crescent cycles

Hercules Lightweight.

Manufacturing capacity of  600,000 machines a year or 12,000 a week the Raleigh factory stands supreme as the largest and best equipped cycle factory in the world. To-day, as for 50 years, the easy-running Raleigh is proving its worth on the highways and byways of every continent. Individually produced, superlatively finished, guaranteed for ever, Raleight quality links the name of Nottingham with all that is best in British workmanship and materials.

raleigh ad

Ride a Raleigh, the All Steel Bike. From National Railway museum, York.

Related

• Raleigh Explorer
• Raleigh Hero Bike
• Retro Bikes
• Hovis Bike ads

I had a test ride on one of their top of the range touring bikes a Santos Travel Master Alu 2.6.

It is based on an aluminium frame and is designed to give lowest maintenance possible for long tough terrains. Handlebars are ergonomically designed for comfortable riding. End bars give a choice of grip position.

Rolhoff Gears

The Rolhoff Gears offer 14 different gear combinations over a wide range of gear sizes. It is like having a triple chainring, except without the need to change the front chain ring. Changing gear is very easy. Important for a heavily laden bike. Rolhoff gears need very little maintenance, maybe a change of oil every 8,000 miles. They are easy to use.

Hydraulic disc brakes

The hydraulic disc brakes were one of the most powerful braking systems I’ve tested, you felt it could stop on any terrain or descent.

Santos Belt Drive

It was ironic to be testing a belt drive, just a few days after snapping another standard chain. Belt Drives are quiet and much more longer lasting; they are said to have 3-4 times the lifespan of a standard chain. Also when chains become worn they can lose some of their efficiency. With a belt drive  there are no connecting rivets or links to break. Given how debilitating a chain break can be, this is a really good feature for when low maintenance is a necessity.

Ride Quality

The bike has great stability, and is easy to ride. The steering is fairly neutral and easily copes with any turns.

The bike is set up for a comfortable touring ride; also with highly adjustable stem, you can easily change the position of cycling. With 26 wheels, it definitely feels harder work to cycle, though the bike is customisable, if you prefer standard road tyres at 700c you can order this.

The Aluminium frame doesn’t help absorb shocks in the road, (though this is somewhat mitigated by comfortable grips. However, given weight of touring bike, switching to a steel frame isn’t going to make much difference overall. Some tourists like aluminium frames because it gives a stiffer ride, could for steering with a heavily laden bag.

Would I buy it?

I wouldn’t buy the bike I tested, but only because I don’t plan to do the kind of touring this bike enables. It really feels like the kind of bike you could ride around the world, complete with tent and cooking stove. However, overall, I really like the ethos of Santos, I think being able to customise your bike is very important. For a serious tourer, this provides some really nice top of the range features.

Customisation options

• Steel v Aluminium Frame
• 24 colours
• Groupset – Rolhoff internal or Shimano Deore/LX Shimano LX/XT
• Size of wheels 26 or 700c
• Rimbrakes vs Hyraulic disc brakes.
• Standard chain vs Santos Belt Drive
• The cheapest custom option opens at £999. There are some off the peg – pre-specced models from£1,199, which helps give some good components.

Santos Bike in Round the World Challenge

James Bowthorpe used a Santos Travel Master in his world record cycle around the world (18,000 miles in 175 days). He also had a long custom fitting experience to gain perfect ergonomics.

•  James Bowthorpe in Round the world test at Cycling Weekly
• Santos Bikes
• Santos Travel master review at Bike Radar

Touring Bikes

• Touring Bikes at Evans cycles
• Touring bikes at Chain Reaction cycles
• Best Touring Bikes

Ammaco Dresden. A hybrid bike for under £170. It looks good and seems to offer tremendous value. But, as soon as you start riding it you know why it is so cheap. Yet, these cheap hybrid bikes do sell tremendously well. Many buyers just want a bike under £200, no matter what the components are like. Bicycle lovers will instinctively turn their nose up at any bike under £200. So what is it really like?

People think that a big fat saddle is going to be more comfortable to sit on. I guess the size of this saddle spreads the weight. But, it isn’t really any more comfortable to ride.

The thing with this bike is I really didn’t feel comfortable to ride more than 15mph. In fact as I was cycling along, I spent a considerable time waiting for gears to index. The back wheel was also buckled, not overly reassuring since I was testing a brand new from shop. I assume this was just very bad luck to pick the bike with a buckle in back wheel.

The brakes are fine at stopping, though you do have to squeeze pretty confidently. I guess you won’t be tearing around corners on this. However, they do look fairly flimsy and will need careful maintenance over time.

I have to say, I really quite like how it looks, at least from a distance. When you get closer, it starts to look a little cheaper, like the plastic mudguards are not going to win any prizes for style.

Extensive Chain guard protection

Handlebars are adjustable in height, quite a nice touch, though I doubt the actualy buyers would be too fussy about finding optimal handlebar height. It’s the kind of bike you buy and hope to ride it straight from shop. Tyres are cheap and will offer no extra puncture protection, so be prepared for quite a few irritating punctures.

Extras.

For the price, it’s very good to see it come equipped with mudguards and panniers.

Pretty good mudguards.

Shimano Turney gears – I found pretty rattly. Takes time for indexing to work. May not have been set up to optimal indexing, but the front changer was pretty slow and hard work to move. Rear mech was better.

Looks nice. A good simple paint job

To be honest some of the extras on this bike would get pretty close to £165 alone.

If I was a Car?

If the Ammaco Dresden was a car, I’d be tempted to say a Lada with a really nice paint job and roof rack attached at no extra cost.

Who would it Suit?

It would suit a student on a tight budget, absolutely unable to pay more than £200 for a bike. It might also suit someone who wanted to buy a bike for a few months when visiting a new city.

Is it Good Value?

I know this level of bike components will need more maintenance. There will be more punctures, the brakes will need careful attention and it is more likely to rust. Yet, though it is tempting to knock the bike, you can’t deny the fact it is still pretty impressive to get so much on a bike for under £170.

Would I buy the Bike?

Would Ian Paisley buy a Celtic flag? I’m too much of a bike snob to buy something so cheap. Also the experience of cheap MTB has put me off spending a £150 hoping to get a good deal. What made me want to test this bike is my lodger wants a bike, but has no money. I see 100s of these Ammaco’s around Oxford and to be fair they seem to last pretty well. I guess if I was an impoverished student only wanting to cycle 2 miles a day, I might be happy to ride this. But, then I might be happy to to get a free can of Tesco Value Baked Beans.

Go on ,get out that student loan and blow it on a nice Pashley! – who needs beer and curry? spend all your grant on a bicycle. “You’ll never regret buying a bicycle”

• Ammaco bikes at Amazon

• Hybrid Bikes under £500

Related

• Cheap MTB
• cheap bikes
• Ammaco 3000 Series road bike

A friend has a regular cycle routine of cycling a 14 mile route on quiet roads, four times a week. He sees cycling as a low impact form of exercise which can help keep the dreaded ‘middle-aged’ spread at bay. In addition to cycling four times a week, he tries to keep fit by visiting gym on other days. The 14 mile route involves a steep hill (Boars Hill Oxford) he used to get off an walk up the steep bit. The old bike was a 20Kg mountain bike which was completely knackered. The gears didn’t work, the wheel rubbed against the chainstay. I don’t know how people ride bikes like this. Anyway, he asked for advice in buying a bike for under £500 to get a more enjoyable ride.

I recommended a lightweight aluminium hybrid with plenty of gears and ease of use and maintenance.

After weighing up different options, he chose the GT Transeo 3.0 with V Brakes £450.

It is a good bike. It is relatively lightweight (14.1kg), but strong enough to allow some off-road riding if you wanted.

24 Gears are provided by Shimano Alivio. These are at the lower end of the Shimano spectrum, but reasonably reliable if kept in decent condition. The front fork has speed lock mech for enabling choice of suspension vs ridigidity.

After 500 miles of riding, my friend was delighted to have no punctures on his  Schwalbe Land cruiser 700x40c. It may seem a simple thing, but his previous cheap MTB had the thinnest tyres and attracted punctures like anything. The width of the tyres is another thing to slow the bike down, but it does give it that versatility for off-road and uncomfortable road surfaces.

Saddle

Note: This bike does not come with Brooks saddle!

looks a bit odd on a MTB / hybrid, but for some riders comfort is everything.

I never worry too much about saddle comfort. I come from the ‘just get used to it school’ – but many less zealous cyclist users, actually really want a comfortable saddle. After complaining the ‘All Terra’ saddle was too uncomfortable, he went for a Brooks saddle. Quite an upgrade to the bike, but in his opinion worth every penny in comfort.

Overall

My friend was pleased with the bike. It was a much better investment than spending a few hundred pounds on upgrading the old MTB. At under £500, it does everything it needs to for this purpose.. The only drawback was buying an extra brooks saddle for £60. But, at this price hybrid bikes will not come with a brooks saddle. That’s the beauty of bikes, there’s nothing to stop adding your favourite piece of equipment onto the bike.

When I rode it, I couldn’t get too excited about a 14Kg hybrid. However, after experience of buying cheap MTB, this would be a good investment for snow, awkward road surfaces. Built to last, this GT bike does it’s specified job pretty well. It is a good utilitarian – enabling off-road riding as well as commuting and light leisure riding. If you’re looking for a bike which will do everything (apart from speed on the road) then this is a pretty good choice.

• GT Transeo at Evans Cycles

GT offer quite a few variations of the Transeo model

• GT Transeo 3.0 Disc – For an extra £50 you get Tektro Aquila Mechanical disc brakes
• The GT Transeo 4.0 is £100 cheaper and is really very similar, apart from using a lower spec Shimano Acera 8 speed rear derailleur. It is actually slightly lighter.
• GT Transeo 2.0 is an extra £200. For your money you get a powerful Tektro Draco Comp Hydraulic brakes with 160mm rotor, as opposed to the simpler V brakes which come in the 3.0 model. Hydraulic brakes are more powerful and offer better braking capacity in the wet. It depends how much you rely on a quick, powerful braking system.

Related Bikes

• Hybrid Bikes
• Best Commuting Bikes under £500

Buying GT Transeo

• GT Transeo at Evans
• GT Transeo Hybrids at Wiggle

The Kona Dr Good is a low maintenance 7 speed hybrid bike for easy use around town and beyond.

Main features

• 7 speed internal hub gear system.
• Single chain ring at front
• Shimano Front disc brake
• Shimano Rear roller brake.
• Frame: Kona 7005 Aluminium Butted
• Fork: Kona Project Two Aluminum
• Swept back handlebars for relaxed riding position.

Design

It looks good, though it does remind me of the prolific mass produced mountain bikes we frequently see on the streets It’s part MTB, part cruiser, part hybrid. But, it still has a certain style and careful finishing.

The model is available in different handlebars swept back or straight.

Ride Quality

The Kona Dr Good is designed for a quick set up and low maintenance. The hub gears are easy to use and will need very little maintenance. Hub gears add extra pound of weight, but you get advantages such as being able to switch gears even when stationary. The brakes are excellent, a combination of front disc and rear roller brake. Though the rear roller brake did seem to need more hand pressure than standard rim brakes. The riding position is relaxed. The  top tube is markedly downward sloping; There is also a pretty large headtube, which makes for quite a relaxed position.

Though it is quite different to what I’m used to, you soon get used to the riding position and find it easy to cycle around town.

The shape of the handlebars is a little unorthodox. They are swept back a little, though not much as a classic dutch style cruiser bike. It is easy to ride around town, though I would have preferred straight handlebars as you get more sense of responsiveness to the stearing.

Overall, the ride feels quite effortless, compared to a single speed, the hub gear adds extra weight. But, 7 gears gives you as much flexibility as you would want cycling around a city like London.

There is also a good choice of frame sizes C46, C49, C53, C56, C59, C61cm  which means everyone will be able to find a suitable size bike, something cruiser / hybrid bikes don’t always offer.

Quite a lot of wires at the front of the bike

looks pretty neat, with silver chain, nice paint job and internal hub gears.

Tyres are Continental City 700*32. These won’t need upgrading and offer good puncture resistance, which is good because they don’t have quick release wheels (which may be an advantage in not getting a wheel stolen.)

There is room for fitting panniers and mudguards, if you want to make the ultimate commuting.

Overall

On the one hand it struggles to decide what it really is. Part cruiser, part hybrid, part mountain bike feel. You may be put off by this attempt to be a bit of everything. But, another way of looking at it is to enjoy the unusual mixture of parts and design. It is a good bike to ride. If you are looking for a simple bike to get around town, this will fit the bill. The specifications are pretty good and for the money offers pretty good value for money.

• Kona Dr Good at Evans Cycles – currently £450

Main Competitors

• Kona Dr Dew. This offers a more sporty version upgrade of Kona Dr Good. It uses the standard dérailleur system to offer 27 gears. It has Shimano hydraulic brakes for even more powerful brakes.
• Trek Valencia. Trek offer an extensive range of hybrid bikes. The Valencia has similar aluminium frame but more gears and straight handlebars. It is more typical than the Kona which proves more distinctive than the Trek.
• Giant Giant XTC N7 also with Nexus 7 hub

• Best Hybrid Bikes

Related

• Kona Dr Good at Evans Cycles – currently £450
• Dr Good at Kona bikes