I’ve been cycling to work for just over a year now (22 miles round trip – 5 days a week come rain or shine principally on roads) using my trusty Rockhopper and I’m thinking it’s about time I looked for a commute bike and kept the Rockhopper for MTBing.

I’m looking at the Spesh Sirrus Pro (linky) (~£1650) or a Cube SL Cross Race (linky) (~£1200). Naturally I’m leaning towards the Cube – principally on price and looks.

I know naff all about commuting bikes so I’m looking for any advice on other bikes I should be looking at (I would really like hydraulic disc brakes) or thoughts/experiences of the above 2.

Cheers

bbA

well for less money you could have a roadrat

Cannondale badboy? Think you can get the disc / alfine model for that sort of dosh.

Ever want to carry more loads using a pannier?

Rack mounts?

700C wheels are ideal.

Carbon is a bit flash-as long as you can afford to replace it.

Alum won’t rust (oxidise yes) bit harsh but I don’t have any probs.

Do you have any hills? do you need a triple crank?

Personally I went for a road bike as I have a few straights that I blast around but I find the brakes naff unless I uprate the road brake pads.

Going through traffic, I find a flat bar ideal with non road leer brakes too.

That Cube is really nice but I’d be too afraid to leave it anyway outside so I assume your workplace has decent security.

(I use a roadbike with a carrier)

You don’t need disc brakes on the road, although if they work they could prove to be much less maintenance than rim brakes.

My advice would be to go simple. Single speed or hub gear if possible. Rim brakes (my road bike can stop from 40mph+ with them so a commuter will be fine). Stay away from bling look for reliable parts as if you use it day in day out it need to be reliable. Strong wheels, solid drive train, mudguards and racks.

Look at touring bikes, not much talk on here of surly recently but I like some of there stuff.

Kaffenback, uncle john from planet x or another cross bike.

I do about 15 miles a day and do it on a rigid slicked singlespeed mountainbike. It’s ideal, apart from the occasional puncture it just runs all year round with only very minor maintenance.

I’m selling my MINT geared medium Roadrat (can be supplied singlespeed) on the classifieds, email me for pics if you’re interested. 🙂

Cheers jonb and zaskar for the advice.

Zaskar, I only carry a smallish rucksack as all my stuff is at work and regarding hills – the last 4 miles is up a long drag getting progressively steeper for the final 2 (naturally this is on the way home – it’s a real blast on the way to work though). Parking on the street isn’t an issue as the bike will spend the day in the firm’s underground car park which has more security around it than Strangeways.

bbA

your spending way too much on a commuter! you really don’t need anything as fancy. You’ll never be able to leave it unattended.
My advice, spend around £400 – £500 on a commuter, bank the rest.

This is what i use as my 50km round trip commute:

It’s is more than enough for the job; Carbon fork, road gearing, 700cc wheels, rack mounts, simple brakes, takes mudguards, inconspicuous.

On One Pompino Fixie = job done 😀 (well depending on how perverted you are)

My thoughts
Had a Pompino and it was good except that the chainline was crap so it dropped the chain a lot and ate through brake pads in the traffic. Now have a Roadrat and it is better but I get it up with discs and drops meaning that BB7 were the only option. They are heavy and fussy to set up properly. Track ends are a nightmare with mudguards when you have a flat and the removable gear hanger on the roadrat makes that problem even worse.
If I started again I think I’d get a Spec singlecross or something similar or if it really hilly where you are, then something with gears but stick with mudguard mounts and vertical dropouts. I guess the other option it to go for flat bars and mtb disc brakes, but buying 700c disc wheels is yet another pain in the arse.

Why not ‘commuter-ise’ your Rockhopper with different tyres/gearing and fit a rack? Then spend £1000< on a new MTB?? I commute on my SS tricross. Cost me £275 Brand new. But then my route is about 5 miles 😉

Wiggle have a nice CX bike on their site which comes with discs as standard. Called the Mares and is £900. Worth a look.

I commuted for years on my Hardrock and ended up putting a pannier rack on it and changing to a 48/36/26 chainset and big fat slicks. Loved it but my commute was only around 6 miles each way. Just put a nice carbon fork on it as well which dropped nearly 3lbs straight off the weight and looks lovely. 🙂

Then like has been mentioned, buy a new mountain bike and keep the Rockhopper for commuting only.

The Ridley Crossbow is a good bike for the money (750ish) but really any cross bike with a half decent spec will be fine.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, if you really want a good commuting bike, MUDGUARDS, MUDGUARDS, MUDGUARDS!

You do not realise just how much of a difference they make until you have actually ridden a bike with full length ‘guards on. Once you’ve tried it you won’t go back. Some good comments from jonb and Zaskar. Also, you (hopefully) will have your bike longer than you continue to work where you are at present, so you should allow for having to lock it somewhere less secure in future. this might suggest you get something a little more utilitarian than the two bikes you’ve suggested.

Good commuting bikes are, IMO, all about reducing the maintenance requirements as much as possible. Mudguards do this by keeping the bike (and you) a lot cleaner. Hub brakes do this by enabling your rims to last a lot longer than is otherwise the case, although they fall into the desirable rather than essential category. Clearance for larger volume tyres (700x32c plus) can make a real difference to the comfort on your commute (as well as reducing the likelihood of damage to your bike from potholes and rubbish roads) without have a significant effect on your speed or effort if kept pumped up.

Whether you need a rack and panniers or not is highly dependent on person circumstances and preferences. I hated riding through London with a pannier so no longer bother and have gone back to my courier bag. If my commute was longer or I needed to carry more I might reconsider.

i don’t commute as far you, but my commuter has evolved to this over many years:

The streets here are full of potholes so i wanted slightly stronger wheels. The discs and tyres with a slight tread mean i can also brake and turn in the rain – very important when most of my commute is in and out of buses and taxis!

Also being able to rob spare parts off my mtb is very useful.

I do a similar distance on this, although not every day.

If it’s mostly on road, what about a road bike, or at least a cross bike? Something that can take mudguards and has drop bars. It’ll be more efficient, faster, more comfortable once you’re used to it, and needn’t cost as much as those very fancy hybrids that you’re looking at. Nice narrow bars are better in traffic too.

There are road / cx bikes that take discs if you want them for some reason, although without fiddling you have to use cable discs I think.

If you really want a hybrid, then make sure it has all the rack and mudguard mounts, it makes a massive difference.

Joe

I’ve used both full and clip on race guards. Can’t say that I noticed any significant difference in how dry i stayed so i now stick with clip ons.

If you want something that’s fun to ride on the road at weekends as well I’d recommend one of these

Its one of the few pedigree road frames around that can take proper mudguards and has rack mounts. I use mine for occasional commuting. Its mainly used for recreational road riding throughout the year so I splashed out on Shimano 105 and full mudguards. Practical but still racy and light enough to ride quickly.