Advice for a complete numpty please !!

[lockstock2sb]

Hi All

I'm going to start biking the 4 mile odd journey (8 mile return trip) to the train station to save the 200 for the weekends and also cut down the grief on parking....

Now dont laugh, but i have the following in my old mans garage what i was considering doing up for use as a road bike:

Raleigh activator frame with front suspension (i believe it has some kin dof shock on the back also);

or

Giant fixed frame (slightly smaller size).

The main reason i was looking at these old frames was to try and save some cash and reduce the chances of the bike being wrecked by scotes at the station...

Now the giant is still years old but was a good frame at the time, has a nice paint job (more desirable). Its smaller but also lighter than the old school activator. I like the activator for its front suspension (although it may be fecked now after sitting for years and be dangerous ?)and bigger size and less chance of being thieved at the station, but i also like the giant becuase of its weight, quick release front wheel... i think it might be a tiny bit small for me these days but not sure.

What would you suggest would be the best one for road use ? Would an option be to get a cheapish from suspension setup for the giant frame ? If so what could you recommend that was cheap ?

I have no clue and both frames need the gears tuning/setup again, and new tyres for road. Perhaps a new chain/sprocket and a few other bits to make sure nothing untoward happens and puts me in a hedge

What would you suggest, and what tyres would you recommend for the road ? Totally clueless really - i just want a good setup to get me from a-b relatively confortably.

Cheers

Steve

[matthew_h]

Use the Giant. Activaters were rubbish in their day and are not going to be any better at all now.

The Giant sounds like a decent enough platform to start from.

I also wouldn't bother with suspension for commuting. It isn't really worth it and just robs you of energy.

Edited by matthew_h on Wednesday 25th October 13:21

[Nevin]

You don't really need suspension for a lot of off road stuff, let alone commuting. Activators had really crap suspension, but the frames were always reasonably sound, being Raleighs. If the Giant's frame is too small for you (and you will not enjoy commuting on a bike which is too small for your size) why not see about whipping off its front forks and sticking them on the Activator if they are the same size?

Assuming the QR front wheel on the Giant has nothing unusual about it, there is no reason why you shouldn't be able to do a direct swap with the one currently on the Raleigh.

Pretty much any "commuting" tyres will see you right. If you aren't planning on doing any off road, don't even think about getting big knobbly tyres

Edited by Nevin on Wednesday 25th October 13:29

[lockstock2sb]

I think the giant frame will still be ok (was a good frame when i bought it) - i dont think i have grown that much since i last used it. It does have proper off road tyres on at the moment so is unsuitable for the road really.... Probably needs a service and tyres and it would be ok to use

[Nevin]

That's you sorted then. I wouldn't bother with suspension for the Giant. It won't help much on the road and anything cheap will be useless off road.

Happy cycling

[lockstock2sb]

cheers mate