is a road bike suitable for commuting?
gtvlusso
Posts: 5,112
Well - is it?! I do about 100 miles a week and have £1000 to spend. Also do allot of town errands and a bit of racing!
Cheers
Geoff
Cheers
Geoff
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Comments
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I commuted last year on a slick tyred MTB ( close to 2500 miles ) This year I swapped to a road bike, mainly to compliment my summer riding. It's easier than the MTB ever was, also much quicker. The only downside is I'm more wary of the potholes, and dodging/swerving around traffic isn't as easy as the MTB. Would I go back to using the MTB ? No chance.....
I also use the commuter as my winter training bike on the weekends so it does get filthy. I wash it / lube it religiously every weekend and it's still running like brand new...
In an ideal world I'd have something like a cotic road rat for the commute, but that's still an argument I'm having with the wife
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do you commute on road?My signature was stolen by a moose
that will be all
trying to get GT James banned since tuesday0 -
I started commuting on a hybrid, swapped to a road bike a couple of months later mainly after reading so much about them on this forum. since the day my road bike arrived my hybrid hasnt been ridden once!
Theres no better way to help keep you cycling to work than having a bike thats a joy to ride. When you're using your bike daily instead of a car its far easier to justify buying yourself new cycling clothes or other cycling gear. Wind, rain etc etc no problem, Ive slowly built up my specialist cycling gear to keep me on the road and loving it whatever the weather.
I give my bike more care than I did my hybrid simply because it is a nice bike, Its not a hassle to give a nice bike a weekly clean and lube and a monthly deep clean. Its more of a hassle if its a crud encrusted old bike, but when its a bike youve got from new they clean up nice and easy, and I find I enjoy working on it more because its a nice bike.0 -
Yes, I commute on roads. I have some congestion to overcome and then a nice long haul up a dual carriageway. Tends to get muddy and wet due to lorries carrying earth!0
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just take it steady at first
i got a road bike having not ridden one for more than 2 mins about 14 years ago when I was 10 and not having even sat on mine
twas my dad's, needed stripping and re-building thought i'd fit it based only on i'm a similar height but slimmer build
i normally ride on the hoods (gripping the levers) but to get round roundabouts quickly or for a bit more control i'll switch to the drops to weave through traffic / get into gaps
humming the top gun theme song while commuting is not a good plan.My signature was stolen by a moose
that will be all
trying to get GT James banned since tuesday0 -
If your commute is road-based I would definitely go with a racer. Back in my college days I rode into college on a racer. When I started at university in London I moved to a mountain bike, which was partly because I percieved it as a better option for London, and partly because of my desire not to risk having my racer stolen. Having said that, a few times I did ride my racer, and oh boy it was so much better. A decent road bike can handle anything the road throws at it, it faster than a mtb and as far as I'm concerned, is better in heavy traffic (partly due to being narrower).
These days I always commute on my racer. The only time I would use my mtb is if there has been heavy snowfall overnight and I want to be extra-safe.0 -
Heres a section of my commute, its pretty busy, lots of HGV's etc. The road goes straight past a quarry as well!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieiF6K5cSB8
I love having the speed of a road bike on my side, makes me feel comfortable overtaking on the right ala motorcyclists. I use the right hand side a lot especially with such a narrow cycle lane. with a road bike I have the speed to really mix it with the cars so I can swap between cycle lane primary and overtake on the right as I feel the ened to do so.
Im not someone whos against using a cycle lane, I think they have their uses, but im not afraid to leave them be where id be safer and faster elsewhere. I personally find the extra speed from a road bike allows me to integrate with traffic better.
Im not the fastest rider in the world at all, but a road bike gives me what I need to make my journey far more enjoyable.0 -
If you want to look cool whilst commuting to work get a road bike.
If you want to look like a nerd cyclist get a hybrid.
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dazzawazza wrote:If you want to look cool whilst commuting to work get a road bike.
If you want to look like a nerd cyclist get a hybrid.
I will have you know I can make a road bike look nerdy nothing says NERD quite like a rack panniers and mudguards and wearing a helmet with attached camera 0 -
Another vote for road bike. I switched at the start of the year (from a MTB on 26x1" slicks) and the difference is huge. Much quicker, much more manoeuvrable and generally has added a great deal to my enjoyment of commuting. I do have a journey of 9 miles each way though so that makes it worthwhile - not sure I'd be so enamoured/ bothered if it was only 3-4m.0
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DavidTQ wrote:I will have you know I can make a road bike look nerdy nothing says NERD quite like a rack panniers and mudguards and wearing a helmet with attached camera
My nerd day is Monday when I ride my slicked MTB with mud guards and panniers packed with the weeks clothing. It's also got an old fashion bicycle bell, which I use often when riding through Hammersmith.0 -
Just up loaded this video shows again when road bike speed comes in handy mixing with regular fairly heavy traffic. Ridiculously narrow cycle lane and white van man driving far to close to it. I can happily pull out behind him go down the right hand side where theres tons of room as you can see then nip back in.
Later on I mingle with the regular traffic at their speed to get into position in time and claim road space for a right turn across the busy road.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOtMjCfjEnU0 -
dazzawazza wrote:DavidTQ wrote:I will have you know I can make a road bike look nerdy nothing says NERD quite like a rack panniers and mudguards and wearing a helmet with attached camera
My nerd day is Monday when I ride my slicked MTB with mud guards and panniers packed with the weeks clothing. It's also got an old fashion bicycle bell, which I use often when riding through Hammersmith.
Every day is nerd day for me, I work in IT I think I settled into being a nerd at school when being geeky wasnt considered to be "cool".
Ive also managed to accustomize myself to wearing lycra tights... Its hard to claim public coolness when wearing lycra tights 0 -
DavidTQ wrote:Just up loaded this video shows again when road bike speed comes in handy mixing with regular fairly heavy traffic. Ridiculously narrow cycle lane and white van man driving far to close to it. I can happily pull out behind him go down the right hand side where theres tons of room as you can see then nip back in.
Later on I mingle with the regular traffic at their speed to get into position in time and claim road space for a right turn across the busy road.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOtMjCfjEnU
Loving the stare at 'Mr White Van Man'
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The white van man only got a stare as he only really had his wing mirror in the cycle lane, still too much for me to pass safely. But not enough for me to shout over.
Had a driver in a newish bmw blocking the cycle lane completely last night on my way home, unfortunately it was a bit too dark to catch the look on his face on the camera when I informed him of his mistake as I overtook him on the right. He gave me a "where did that come from, is it an alien?" look of shock No bad language or ranting, just informing him he was blocking the cycle lane 0 -
Holy Cow!
Road bikes seem to rule! What about cost of roadbike, would you use a quite expensive one (£1000) for commuting? What about leaving said bike around town and clipping in - any issues?!
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clipping in, just keep them slack to start with and tighten the clips up as you get used to them, within a week you should be fine clipping in and out.
i've yet to fall off as a direct result of my clips (looks like i'm walking into town now!)
my road bike, to replace with a modern equivelent would be about £500, i'd then spend about £150 on locks.My signature was stolen by a moose
that will be all
trying to get GT James banned since tuesday0 -
Having seen how dirty my commuter bike gets during the winter ( even with mudguards ) I'm not sure I'd like to use my expensive bike, I'll use it during the summer for sure, but not in the winter.....0
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My bikes £850 worth, brought specifically for the commuting. I just take care of it, it uses decent quality parts I have no worries about it. In my situation I would have no issues using a £2000+ bike for commuting, if I could sneak it past the wife.
I dont use SPD's as I dont like feeling stuck to the pedals, might give them another go one day, for now im fine with regular toe clips.
Bike security, I have to say I havent left my bike parked up outside since I got the road bike, If I didnt have indoor parking Id be getting a couple of good locks. You might want to look up lock reviews and locking methods. NEVER EVER lock a bike through just a wheel!0 -
Likewise. I reckon the hassle of having to wipe down the drive train every time I use it (2 minute job) + one good clean/llube at the weekend (10 mins) is well worth the effort if is means I can use my best bike on my commute rather (which is, afterall, where I spend 99.9% of my time in the saddle).
As to clippy pedals, I've always got on well with MTB SPDs. Swapped to Ultegra SPD-SL road pedals after Xmas though and I'm really struggling to feel as confident with them in traffic - to the point where I'm going to give it another week and swap back if I haven't got used to them. It's not the clipping out that I find is the problem, it's clipping in....0 -
maintain?
clean?
you what?My signature was stolen by a moose
that will be all
trying to get GT James banned since tuesday0 -
DavidTQ wrote:dazzawazza wrote:DavidTQ wrote:I will have you know I can make a road bike look nerdy nothing says NERD quite like a rack panniers and mudguards and wearing a helmet with attached camera
My nerd day is Monday when I ride my slicked MTB with mud guards and panniers packed with the weeks clothing. It's also got an old fashion bicycle bell, which I use often when riding through Hammersmith.
Every day is nerd day for me, I work in IT I think I settled into being a nerd at school when being geeky wasnt considered to be "cool".
Ive also managed to accustomize myself to wearing lycra tights... Its hard to claim public coolness when wearing lycra tights
Same here! Also in IT :-) I was actually quite excited when I first got told I was gonna be working in London - mainly as I was longing to ditch the company car in favor of something quicker and cheaper (I didn't get re-reimbursed enough for my mileage to cover the petrol I was using for any trip!)
I've worked on about 6 different sites ranging from Docklands across to Vauxhall and one near Kings Cross! Love having the bike as the traffic is never a problem and I can easily get to most within an hour, including getting changed! The only downside is things like shower facilities vary and I've only ever used 1 sites showers as I was based there for about 3 months!
Back on topic tho! I'd highly recommend a road bike, I first started on a free one I got off a kind gentlemen who no longer needed it, but have just upgraded to a nice Giant SCR 3. I have used the old MTB a couple of times, after some tw4t in a white van cut me up and buckled my wheel, and it was much harder work. I wasn't getting there much slower but I found the gearing was all wrong - I didn't have a good enough high gear for some of the hills! I've actually also been quite surprised at just how well it takes the bashes some of some of the potholes I've hit, usually late at night on darker roads as they are quite tricky to spot!0 -
I use SPD-SL's at the moment - can be a hassle, but for hillclimbs they are bliss. Do you think I should avoid carbon frames?0
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I see no reason to avoid a carbon frame. My forks and seat post are carbon I dont treat them like their made of glass at all I dont give it any consideration.
Although its possible in a collision a carbon fibre frame may be a write off where a alu frame could be chopped and new tubes welded in etc, I wouldnt want to do that. I think if either frame was damaged I would be looking to replace rather than repair. I dont see a alu frame coming away pristine from any collision that would damage a carbon framed bike. But then I only have carbon forks and seat post not a full bike to go by.0 -
Just to comment on double sided SPD's for commuting, I commute 15 miles eachway 10 (city and urban), 5 suburbs and rural on a £800 bike. They are amazing, I don't even look down, just hammer my foot down, and I'm away and easy to get out of. I reccomend a decent pair of MTB shoes, cheaper more flexible ones are fine for under 20 miles though.0
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I have 2 road bikes for commuting and general fun at the weekends.
I haven't spent much money, for both the bikes I reckon i have spent about £500. I bought a claud butler san remo in august as a first road bike. love it. it's great, and not so expensive that i'm scared of scratching it or anything like that.
I have also recently built a fixed gear bike from a 1980s racer... love that even more for commuting.
I ride the fixed on a daily basis and ride the san remo at the weekends for my long training rides. they both get the same mileage, between 40 and 60 miles each per week.
I would say that if you are cycling on a road, and not much else, then you can't do better than a road bike that is set up properly for you.0 -
I went back to my cheap old Raleigh Pioneer Hybrid on Friday after commuting most of the week on my new road bike. I felt like an old granny. Not just the riding position, but speed, comfort, and...dare I say it...I felt incredibly un-cool! (note, I don't normally care for style and looks at ALL!)
I won't be going back. I'll use the new bike as much as possible from now on, and just reserve the Raleigh for heavy rain and when I need the panniers.
MR0 -
magicroundabout wrote:I went back to my cheap old Raleigh Pioneer Hybrid on Friday after commuting most of the week on my new road bike. I felt like an old granny. Not just the riding position, but speed, comfort, and...dare I say it...I felt incredibly un-cool! (note, I don't normally care for style and looks at ALL!)
I won't be going back. I'll use the new bike as much as possible from now on, and just reserve the Raleigh for heavy rain and when I need the panniers.
MR
I have panniers on my road bike I get the speed and luggage hauling in one my hybrid which has only seen two months use in its life gets offered to all and sundry to try to make sure it gets used somewhere again 0 -
Ditto, ditto and ditto...DavidTQ wrote:I have panniers on my road bike I get the speed and luggage hauling in one my hybrid which has only seen two months use in its life gets offered to all and sundry to try to make sure it gets used somewhere again
I wondered how many hybrids there are sat in garages up and down the country? Probably nearly as many as Apollo MTBs! Even if the voices aren't real, they have some very good ideas.0 -
Whoa! Thanks for the advice fellas! I have asked everyone I know (and posted many times on this forum too!). The only other thing that would worry me is parking a bike elsewhere in town! Home to work is fine, butr I do run allot of errands and park up outside a boat club! How do people feel about that - does it affect what you pay for a bike?
Cheers
G0
