Race Sunday, Commute Monday Bike

joey54321

I currently have a cross bike (Focus Marex CX) and a commute bike (Pearson Fixed) and I am considering selling both (contact me if interested) and combining into one single bike that can do both, with two sets of wheels so I can easily swap between road/offroad.

My sticking point at the moment is that I commute with a rack and mudguards and obviously would want to take these off for offroad duty. Does anyone regularly (weekly?) install/uninstall a rack/mudguards? How much faff is it? Is there a way to 'quick release' a rack/mudguards?

slowbike

N+1 - stick with 2(+) bikes - unless you have alternatives for the commute. The only wheelswap I did/do is on my commute bike - between slicks and studs when it's icy.

joey54321

I would love to but we already have too many bikes in the (small) house. Also, I have two bikes I haven't ridden in ~6 months. Its a use of space and value which is making less and less sense to me.

veronese68

I'm probably missing something, but wouldn't it make more sense to get rid of one of the bikes you're not using?
You can get racks that attach to the seatpost with a quick release, they are a bit sh!t and have a high centre of gravity. I was given one by someone that didn't want it, I then gave it to Ugo as I didn't like it or want it. I don't think he got on with it either. Not used clip on full mudguards that are supposedly easy to fit and remove, only used MTB ones that are not very good and only keep some muck off you or proper full mudguards that are a bit of a pain to remove.
When you swap wheels would you swap the cassette as well? The commuting cassette would get a lot more use than the race one so could the chain slip after swapping wheels as the wear between the two gets to extremes? Thinking about it I don't think a worn chain slips on a new cassette so should be alright.

joey54321

Yup, the plan in my head would be to have two cassettes and replace the chain frequently. I guess the commuter cassette would see more miles but the offroad cassette would see harder miles (more mud, etc...).

One of the bikes I haven't used for 6 months is the cross bike. The other is my summer road race bike, which I will be using in a couple of weeks. I have considered selling that too, but at the moment it's more valuable to me than the money I'd raise by selling it.

I wonder if I could attach the mudguards to the rack as opposed to the bike frame. Therefore I'd just need to undo the bolt by the bottom bracket and the two rack bolts to remove both.

veronese68

joey54321 wrote:

I wonder if I could attach the mudguards to the rack as opposed to the bike frame. Therefore I'd just need to undo the bolt by the bottom bracket and the two rack bolts to remove both.

With a low slung rack you could probably screw the top of the guard to the middle of the rack using a spacer of some sort.

trek_dan

I couldn't live without proper fixed guards on my commuter and taking these off once a week would be a deal breaker for me. Plus swapping wheels is never as easy as 'remove and refit' as the offsets are never 100% identical.

joey54321

My plan would be to buy two identical sets of wheels with the money raised from combining two bikes, which should hopefully deal with the offset issue.

veronese68

trek_dan wrote:

Plus swapping wheels is never as easy as 'remove and refit' as the offsets are never 100% identical.

Presumably on discs, just shim the discs so the two match. Maybe I was lucky but swapping between different wheels with the same hubs I don't have an issue.

tgotb

I have a gazillion sets of disk wheels which I swap between 4 bikes (one of which is my daughter's) without having to make any adjustments; the key is that I built them all on the same model of hub.

If you're removing and re-attaching mudguards and rack every week, I reckon it's only a matter of time before you strip the threads in your frame, so be very careful and consider having a backup plan (ie a frame that would allow you to put a nut on the other side). Using the widest mudguard the frame will take will make it much less fiddly to get them lined up, and also gives you the option of riding with a CX wheel should the need arise.

joey54321

TGOTB wrote:

If you're removing and re-attaching mudguards and rack every week, I reckon it's only a matter of time before you strip the threads in your frame, so be very careful and consider having a backup plan (ie a frame that would allow you to put a nut on the other side). Using the widest mudguard the frame will take will make it much less fiddly to get them lined up, and also gives you the option of riding with a CX wheel should the need arise.

Yup, this is also on my list of concerns, haven't found an 'answer' to it yet other than a bolt on the other side, though that would add to the faff time.

veryslowtwitch

I have tried commuting and racing on same bike and lasted two weeks before giving in and going n+2. yes you save space but you'll need a spare room to fiddle with the bike twice a week.If you are racing then you have to clean the bike properly on Sunday; Friday and Sunday evenings are wasted; mudguards are a pain to refit and even if settings are unchanged you will have rubbing and lose bits.

If you're not racing then could you leave the rack and guards on? I love mudguards offroad unless full mtb/mudfest.

For cross bike I have compromised with a big saddlebag and carrier by Carradice for occasional use. The Bagman carrier attaches to saddle with a single Allen key and the Super C bag can just carry a change of clothes. It takes 10 seconds to fit/remove. Rather old skool but much less hassle than a rack and easily transferred to any bike. No good if you need twin panniers but great for lunch and a shirt. And it provides some spray protection. But I still prefer my bike with full guards and rack for commuting.

joey54321

Well I do aim to clean my race bike on Sunday anyway, preferably on race site if I can manage it. But I am concerned about the faff factor which you reenforce with your experience. Anyone know of a way of attaching the panniers with a mini quick release cam/skewer thing? I think if I could get it down to a no-tool/quick release/removable cable tie solution it might be workable.

I do occasionally require double panniers, but to be honest not that frequently. Can you provide more information on the bags you mention?

tgotb

Carradice Bagman + appropriate sized Carradice saddlebag might be a good option actually (though it doesn't address the mudguard issue). I use exactly that if I want to commute on my road bike, and whilst I'm not sure I'd agree that it takes 10 seconds to fit/remove, I reckon it's comfortably under 30 seconds. I generally only use mine on dry days (if it's raining I'll take the bike with mudguards) but I think there might be properly waterproof roll-top bags available.

trek_dan

Veronese68 wrote:

trek_dan wrote:

Plus swapping wheels is never as easy as 'remove and refit' as the offsets are never 100% identical.

Presumably on discs, just shim the discs so the two match. Maybe I was lucky but swapping between different wheels with the same hubs I don't have an issue.

I only said that as 99% of people use the stock wheels for commuting and then tubs for racing so would be different wheels.
Assuming you already have multiple bikes If I had to get rid of a bike I'd rather use my race CX bike as a road bike and keep the SS commuter.

cycleclinic

keep both bikes. cx is hard on bikes and you will have a ropey bike to commute on. A commutor bike that is good at commuting is not going to be great at racing and visa versa.