I've been riding a crappy, too-small mountain bike from Cash Converters for about 7 years now, but earlier this year I bought an Allegro Onya 8. I rode that everywhere for a few months, but when I go to school I have my 8-10kg backpack in the rear rack, and the wheel kept coming out of true because it couldn't put up with that plus my 90kg plus the weight of the hub. I fixed it up and sold it on, and I really want to get a bike that's going to suit my needs and last me a long time. I was thinking about going to Samson but I'm increasingly uneasy about how low their prices are and how little I can find about them online. I've had really good experiences with Velo so far and I have also heard good thing about St Kilda cycles, so I'm going to go in to both and talk to someone, but I was wondering if you had any recommendations, on where to start, I don't know much about bikes and I only went with the Allegro because I had a friend working at the warehouse.
My buget is 500ish, willing to save up more if need be.
I ride from Coburg North to the city most days along good paths, and every couple of weeks I'll do long day rides along creek trails or the beach paths. Like I said, I weigh 90kg and when I commute I will be carrying up to 10kg on the back of the bike - because I have back problems that mean I can't wear that backpack for the whole trip I really need a rear wheel that can stand up to that kind of punishment. Something I found myself missing about the old mountain bike was the suspension, and I care way more about durability than speed, I tend to ride at a slower pace than most commuters - if you ride along the Brunswick bike path and/or royal parade you have probably whooshed past me at some point.
The bikes I've been eyeing at Velo and SKC are the Carlton Matt Black and the Giant 2016 Roam 3, respectively. Any advice? Basically I want to avoid spending my savings on a bike and then having to have the wheel replaced with a heavier duty one, like I was going to have to do with the Allegro if I'd kept it.
Really appreciate any advice you might have
