Reid Spring It On weekly special sale.
I think the Reid City 1 (http://www.reidcycles.com.au/reid-city-1-0-bike.html) and/or
the Reid City 2 (http://www.reidcycles.com.au/reid-city-2-0-bike.html)
looks like a good buy for an entry level commuter bike.
Also might still be able to use this deal https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/206438 to get an extra $10 off (worked for me on 2/9 @ 11pm).
suspension is a good thing. Makes the tires grip the road much better.
Though dual suspension is ideal of course.
Absolutely false. For climbing in particular, you want a frame as stiff as possible, so that all your energy is transferred to the road rather than simply making the frame flex back and forth. For road biking, a suspension fork is bad, full suspension bikes are worse.
you want a frame as stiff as possible
Not quite. It is not the spring that absorbs energy, but the damping. A bit of elastic frame flex is OK.
Making the frame stiffer means adding weight, so it is a compromise.
Omg.
You obviously have zero experience.
Full suspension adds about 3 kilos to your bike. If you're not in a competition this makes almost no difference up hills. On the flats and down hill a road bike has no chance of keeping pace up.
@manic: fair enough, I have ridden high end steel frames, and they are springy, but in a good way. A dampened suspension bike is crap for climbing up hills.
@Phoebus: you'd better tell that to the boys in the Tour de France then mate. Those poor blighters are pedalling all over the countryside without a single suspension fork between them.
"Grip the road better"
That's patently false - it can help in cars, but the nature of bike suspension is that it softens bumps, that's it.
So it does make sense to have suspension on a commuter bike then - for the erect sitters that commuter bike riders are to have a smoother ride?
@blahman:
Front suspension is good and usually all you need. When you add front and rear suspension they get a bit heavy.
@blahman: No. The overall weight of bike and rider is low enough that pneumatic tyres, frame flex, etc provide enough dampening. If you really are concerned about bumps, then a sprung seat should provide enough further dampening to you.
Reid City 2 Specs:
Rear Derailleur: Shimano Acera M390 9 Speed
Freewheel/Cassette: Shimano 8-speed Cassette (11-32t)
Shoorly Shum Mishtake?
Best way to get the right answer on the internet is to not ask the right questions, but to initially supply the wrong answer and just wait.
Pity no disc brakes, be nice to have a comfy commuter without the weight of a mtb, even road bikes are coming out with disc brakes
reid has good value.
caveats:
city 1 has old-style freewheel (limited range, prone to breaking axle)
city 2 has suspension - pointless extra weight and cost for a commuter bike.