Commuting Bike Advice

Windcalmer

Hi, I need some bike advice. I'm gearing up for a 24 mile each way commute. I was going to buy a new hardtail mountain bike but since thinking about my commute have been looking at road bikes or should I get a mountain bike with skinny wheels and slicks?

What is best? Can anyone give me some ideas about what kind of bike I should buy? I'm getting really confused.

jeepie

Can you send us a description of the route e.g. roads, towpaths, bridleways etc.. and also whether it is flat or not? Can you also let us know whether you intend to commute in the summer only or all year?

Windcalmer

It's all road but the road is quite hilly. It goes from almost sea level to 900ft in 10 miles. So plenty of good downhill too. I would like to cycle year round, but definitely spring through to autumn (in Scotland).

jeepie

OK. Thanks. What's your budget? Do you intend to use the bike for anything other than the commute e.g. sportives or touring etc? Do you have any objectives regarding the commute e.g. as much comfort as possible, or speed or reliability, want to get much fitter? Must have flat bars?

Gussio

50 mile round trip with all that climbing? Road bike with paniers and somewhere to strap an oxygen cyclinder

Windcalmer

The main thing is for the commute - I want to do it fast, that's the main thing. I'm doing it in 1:50 - 2 hours at the moment. Comfort would be a bonus, but I have padded shorts! Not worried about bar profile. Reliability would be good, but that may just come down to regular servicing. I would like a bike for all round mountain biking too but doubt that the two could be the same bike!

CiB

Buy a decent road bike if you're after doing a longish commute by road and want speed. Everything else is just not quite up to it and within weeks or a couple of months you'll be wishing you'd bought a roadie anyway so save your money and buy the right thing first time round. A well set-up correctly sized road bike will be comfortable, and fast, it'll be strong enough for most things, and will reward your exertion and effort. Do it. Do it now.

roger_merriman

that looks like a roadbike route to be honest, a roadie should be a fair bit easier and faster.

Roastie

Budget?

Windcalmer

My budget is around the £700 mark, give or take a bit.

jeepie

How about a Specialized Allez Triple:

http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bc/SBC ... spid=21893

If you are feeling flush you can go for the Elite version which has upgrades.

verloren

You could try Ribble's Audax/Winter bike - £700 should get you a decent spec with enough space to put mudguards on, which might be handy in Scotland

R_T_A

ChrisInBicester wrote:

Buy a decent road bike if you're after doing a longish commute by road and want speed. Everything else is just not quite up to it and within weeks or a couple of months you'll be wishing you'd bought a roadie anyway so save your money and buy the right thing first time round. A well set-up correctly sized road bike will be comfortable, and fast, it'll be strong enough for most things, and will reward your exertion and effort. Do it. Do it now.

+1 Definitely a road bike. Possibly with panniers if you need to carry a lot of stuff. Not particularly cool, but certainly fits what you're after.

Roastie

+1 to audax bike recommendations - but also perhaps look at the tourer options?

Off the steel bike thread, perhaps the Ridgeback Voyage or a Condor Fratello? For that sort of mileage daily, I'd rather be on steel than alu - less buzz.

prawny

verloren wrote:

You could try Ribble's Audax/Winter bike - £700 should get you a decent spec with enough space to put mudguards on, which might be handy in Scotland

+1

My commute is a 20 miler each way, I can do it on my MTB but it makes my hands go numb and it's no fun in to a head wind.

The audax bikes would be ace for commuting especially if it rains a lot. I've been wishing thiss week that I had full guards, although I'd be cursing them again as soon as the sun comes out again.

Over that distance you want the weight on the bike too, I used my rucksack on monday as I was bringin some extra stuff in, the last few miles home were torture on my lower back, it's been fine since so I blame the backpack.

il_principe

Roadie roadie roadie. The Focus range on Wiggle are great VFM.

Aidy

I'm going to echo the comments of the others.
Definitely a road bike, preferably with pannier options.

I'm normally a mountain biker of some description, switched to a road bike for the commute and I'm amazed at how effortless it is.

If you've got secure places to store it at either end, and the money to spend, I'd've said it's definitely worthwhile spending the money to get something nice too. You'll be on it for 3+ hours a day, make sure you enjoy it

Windcalmer

Thanks for all of that. That's my mind made up. Specialized Allez it is. Found me a supplier for a 2010 model, hopefully pick it up next week!

Very excited.

CHEERS!

Chewy Cheeks

There's decision making for you -

No waffle hereabouts.

I wonder what the increase in your food bill will be - thats some mileage?

CiB

Chewy Cheeks wrote:

I wonder what the increase in your food bill will be - thats some mileage?

It's not. 20 miles is about an hour & 5mins, give or take a gnats's bits. After the first few you'll be doing it without carrying drinks bottles & pockets full of energy bars, and just having a coffee + porridge beforehand, and a coffee on arrival. It's not a big ride. 80 miles is big, 100 is BIGGER. 20 is a ride to work for an hour. 21 miles

Let's not scare people off being a bit ambitious.

Chewy Cheeks

ChrisInBicester wrote:

Chewy Cheeks wrote:

I wonder what the increase in your food bill will be - thats some mileage?

It's not. 20 miles is about an hour & 5mins, give or take a gnats's bits. After the first few you'll be doing it without carrying drinks bottles & pockets full of energy bars, and just having a coffee + porridge beforehand, and a coffee on arrival. It's not a big ride. 80 miles is big, 100 is BIGGER. 20 is a ride to work for an hour. 21 miles

Let's not scare people off being a bit ambitious.

To be fair he is doing it already - taking him 1:50, my museings wont make a jot of difference and they wern't meant to.
I am impressed 48 miles a day - ambition and delivery with a new treader to boot

Food bills are but a triviality to this hardy fellow, I like his plymouth !!

Windcalmer

ChrisInBicester, thanks for the encouragement.
If I can do it in an hour and a half I'll be very happy. Anything less than that and it's Christmas!

I'm glad you like my plymouth Chewy Cheeks, for a brief moment I thought you were implying I had a dose of the Dukes (why anyone would like them I don't know)!

Thanks all, catch you on the finish line.

Chewy Cheeks

18 mph as a target, us shandy drinking southern softies are lucky to achieve speed like this on our smoggy struggles.

I'm

not

going

to ask

whatthef**kdoseofdukesis