i used to cycle everyday (to work) around 12 miles allround, but ever since i passed my driving test just over 2 years ago its slowly dwindled to never using it. Id love to start again but i also changed my Wheels and and tyres to suit offroading and it made it harder riding on the roads.
ive recently been thinking of buying cyclocross or adventure road bike so its great on roads but can also go on light graveled or muddy tracks, as i would really like to start biking again.

So many reasons to keep cycling including your own fitness and health benefits, the money savings and the environment if you commute on your bike.

I didn't get a car until I was 32. I always lived close enough to a super market and cycled everywhere else. I lived in Amsterdam until I was 28, it's the fastest way to get around plus parking is a nightmare. (It's not easy with bikes either though lol, so many)

Cycling to work was faster than public transport as well, but not fun if it rains. Getting to work soaked from the inside and outside, no thanks! Rain coats are horrible while cycling. For recreational cycling I don't care about a bit of rain, or a whole lot, as long as it's not too cold. Without splash guards on gravel roads you do quickly turn into a mess though. Get home, dunk a bucket of water over your head bad :) Hail can be unpleasant, not a good sign when the temperature suddenly drops 10c while approaching dark sky.

I took the kids to Glen Morris today to play in the river. Since I had my camera with me I also snapped a picture of my bike in its current configuration.

There's still mud on the back of my helmet from my last encounter with a thunderstorm.

Is the triban 100 the single speed one? I don't think I could cope with that, The simplicity is nice but in a hilly area 1 gear is a pain in the ass...and the legs. And in a flat area I would be wanting a more powerful gear.

The Limba looks like a decent bike if it goes under £300 better spec than my current bike, main differences being I have rim brakes, flat bars & a triple on the crank.

I so rarely use the small chainring though, it has to be a really steep hill for me to drop into it otherwise I just feel like I am spinning too fast an not getting anywhere. I also rarely use the largest two gears on the cassette (an 11-32), which is part of why I am looking into a road bike as well. Only thing I am not sure on is the tyres, I have a feeling 25mm road tyres are going to be far more prone to punctures & wear in addition to being less comfortable on poor road surfaces. I will probably look to putting some 28mm on it assuming I don't have to change the rims at the same time.

I actually did my first roadside inner-tube change last week (and in fact the first puncture I had on this bike) I think in the future I am going to add some tweezers to my saddle bag as digging out someones indicator glass with a plastic tyre lever isn't easy.

Lancer, about 20 thousand miles a year.

Triban 100 is a single chainring bike based on tourney gearing and a freewheel. It is very entry level in component terms yet only marginally cheaper than the 500SE. It used to be £220 which still seemed very overpriced but has since gone up.

I've heard the tip about tweezers before and must remember to do that myself.

As in Mitsubishi Lancer? Does your bike go on the bike rack and just travel around with you? If so I have to admit it has done an impressive number of miles but not really in the spirit of this thread.

Yeah I looked it up after. 1x7 speed is more like my early childhood bikes. I had a 1x5 (can't remember the brand) followed by a 2x5 Apollo, both with indexed thumb shifters. The large gaps between gears isn't a bad thing if using for a commuter bike but if that was the case I wouldn't be looking at a road bike shape at all.

I guess it's not a bad option for a teen if looking for a 1st road bike, at that age you can power through in a higher gear, I guess it is a bit overpriced though (at least compared to other btwins which seem like good deals)

Do you have any advice for buying times? the 540 I am looking at is already out of stock entirely in red/blue and in some sizes in the black... i'm not sure if they are likely to get re-stocked or if they are moving to a newer model soon. I was hoping to try pick one up if they discount it after they bring out next years but I am not sure when that is, or if it will be discounted at all if it's so popular.

My 2nd pick is the Mekk Pinerolo 0.4, which is very similar spec and currently same price on Rutland cycling, but the Btwin I might be able to have a test ride if I take a day trip to Sheffield Decathlon.

Nope, unfortunatelly been a very long time since I was a regular bikeman

You mean this one or the flat bar model?

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-540-road-bike-grey-black-105-id_8377756.html

I notice at the top it says lifetime warranty on the forks but lower down 2 years. I'm guessing 2 years is correct. I'm a heavy rider and don't have much confidence in carbon forks especially if the warranty is limited to 2 years but the bike looks great apart from that. To be honest I'm probably a sub £400 bike type person. There are diminshing returns for me being heavy. I'm looking more at cyclocross type bikes that will take more abuse. An extra kilo here or there means nothing to me I'd rather have the extra strength and stopping power. I'm especially motivated to make sure the forks are steel preferably chromoly steel. 

I quite like this bike, its cheap but well equipped. It's heavy by road bike standards which I suspect is down to a rather thick heavy aluminium frame and weightly wheels but the groupset is very good for the price and looks perfect for me as a normal road bike but I think a cyclocross bike would be a better option. Also its relatively slow due to the low range cassette, it sits in between the Triban 100 (very slow) and my existing Vertigo Carnaby and the Voodoo cyclocross bike. Tempting though because its such a solid looking bike that seems to be designed around reliability without pushing performance. A change of cassette would sort out its speed issue though. 

http://greenwaycycles.co.uk/road/58-road-racing-bike-7426799794082.html