Scott Sportster P3 (2010-2011)

Had mine a couple of weeks now for the daily commute to and from the train station (4 miles). Have been trying very hard to not be over enthusiastic but so far am very impressed.

It is definately much quicker than my old Raleigh stonefly (slicks) but this is to be expected with the larger 700c wheels and another 6 gears to boot even with the std knobblies fitted.

Gear changes have remained very slick, the brakes are now bedded in and have plenty of feel and lock no problem in all weathers if you want them too. The fork isn't yet bedded in but copes with my up and down kerbs for the cycle paths fine and is a vast improvement of my old fixed boneshaker.

I don't quite understand why the pedals have a definate up and down side which requires you to flip them but they feel fine either way.

I also got the urban pack fitted which is basically front and rear full mudguards and a rear rack. The mudguards are colour coordinated and look the part and give good protection and seem very solid and well made. The rack fits directly to the mudguards as they're very strong.

Only minor complaint is the saddle - ouch but I think that's the same for every modern bike and easily fixed, personally, I'm going to try training my bum with the new one before I buy a replacement.

R.I.P. my stolen Trek Soho SU 2.0. I took a while choosing my next bike and did allot of research into this price bracket It was a toss up between the kona dew deluxe, but the Scott won because of it's spec, and a good deal in a sale : ) Very solid (fast) bike - good for my 16mile commute - added a few extras (post moderne suspension post and toiga powerstuds) Am very happy with my new ride. Will be changing the tyres when the summer comes back to some slicks.