New Bike Options
Wow, it's been ages since I updated... this week has been crazy busy.

Last Saturday I went to look for a replacement bike. My experience at Bicycle Doctor was better than before - I didn't feel I was being upsold. Perhaps knowing a bit more about bikes meant I came across as someone less likely to be pressured. I was looking at road hybrids like my old one, and was recommended a Trek 7.3. It looks quite good, has the 700x32C tyres I loved so much about my old hybrid, but is quite pricey at £425. There's a cheaper option at the Trek 7.2, but that's heavier and a little bulkier, and takes wider tyres which will impact my road speed.

I also popped back to Edinburgh Bicycle Co-Operative. I'm not keen on buying from there again, but the direct replacement for my old bike is £350 - if I could avoid relying on them for servicing and parts, then that's money I could save. Would have to make sure I get the complete specs for the bike and investigate good online parts retailers though.

While there I also looked at some more pure road bikes, the Ridgeback Flight 01 and the Specialised Sirrus Sport. These would both probably be better for my usual road commute, but I'm not sure about the small bits of harder cycling (through the park, or just roads in poor condition with potholes) on them - the bloke in EBC said it'd be a problem, but I'm no longer sure whether to trust him.

Unfortunately, Bicycle Doctor don't have a Trek 7.3 in my frame size in; I'd like to test-ride one before forking out cash. Ditto the Sirrus, which looks like it might be an even faster commuting bike if it can deal with crappy road conditions.

I'm not going to have a chance to do anything about this this weekend now, but need to keep pushing this forward - the longer I go without a bike, the more unfit and unhappy I am. Feedback is as ever welcome.