My season ticket on the trains due to expire soon & they are wanging the price up again for 2017. I’m thinking I might try cutting costs by staying with relatives part of the week & cycling into Aberdeen from theirs.

3 route options.

1. Along the A90 dual carriage way. Fastest for sure but not sure I fancy it.

2. Take my fat bike & cycle in along the beach all the way in. Fun I’m sure except if the north seas playing up & I imagine the slowest due to the conditions.

3. 5 miles of B roads then onto the Buchan line, former railway. This is my favourite option. Not as fast as option 1 but I reckon safer.

So the question is what type of bike should I be looking at? Cycle cross? Hybrid bike ? Or a Full blown roadie? I guess there’s also the option of a 29er fat but not fat wheel for my Wazoo though id rather keep it for off road.

Sorry to babble on. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

I’d go for route option 3.

Bike wise I’d look at a CX, something like the Pinnacle Arkose or the Genesis Croix de Fer. Handle well enough both on and off-road. Plenty of room for proper mudguards as well. Get a dynamo hub built into a wheel and either would be a spot on commuter. I’ve the CdF as it happens.

For riding in traffic in shit weather I’d definitely go disc, I struggled through last winter with cantis and it was horrible. Whether you get a cx bike or roadie with discs is up to you, I’ve got a disc road bike that takes a max tyre size of 28c or 25c with guards

I find that enough to be honest but depends on the crappyness of your local roads and if you’re likely to take any off road shortcuts

Edit to add – definitely get full guards though, with the longest front guard you can. You’d be surprised how much drier they keep your feet.

An adventure/gravel bike with 32-35c touring tyres and mounts for full guards.

An adventure/gravel bike with 32-35c touring tyres and mounts for full guards.

Agreed, but would add a rack.

No need for a rack, Carradice sqr for the win.

I used to use a rack, and might again in the run up to Christmas but for regular use I prefer the Carradice as it’s narrower and when I take it off its off with only a small block on the seatpost. Works out cheaper than a decent rack and a decent pannier too.

+1 for the Carradice SQR though currently I’m using an Ortlieb saddlebag which is big enough for my commuting stuff and only slightly less speedy to attach/remove than the Carradice.

Option 3 would be my choice as well, I bet the ride time wouldn’t be that different.

Planet x london Rd? Or pickenflick? Arkose would be hard to beat tho

For commuting Id be going for an old rigid 26er MTB with guard and rack mounts and slick-ish tyres. Something second hand and cheap so it wont matter if you wreck it or someone pinches it. A used Inbred with a rigid fork would do the trick. Over 5 miles you wont be that much slower than a CX bike.

I’ll have a CdF 10 for sale in a week or two if anyone’s interested. 52cm
SKS guards and rack included, probably with a new chain, cass, and outer ring too. Email in profile. 🙂

Option 3, with an Arkrose.

Sounds similar to my commute, so you need the same bike I use!

I use an Arkose for daily commuting duties year round, and have been using it for general road riding this year after my old road bike broke. Bit of a faff fitting front mudguard thanks to disc specific fork (drill and hacksaw were required), but all good other than that. No slouch either – even managed to haul it round the Dragon Ride in the summer. From what I can remember, it’s a fair bit more spritely than the CDF I test rode too. Would definitely recommend one.

Wazoo with the incoming Vee Apache Fattyslicks?

Or use JJs near max pressure like me, for my ~9 mile round trip undulating commute! 😆

Alfine, discs, full mudguards flat bars. that the musts for me. I have an MTB with 1.75 semi slicks alfine and discs. I am riding thru the town centre tho so I want top notch braking hence the wide tyres. and flat bars allow you to cover the brakes all the time with full power available. Alfine cuts down drivetrain costs / wear and maintenance.

I use puitoline wax on the chain twice a year and oil bath the alfine once a year – thats my drivetrain maintenance and the chain is on its 3rd year. Thats over 3000 miles

It’s between 13 & 17 miles each way depending on the route I take. I’m only planning on doing it 2 maybe 3 days a week max. Once I’m onto the old railway its plain sailing all the way to Dyce. It’s safely reaching said line that’s the issue.

I was wondering if something like the Pinnacle Ramin rigid 29er would work. £500 at Evans.

No way I would ride on the A90.
I drive for a coach company, we call the early morning run from dundee to aberdeen the wacky races due to the low standard of driving.
Option 3 would be my choice.
And for 17 miles it would be drop bars disc brakes and mudguards for sure.

I took the plunge in the end and got a full on commuter hybrid, for a mix of quiet road, hill tracks, disused railway line and canal tow path. 400 quid, panniers and mudguards, weighs half a tonne and turns like the titanic. It’s absolutely spot on as much as it makes me die a little inside. Decent enough bike not to make me want to change anything but not expensive enough to care about much. Whyte Ridgeway for reference, Edinburgh bike co-op were selling 2015 ones off cheap.

Martymac I’m coming in from the Ellon side (Newburgh) so I’m aiming for the Buchan line cycle path. I really don’t fancy cycling along the dual carriageway. Lol @ wacky races, I fully understand that.

https://www.evanscycles.com/pinnacle-ramin-1-2017-mountain-bike-EV244137

That looks amazing for the price, i bet you could have some fun on it too.

Genesis cdf with 35c tyres, sks mudguards and a Carradice SQR tour, exactly what I intend to run through the winter.

I’d go option 3 too

I have a bike as specced by many posts above and this would be perfect for it

Arkose. Rack, full guards, XL frame big enough for D lock and bottle inside the frame, lights on permanently (2 on front and 2 on back), 32c marathon plus tyres. Old school honker horn

Would be perfect for your commute. Used on the road mainly but fine for light off road

Much better than the Carradicce SQR stuff, which I have too. Used that on my Brompton before I got the Brompton Game Bag

Gets used with a rackpack for commuting mostly, like this pic (but it’s changed a tiny bit)

Option 3 sounds like the most pragmatic to me, although option 2 would be a lot of fun on days when the weather is better. Would that mean your fat bike would have to stay at your relatives? And therefore not with you at the weekend? That would be a shame if it’s your fave bike to ride in your spare time 🙂

Bike wise there seems to be five things that you always end up with if you commute over an extensive period of time (in no particular order):

1) Alfine hub
2) Dynamo lights
3) Mudguards
4) Rack and pannier (although that Carradice SQR solution looks like it may be an improvement!)
5) Disc brakes

Personally I went for a steel frame too, as commuting is a high mileage endeavour and steel seems to fatigue much slower than aluminium.

I’ve got flat bars and cannot see why you would go for drops- but I also know that drop bar aficionados feel the same about flat bars so there you go! I’m always in traffic (London) so that may be why.

Have fun! 🙂

I have a 50/50 road,off road 10 mile commute maybe once or twice a week, went for a 29er for the fun option.

I also wear jeans, sweatshirt,a flat cap and stay at home or drive if it looks like rain so perhaps not a proper bike commuter.

This is interesting- it looks like if you keep steel below a certain stress level, it will actually never fatigue. IF you keep it below that level! (Also not sure what that level is in real terms, ie whether or not I am above or below it as I ride my bike):

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatigue_limit

If you’re going to Dyce then the beach is no good

You’ve little option but to cross the A90. I’d just take the main road out of Newburgh up to the junction with the A90 and go straight across. There’s usually a queue at rush hour so you should be able to zip up the side of that and if there is a queue folk are usually good at letting you out. You still have to cross the northbound lane but at least there’s a filter lane to sit in. From there a combination of back roads to Newmachar then the line to Dyce. No way on gods green earth would I cycle the single carriageway of the A90 at rush hour. I see some hardy souls on the dual carriageway and that looks scary enough. I’ve a Boardman CX for commuting and I’d happily do that route on it

Me personally, it’s five miles, so a Singlespeed, cable disc brakes and permanently fitted mudguards, ideally dynamo front wheel and decent tyres such as Conti 4 Seasons. Keep it simple to maintain and check tyres often for nicks.

Ideally, your commuting bike should just be for commuting, so you don’t pull it out of the garage early in the morning to find you have wrong tyres on or you have taken lights off.

I do 8 miles of river/towpath commute.

Cotic Escapade is pretty much the perfect bike for it. 40c slicks on there and its a hoot.

Ta Connect2, im actually going right into the city centre to Rosemount but I think the old railway into Dyce then I know my route from there. I’m just trying to avoid the a90 & as much other road as possible.

Second the cotic or maybe a kona rove. Nice big comfy tyres and big mudguards with clearance and a long flap up front to keep your feet dry. The surly disc trucker is another mile muncher that would tick the boxes.

Look at the pinnacle lithium. 29erlike with road performance. Can take full guards and a pannier too.

Second the cotic or maybe a kona rove. Nice big comfy tyres and big mudguards with clearance and a long flap up front to keep your feet dry. The surly disc trucker is another mile muncher that would tick the boxes.

Trailrat has a rove which he likes though it’s a tank. Have a look at the Raleigh mustangs. They look suitable and can sometimes be had on sale. I’d second getting a dynamo. My Busch and muller IQ-X is brilliant.

For reference the pic below is my old light.

iPhone pics but you get the idea.

In true recommend what you’ve got I’d say Genesis Day One Alfine. All commutes and commuters are different but I’d echo what others have said.

You want reliability combined with low nickability. This means –

No punctures (marathon plus)
Low maintenance (alfine hub +/- discs)
No rucksack – rack or saddle bag
Good lights
Mudguards

Before the day one I had a £30 raleigh with alfine and rim brakes and apart from the nightmare of setting chain with no horizontal dropouts.

Consider hub gears or a single speed for added bomb proofness.

I commute 20 miles each way on tow path plus a wee bit of A71 on a genesis day one alfine. It’s had very little maintenance in the three years I’ve had it (and I’ve just left it out in the yard in all weather).

PS definitely option 3