[Closed] All these commuting threads - let's spec your ideal commuter

currently a moda cross bike with 23mm road tyres on it, in winter or if i'm using the bike off road more then cross tyres on it. In an ideal world i'd get a ti cross frame with full bosses but too much money for the commuter cum road bike at present

Stop stop stop! This thread is now and henceforth officially over:

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Oh wait - this also:

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Belt drive alfine hub brakes, and comes with a thermal coffee mug in a special holder. And frame coloured mudguards!

EDIT: Just noticed this pic is not of the same one I saw in the shop, doesn't appear to have drum brakes.

molgrips that bike is fugly...

Stop stop stop! This thread is now and henceforth officially over:

Oh no it's not..... crap brakes for all weather commuting, too many gears for low maintenance. 🙂

Belt drive alfine hub brakes, and comes with a thermal coffee mug in a special holder. And frame coloured mudguards!

.... and weighs as much as a small house by the looks of it.

Come off it, how much time do you spend faffing with gears on your commuter?

Chris - it's not too bad, but those are my two choices. One for fast, one for relaxed.

Having said that, currently commuting on one of these upgraded a bit:

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When I was running 3x9 through the winter it seemed to eat drivetrain parts (chains, cassettes and chainrings).

I love how a request for subjective informaiton has elicited absolutist responses..!

Oh thank god for the OP. I thought I was the only person in the world who wanted a commuter bike with proper fast bike geometry, 25mm tyres plus full guards and (please god) disk brakes coming in at sub 20lb. Not interested in 'cross' or 'sportive' geometry.

My commute is 13 miles on hilly and muddy back lanes, it eats transmission, rims and brake blocks.

I'm currently on a Kaffenback which is the wrong shape, too heavy and has terrible mini-V brakes. Could be lured by a Kinesis Grand Fondo or Cragg Vale but for the 23mm tyres with guards limitation.

Hoping that Shimano having launched a deep drop brake and/or road disks coming I might not have to wait too long. Brant, Dom - anyone listening?

I thought I was the only person in the world who wanted a commuter bike with proper fast bike geometry, 25mm tyres plus full guards and (please god) disk brakes coming in at sub 20lb. Not interested in 'cross' or 'sportive' geometry.

+1 (although I'd like flat bars rather than drops please).

The On-One Pompetamine Alfine 11 Speed is something i would like as a present

Patience..... 😉 My VRS-11 shifters arrived this morning, so I may have it built by the w/e (my understanding of non-turn washers permitting). Colour cordinated white/black/silver.... includes BB7 discs and a dynamo hub running B+M lights. Been a long time coming, but looking forward to the first ride. If I like the Alfine experience, the frame will change to a Van Nic Amazon.....

Would be a different bike summer and winter.

Winter/wet days bike would be something close to the genesis day one alfine but belt drive and 11 speed, a touch lighter and have full guards. It would still be orange though.

For dry summer commutes I'd be pretty happy using my jake the snake which is my current commuter on a 20 mile each way commute. I'd just strip off all the winter junk.

Obvioulsy I could go a lot more exotic but I don't feel the need

Drop bars,
cross frame with disc mounts and a single rear ortlieb pannier
sturdy mavic 700c wheels with singlespeed hope pro 3 disc hubs for noise and rim saving shod in 25mm conti 4seasons

I imagine a custom build of a pompetamine would do the trick.

Currently riding my jake the snake with a courier bag and it's awesome but I'm worried about drivetrain and wheel wear, and I'd like to move the bag onto the bike as it moves around.

Oh thank god for the OP. I thought I was the only person in the world who wanted a commuter bike with proper fast bike geometry

Happy to be of assistance..!

It really does depend on your commute to be fair.

i have a short (~2 mile each way) commute across a city. My ideal commuter is a 24" bmx. nothing to go wrong, strong enough to beef into curbs if necessary, cheap. easy peasy

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It really does depend on your commute to be fair.

Absolutely ( 😉 )..! That's what I wanted to elicit - [i]your[/i] ideal commuter.

I have the bike, but the snobs amongst you aren't gonna like it... 8)

Here it is;

http://www.ashcycles.com/site/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=88_111_354_277&products_id=1685

Got one on Cyclescheme last year. Brilliant spec for the money, tough as old boots.

Ideal commuter - depends on the route options, but given current commute

700cc/29er wheels
32mm tyre clearance with full guards on
Disc brakes
Alfine gears - can get away with 8 speed
Proper rack mounts

Thinking possibly a Tripster.....?

ourmaninthenorth - Member
I love how a request for subjective informaiton has elicited absolutist responses..!

Well the OP does ask 'let's spec your ideal commuter'

I have my ideal commuter come tourer and have no desire to change it. Even though my commute is now a walk down the street. I can still use it to go to the shops etc... I look at my commuter as a working bike that needs to carry stuff and be comfortable to ride.

However, it certainly wouldn't suit those who's commute is a pivotal part of their 'training schedule'.

Personally, I wouldn't use disc brakes with narrow road tyres but others are free to do so. Nor would I use a 26 0r 24-inch wheeled bike but others do quite happily. Although, the guy who commutes through Hyde Park on a DH bike has made a weird choice.

My commuting is just running around town up to 5 miles each way. I use a Genesis ioid with mary bars, alfine,and 1 3/4 inch road tyres, Works for me.

Thinking I might need to get something made, would love to have the cash to go to Lynskey or Robin Mather (now that he's doing Ti) but may be best to wait for a road disk standard to be set (cynically betting it's not going to follow the same pattern as MTB).

Ignoring the disks which may be a few years away still, other things to consider are the Pearson carbon audax and there was also a Dedacciai frame with similar clearance I found at some point. The Fisher Cronus looked good last year but don't think any made it to the UK and have obviously now disappeared. Anything out there I've missed?

Love my fix-wheel (or fixie if your hip/trendy). The only thing I don't like is the skinny tyres on 700c wheels.
Would want 1.5-1.9x26" wheels for the sake of toe-clearance and pot hole ability, disc brake on the front, bullhorns and full length mudguards.

Pearson carbon audax

Friend rides one as his winter trainer and light tourer. Lovely looking thing.

How does this sound? 700cc 32 spoke disc wheels shod in 28mm Conti Ultra Gators, hydraulic brakes, Compact 105 gearing with 12-25 cassette, flat bars, carbon fork, full guards easily, rack mounts. Might need a carbon post & bar ends.

red 1994 GT Timberline, singlespeed, red grips too!! Perfect for my commute, I luv'it! (well I rode the Pacific Coast Highway on it last year so thought it will do for my commuter)

Last week it was an ancient Cannondale Tourer frame with Mavic wheels and 28mm Vittoria tyres, full guards, rack and panniers. It had flat bars, XT thumbies, 7 speed mtb rear cassette and big road front double chainset.

This week I'm in between bikes while I swap to a new steed so I am on a 94 Stumpjumper with full slicks and 1x7 gearing with riser bars. My commute today was fun and I realised how dull road orientated bikes are with their efficient geometry. No hoofing it off kerbs with road or hybrid bikes...

Next week will be a flat barred Cotic Roadrat with mavic disc 700c wheels, deore disc brakes, rack, guards, XT rapidfire 2x8 with the 28mm Vittoria Rubinio tyres.

However, if this is an ideal world money no object commuter I have logic issues. If money was no object why would I be going to work?

currentley in process of building one for my 15 mile uppy downy trip
so far it looks like
felt q920 frame
2x9 setup
exotic forks
26x1.25 tyres
old hope mini's
flat bar and bar ends
charge spoon

on paper seems to be nice but will see whan its built

Got a 17-ish mile up and down road ride to work. Its all fast open roads so a road bike is the preferred tool.
So with that in mind, I'll have something like that Pearson, would need full guards, panniers and disc brakes.
If it was all in town, something with 26" wheels, singlespeed and would need to be good fun just hacking around on it. And preferably stealthy enough not to get nicked.

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here's mine on my cheeky commute. Could do with a bigger gear I suppose.

My s/s Roadrat with Hope XC discs is a great way to travel to work. lovely handling bike Took me until lunchtime to stop smiling 🙂

My Trek Portland pretty much fits my current commuter bike needs and works ok with a bobyak. For more pickupability I use a brompton.

Patience..... My VRS-11 shifters arrived this morning, so I may have it built by the w/e (my understanding of non-turn washers permitting). Colour cordinated white/black/silver.... includes BB7 discs and a dynamo hub running B+M lights. Been a long time coming, but looking forward to the first ride. If I like the Alfine experience, the frame will change to a Van Nic Amazon.....

Is yours on the road yet?

This week some time..... fettling time permitting

I don't believe the Van Nic has mounts for disc brakes BTW

Can have this as an option, so no bother - the Amazon Touring certainly has a mount as standard. The Rohloff variant has an EBB as standard, so would look to see what they could do as a semi-custom option to cover all the requirements, or get close enough off-the-peg with a tensioner.

Anyone got a Courier Race from Edinburgh Cycles - thinking of getting one so would like to know if they are up to the job!

http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/ebwPNLqrymode.a4p?f_ProductID=13013&f_SupersetQRY=C432&f_SortOrderID=1&f_bct=c003155c018333c018336

Finally decided to cough up for a(nother) Ti frame to replace my rather tired 531 winter bike.

Not a fan of compact road frames but ended up with an off the shelf Enigma Etape as their custom build wait list is approx 4 months.

Transplanted most of the 9 spd running gear, guards, saddle etc over but needed a new longer post and I've thrown some Dura Ace bits on it as well.

Defo [b]not[/b] a cheap winter hack but having lost the two past winters I'm determined to keep the mileage up this year and some new shiny should help.

I'll need to juggle some wheels around as it's 22lbs atm and obviously waay too heavy 🙄

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I have an inbred which i use for everything from commutes, to riding holidays when the full sus has decided to spit it's dummy.

Change the tyres, flick a singlespeed kit on, whatever.
I don't need 6 bikes. (i'd get nagged for a start)

I second the concept of having a good commuter, I use mine for training and touring too.

Ti Yukon frame for £435, disc brakes, rack, mudguards, otherwise dependable non cling kit.

stanley222

I see a lot of them around Edinburgh, they look like decent bikes, they are designed for the job. Not ridden one tho

My perfect commuter. MTB frame with EBB, alfine, mary bars, short travel coil sprung fork, mary bars, rack and mudguard mounts, 1 3/4 inch road tyres. Not far of what I have

My requirements for a commuter:
Unattractive to thieves
Reliable & low maintenance
Able to carry luggage
Able to cope with the rough cycle path I use

Solution is a 1993 Marin Eldridge Grade, fitted with slicks, guards and a rack. The 7 speed transmission with thumbies never goes wrong, parts are cheap, I can carry plenty of shopping in 2 panniers, and no-one would nick it because it's old and a bit tatty.

I used to use my Thorn Audax, but that was far too nice to wreck on a short commute.

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I will also add that I commute on all my bikes and if it ties in with an evening TT, I'll bling up and ride me TT wagon
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It's my fastest bike and I like trying to get from A to B as fast as possible 🙄 :lol:.

At the other extreme I'll pootle in on't full suss every now and then
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