Alternative riding style for commute

slowbike

A bit of a conundrum ...

Tomorrow I get a bit more time for the commute in - about an hour or so ...

I'm after miles - because I'm ~100miles down on my yearly target - it would make sense to get miles in - I've got a 17mile commute that takes about an hour - it's all on the road and I've done it a couple of times recently...
I'm riding the best bike because with this weather, it's nice to do so ...

However ... I quite fancy taking the 29er for a ride - it would mean keeping the ride to about 10 miles (min distance on the road is ~9) - but I get to do a bit of off road stuff - nothing technical - just a non-traffic commute. I haven't had the 29er out for quite a few months ...
Of course, if I take the 29er then the 9 mile ride home becomes a lot tougher ...

I don't need to carry much with me - just a bottle and some lunch - which I usually put in a jersey pocket - so it makes no difference which bike I take.

CitizenLee

I'm always an advocate of getting your tyres dirty... taker the 29er

slowbike

CitizenLee wrote:

I'm always an advocate of getting your tyres dirty... taker the 29er

It's so dry they'll probably end up cleaner than they are now! But thanks for the advice!

veronese68

Off road has more smiles, take the 29er.

perfectmark

I did similar distances on my mountain bike recently when my road bike was in the shop for repair. Had a lot of fun doing it and would often try to extend the commute, trying to cycle over every bit of non-tarmac'ed land I could find. But the down side is you realise you probably need another bike (something like the Cannondale Slate) which is a bit faster than the mountain bike and a bit better off road compared to the road bike.

slowbike

perfectmark wrote:

I did similar distances on my mountain bike recently when my road bike was in the shop for repair. Had a lot of fun doing it and would often try to extend the commute, trying to cycle over every bit of non-tarmac'ed land I could find. But the down side is you realise you probably need another bike (something like the Cannondale Slate) which is a bit faster than the mountain bike and a bit better off road compared to the road bike.

Are you suggesting I should take the CX?

veronese68

Slowbike wrote:

Are you suggesting I should take the CX?

My CX is my commuter. Been visiting the old man in hospital in Tooting recently, best route is through Richmond Park and then some off road over Wimbledon Common. The slick tyres on it at the moment would be a handful when it starts raining as one of the paths gets very muddy, good fun though.

CitizenLee

Slowbike wrote:

perfectmark wrote:

I did similar distances on my mountain bike recently when my road bike was in the shop for repair. Had a lot of fun doing it and would often try to extend the commute, trying to cycle over every bit of non-tarmac'ed land I could find. But the down side is you realise you probably need another bike (something like the Cannondale Slate) which is a bit faster than the mountain bike and a bit better off road compared to the road bike.

Are you suggesting I should take the CX?

I'm away to buy a CX for commuting, rather than ride my full suss... so yeah, give it a try on the CX one day and then the 29er the next - see which is more fun for your chosen route.

slowbike

I use the CX for Little SB duties - so its got full mudguards - and it's a bit like riding the road bike - so may just take the 29er ... which probably means I won't get time to get it down - so will end up on the road or just with the CX

CitizenLee

Just take the CX bike..

https://youtu.be/2zFmzrRbW7E

roger_merriman

Veronese68 wrote:

Slowbike wrote:

Are you suggesting I should take the CX?

My CX is my commuter. Been visiting the old man in hospital in Tooting recently, best route is through Richmond Park and then some off road over Wimbledon Common. The slick tyres on it at the moment would be a handful when it starts raining as one of the paths gets very muddy, good fun though.

That’s my StGeorges route normally, big boggy when it’s wet as you say, but really rather lovely, though the old MTB with Marathon Plus Touring is a bit of a handful if it’s truly wet/bumpy.

slowbike

Sorry guys .... took the road bike - did a few more miles though ... after a hard ride last night I just didn't have the will power to try something different today ...

CitizenLee

Slowbike wrote:

Sorry guys .... took the road bike - did a few more miles though ... after a hard ride last night I just didn't have the will power to try something different today ...

Well, we tried :roll:

slowbike

CitizenLee wrote:

Just take the CX bike..

https://youtu.be/2zFmzrRbW7E

hah thanks for that - reminds me when we did a "mountain bike" sportive in the New Forest - we didn't have 29ers then - so took our CX & Hybrid - standing in the queue for tea afterwards, the guy behind us was moaning that his suspension broke and he had to ride 10 miles with a solid fork ... yes - with fat knobbly tyres ... we rode like that for the whole 20 miles on 38mm tyres too ...

and ....

not quite like the video (by not quite I mean nothing like) - I've brought my road bike down an offroad trail down the side of a hill - 23mm tyres, chalk track .. it was dry and there were no issues ... it's not the kit that lets you down - it's you (or me)

DrLex

Veronese68 wrote:

[...]
and then some off road over Wimbledon Common. […]

Have the bike routes increased or the Rangers’ concerns decreased? I remember getting caught a few times by the latter when cutting through from Putney Heath to Wimbledon village rather than cycling down Parkside.

CitizenLee

Slowbike wrote:

CitizenLee wrote:

Just take the CX bike..

https://youtu.be/2zFmzrRbW7E

hah thanks for that - reminds me when we did a "mountain bike" sportive in the New Forest - we didn't have 29ers then - so took our CX & Hybrid - standing in the queue for tea afterwards, the guy behind us was moaning that his suspension broke and he had to ride 10 miles with a solid fork ... yes - with fat knobbly tyres ... we rode like that for the whole 20 miles on 38mm tyres too ...

and ....

not quite like the video (by not quite I mean nothing like) - I've brought my road bike down an offroad trail down the side of a hill - 23mm tyres, chalk track .. it was dry and there were no issues ... it's not the kit that lets you down - it's you (or me)

Haha, I like your style 8)

In our youth, my friends and I used to enjoy taking bikes of different types to places they weren't designed to go... BMXs on DH routes, DH bikes in skateparks, city shoppers on dirt jumps, kids bikes down huge hills etc. I miss those days

slowbike

In my youth I rode flat bar road bikes then road bikes - the other kids laughed because they all had choppers or BMXs - which were trendy - I could go faster though

wolfsbane2k

I used to semi regularly take the MTB for a Friday ride as it allows me to scoot out for some proper offroading on the way home. Recommend you do the same, If you can fit it in!

Ah, I see you took the roadie.