Any hardened bikers out there?

Is this a sensible / doable?

What sort of bike / scooter would be most comfortable and appropriate?

Car isn’t really an option due to parking restrictions. Train would also require bus either end.

I don’t commute on my bike, but I reckon that for all weathers a big scooter would be hard to beat (T-Max type). They will surely keep you drier and warmer than any bike. The ability to keep up with the traffic is also very important, hence the ‘Big’. IMHO, of course.

60miles in all weathers and in dark/damp/grey light?

How many times will you ride over diesel, feel tired?

Why not do part of both?

Bike and for crappy days train (with brompton in hand)

Foldy bike/train combo FTW. 🙂

Yep, maxi scooter will keep you pretty dry and warm in most conditions.

I’d be tempted by a 3-wheeler like the Piaggio MP3 – odd as they look they’re almost impossible to wash out the front (on diesel / white lines / drain covers) and brake incredibly well.

I’d still want the option of a car or working from home (or just taking leave) on really icy/snowy days though. This winter has been mild but previous ones have had a few days where I was reluctant to bother in a car, let alone on 2 wheels.

Foldy bike/train combo FTW.

this +1 🙂 Did 15-35 each way ride + train into central london for a couple of years in all weather.

Or you can try what one my team at work did – start learning to ride (scooter) at approx 40 yrs old. Progress to taking and passing license and buying full leathers and 125 ‘sports’ bike within 4 weeks. Decide to ride 50 mile each way commute into central london. 3rd day of doing it go under a car. Broken femur and 6-8 weeks recovery.

60 miles each way or 30 miles each way?

The former would be pretty hardcore, the latter better but still tiring everyday for a new biker

You will also rack up a large mileage for a bike and so when doing the figures remember to factor in service costs which are far more frequent on a bike (4000-6000miles) and chains sprockets etc

In my (limited) experience of commuting 30 miles each way as a new biker it was more tiring and more expnsive than I thought. And I only needed to do it twice a week. It was also more fun but a cold winter morning in the rain can scare the bejeezus out of you and I fell off once on ice – no damage to me but bike needed new levers , pegs and handlebars – that was at about 5mph!

You will also need to spend a fair amount of cash on riding gear – 30-60 miles in winter and then working a full day then riding home needs good kit

Did 50 miles for many years.
Triumph Sprint did 50+ mpg & had “Presence” on the road.
Once you have some good kit & are in to it you don’t think about a car & infact look forward to the ride.
Sad looking bike now sitting un-used in the garage with 90k on the clock as I cycle the 5 miles into work now.

60 miles total, 30 each way. So around 45mins each way by bike or probably the best part of 1hr30 each way by train plus cost.

I’m under no illusions winter isn’t going to be a ‘fun’ it is about need.

Some working from home is possible, maybe a day a week, that’s tbc.

I was thinking one of those big bmw touring type bikes with steel boxes and maybe get it painted completely fluro yellow (why do bikes/bike kit mostly appear to be black?!)

Commuting in winter is a bit of a test, made easier by good kit (which is expensive) By the end I had first class waterproofs (rukka ftw!), heated gloves, etc which made it much nicer, the first couple of years were frankly not fun. And some weather is just plain not clever- snow obviously but also high winds, if you have an exposed commute.

If it’s specifically for commuting, you want something reasonably engined, big fairing, probably fairly upright… I’d get a Honda Dullsville but they do carry a price premium as they’re so damn good. Big trailies can work too but the more plastic, the better.

And don’t overlook the price, it can be cheap to get into biking but it does tend to add up. I spent more on tyres and fuel for the bike than for the car, frinstance (less tax and insurance)

I’ve was doing 15 miles each way all last year, now 25 each way and I’ve been commuting by motorbike on and off for 17/18 years now.
Some points:
It doesn’t rain half as much as you think it does. It’s not that bad.
It’s not anywhere near as dangerous as some will make out. But that’s up to you mostly, how you ride, how well trained you are.
It’s not cheap but I’ll wager its cheaper than a car when you add it all up
You’ll need some proper good kit to ride in. Budget at least £1000 for clothing.

Now, if your journey is town and traffic, get a small scooter. Nothing beats them. I had a Vespa GT200 and it was unstoppable in heavy traffic
I then bought a maxi scooter as my distance increased (Piagggio X10) which was practical, comfy, warm and dry, and had ABS and traction control. But it was full as ditchwater, not that good on the motorway and not good in traffic (too big) so I swapped it for a Honda NC700x which is, quite frankly, a work of genius. Simply the best all round commuting bike I’ve ever ridden. And it’s currently doing around 81mpg (measured not guessed)
You need to look at things like service intervals and tyre wear with bikes, as that’s where the money goes. Fuel, insurance and tax are all silly cheap for me. (£84 fully comp, unlimited miles, protected NCB, 2 riders) But a rear tyre is £125 ish every 8-9000 miles and that’s really, really good for a bike.
I look at it this way: I get bored in cars. It doesn’t cost any more to run a bike, and I get an hour of my life back every day. It’s not for everyone and occasionally you do have to MTFU but most bikers are fair weather riders and will do anything they can to put you off it seems. Just do it. You won’t know unless you try. 🙂

30 each way ? Yes, but you will need a decent engine and handwarmers so a scoot would be my choice.

I used to do 25 each way for a short period on my old Vespa, but that was in Florance, in the summer through very early spring and even there it was bloody cold in Jan..

Maxi scooter. Commuting by mc is surprisingly boring bc you can’t imvho safely listen to radio etc.

I’m doing a 18mile/50 min commute on the bike due to similar issues as yourself.

Its a huge amount of fun, but you do have to MTFU at times

Yamaha YBR was fairly cheap to buy, it keeps up with the majority of traffic and i’m getting over 130mpg (and thats not even trying) Not got to servicing yet, but i’m making the assumption the total cost per mile would be similar to the car, but with free parking, no traffic jams, and a lot of fun.

Depends on your route?

Open/fast A roads i’d want something bigger, but my route is generally 40mph roads plus city centre traffic.

If you cycle on the road you’ll have a good amount of traffic awareness and in the 2 weeks of winter when it snows i’ll take the train.

If you’ve not even passed your test, don’t even consider it.

I’ve commuted further (usual was Bucks in/around London, so circa 90 miles) plus having been riding that long I had a 250cc on ‘L’ plates.

As Poddy says really, plus some days you just don’t (ie frost on the road). Only reason the costs use to add up for me was that the alternatives were even dearer (outer-Oyster trains and/or high or non-existent parking plus hourly paid).

Picture of my last (and best ever) ‘commuter’ 🙂

with 90k on the clock

WOW, simply wow. 😯

Everything works etc?

Had a Thundercat for a bit, commuting from Birmingham to Banbury (about 40-odd miles depending which way you go) – motorway was deathly dull and cross country was nice, for a bit, but the novelty wore off and I resented the extra time it took (40 minutes or so on the motorway, an hour or more cross country). Winter was a ballache and I rapidly got fed up of kitting up/dekitting either end. And stopping for fuel twice a week.

I used to do a 90 mile round trip commute and now do 50 by motorbike. These days the car is an option or even train when the weather is bad. I wouldn’t do over 90 miles around trip, as that was pretty hard for me day in, day out.

I echo most of the comments above.

Don’t forget also one thing is, generally, motorbikes are less reliable and design for lower mileage than a car. So not only do you need to service/replace consumables more often but you’ll get the occasional middle of winter breakdown/puncture that simply doesn’t occur as often in a car. These can sour the experience and can occur even if you’re on a brand new bike.

You will need heated items for winter, I strongly recommend heated gloves and also the obligatory high end riding gear to stay warn, dry and safe.

Plus sides – You will sink or swim. If you stick it out your riding skill will increase dramatically as you learn to control a bike while tired, in the dark on wet roads covered in diesel/frost/snow/leafs.

Bad sides – The above 🙂

“Plus sides – You will sink or swim. If you stick it out your riding skill will increase dramatically as you learn to control a bike while tired, in the dark on wet roads covered in diesel/frost/snow/leafs.”

I couldn’t agree more with this statement

If you are new to biking a big BMW (they are 1200cc) might be a bit of a handful. Its not impossible but they are pretty top heavy and YOU WILL drop your first bike. Not if but when. Best to get something cheap without expensive plastic to break. The big BM’s are OK on this front to be fair as they have crashbars and the metal cases protect – plus they are shaft drive so less frequent maintenance. But they are VERY heavy and completely rubbish for town riding as you can’t filter and they demand alot of attention at low speed

Take a look at Honda – as PP says the NC range and the new CB500 family are superb bikes for the money and just perfect for a new rider. Yamaha does a nice range of bikes now too

I’d like a Sprint GT to keep the Bonnie company.

45 mins/30 miles each way is very do-able..

Get decent goretex (and it has to be goretex) textiles – look for deals. I got the lot from Heine Gerricke for 350 quid by wandering in while they had a sale on. You do need to maintain them with wash in stuff.

Get heated grips.

Use something to prevent visor fogging and maybe a water shedding spray on the outside – it seems to help when rinsing off bugs and dirt too.

Just read you said 30 miles each way. The type of bike you use isn’t so critical, depends on the type of roads. But you don’t need a big BMW to do that!

What is your riding experience?

I use a new shape Fazer with 150bhp for my 50 mile round trip commute! Enough fairing to cover me for the short trip and enough power to be fun for other riding!

If you’ve not even passed your test, don’t even consider it.

Why? No reason why not. That’s what I did: Just decided to ditch the car and get a bike. I spent 3 years without a car, firstly with a 125 on L plates, then passed my test and got a CB500s.

Why? No reason why not.

Mainly due to cost and how you wouldn’t want to particually commute 30 miles on a 125cc if you’d not.

I ride 35 miles each way, Kent to central London each day, a mix of A roads and then through town, I’d recommend a mid range bike and good quality kit (it will last longer and keep you drier).

I agree with the previous poster, in that it doesn’t rain as much as you’d think and with good rainwear you hardly notice it.

Larger bikes are rubbish to filter with, I have lost count of the number of times I’ve been stuck behind the Ewan and Charlie wannabe who commutes with the full pannier pack.

On the downside is the service cost and tyres, a good 9,000 miles is all I get on a set, and service intervals at 6000 miles.
The train however, is expensive and a pain to get to (I have no real local station), and the time saved is a bonus, I can get in and out of town in 45-50 mins, even on a bad day with school traffic, and in the holidays its a breeze.
The more you do it, the better you get, just don’t get complacent, there’s always some ****t that doesn’t look and can swipe you.

Textile clothing doesnt all have to be Goretex and mega expensive. My textiles last at least 5 years a time. I ride every day (not even had a car for the last 6years) and I’m on my 3 set. My only goretex items are my boots, as they are warm and waterproof in the winter, and arent overly expensive (a bit over £200 new, but got mine off ebay for £100 🙂 ). 2 sets of gloves, 1 winter, 1 summer. My winter ones were electric – only lasted 1 season if that, but are not bad without elecs. Jacket + Trousers are good quality, but not goretex. I would look at spending at least £200 on each (Mine were about £500 for both – Wolf titanium outlast). Helmet is upto you, I’m sure they all offer enough protection and meet the standards, but I spend about £300 on mine (every 5-7years).
As said above, the bigger teh bike, the more to run. Tyres, chain, fuel, tax. But more able to do you 60mile a day reliably, and no doubt more fun. I would look at a 600cc+ motorbike or a big (250-400cc) scooter.

I love riding my bike to work, I dont need to MTFU, it never crosses my mind, its just fun!

(Currently filtering just as well on my big BMW F800GS, as on my previous bikes!)

No experience of riding motorbikes in the uk, so will be looking to take the accelerated test etc.. I’ve ridden scoots and quads abroad a few times, but obviously its lovely and warm and less busy!

Exploring options at the moment, its not a definite.

Roads wise have a choice of busy dual carriage way A road or minor roads through the forest. Southampton to Bournemouth. Would probably favour the minor roads with a bit more town riding either end.

What licence do you have? Can you ride any bike?

Whats the ride like? 30 miles each way isn’t a killer

I’d want different bikes depending on the journey. Plus you’ll rack up the mileage so something shaft driven and cheapish is probably a good idea

DT78, I would avoid the new forest roads, especially when the nights draw in. Scenic and more interesting they maybe, but not only are they slow (30mph), but the wildlife might offer a few nasty surprises.

Don’t bugger about. Get the biggest of those hand muffs that you can find. Add heated grips and boots a size large for decent socks.

Did 30 miles each way into\out of Aberdeen over a couple of years. Bike was Kawasaki GT750, probably difficult to find now, but big, air-cooled shaft drive, did the business with minimal looking after over the winter. GT550s are still around and cheap.
Clothing’s big, heavy duty textiles, removable lining, armour and great big boots with big thick socks. Never used heated grips (wished for them though) but heated gloves were great. Always fancied a heated vest as well.

I do about a 30 mile round trip by bike. Its fine if you can make other arrangements for a few snowy or icy days. If not it may become a problem. I do live in the sub tropical south of england. It would be worse in the frozen wastelands up north.
I ride a 20 year old F650 BMW, heated grips are a must.

I was doing Farnborough to Chatham and back daily, 76 miles each way. All weathers 1hr 10 on average each way.
Honda Dueville 650 was perfect, panniers not too wide, 50+mpg, comfy stable, but dull! Big screen heated grips, never any probs in some pretty horrific weather.
Would I do it again? yes if I had to do that journey again, saved me hundreds of hours parked up on the m25