Single Speed for 11mile commute.

niblue

My old commute (10 miles each way) suited a singlespeed well - it was pretty undulating and using the singlespeed didn't significantly affect my commute time.

My current commute is much shorter but as it's mostly uphill one way and mostly downhill the other way it doesn't seem to fit the singlespeed quite as well.

Sea_Green_Incorruptible

I love my singlespeed (old roadie conversion) but only use it for pottering. My commute is too hilly and far for me to be comfortable on it (though Attica seems to manage OK and he goes further than me in hilly old Bristol too). My rule of thumb is that I have to don lycra it's on to the roadie for me...

PS. I agree with BentMikey on the MTB issue. Get a roadie if you decide not to go with the SS. They're in a different league when it comes to speed on the road much more robust than you'd think. I bunny hop mine over speed bumps and up and down kerbs and it's fine (on Mavic Aksiums with 700cx25 Panaracer Pasellas). See also the forthcoming Paris-Roubaix!

bear_bearson

I already have a Condor Italia but I don't like commuting on that. I have Shimano R550's on there and they get f**ked up everytime I cycle into work. I've lost count of how many times I popped to my LBS to have the rear wheel trued.

I wish I had Condor fit the Mavic Aksiums on there...

Anyhow, I'm trying the Paddy Wagon next week @ Evans and off to Pearson to try the Touche and the Surly Steamroller on Saturday.

jedster

For a flat 12 miles I think a fixed/ss road bike would be good (although headwinds could be painful - whatever gear feels good on a still day will not feel so good into a stiff breeze and you'd certainly want drops).

If you decide you want gears then I'd go for a road bike with 28mm tyres - if you keep these above 100 psi they don't slow you much versus skinnier tyres and make things smoother plus protect the wheels.

I wouldn't go for a MTB for 12 miles. I do actually ride a rigid SS MTB in London but only for a couple of miles each way between the station and the office (road bike at the other end of the train journey). For that distance it's pretty good - the lower centre of gravity, tighter turning circle, lack of toe overlap make it a bit more nimble than a road bike. Plus it has completely bombproof wheels with 32m slick kevlar protected tyres. For that you sacrifice efficiency over any real distance but given that my central london journey is a series of sprints between lights/junctions/roundabouts, that's not really relevant. It would be between Richmond and the City.

J

bear_bearson

cheers jedster.

Yes the headwinds would be a killer.

I cycled using one gear back home last night and it was fairly easy. I tried to do the same this morning on the way in and could not do it! Really struggled.

snooks

I do your commute the other way round from Twickenham to the Southbank on a rigid slick tyred 1994 Marin with bigger chain rings, and now with summer on the doorstep (it is honest) I'm looking at a single speed/fixed option

Looked at old Raleigh frames on Ebay, they still go for quite a bit cos a lot of people want to convert them I guess...SO, thanks to the Bike 2 Work scheme, £200 that I would have spent converting an old frame could get me a Charge

Great idea until I found a Cotic Roadrat Now things are getting silly...and I like it!
.

attica

Thanks for the kind words Sea Green, I think my commute is fairly flat to be honest:-
http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/My ... to-Bristle
As for the wind thing:-
Last week my ride home against the wind took a full hour, it was murder but I caught a chap on a nice road bike with gears twice (sneaky so-and-so had found a shortcut I didn't know about)
we got chatting and he was suffering in the wind just as much as me.
So I'd say the wind thing shouldn't be an issue at all.

PS Sea Green, how was that CatEye bracket?

bear_bearson

Picked up a Paddy Wagon from Evans today after a test ride.

Aside from a very long stem, it was super comfy. Steel all the way...

Chuffed.

il_principe

Defo go SS. I did a few months ago and I love it. I bought a Touche and it's been utterly fantastic:

bear_bearson

jashburnham wrote:

Defo go SS. I did a few months ago and I love it. I bought a Touche and it's been utterly fantastic:

Yes I was going to pop to Pearson on Saturday, but the weather was a complete bastard, so I gave it a miss. I really like the look of the Touche.

Picking up the bike this lunchtime from Evans. 8)

il_principe

Mmmm a colleague is dragging me to Evans at lunch so I can advise him (first advice was "nooooo not Evans") but I'll see if I can tempt him with the Paddy Wagon, should be ideal for his Streatham - Borough commute. Good luck with the bike.

bear_bearson

Well, to be fair to Evans the staff I have dealt with in their Waterloo Cut stores have been really helpful, which took me by surprise.

At their Ludgate Hill store I was looking at Langsters a few weeks back and one of their guys actually came over and we chatted about single speed bikes for a while. Again this took me by surprise. Their recruitment must be improving.

I cannot believe I am praising Evans now. I would of cursed them a few years ago when their stores were ran by complete numptys.

Ashley_R

Recent convert to the world for fixed, Lemond Fillmore, another for your option list!

changing jobs soon and my commute will go from 6 to 13 miles each way, relatively flat, debating whether I'll need gears!