London commuter bike - road / cyclocross / s.speed?

El Selb

So my cycle-to-work window is now open and I feel I'm reaching the end of the line with my Cannondale Synapse. It may be me, but I feel it's a bit slow. I also feel it might be a bit delicate for my 9 mile-round London commute.

I'd like a bike:

- faster than my Synapse
- a bit tougher
- a bike that suitable for a longer weekend ride; 40-50 miles etc

In an ideal world I'd like something that I could even do LEJOG on, but I said that for this bike and I still never got round to it...

I've been reading another thread on here tonight - 'am I missing out not having a single speed?' that has got me thinking about this as I have a fairly flat commute... but this wouldn't be so great for the weekend rides and useless for LEJOG.

Would a cyclocross be a good option? With road tyres, could I find one faster than my Synapse?

Or is a sturdy road bike the way to go?

Budget: £600-800

nimchimpsky82

Hi El Selb

Apologies in advance for sounding a bit negative, but it seems to me that you want too many things at the same time, especially considering your stated budget.

I'd say you'll already struggle finding something that is noticeably faster than your Synapse for £600-800. Something like the Sensa Romagna Special might be worth a look http://www.bikeradar.com/road/gear/category/bikes/road/product/review-sensa-romagna-special-12-46600/ but you may want to save up a wee bit longer as a lot more becomes available around the £1000 mark. The Boardman Road Team carbon consistently gets good reviews and would probably make a real difference in terms of speed and responsiveness.

Trouble is, you also suggest that you want something tougher... The reason why this is problematic is that tougher will often mean a heavier frame and components and/or less skinny wheels -- none of which is going to help increase speed. There are some good Cx bikes available at or just under a grand (the Genesis Vapour, for example) or if you wanted a slightly less radical solution you could stick to a road bike geo and spec and consider steel, like a Genesis Equilibrium. This material handles knocks better than carbon and also aluminium. I personally really like the comfort it offers, as well as the elegance of thin (non-oversized) tubing, but this is personal. Also, the Madison Genesis team is proving that steel can still compete at high levels. The bikes in question are of course very high end, but then so is the carbon ridden by the competition.

Finally, you mention SS and fixies. These would also seriously compromise your speed, for the simple reason that their gearing will be ideal for only one range of speed (say 15-22mph, depending on the gearing and your strength and technique), with sacrifices being made elsewhere. Lots of people (including me, on some days anyway) are willing to make these sacrifices as they like the bikes' simplicity, enjoy the challenge and/or feel that there may be benefits for their pedalling technique, but my point is that a desire for speed should definitely not push you in this direction. There's safety to consider as well: every time I'm down in London for work I enjoy seeing so many fixies, but I'd think twice before throwing myself into the mix. Traffic can be pretty insane, more and more cyclists are getting hurt (and worse), so I would want a set of very good brakes. I know that some fixie riders can brake very well, but I'm not yet one of them. There's pedal clearance to worry about as well. SS don't suffer from these problems of course, yet they can never be as fast as a bike with multiple gears.

My main advice, really, would be to think a bit more carefully about what your priority is and whether you might be able to stretch your budget a little bit by waiting. Following that, you should go out and try a few different bikes to see what model gives you a good fit, what feels right to you on the road, and what appeals to you in terms of looks/image.

cougie

How much was your synapse ?

Its not a slow bike - either you're unfit, your tyres are too low, or your brakes are rubbing.

Why do you need it tougher - whats broken on your commutes ?

Your synapse is suitable for 40-50 miles - but you might not be unless you've built up to it.


Singlespeed is probably ideal for commuting - less maintenance - less to go wrong. Cheap. Not good for LEJOG though.

Cross bikes are great - but wont be faster than a road bike - they will be 99% as fast if you have road tyres though - but if you feel a road bike is slow - a cross bike with a heavier frame and more spoked wheels will feel slower.

(Personally speaking - its not about the bike - its the engine. My 1k cross bike beats 5k road bikes up mountains)


Fixed wheel bikes are often faster than their geared counterparts - quite a few of the TT records were done on fixed. Theres no faffing with gears if you only have the one !

nimchimpsky82

cougie wrote:

Fixed wheel bikes are often faster than their geared counterparts - quite a few of the TT records were done on fixed. Theres no faffing with gears if you only have the one !

Yes, I meant bikes with multiple gears will be faster in normal (start-stop) circumstances. TTs are one thing; in London traffic "faffing" (if done correctly) will aid acceleration.

pete8uk

As others have said, sounds like you want two things. Something faster and tougher. Which doesn't exist in one bike for your budget. And your synapse is probably one of the best compromises between the two.

Have you considered two bikes? (assuming you have storage)

Whether you keep the synapse or not, you'll need to decide whether to spend your money on speed (racey road bike) or toughness (endurance road bike or cyclocross). IMHO.

BTW: can't comment on single speeds, never owned one.