Ive just started riding to work, 5 miles each way up and down more or less all the way.

My Bike is a clapped out Raleigh Sabre 18sp MTB which I picked up cheap second hand while I was at uni. To cut a long story short, if Im going to keep up the whole riding to work thing I think Im going to need a new bike.

The cheapest bike in Halfords would probably be a step up from what I have, but even I know enough about bikes to know an Apollo is generally a bad move. Alas I dont know a lot more than this, so I was hoping you guys might be able to offer some tips on what I should be looking for.

For example, are V-brakes automatically better than cantilever brakes, or is a well made set of cantilevers better than cheap Vs?


Im looking to spend as little as I can while getting something of reasonable quality so I dont just end up replacing it again in a years time.