Commuting bikes - I thought they'd be lighter

BoardinBob

I'm planning on getting a dedicated commuter through my C2W scheme rather than lugging my mountainbike every day. I was looking to spend about £350-ish give or take and one that caught my eye was the Kona Smoke



No published weight figure on the Kona site but a search around the web shows it's around 30lbs which seems ridiculous given that my Hardrock weighed 34lbs out of the box.

How the hell can the commuter only be 4lbs lighter despite the Hardrock having heavy suspension, heavy disc brakes, much larger frame and no doubt other heavier components.

I've noticed quite a few other bikes in this range are 30lbs+.

Where is all this weight coming from and are there any light (25lbs-ish) bikes in this price range?

Slow Downcp

I'd guess that the wheels and tyres are quite heavy on that bike, as will be the saddle, seatpost and guards.

staffo

I've just got a Revolution Courier Race which is quoted at 24.9lb and am very happy with it, especially as I bought it 2 days before they raised the price

http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/ebwPNLq ... 155c002910

jojo90

imho slapping 'commuter' on a bike is a way of charging twice the price for a heavy frame, wheelset, and el cheapo components.

Personally I don't get it.

attica

That looks like a clunky heavy piece of kit.

Why not get a flat barred road bike like this


Or if you really wanna lose weight AND reduce maintenance, why not go single speed? (not necessarily fixed BTW)

snooks

BoardinBob wrote:

I'm planning on getting a dedicated commuter through my C2W scheme rather than lugging my mountainbike every day. I was looking to spend about £350-ish give or take and one that caught my eye was the Kona Smoke

Just a quick couple of Qs

Are you looking to actually spend £350? or £175 ish and the voucher?

And is there any reason you're not looking at a road bike/hybrid?

And what's your commute like? distance? hilly? flat? off road? canals? off road?

if you want to spend £350 of your own money the voucher will take that up to about £700 if you have all the gear already...lights lock pump and tube etc or £640 if you don't

If you just want to spend £175, think about ditching the C2W scheme and buying a good bike 2nd hand, I got a 94 Kona Kula (around 20lbs over £1000 new) for £230, but there are lots of bikes out there...if it's a commuter it don't have to look pretty, my regular all weather commuter started out as a free frame and wheels and I spent £100 on bit for it, job done, it's paid for itself so I spent a bit more to make it better for the job...all in £170

If your commute is flat think about a single speed, light, practically service free and about £350

Just some more options for you

symo

I actually have ridden the Smoke 2-9 and it's good, it's a shame they gave it knobbly rubber, but those wheels will carry you through everything. Most money on Kona's goes to the frame (ask my mate about his 94 cindercone he still rides) so it is a good upgrade path.

BoardinBob

I'd be looking for a voucher worth £350-ish so a bike with a list price of the same amount. Got all the gear so no need to buy any extras.

Commute is flat as a pancake and only 4 miles each way.

Single speed is an option but I've never ridden one (apart from bmx bikes as a kid!)

BoardinBob

Attica wrote:

That looks like a clunky heavy piece of kit.

It looks featherweight compared to my Hardrock, yet it's only 4lbs lighter

giltkid

My brother has a nice Boardman Comp which weighs in at about 10.4 kgs on 28c's - I think they're about £450.

secretsam

Genesis Day 00 - don't know if they still make them - used to look good value at £350, that was a really 'focused' flat bar road bike 8)

navt

You should be able to get the Genesis Day 01 discounted within your budget. Line-up not included in 2009 range; namesake only.

attica

If you really want lightweight, get a carbon road bike and convert it to SS, that should give you something that'll blow away in a light breeze...

What's that? A budget? aww shoot

el_presidente

Attica wrote:

If you really want lightweight, get a carbon road bike and convert it to SS, that should give you something that'll blow away in a light breeze...

What's that? A budget? aww shoot

frames at £525, i'm sorely tempted...

http://www.planet-x-warehouse.co.uk/acatalog/copy_of_Pro_Carbon_Track.html

SPOODZILLA

Buy a ROAD BIKE.

I used to commute on my mountain bike till I saw the light. What a revelation. I can now cycle to work and back without feeling like i've been hit by a train, and I no longer run out of gears on the faster sections. You dont need big squashy tires and suspension and disc brakes, that stuff is for off-road.

I've got a Giant FCR3, basically a road bike but with flat bars. If I was buying again I'd get a fully fledged roadster.

attica

el_presidente wrote:

http://www.planet-x-warehouse.co.uk/acatalog/copy_of_Pro_Carbon_Track.html

Damn that's nice, I actually started thinking about getting one for a moment before reality kicked in.

il_principe

I fail to see what makes that a commuter bike. It's got a Triple for one - will you be commuting in the Alps? If not then you don't need a triple.

This is a commuter bike:

[/url]

I think the Pearson comes in at around 19lbs.

But yeah - if you want a geared commuter get a roadbike.

attica

Jash, I'd find those pedals extremely frustrating. Nice bike though, how many inches?

Greg T

Geared commuter, dead flat, no mud = road bike.

I don't get the whole straight barred thing either.... They stick out further and I don't think they are any more comfortable.


That Pearson's nice, even with the mud guards...... That actually reminds me about Mud gaurds, off to the SCR

BoardinBob

Specialized Centrum Elite???

3 speed hub gear

26lbs

http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/ebwPNLq ... 155c002910

And with me weighing 200lbs, would I be in danger of snapping something around 19lbs?

SPOODZILLA

I weigh 215 pounds (6'4", but yes, overweight) and to be fair I did snap my first FCR frame around the seatpost, but I think this is because I had the seat up to 1cm below the min, and the frame is a large and I needed an extra. Buy a roady bike that fits and you'll be laughing! I keep tryign to get mine nicked, but no one wants a SCR1 frame and fork with year old FCR 3 compoments!!

You dont want these namby pamby city bikes - they just make cycling hard work. Road bikes are the ultimate in cycling efficiency, thats why we love them. Why work harder to cover the same ground in less time?

BoardinBob

Does the likes of the Charge Plug fall into the "road bike" category

il_principe

Attica wrote:

Jash, I'd find those pedals extremely frustrating. Nice bike though, how many inches?

No idea, that's not mine, mine is in my sig, although in untarted form from a while back. I should really update the pic I suppose. I currently run a 50x16.

Gussio

jashburnham What are those pedals on the Pinarello? They look tiny.

el_presidente

Attica wrote:

el_presidente wrote:

http://www.planet-x-warehouse.co.uk/acatalog/copy_of_Pro_Carbon_Track.html

Damn that's nice, I actually started thinking about getting one for a moment before reality kicked in.

haha yeah me too. trouble is that's a track fork so you'd need to repalce it with one drilled for a brake and then my silver parts that look good on a classic steel bike would just look wrong etc etc... it never ends

Gussio

el_presidente wrote:

Attica wrote:

el_presidente wrote:

http://www.planet-x-warehouse.co.uk/acatalog/copy_of_Pro_Carbon_Track.html

Damn that's nice, I actually started thinking about getting one for a moment before reality kicked in.

haha yeah me too. trouble is that's a track fork so you'd need to repalce it with one drilled for a brake and then my silver parts that look good on a classic steel bike would just look wrong etc etc... it never ends

Probably be a nightmare in traffic with the track geometry, toe overlap, etc.. and spill could be expensive.

il_principe

Gussio wrote:

jashburnham What are those pedals on the Pinarello? They look tiny.

They are the rather brilliant Speedplay Zeros.


http://www.speedplay.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.zero

Gussio

jashburnham wrote:

Gussio wrote:

jashburnham What are those pedals on the Pinarello? They look tiny.

They are the rather brilliant Speedplay Zeros.


http://www.speedplay.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.zero

Ahhhh....£125 very well spent. They look mucho cool.

il_principe

Gussio wrote:

jashburnham wrote:

Gussio wrote:

jashburnham What are those pedals on the Pinarello? They look tiny.

They are the rather brilliant Speedplay Zeros.


http://www.speedplay.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.zero

Ahhhh....£125 very well spent. They look mucho cool.

They have adjustable to unlimited float - very useful for those of us with weird knees!

Bagman

BoardinBob wrote:

I'm planning on getting a dedicated commuter through my C2W scheme rather than lugging my mountainbike every day. I was looking to spend about £350-ish give or take and one that caught my eye was the Kona Smoke

I am in exactly the same position. I commute 56 miles a day on my mountain bike, albeit fitted with road tyres. I spent the day in London yesterday visiting as many bike shops as I could. I still can't decide what I want! I am prepared to spend up to £800. I had thought the cannondale bad boy 700 would be the one for me but it looked a bit clunky. I think perhaps that I don't need v-brakes and that maybe one of the Genesis models may be best. I think I need help with the decision!

DonDaddyD

A commuting bike is the bike I ride to work, not a category of bike listed on a website or in a catalog. Right now for me that is a road bike. If I cycled off-road to work then it would be a knobbly wheeled suspension thingy...urgh....

I did ride a Giant M2 urban/mountain/hybrid slick tyre thing that was reccomended as a commuter "a slick cool urban machine" it said on the wrapper. Utter b*ll*cks, too often past 12miles I found the bike wanting, anything over 15/16mph I found the bike wanting and up those bumps we call hills in London I found the bike impossible and it was depressing being overtaken by every single cyclist on more practical bikes for commuting on the road like, er, road bikes..

Fact is I still need my bike to be a bike, that means I need a bike to ride mainly on the road, very (or relatively) far and very quickly, for me, that equates to a road bike.

A rucksack with my work clothes on my back, lights on the bike and I'm off!