Allez for London commute?

nobla

Hi,

I have a £1000 cycle to work voucher to spend on a bike for a 9 mile commute into central London.
I quite fancy the Specialized Allez elite, anyone else use one for commuting, is it suitable?

I know a hybrid would probably be better for a London commute but I cant get excited about riding one.

turnerjohn

your need some super tough tires, mud / rain guards but that should do you. Road bikes better for city cycling due to narrower bars to sweeze through the gaps

godders1

If you don't mind getting yourself, your bike and anyone within a 5M radius of you covered in muck when the weather's bad then it's perfect.

Otherwise I'd look for something that can take full length guards.

You might want to think about luggage too (although you could use a rucksack or my preferred soultion; a Carradice bagman support with saddlebag).

Totally disagree that a hybrid would be better.

jamesco

turnerjohn wrote:

your need some super tough tires, mud / rain guards but that should do you.

True, true. Panniers are good, but that's just my preference.

turnerjohn wrote:

Road bikes better for city cycling due to narrower bars to sweeze through the gaps

What gaps are you trying to get through!?! If it's not wide enough for flat bars, then it's probably a bit dodgy!

I like a hybrid for London 'cause the bike is practical and the commute is slow anyway (too many lights).

mattcroad

Trek 2.1 comes with gaurd mounts for just under1K, gets good reviews.

bails87

Just use Crud Roadracers, no mounts required.

I'd rather have a CX type bike for commuting though, year round/all weather braking ability and tyre compatibility with 95% of the speed of a road bike.

nobla

Thanks for the advice. Whats the most puncture resistant tyres to get?

jeepie

" Whats the most puncture resistant tyres to get?"

This, together with a tyre that doesn't roll like a hog is the holy grail. I'm still searching.....

Schwalbe Durano Plus?

cookeeemonster

Jeepie wrote:

" Whats the most puncture resistant tyres to get?"

This, together with a tyre that doesn't roll like a hog is the holy grail. I'm still searching.....

Schwalbe Durano Plus?

This is what I just put on my hybrid...I like 'em so far!! Much better than the so called flak jacket protected specialized tyres the bike came with.

MichaelW

If you are going to buy a bike for a commute rather than racing, you may as well get one with commuting features built-in rather than trying to hack a racebike with clamp, zipties, velcro etc
Look for rack and mudguard eyelets and long drop caliper brakes. This will allow you to set the bike up for winter commuting in all but the worst snow and ice. A Kinesis TK style of winter trainer is much more suitable and is still quite speedy and agile.
If you want snow and ice capability, then a disc CX like the Boardman is good.
You can always ride the bike stripped down with narrow tyres but you still have the option for riding with mudguards, 28mm tyres and panniers. The bike will also do double-duty as a light tourer.

nobla

MichaelW wrote:

If you are going to buy a bike for a commute rather than racing, you may as well get one with commuting features built-in rather than trying to hack a racebike with clamp, zipties, velcro etc
Look for rack and mudguard eyelets and long drop caliper brakes. This will allow you to set the bike up for winter commuting in all but the worst snow and ice. A Kinesis TK style of winter trainer is much more suitable and is still quite speedy and agile.
If you want snow and ice capability, then a disc CX like the Boardman is good.
You can always ride the bike stripped down with narrow tyres but you still have the option for riding with mudguards, 28mm tyres and panniers. The bike will also do double-duty as a light tourer.

Thanks for the advice, but I have a decent mountain bike that im going to put skinnier tyres on and use that for bad weather as I can put mudguards on and it has decent disc brakes. I cant see myself ever using panniers either so a backpack will do

JonLad

My commute is more out of London - 11 miles each way and I have had 6 weeks now with a Allez Sport bought through BiketoWork scheme - the rest was spent on a Garmin 800 ! Previously i had used my GT mountain bike which is step by step upgraded with slicks then SPD pedals and shoes - each step making the commute quicker and more fun.
The move up to the Allez Sport has been a different world - speed, response, fun:-) i would highly recommend it !!!

cookeeemonster

JonLad wrote:

My commute is more out of London - 11 miles each way and I have had 6 weeks now with a Allez Sport bought through BiketoWork scheme - the rest was spent on a Garmin 800 ! Previously i had used my GT mountain bike which is step by step upgraded with slicks then SPD pedals and shoes - each step making the commute quicker and more fun.
The move up to the Allez Sport has been a different world - speed, response, fun:-) i would highly recommend it !!!

I'm half thinking of moving to the allez sport from my hybrid...possibly

It's a how long is a piece of string question but, what sort of difference did you actually find as regards to the speed difference/time your commute took etc on average? And I assume the road bike position is far better inn the wind?

JonLad

Speed difference as you say is a piece of string question but as a guide....
Best time on MTB ( with slicks) = 43 mins each way ( shows its very flat commute!)
Within a week on Allez Sport, best time = 38 mins
So in actual minutes approx 10 % better, but I am just learning the whole new world of road bikes, cadence, maintaining a high speed etc etc. so expect this differential to grow. Strava segments show that I was probably at the top of performance/ability on the MTB but only starting to unlock the potential on a road bike and already putting in quick times.

cookeeemonster

cheers for that, got a bit more to think about!

Anonymous

I presume the people who commute on their Cervelos when its raining must have it all wrong then?

You dont need anything fancy, and the Allez is a great, no excellent bike. Enjoy.

Buy a backpack, some clip on mudguards (I mean, we are in a drought after all) which will keep your RS (and those behind you!) dry and enjoy. Crud Road Racers Mk2 and SKS raceblades are the 2 of choice which require no tools or attachment points. (I have Cruds). Unless you want to bring the kitchen sink to work, you don't need panniers.

I wear lycra as I think I look sexy in it. You can go in football shorts and trainers. Even the guy in Chinos and deckies humiliated me on my favourite sprint.

As for super tough tyres - load of rubbish also. Provided you dont aim for potholes, you will get plenty of miles out of most tyres. Conti Gatorskins/4 seasons are good. I use 4000s as they are a bit faster and I am whore like that.

Not sure what MichaelW is on about tbh. I have no velcro on my bike, or zipties (except for speedo mount)

MarksMintness

CookeeeMonster wrote:

JonLad wrote:

My commute is more out of London - 11 miles each way and I have had 6 weeks now with a Allez Sport bought through BiketoWork scheme - the rest was spent on a Garmin 800 ! Previously i had used my GT mountain bike which is step by step upgraded with slicks then SPD pedals and shoes - each step making the commute quicker and more fun.
The move up to the Allez Sport has been a different world - speed, response, fun:-) i would highly recommend it !!!

I'm half thinking of moving to the allez sport from my hybrid...possibly

It's a how long is a piece of string question but, what sort of difference did you actually find as regards to the speed difference/time your commute took etc on average? And I assume the road bike position is far better inn the wind?

I moved from a hybrid to just an entry level drop bar road bike and I'd highly recommend it. Better position for aero/speed, so I found it helped me a lot! Comfy enough for my 30 mile round trip commute as well. Just getting some SKS guards on it as we speak to keep Rick happy!