Gentleman's Journal: The best bicycles for new commuters

If your commute’s looking a little longer than a nip around the corner — but will still see you following mostly main roads — then we’d suggest a road, or racing bike. These lightweight two-wheelers tend to have thinner tyres, fewer bells (and whistles, for that matter…), and curved handlebars to ensure you can really make the aerodynamic best of your morning ride.

Some don’t even have gears weighing them down. State Bicycle Co’s 4130 Sokol is an ideal fixed-gear option for those style-conscious cyclists who still need some speed. Shand’s Leveret benefits from countless helpful innovations; including a carbon belt drive that means no messy chain marks on clothes and an internal gear hub that’s impervious to the weather. And Whyte’s Dean V1 boasts a top of the range Shimano GRX groupset, full hydraulic brakes and tubeless tyres — to ensure punctures are a thing of the past.