Best Commuting Bike under £500

3 Bikes

For £500, you can get a pretty decent commuting bike. Personally, I wouldn’t be keen to spend much more than £500 for a commuting bike. If you lock the bike up in town, there is an increased chance of theft, so with just a £500 you get more peace of mind than you would if you had spent over a £1,000

There is a great choice of commuting bikes for under £500.

Classic Commuting Bikes

If you are looking for a classic, stylish bike, try this Dawes  Diploma It looks like an old fashioned classic bike. It may not be fastest bike from A to B, but, it does the business and looks pretty cool too. One limitation is the 3 speed Sturmey archer, but, unless you live on a hilly route 3 speed should be sufficient.

For real style, why not have a look at the classic Dutch Gazelle. It has a real continental flavour and stands out with distinctive design and colour. But, difficult to source in the UK, more likely to find on ebay second hand.

• Pros of Classic Bikes – look good, fits in with ‘cycle chic’ appearance. Steady to ride
• Cons of classic bikes – are slower to ride, not great for long distances or up steep hills. More attractive to thieves than your common MTB.

Hybrid Bike

If you are more practically minded, you might like to buy a hybrid bike. This is a cross between a road bike and mountain bike. It comes with road size wheels, but a thicker tread than ordinary racing bike wheels. In a sense hybrid bikes are simpler, cheaper versions of mountain bikes. They are fine for commuting, offering good stability and practicality. They can be easily adapted for panniers and mudguards. There is a great choice of hybrid bikes under £500. If you are willing to spend £300 you can bikes such as the Dawes Discovery. Hybrid bikes from under £150 will be made of cheap steel and will typically be quite heavy with more unreliable components. Also, Focus hybrid bikes offer good value such as the Focus Marakas for £300 built around a 6061 Aluminium alloy.

Pinnacle Neon Two

At £450, the Pinnacle Neon Two offers excellent features for a sub £500 bike. It is made by Evans cycles and so helps to offer low price. Not too flashy but gets you round town with a nice compromise of 24 gears, disc brakes and aluminium frame. See: Review of Pinnacle Neon Two

More hybrid bike recommendations

Cannondale Bad Boy

The Cannondale Bad Boy is a pretty sturdy hybrid bike – closer to the MTB spectrum than the road bike. It comes in a distinctive matt blank finish and has pretty sturdy Schwalbe Kojak Bad Boy Edition 559 x 50 tyres.
Hybrid bikes are mass produced and so give very good value. It depends how far you have to commute. The longer the commute, the more sporty you will want to buy. If you are commuting a couple of miles, a classic Dutch style bike will be great because speed isn’t so important.

Fold Up

In the foldup category, have a look at these foldup bikes. Foldup bikes are great for anyone who has to commute part of the way on the train. Look for bikes which are not too heavy and easy to dismantle and put up. Brompton are the best known type of foldups and they have options for under £500.Dahon are also a very good brand and the Dahon Vitesse is sold for £350 and is said to have a folding time of 15 seconds.

Hybrid Bikes at Evans

Mountain Bikes

Another option is a mountain bike. Under £500 the mountain bikes are more geared towards road use anyway.  The Specialised hardrock Disc gives you disc brakes on an MTB for under £400. It is good value commuting bike; the wide wheels will slow you down, but great for snow or difficult conditions.

Single Speed

Increasingly popular is the single speed commuting bike. Single speed offer great simplicity and ease of maintenance. Even on hilly routes, some people just like riding single speed or fixed. The increased simplicity doesn’t mean cheaper. They are not mass produced so there are not the same economies of scale. The Charge Plug range offers cheapest introduction single speed. The Specialized Langster comes in at around £500. The Steel version comes in track frame and track handlebars which I didn’t particularly enjoy for commuting it was too aggressive riding position. However, the aluminium version is based on a more classic road bike.

My Commuting Bike

My commuting bike is a trek road bike. I bought second hand for £300. Brand new it would have cost £450. It is quite a practical commuting bike as it is relatively fast and has pannier rack, mudguards, lights. It’s only limitation is when we get a dusting of snow, the thin wheels are pretty thin for the the weather conditions.

Bikes Just Over £500

If you’re looking for a commuting bike with real style and elegance, check out this review of the Viva Urban de Luxe. It’s rrp was £699, but if you’re lucky you may catch it on offer for £499. 7 speed hub geared bike (easy to change, but a little heavier). This is a commuting bike for someone wanting a little style and good looks

Related Articles

• Tips for commuting by bike
• Hybrid Commuting bikes
• Best puncture proof bikes – one of the best upgrades for a commuting bike