As I wrote about not too long ago, I commute to work by bus which means getting up early and walking running to the bus stop each morning. This in itself isn’t such a bad thing, except the Milton Keynes Arriva bus service is just awful, failing to turn up half the time or simply turning up late. This means I miss my connecting train into London and end up late to work – not good. Last week I decided to take control back into my own hands and so went down the local bike shop and bought myself something new!
Chaineys Cycles, Milton Keynes
The local bike shop to me is a place called Chaineys cycles based in Shenley Brook End. I wandered in a little over 2 weeks ago as it was recommended to me from my other half who has lived in MK for most of her life. With myself being new to living in Milton Keynes, I didn’t know of many cycle shops but I wanted to support a local business rather than heading to one of the national chains so it sounded like a good idea.
Chaineys were a fantastic local business and were extremely knowledgeable about their stock. From the second I walked in they were extremely helpful, asking about my typical daily use, how far I might travel and if I already had an idea of what I might want. My aim of course was to find a bike which I can use every day to commute to the station but also one which I can use at weekends on the redways in MK so figured a hybrid would be my best option.
The guy serving me showed me their range of bikes and actually advised against the more expensive models as I would only be wasting my money for what I would be using the bike for each day. That for me was a great indicator that these guys were all about customer care as if I’d gone into Halfords I would have been upsold the most expensive model they could flog me without a second of thought about my typical use.
Having looked at the range on offer I made a decision…
Giant Escape 2
With a clear budget in mind, I opted for a Giant Escape 2 2014 model in black, 24-speed for £300.
I’m really happy with my choice as it fell nicely within my budget and personally I think it looks great. I would have liked disc brakes but that would have set me back a bit more cash for a more expensive model so thought better of it. Instead I used the money that I saved to kit the bike out with some added extras including:
- Mudguards
- Knog Blinder Road 2 front light (review)
- Knog rear light
- Kryptonite Kryptolok Series 2
- MET Helmet
So that’s that, I’m now the proud owner of the Giant 2! Aside from commuting to the station each morning, I’m really looking forward to taking the bike out and about around the redways of MK to see where I end up as there are many woods and lakes to go explore. It should certainly give me a few more options for what to do at the weekends.
I’m not sure how committed to the bike I’m going to be when the weather takes a chillier turn over the next few weeks but for now I’m going to enjoy every second and make a real effort to make the most of what’s left of the decent weather.
Rating: 9/10
If you would like to read more about the bike and the official specification, head over the Giant website here.