Livre d'Or

I ride two kinds of bike regularly. My own I use for exercise and longer trips. It's a hybrid and great for when you want to do 50-60km reasonably fast but it's not ideal for pottering about. I also use Bikeshare for commuting, concerts etc. Their bikes are very robust, a bit clunky even, but they are great for using wearing street clothes and they survive the appalling state of the roads in the downtown. Key factors seem to be simplicity (3 speed hub gears), mudguards and chain guards - to keep you clean and an upright sort of riding position. I'm not sure how bad Cambridge is for bike theft but one of the reasons I tend not to use my own bike for concerts etc is risk of theft even with a decent U lock. If theft is an issue it might be an argument for not spending too too much.