I’m specing a new 700cc commuting bike after my last one got stolen, and I am trying to decide which chainset would be best.

My ride to and from work is about 6 miles, fairly hilly with about 1 mile off road on potholed/cobbled bridle track. It will be used pretty much 3-4 times a week 52 wks a year. Usually with one full pannier.

I cant decide between a roady SRAM force gear set, 34-50 front, 11-28 back with flat bar levers. – I like the carbon bling! Or a regular MTB setup with say a 3 ring shimano XT M771 with 26, 34, 44 and 11-30.

Do you think the Sram force gearing will be okay on the hills, when tired after work, in the rain, with a heavy bag? will it hold up to the mud and crap on the bridleway in the winter. Should I just get over the carbon bling obsession?

after my last one got stolen

Maybe carbon bling not such a good idea?

alfine hubbed Pompino is quite the commuter. can do drop bars with the Jtek shifter as well. no worries about mud/crud.

my commute probably isn’t as hilly as yours, but i rarely use more than one front ring even when doing proper dirty wheels riding. might be worth just getting a single ring up front?

How did you find your last gear set? Do you ever use the granny?

No offence but I’d be using a much narrower spread of gears.

34 should be fine for hills, my triple is 50-39-30 and I’ve never used the granny ring on the hills on my commute even with a 12-23 cassette. I regularly pass people spinning away on mountain bikes not really going anywhere. 😉

As to whether it will hold up to mud/crap, I don’t necessarily think it should be any worse than any other chainset if you clean/service regularly. The amount of crap/salt there is on the ‘roads’ in the winter sometimes it doesn’t seem that much different to riding on a bridleway!

Well current ride is a Dawes I got for £90 after my beautiful (but battered) 10yr old Trek Singletrack went walk about. The Dawes (which I after 6months, I hate) has 48-38-28 with a 14-34 on the back. I dont use the granny (as it wont shift down!), but do chicken out and use the big 34 on the middle ring sometimes.

infradig, Nice looking Pompino. I did wonder about the Alfine, but the weight put me off, but I’m open to persuasion !

the Pompino is my wife’s commuter. she loves it. it is a bit back heavy but not massively so and with pannier bags you can’t really tell at all. I think a commuter is the ideal application for the Alfine.

Singlespeed 38-14 and 26×1.3 slicks does me for commuting and the odd road training ride.

34/50 or better still 34/48 with a 11-28 is my advice, on 9spd.

You can run a double (or compact) and double road front mech with MTB shifters so you don’t need flat-bar specific shifters. Only when running a road triple do you need the SL-R440/770s.

MTb triple is wide and heavy and overkill IMO, unless the route is v.hilly and you’re legs aren’t up for it 😉

If it was me, I’d go full hydro discs too, without a doubt.

Pompino or other singlespeed with mudguard/rack tabs. Commuting bike IMO is more about useability and low cost. Guards essential for year round riding and the only maintenance I have to do is wipe down and lube the (short) chain once a week or less.
Yes I know you live in a hilly area but you’re only doing 6 miles so even if the hills are too steep for a standard ratio just run a lower ratio, you wont loose much time on the flat on a short commute.

I’d quite like hydro rim brakes too but don’t think anyone does them for drops and brake cables don’t need changing often IME

Agree with Donk, a ‘proper’ commute bike has full length mudguards, anythig else is just a half-hearted effort. I’d probably not spec anything fancier than Tiagra for a commute bike either, for two reasons: 1) it’s less likely to instantly appeal to thieves than ‘carbon bling’ and 2) IIRC that groupse has both drop bar and flat bar shifters so you have more options for bike set up if you decide to change things around later.

Singlespeed, fixed wheel or internal hub gears make so much sense for a commuting bike as well. If you really wanted you could even put a chainguard on there to keep the chain (and your trousers) clean.

DONK- Magura HS66 Hyrdalic rim brakes with drop levers.

I would have thought an Alfine’d Roadrat or Pompino would be what you want.

Ive seen a guy come into my LBS with a full carbon specialized s works hardtail frame, full carbon forks, the lightest wheelset you have ever seen, top range components, avid hydraulic discs.. etc. etc.

It was all in pieces, and he just wanted the bike shop to build it up for him, as hed bought all the parts seperatly from the internet.

He wasnt a mountain biker. He was hardly a cyclist. He put semi slick tyres on that bike, and then used it for commuting.

And I bet after a week he got bored and started taking the bus/car/train.

Moral of the story: dont get a nice bike for commuting. it will get nicked, and proper cyclists will think youre a tosser. Just go into LBS and buy a specialized globe or something.

wrong. Real cyclists will not give a toss what you are riding.

Here’s my road warrior nearing completion. Made from 2nd hand bits off here and elsewhere for around 200 quid tops.

I use an XT chainset with the bigger rings on my road/tourer/cross etc bike, 26/36/48 I think it is

Oxymoron-“bling” (I feel dirty typing that word)commuter.Alfine plus pompino/road rat/unit 29 with full mudguards.Tatty anti theft paint job optional.

For an “ultimate commuter” especially if speccing from scratch I would certainly be looking at hub gears and preferably and EBB.

My commuter du jour…

Change the wheels to 650b , 700c is just far to popular.

This is my “bling” £100 notes plus old parts now with oiled chain and slick tyres

well i use my 30-27(105 triple with r440 flatbars) gear, mind you i have two hills that are 1in4 at the end of the 10mile commute with a pannier. if im fecked and tired it sure helps. in the main though a compact would be fine, its only the really steep ones that i drop to the 30.

Ooh HS66s eh? sounds just the ticket, unfortunatley they appear to be discontinued.

druidh – Member

My commuter du jour…

you’re not serious?

my ti inbred is now an awesome commuter

thinking an alfine rear hub might complete it perfectly

theflatboy – Member

> druidh – Member

> My commuter du jour…

you’re not serious?

Err. Yes. Currently doing 25 miles per day – mixture of on and off-road.

i’m sorting out the finalities, however, i am going to go for a custom geometry nicolai, with no stickers or defining feature, it will have a carbon gates drive and an alfine rear hub. the rest of the kit will be unknown quality kit.

Err. Yes. Currently doing 25 miles per day – mixture of on and off-road.

don’t get me wrong, it’s a lovely bike but i couldn;t justify the expense of replacing an xtr drivetrain that gets worn out from commuting. fair play to you.

LOL – don’t worry. It’s a temporary measure!

carbon fiber road bike, biggest commuter bag you can get and off you go.

To me, the very essence of a commuter is something that
a) I won’t be too bothered if it’s filthy
b) Will still be where I locked it up when I got bac
c) Can carry a decent amount of stuff back from the shops

To that end I buy used ‘hybrid’ road bikes. My last one was a used (Ebay) Saracen Helix, which more than paid for itself just in fuel saved, and I replaced that last Autumn with a 105 geared Roadrat (£390 complete bike) off the classifides. The only things I’ve changed that cost money are the wheels (To heavy duty/cheap 36 spoke ones, from lightweight flexy ones) which cost about £20 to change and fit mudguards for another £20
It’s pretty quick, reasonably comfy and can haul some weight. It’s plain looking and not an MTB so doesn’t attract attention outside Asda.