Is a road bike okay to commute on?

gtvlusso

Hi All,
I have this open in the commuter forum, but thought I would ask you hardcore racers!

I have £1000 to play with - I commute to work everyday, all weathers. The bike will be in an open bikeshed at work and a shed at home. I am on roads! I will also be running errands around town and doing some light racing and distance rides.

Essentially: What do I buy! I already have an Ambrosio Guido frame that I will build into a dog bike to leaving in town (when I am rowing!).

I was thinking Boardman comp + a decent commuter or 1 really good road bike (Bianchi Ducati - as I have a Ducati Motorbike).

Cheers

Geoff

gematkinson

i just bought a bianchi c2c road bike at the new year specifically for commuting. Coming from a hybrid it was a bit scary on the roads in central london but i have to say i would never look back, it makes my commute seem easy and pretty fun!

fizz

IMHO you can use anything to commute on, you dont need a specific commuter bike.

I use a rough old Peugeot that I found in the local tip that I resurrected for winter commutes, has full length mudguards and some tough wheels on it, decent lights etc etc, where as in the summer I use my good bike, and I usually every day take the long way home.

As for what to buy, thats a whole can of beans to take the lid off of. IMHO buy what fits your budget, what fits you properly and buy something that you like both spec wise and visually.

cee

fizz wrote:

IMHO you can use anything to commute on, you dont need a specific commuter bike.

Although an excersise bike is probably no good

davelakers

gtvlusso wrote:

Hi All,
I have this open in the commuter forum, but thought I would ask you hardcore racers!

I have £1000 to play with - I commute to work everyday, all weathers. The bike will be in an open bikeshed at work and a shed at home. I am on roads! I will also be running errands around town and doing some light racing and distance rides.

Essentially: What do I buy! I already have an Ambrosio Guido frame that I will build into a dog bike to leaving in town (when I am rowing!).

I was thinking Boardman comp + a decent commuter or 1 really good road bike (Bianchi Ducati - as I have a Ducati Motorbike).

Cheers

Geoff

Boardman Road Comp is my regular road/commuter bike. Its a great bike with good kit and a very comfortable ride.

il_principe

I commute all year round on a road bike or my singlespeed with drop bars. It'll be fine, but if it will be kept outdoors make sure you look after it, clean and lube regularly and everything will last that bit longer. For £500 you can do better than the Boardman though (IMHO) have a look at Focus range on Wiggle and the Specialized Allez and remember that at this time of year there are plenty of bargains to be had.

Yellow Cliff

Personally, I find that my commuter gets so dirty, being used every day in all conditions, that I wouldn't want to use my best bike. I'd choose to have a really cheap (2nd hand) commuter with full mudguards and rack to make the daily rides comfortable, then have a good race bike too.

magicroundabout

I got into cycling riding a £180 Raleigh hybrid, but recently upgraded to a road bike as I'm enjoying the longer road rides. My plan is to look after the road bike and keep it light. So I'll use the hybrid on Monday and Friday for carrying bulkier clothing for the week in the paniers, then take a lighter ruck sack with me on the road bike for the rest of the week.

I'll probably also use the hybrid if it's peeing it down with rain too. But this may change as I get less precious about the new road bike.

I'd agree with others - go for a good spec BUT go for a bike that's comfortable too. Try some out and see how they feel - not all road bikes are alike.

MR

RedAende

Geoff,

You ride a Duke and your name is GTV Lusso (Alfa ?). So you heart tells you to buy a Bianchi/Ducati, yes ?

Get the Bianchi for summer/dry use and buy a 2nd hand road bike or new mountain bike for £200 for the winter. Buy the Bianchi/Ducati now and you've got til Oct to save £200 and sort out a winter hack.

Personally I've owned Harleys, Lotus etc so wanted a bike with a bit of style/charisma, not a mass produced taiwanese pseudo americano bike, so bought Bianchi at Christmas though only just now starting to rack up the miles on it.

PS: would love a Monster as a runabout, cant beat V twins.

feel

Geoff, your commuter will need mudguards, not only to protect against the rain but to act as a deterrent against being nicked . A real attractive racer parked in the same place everyday could become a target for a tea leaf. The £750 best bike and £250 commuter as suggested earlier (by Yellow Cliff) does make sense - alternatively you could go for something like THIS condor fratello for around £1000 depending on group set. Just take the mud guards off for the 2 month summer

BTW V twins should be across the frame not in-line, Guzzi rules

cycologist

If you get a second hand old knacker then you won't have to worry too much about lavishing time and effort on it . Save that for your best bike and recognise your commuter as a workhorse that just neds a bit odf lube on he chain and a bit of air in the tyres now and again. Peace of mind against the worst of the weather and the thieving buggars wio might take a shine to a posher bike.

Gr.uB

I commute on a Giant TCR in the better weather and use a Thorn Brevet with mudguards when it is not so nice.
I used to commute on a Giant TCR Hybrid before upgrading and spending more money on the nicer frame etc. When you do upgrade it is nice to keep that bike for the better weather.
My Thorn is not a hack, far from it, but is suited better to the shite weather and road conditions.

meagain

Other than the quoted "exercise bike", I can't actually think of any BICYCLE, whatever sub-sub-sub-category to which it might be assigned by those who love to compartmentalise, on which it could not be OK to commute.

Strange.

guinea

I've commuted on my road bike on two occaisions. Both sucked.

On my route in London there are dozens of potholes, raised (and sunken) drains as well as lots of stops. All of these are passable on a road bike, but at night, in traffic after a day's work it's an extra effort I don't need.

I use the MTB only these days. It has sharper handling, bombproof wheels, better brakes and doesn't complain and require servicing in the wet. Most of all I can concentrate on the traffic as the bike will absorb anything it hits on the way home.

Of course, there comes a point where the mileage increases to a level that the MTB becomes too inefficient or uncomfortable, but I did 35 miles on mine today with no problem, so it can be done.

geoff_ss

meagain wrote:

Other than the quoted "exercise bike", I can't actually think of any BICYCLE, whatever sub-sub-sub-category to which it might be assigned by those who love to compartmentalise, on which it could not be OK to commute.

Strange.

The son of a friend of mine made himself a unicycle and occasionally rode it to school. Both my wife and I regularly commuted on trikes. So it's not even essential to use a bike Commuting is just another ride - you can use anything.

Geoff

Rich Hcp

If you like Alfas. As I do too 8)

Then get a £250 commuter with guards and a rack

Then get something stylish for the weekend runs for £750 8)

There are good deals on 2007 MY bikes around.

That's what I'd do

northpole

I reckon your biggest consideration is how much gear - clothing or work stuff - do you have to regularly carry on your bike?

If it can be heavy stuff then I would recommend something like the Condor Fratello to which you can fit panniers ie ensures you aren't loading up your back.

I wish I had thought this through before I bought my bike which has a frame unable to take panniers!

Apart from that, I don't really see how one type of bike is better than another in bad weather - they are all bug***s requiring time to be spent cleaning the chains and sprockets on a very regular basis. No reason at all why a road bike wouldn't work for you.

Peter

andyfromletchworth

''Commuting is just another ride - you can use anything.''

Well its that sort of attitude that gets us into this sort of mess, it would be musch simpler if there was only four types of bike manufactured

1. Racing
2. Commuting
3. Childrens
4. Tandems

all only available in black (childrens in obligatary pink for girls obv). and prefererably only in one size too.
Thats bikes sorted..............now cars...

andy

feel

northpole wrote:

I reckon your biggest consideration is how much gear - clothing or work stuff - do you have to regularly carry on your bike?

If it can be heavy stuff then I would recommend something like the Condor Fratello to which you can fit panniers ie ensures you aren't loading up your back.

I wish I had thought this through before I bought my bike which has a frame unable to take panniers!

Apart from that, I don't really see how one type of bike is better than another in bad weather - they are all bug***s requiring time to be spent cleaning the chains and sprockets on a very regular basis. No reason at all why a road bike wouldn't work for you.

Peter

I used to agree with the cleaning thing , but since buying a workstand cleaning has become a pleasure. My beer is in the garage and the bike is at a height where i can get to everything without bending over. Often prefer to clean my bike than watch the telly