Choosing a new bike, please Help!!!

[franadrian]

Hi all,
I really need some advice here. I'm looking to buy a new bike, I want it for commuting (approx 12 km down/uphill) everyday from Hornsby NSW down to Macquarie Park and back. I also would like to use it for weekend rides. I'm 1.75m tall and weigh 104 kg and a bit out of shape at the moment. I used to ride quite often in the past before having kids, I even completed the Sydney to Gong with my old MTB with a good time.
I would actually like to get into road cycling as as aficionado, that's why I've been looking into Flat Bar road bikes mostly. My budget is up to $600, This is my shortlist based on prices from Bikeexchange.com

1. Specialized Sirrus $450
2. Fuji Absolute 2.1 2016 $599
3.Giant Cross City 2 2017 $499
4. Trek 7.1 Fx 2016 $549
5. Fuji Absolute 2.3 2018 $599

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

[RobertL]

As a general comment, they are all decent bikes from decent brands - towards the bottom of their price range. Any of them will absolutely do the job that you want, and will be reliable as long as they get some basic servicing and looking after. There will be more expensive bikes in the range that may be lighter, and have "better" groupsets, but they won't necessarily do a much better job on a 12km commute.

I suggest that you visit bike shops and check them out in the metal and see which you prefer. The bikes are quite similar to each other, so you may not have an outright preference for any of them, and that's OK. It's also to choose a bike based on how convenient the shop is and the quality of their service.

Because you are commuting, consider how you are going to carry any stuff that you have. A lot of people just use a backpack, and that's fine. Some people (like me) prefer a rear rack and panniers. Others like a front rack or bag. If you want to fit a rack, make sure that the frame has mounting points, and maybe mudguards too - they can be handy.

Enjoy!

[rodneycc]

I'd be going a level up from these like the Giant Cross City 1. Hunt around you might get one for $600 somewhere... Its definitely in the ball park.