I reported my stolen bike to the police this morning, and we’re calling the insurance company this evening to find out how much they will pay out - which more or less dictates the next decision; what bike to get next. I rely on a bike as my main method of transport to and from work. It has to do less than ten miles each day - all on roads of varying quality, and in all weathers. Thinking sensibly, some sort of hybrid bike would probably be the best choice - but they typically cost a fair bit more than the same spec of mountain bike (probably because there are less economies of scale). I’m not so sure I want a hybrid either - they look like the kind of bike the village policeman used to ride when I was a child. The last time I talked to the guys in our local mountain bike shop they tried to sell me on the idea of a mountain bike with enclosed gears and brakes, and with unpuncturable tires. It sounded great, but also doubled the price due to the trick bits on it. Apparently the police have been buying them because they can take more abuse and require less servicing. The other end of the spectrum is a really cheap supermarket mountain bike - Tesco and Asda in the UK are selling bikes for 70 GBP (about 100 USD). I’ve had something similar before… it was okay, but it disintegrated within months - in the first year I had a replacement crank, replacement rear axle, and replacement chain set. In all likelihood, once I know how much I have to spend, I’ll walk into the local bike shop and say “how much Trek mountain bike can I get for this much?”
You May Also Enjoy
Far from the madding crowd
less than 1 minute read
As the final hours of 2025 ebbed away, I sat on the sofa with a laptop, quietly lifting 22 years worth of blog posts into the air - to land them far from the...
Boxing Day
2 minute read
After falling off the internet in recent days, I reached out to a few friends around the world this morning - wishing them a happy “Boxing Day”, and none of ...
Christmas Day
3 minute read
Somehow we’ve made it through Christmas in one piece.
Work, chores and strictly
3 minute read
It’s been a few days again. A few days since I last emptied my head into the keyboard. I’m not sure where the last week went, to be honest. Work, chores, and...