road bike commute

Toast wrote:

It'd be difficult to spend £500 and get a bike that's no good for 4 miles each way. I bought a £200 hybrid and wanted to upgrade within a year, so disagree with the £90 option - it might even discourage you from recreational cycling :p If you're spending £500, I'm going to assume you're using the commute as an excuse to spend the money on something more fun that you might get out on at the weekend. Personally I'd get the Allez, they all have the same Shimano gears but the Allez looks like a more speed-oriented frame. You're not going to have time to get uncomfortable doing four miles on it, so I wouldn't worry about "endurance geometry" from the Marin or Boardman, and you'll get more of a kick out of it when you decide to stamp the pedals a bit on a longer route home! http://road.cc/content/review/221424-specialized-allez-e5-sport-2017 There's the road.cc review of one with a slightly nicer build kit (more gears, nice wheels, but I think the same frame - so potentially in a couple of years you could spend £400-ish upgrading that kit and have a very respectable bike to show for it). As it comes, you could definitely take that e5 on some longer rides, and hold your own with a club if the bug really bites, without immediately wanting to upgrade to a whole new bike. If you're more likely to go on relaxed Sunday rides out of town on your own exploring, maybe look at the other two, the more upright positions may be more comfortable and more importantly (in my opinion) they give you a higher vantage point for taking in the view over hedgerows

Thanks for the advice. does theallez take a rack and mudguards? also is thereanything to choose between the boardman or the marin?

Toast wrote:

It'd be difficult to spend £500 and get a bike that's no good for 4 miles each way. I bought a £200 hybrid and wanted to upgrade within a year, so disagree with the £90 option - it might even discourage you from recreational cycling :p If you're spending £500, I'm going to assume you're using the commute as an excuse to spend the money on something more fun that you might get out on at the weekend. Personally I'd get the Allez, they all have the same Shimano gears but the Allez looks like a more speed-oriented frame. You're not going to have time to get uncomfortable doing four miles on it, so I wouldn't worry about "endurance geometry" from the Marin or Boardman, and you'll get more of a kick out of it when you decide to stamp the pedals a bit on a longer route home! http://road.cc/content/review/221424-specialized-allez-e5-sport-2017 There's the road.cc review of one with a slightly nicer build kit (more gears, nice wheels, but I think the same frame - so potentially in a couple of years you could spend £400-ish upgrading that kit and have a very respectable bike to show for it). As it comes, you could definitely take that e5 on some longer rides, and hold your own with a club if the bug really bites, without immediately wanting to upgrade to a whole new bike. If you're more likely to go on relaxed Sunday rides out of town on your own exploring, maybe look at the other two, the more upright positions may be more comfortable and more importantly (in my opinion) they give you a higher vantage point for taking in the view over hedgerows

Thanks for your advice. Does the allez take a rack and mudguards? Is there anything to choose between the other 2? would you reccomend anything else within a 500 budget?