Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Would definitely suggest you consider cycling.


Much cheaper - insurance is cheap, no petrol, kit is cheaper (unless you buy Rapha!) and the bike itself is cheaper.


Better for you and the environment and no less safe (possibly more so).


Easier to park.


ED to West End is probably 35-45 mins according to exact locations and speed.


Would also echo someone's comments above - from SE22 to the city, almost no difference in commute time between a motorbike and a bicycle. I do find the moto much more pleasant through winter though.



Mid-way compromise is a power-assist pedal bike. Means you can ride a heavier and more comfortable bike with full mudguards for the winter, without being a slog to haul it over distances.


Pros:

- Good for the environment and your fitness - the level of exertion is about equivalent to walking, but you go 5x as fast.

- Quiet (unlike petrol engined scooters)

- Great safety record

- Inexpensive to run - no insurance etc.

- No compulsory training

- No need to fill up on fuel, ever - charge the battery pack at home or work from normal mains socket

- Can bring it home on the train (and the "surface" Tube lines, overground etc.) if it's late and rainy and you've had a few drinks

- Power assist means you can run with full mudguards, panniers and waterproof gear and not get sweaty or wet

- Can use all the cut-throughs, cycle lanes, cycle early starts, parks, paths etc. which are closed to scooters


Cons:

- High initial purchase price for a good spec model, ?1000 is the minimum for something that will last although prices are coming down all the time

- Relatively low top speed, the power assist cuts out at 15mph, as such it's much less comfortable than a 125 if you need to mix with traffic on a 30mph road

- Maybe not as comfortable as a scooter

- Can be heavy, but for security reasons (see above, high purchase price) you want to store it indoors or in a bike shed. This can be a problem if you need to take it home via a station that doesn't have lifts, or if your workplace has no arrangements for bike storage.

Another recommendation for Mungo on Tyrell Road - he?s an amazing teacher and will give you confidence! He was so patient with me and I learned loads from him so I would definitely do your cbt with him. I?ve been commuting by moped for 5 years now and I love it. I?d prefer to learn in spring rather than going into winter, although winter riding is fine with the right gear!

joggy90 Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Would a 50cc be enough for that kind of commute or

> would I need something faster? Thanks!


I would never recommend anything less than a 125. Neither are fast, but you will get a safer amount of acceleration from a 125 and a much better choice of second hand options. There is not much correlation between 50cc vehicles and responsible owners.

"Participating London Boroughs are: Barnet, Brent, Bromley, Camden, City of London, Croydon, Enfield, Greenwich, Hackney, Haringey, Hammersmith and Fulham, Hounslow, Kingston, Lambeth, Tower Hamlets, Lewisham, Newham, Kensington and Chelsea, Redbridge and Wandsworth."


Thanks Southwark, as ever.

  • 2 months later...
I?ve been riding into the west end for the past 20 years. I used to ride derestricted 50cc but insurance companies won?t insure nowadays. I now ride a 125cc and it?s the best thing ever. Parking for 1 year is ?100 and I have no problem finding a parking space. I done my CBT with Mungo which I highly recommend. I agree with the others RE waterproof clothing etc.
  • 2 weeks later...

I have commuted to the City regularly on a 150cc motorbike and then a 500cc for about ten years. I sold the motorbike last year as it was just outside the ULEZ rules cutoff, otherwise I'd have kept it. I chose not to get another bike, which was a big decision.


Lots of good advice above. I'd add.


Parking - sounds like this hasn't really been explored. Public bays are always full around me in the City. For this reason alone I wouldn't rely on them. I had underground carparks at all my workplaces, if I didn't I wouldn't have commuted by bike. It's that simple.


Security - scooters are very stealable. I wonder if you're parking it on the road at home whether good locks are enough.


Weather - you'll need kit for cold and rain. It's more cost and it might be a hassle to store at work.


All that said, it was a fast and reliable way to get to work and often enjoyable. Now that I'm back on buses and trains, which are relentlessly disappointing, I do miss the bike. Then again, factor in the many idiots on the road, including pedestrians, clueless/aggressive cyclists, drivers etc and I am quite glad not to be part of it. The pollution is also very in your face.


I'd agree 50cc isn't enough. 125cc or 150cc is fine.


If you're interested in a helmet, gloves, jacket etc at a very cheap rate then let me know via DM.


Cheers

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Latest Discussions

    • Why is the name a big of a red flag? Blighty is a common name for the UK whatever people might think.
    • The only election which counts is the General Election.  There is still strong resentment for fourteen year's of Conservative rule. They squeezed the working class's way to hard, then they squeezed the middle class, but somehow the upper class never got touched, funny that.   There is also new resentment for Labour because of the utter balls up they've made of things since coming to power nine months ago. The majority of the population (or at least those with an ounce of common sense) want these clowns out of office ASAP because they see the damage they are doing to UK plc. They squeezed the pensioners, then the farmers and then business. They made and broke promise after promise, or just didn't tell the truth or say what they where going to do, otherwise known as merely lying to get elected. Inflation may be falling but the cost of things in the shops and utility bills keep on rising, the direct opposite of what they promised. They will never be trusted once they are ousted from power in about four and a half years time.   Everything they do and touch causes further harm, led by three stooges, Rayner, Reeves and balls'less Starmer, who couldn't fight his way out of a paper bag. He still thinks he's a solicitor at the DPP. Rather than spending week upon week getting involved in international politics he needs to be sorting out the UK's issues, sadly he's not up to the job and nor are his Cabinet.  Society needs a mix of people with different skills to prosper, not more and more graduates who can't get jobs in what they studied in.   Reform is the current anti establishment party, which will hopefully wither away back to where it came from.  The Liberals and Greens, well what can you say apart from using them as another alternative vote of dissatisfaction, but neither will come to power.  The country seriously needs stability and a Government that stands up for and represents it's people, not what MP's want but what the constituencies want and need.  Government needs to become far more open and transparent, it needs to be seen to be doing its job, doing what MP's are elected to do,  working for the people in the constituencies, getting back to basic principles and rebuilding the trust which has been lost by successive party's immaterial of them being, red, blue, light blue, yellow, green or some other colour.     
    • That’s very insulting! You are basically calling 17 million people that voted to leave the EU ‘thick’.        Brexit happened Sue.  Boring graphs!  Calling Nigel Farage a plastic patriot is also very insulting seeing as he and the Reform Party have had a landslide victory all over England.
    • These charity collectors are often classed as chuggers.  It can be scandalous that the charity/admin may keep a huge percentage of your donations and a tiny percentage is  actually given to the charity.   I can not speak for individual collectors - but it common practice.  
Home
Events
Sign In

Sign In



Or sign in with one of these services

Search
×
    Search In
×
×
  • Create New...