Advice on commuting solely by bike

friedpizzainbatter

So, I'm thinking of ditching buses trains and cars in favour of cycling. Have been cycling half distance for over a year and have realised how much I can save if I move to commuting fully on bikes.
Work do a generous cyclescheme so I was going to get a nice sportive carbon bike (Giant Defy Advanced or Domane)to be used most of the time, and a 29er mountain bike ( I want to have a mountain bike for trail riding outwith commuting) with lockout which I'll stick snow tires on for when the weather gets nasty.

So I know 60 (30 each way) miles a day is doable on a road bike, but is it doable on a mountain bike? Am I setting my sights too high?

fatsmoker

It'll take you 1hour 40 to 2 hours on the road bike. maybe 2 and a half hours at least on the mountain bike?
Bloody long way, especially if the wind's blowing.

BelgianBeerGeek

Yep, that's one heck of a commute. I'm guessing that as you are looking at ice spikers you're in Scotland! It is doable, but by the time you get there and back, there might not be much left of the day.

MeanRedSpider commutes in all weather around Inverness - he should be able to advise you better.

danlikesbikes

Can be done on an MTB, but if your serious about it you'd be best swapping the tyres over to more slick type.

On a road bike the milage is long but not that bad I guess it depends a lot on the terrain you would be covering & also the types of roads. If your fit and its is good route can't see an issue with it myself. Though you might perhaps just need to build up so as to avoid any fatigue that you might get from such an increase.

cookeeemonster

f**k that for a commute!!!!

saying that if the roads are clear, there's few traffic lights/junctions and not much wind then it might well be fine...but bloody hell, on a mtb that'd be a killer surely?? And if its hilly and windy...fair play to you for considering it!!!

I dfo a 36 mile round trip and on windy days I'm shattered by the time I get home, but you may be a lot fitter.

Maybe try it out on your current bike first??

danlikesbikes

CookeeeMonster wrote:

but bloody hell, on a mtb that'd be a killer surely??

I used to do 30 miles each way 3 times a week on an MTB with no issues but that was with semi slick tyres on. Guess you just used to it. The harder work I found really helped with the fitness too, but it was far easier when I changed to the same route on my road bike

friedpizzainbatter

Yeah am in Scotland looking at NCR 1 into Edinburgh. If I wanted to build up to it there's the option of starting one way and using the bus on the other end as we have a very secure bike lock up at work, which might be more sensible to start off with. I'd imagine with a head wind it won't be a lot of fun but it'll be a bit of a challenge. I'm only in the office three days a week as well so plenty of scope for rest days.

Am relatively fit, although not nearly as fit as I'd like to be, hoping that that kind of distance commute will build fitness levels pretty quickly.

Was thinking that I've got the summer to get used to it on a road bike before I think about the MTB snow and ice option, and hopefully won't have to do that too often.

danlikesbikes

You should be fine then by the sounds of it. Was luck with my office having good bike storage, showers & space to store kit under my desk. Was able to take shirts, pants, socks, toiletries and leave them in the office so made the ride a bit easier as only carrying food & bike gear with me.

andyrr

Doing 3 days instead of all 5 does make a difference as doing 5 x 60 miles would be a BIG ask when you have to take into account the time for the ride (say 2hrs to allow for shower at one end plus some leeway for puncture), plus doing a full days work. Doing consecutive 60 mile rides would probably entail an early start, full days work then late home again to do the same again the next day. Starts to wear you down. You'd probably be looking at carrying at least a bottle of energy drink with you or a bite to eat part-way through your ride.
Also the route - flat and not too windy, not too much traffic - would be fine, probably quite nice on a summers day, hilly, wet, windy, tons of traffic - a PITA and you may start getting fed up with the whole commuting lark.
I'd suggest that even for the better-days bike that you consider having the ability to fit mudguards - I'd personally want that anyway. A proper set (ie preferably not Crud Racers decent though they are) means that the bike and the rider are much cleaner and this then reduces the cleaning and maintenance effort required which, if you get home tired and late, you probably won't be inclined to carry out. That then unfortunately pushes you away from a nice light carbon sportive-style bike more towards a cx or audax-style bike.
It will certainly get your basic fitness up - depends what your aim is with regards what you do with that fitness. For racing then I feel, with my 80 - 90% commuting by bike, it helping maintain a decent level but I know that I have lost the speed, the edge, that I previously had as I'm now not doing any additional proper training at the higher levels that is needed - to do that I would need to reduce the commuting mileage to allow recovery time from 'proper' training rides.
I've recently swapped from road to cx bike and whilst it is more suited to the terrain I commute over (usual mix of road quality plus it is hilly/rolling) what I've gained in having a comfortable bike that much better soaks up the bumps and potholes, I'm losing with speed as I used to manage a 17.5 mile commute sometimes in under the hour but with this I am never sub-60 mins. TBH it's probably a combination of slower bike plus the rider as I consciously take it a wee bit steadier since I know that I will be jumping on the bike again the next day for the same again.

An MTB, at my guess, would be slower still - how much ? Don't know but a light one with tyres that roll well and a good position so you aren't acting like a big sail at the front would get you in to work whn the weather is crappy and not take a massive amount of extra time but whether taking, say, 2hrs 5 instead of 1hr 58 is a big deal to you I can't tell.

friedpizzainbatter

Thanks, lots of useful advice.

andyrr wrote:

'd suggest that even for the better-days bike that you consider having the ability to fit mudguards - I'd personally want that anyway. A proper set (ie preferably not Crud Racers decent though they are) means that the bike and the rider are much cleaner and this then reduces the cleaning and maintenance effort required which, if you get home tired and late, you probably won't be inclined to carry out. That then unfortunately pushes you away from a nice light carbon sportive-style bike more towards a cx or audax-style bike..

Yeah I was initially thinking CAADX Ultegra, but this maybe my last chance to buy bikes for years and I would really like a sportive type carbon. I'm not too bothered about mess as we have good showers at work and I generally clean my bikes once a week/fortnight depending on weather. Although admittedly I'll need to get salt off every day during winter when road are gritted. I could always use road racers which seemed to be quite effective once I'd got them fitted.

andyrr wrote:

It will certainly get your basic fitness up - depends what your aim is with regards what you do with that fitness. For racing then I feel, with my 80 - 90% commuting by bike, it helping maintain a decent level but I know that I have lost the speed, the edge, that I previously had as I'm now not doing any additional proper training at the higher levels that is needed - to do that I would need to reduce the commuting mileage to allow recovery time from 'proper' training rides.

I'm aiming to be on the bike 5 days a week with a mixture of pushing hard some of the time, and slower training the rest, I've been reading that a long slower run can help increase endurance when mixed with faster runs on other days. The commute could be either really.

andyrr wrote:

An MTB, at my guess, would be slower still - how much ? Don't know but a light one with tyres that roll well and a good position so you aren't acting like a big sail at the front would get you in to work whn the weather is crappy and not take a massive amount of extra time but whether taking, say, 2hrs 5 instead of 1hr 58 is a big deal to you I can't tell.

No not a problem at all..... Enjoy the journey.

jimmypippa

To me the trouble wouldn't be the distance, but the time and the additional length to the workday.

Half that distance, and sometimes with inadequate sleep, I'm knackered. You could easily find yourself doing nothing but commuting-working-commuting-veging-sleeping-commuting during the week, and doing little during the weekend.

Bordersroadie

My commute is 12 miles each way, hillyish (70ft per mile average) rural roads. Today will be the ice bike again (ungritted roads) which is an MTB with SKS guards and a rigid (eXotic) carbon fork. On wet days or just filthy road days I use the MTB with 28mm Gatorskins. On cleaner road days I use the winter bike or in summer the best bike.

Speeds compared to my road bikes are generally 1mph slower on the slicked MTB, 2mph slower on studded tyres and in snow, very slow sometimes! I wouldn't do a 30 miler in the snow, too many variables but if I could afford the time away from family and work, I'd do 30 in ice/frost.

All the best.

andyrr

As the OP is in the fortuante position of 'only' doing 3 out of 5 weekdays then the commuting-working-commuting-veging-sleeping-commuting isn't as bad - it will still occupy a biggish proportion of the days - up to 4 hours - that he rides but it isn't so bad if the following day is a non-riding day so allows time for body and bike repair/rest.

friedpizzainbatter

andyrr wrote:

As the OP is in the fortuante position of 'only' doing 3 out of 5 weekdays then the commuting-working-commuting-veging-sleeping-commuting isn't as bad - it will still occupy a biggish proportion of the days - up to 4 hours - that he rides but it isn't so bad if the following day is a non-riding day so allows time for body and bike repair/rest.

Yeah that was my thinking and that, in rush hour anyway, the bus can take up to an hour and a half, so really only using 1-2 hours more for the commute, which I could easily use up exercising if I wasn't cycling. I also have the option of doing one way only and busing it back, which I might do to build up to it. Days I'm in the office are quite nicely split up, so there'll be plenty of scope for resting........ and a nice leisure ride at the weekend.

Tusher

Can I ask those commuting all year round about cycling on icy roads?
I've previously commuted by bike on forest tracks and (very) minor roads- they were never gritted, but, on a MTB, I felt safe due to the lack of traffic.

Then I commuted 8 miles on urban roads and a stretch of fast by-pass. Kept the car at work, and clothing under the desk- the shower made it manageable and I felt wonderful doing it. The smugness factor in foul weather was unbeatable.

Change of job, and I'm now three stones overweight. But come September, I'm hoping to become a student again (mid-life career change) and looking at a 26 mile commute from rural into Glasgow. (ie 52 mile round trip)

It's a lot, but I can get a locker at Uni, with a nice swimming pool on campus.

Reading all the advice, how doable would this be? I've spent a life time cycling, but I'm no spring chicken.


Last week's black ice on the roads frightened me for the first time- possibly an age thing. I'm losing confidence the older I get.

No problem cycling in snow, or into a headwind (although it takes ages) but ice??

jimmypippa

Tusher wrote:

Can I ask those commuting all year round about cycling on icy roads?
I've previously commuted by bike on forest tracks and (very) minor roads- they were never gritted, but, on a MTB, I felt safe due to the lack of traffic.

Then I commuted 8 miles on urban roads and a stretch of fast by-pass. Kept the car at work, and clothing under the desk- the shower made it manageable and I felt wonderful doing it. The smugness factor in foul weather was unbeatable.

Change of job, and I'm now three stones overweight. But come September, I'm hoping to become a student again (mid-life career change) and looking at a 26 mile commute from rural into Glasgow. (ie 52 mile round trip)

It's a lot, but I can get a locker at Uni, with a nice swimming pool on campus.

Reading all the advice, how doable would this be? I've spent a life time cycling, but I'm no spring chicken.


Last week's black ice on the roads frightened me for the first time- possibly an age thing. I'm losing confidence the older I get.

No problem cycling in snow, or into a headwind (although it takes ages) but ice??

Look at some of Meanredspider's posts - he commutes a long time each year on ice spiker tyres.