MTB, Road Bike or what?? for commuting

CamR

All,

I have an ancient Argos roadbike which isn't used and a full suss MTB. I use the MTB to commute because I am used to riding it and I bump up and down a few kerbs during my commute. I reckon I could probably knock 5 mins off my 7 mile commute with the right bike/ or tyres

What would we consider to be the ideal urban commuting bike??

CamR

John Stevenson

To a certain extent it depends on the distance. I used to commute on a hardtail MTB with slicks. Then I moved further away from work and switched to a road bike.

You can get back some of the robustness of a mountain bike by slapping fatter tyres on a road bike, and using old-fashioned 32-spoke wheels.

My perfect commuting bike would be a road racing bike with just a bit more clearance so I could use mudguards, and a fork that would take a low-rider pannier rack. I keep telling Brant that Planet-X should make such a beast but I think he's a bit busy

baudman

My old heap (hybrid) threw its chain, so I put the Geax Evolutions it had onto my dually.

What was supposed to be a temporary solution lasted around 5 months. It was pretty cool though.

When I did finally get around to fixing the chain on my old bike, it was astounding how better it was. Solid forx and hard tail make a huge difference, even if it is really old and heavy.

However, I don't favour drop bars on a commuter bike, unless you have a long distance. It's just a safety braking thing. Hands on the hoods doesn't give you the leverage you need in traffic, and I'm not interested in riding on the drops 100% of the time.

redddraggon

baudman wrote:

However, I don't favour drop bars on a commuter bike, unless you have a long distance. It's just a safety braking thing. Hands on the hoods doesn't give you the leverage you need in traffic, and I'm not interested in riding on the drops 100% of the time.

On my road bike the brakes are far easier to use when my hands are the hoods than when they are on the drops. It must be different for all bikes.

spasypaddy

ive finally got a job after a month being unemployed after uni and i had to commute a whole week on my Raleigh Max as my other bike (Cannondale R400) was being fixed after a rather nasty accident 6 weeks ago. Got my Cannondale back on friday afternoon and used it for my commute for the first time today, it took 6 minutes off my 6 mile commute, thats a minute a mile! I'm very impressed!!!

mazcp

Everyone's ideal commuting bike is different. Personally, I find my Specialized Sirrus Elite very good. I bought it on recommendation and it was definitely a good buy.

Hairy Jock

baudman wrote:

However, I don't favour drop bars on a commuter bike, unless you have a long distance. It's just a safety braking thing. Hands on the hoods doesn't give you the leverage you need in traffic, and I'm not interested in riding on the drops 100% of the time.

Having ridden a road bike and hybrid for commuting about town, I would say that Hands on the hoods doesn't make any difference at all. The important thing is to keep your head up, look were you are going and think ahead.

mazcp wrote:

Everyone's ideal commuting bike is different. Personally, I find my Specialized Sirrus Elite very good. I bought it on recommendation and it was definitely a good buy.

Absolutely right, everyone's ideal commuting bike is different, my advice is to find a good bike shop (or several) and try out a range bike in your price bracket and choose the one that feels right. If the shop won't let you try riding it out side, just walk away and find one that will.

fossyant

I used to commute 19 miles each way (some years back) - road bike most of the year. but then an mtb on knobblies in winter (lots of pitch black lanes and debris).

Just finished my job friday and waiting/applying for jobs within 12 miles so I can recommence commuting every day (been working 25 miles away for some years).

I'm looking to use either my training road bike on nice days, or my mtb (but with hybrid/city tyres and guards) on wet days.