At the moment I have a 1.5 mile commute to my local station, then train journey, then a 2min walk to the office. So I leave an old MTB at the local station under cover and walk the other end. However, a new office in a few months time means the same commute from home, then train, then a 4mile mostly flat commute to the new office. Buses at the new office location are shite. There are no covered cycle racks at the station at the new office end. The train to the new office location is a small service with limited bike storage on board, which is already full every day.
I'm thinking of:
a) Buying another second hand MTB and leaving it at the new office station end. I would be able to do basic maintenance at the office if needed, but it will be out in all weathers when at the station. So 2 bikes at either end of the train journey. Will basically rust up befibe I know it?
b) Buying a folding bike on CTW (but not a Brompton*) and riding both ends on it.
Pros / Cons? Am I missing a third way (which doesn't involve a car)?
Thanks
Your Plan B looks like a winner to me.
If the ride is flat(tish) both ends then a singlespeed folder (Kansi or similar) would be ideal.
Leaving a bike out in all weathers and with very limited maintenance opportunities at the office end would, IMO, end up very quickly with a pretty much unserviceable bike.
Also, what would you do if you get to the office station and find some scrote has nicked your ride?
ACF-50 is a very very good rust inhibitor. Use that on anything metal.
would you do if you get to the office station and find some scrote has nicked your ride?
As yes, good point! I'd be royally cheesed off!
I've done the two bike shuttle thing before. Is there really no covered bike shelter at the station? Heavy grease on the chain and riding fixed would go someway to avoiding issues. Plastic bag over the saddle for the days it rains.
A Brompton is still better though, don't be one of those plebs with another brand of folding bike.
Mate of mine left his winter road bike out on his student flat balcony in all weathers, it was fine*
*Until he was up out the saddle climbing up toward Aberfoyle and his steerer snapped and he destroyed his face, knocked all his front teeth out and awoke in an ambulance....
I would say a dutch-style city bike is a better bet than an MTB - hub gears, most of the drivetrain covered in plastic, cheap as chips
I tend to leave my singlespeed outside out of laziness, CBA opening the shed, uncoiling the lock from the ground anchor etc. Never comes to much harm.
Is there no option C? Just ride the whole way? I've a mate who does the first half of his commute by bike (5miles) to get to the right train line in London, then gets the train the remaining 5 miles or so. Takes him longer to do that than it would to just cycle the whole thing!
Having said that, if you've got to sort out a new bike anyway to leave at the station, and taking the train is a nesecity, then really it's what folding bikes are made for!
4 mile run should be doable, I used to do that on the days I had to drive when I worked in Edinburgh as no parking anywhere near, dump the van on the outskirts and run the rest. Biking the whole way was still better though.
A Brompton is still better though, don’t be one of those plebs with another brand of folding bike.
Not everyone drops £700 on a folding bike. The BTwin is perfectly adequate and a fraction of the price. I’ve seen lots of them. Buy a used one and try first.
And my Brompton killer was vastly cheaper, rides better, with my normal drop bar road position, is a fixed wheel, weighs two kilos less and still takes Brompton luggage. I’ve counted for the past two weeks and it’s a Nice Ride.
I would try the folding bike thing.
Two bike option, in the weather: sounds like too much stress for me. And yes - mountain bikes might be not the perfect solution for this either. Cheap road bikes start from 100 GBP at ebay?
All weather: you need roughly two bikes a year? 200 GBP cost every year? Folding bike is cheaper in the long run.
I did this for about a year. The 'work' end bike was an Alfine rigid bike using strong BMX chain, with disc brakes. Did zero maintenance on that in a year.
Had two locks on it, at the station end, which fended off at least 1 attempt from thieves.
4 miles on not very far for a folding bike, but i cant be arsed with the train standing/folding/watching it.
I also sold the Alfine hardtail for about £100 less than i paid, after nearly 2 years commuting. Again, with almost zero maintenance.
I left my commuter (fixed) outside in the garden for the last ~~4 years hung up by it's front wheel from a fence mostly and TBH it weathered pretty much fine, Waxing the chain helped avoid rusting after wet days...
The one thing I did notice was that the tyres didn't last as well and started to break down a bit last year, I put it down to more UV exposure and more thermal cycling of the Rubber, everything else has remained completely itact...
We've not long moved, so the bike is now stored in a Garage and thus this informal weathering experiment is sort of over now....
I was hoping the headline of that article was misleading, but it seems not:
The people who brought cycling back to life were the people at the weekend training for their triathlon,' Butler-Adams told The Telegraph. 'They whizz along at 100mph like some hardcore guy, get to work and change out of that funny stuff
As for leaving a 2nd bike outside, I'm not sure how bad that would be - certainly worse on a cheaper bike with poorer sealing etc, and when salt on the roads.
I wouldn't not buy a Brommie on the basis of the CEO being a knob, the bike is too good. Are other folders accepted without issue on trains?
is there a local business nearby where you could store your bike at the other end.. a garage perhaps..or anywhere nearby you could lock it up under cover?
Used to walk 3.5 miles one way to my work place.
Only downside was 3 pair of shoes wrecked in 9 months.
After that fixie plus massive U-Lock and chain. It was residing under open skies. Took me longer to get changed in the office after or before ride than actual ride 🙂
Cheers!
I.
Thousands of Dutch commuters keep two bikes for the same reason but I wouldn't; there is double the potential for punctures or breakdowns. I'd get a Brompton.
Electric scooter ?
Puncture potential is surely exactly the same? We're not playing Monty Hall here.
As for breakdowns, keep an eye on the chain and hubs and there isn't much to go wrong, carry the usual chain tool and quick link and you're set. I can't personally recall a bike failing that wasn't down to poor maintenance (including worn drivetrain).
Run, seriously.
You'll get way fitter and all it will cost you is running shoes and a decent bag.
Cheers all for the replies, lots to think about! But a few quick thoughts:
- There are a few, and I mean a handful, of covered spaces at the end station, but the majority are uncovered so no guarantee of getting one.
- I am a running novice, so I'd need to start working on that now for that to be an option 😉
- Biking the whole way not really what I'd want to do regularly (60 mile round trip).
- I wouldn't totally rule out a Brompton just because the CEO appears to be a nob, but it does put me off a bit.
- The Kansi looks interesting but their UK website looks dead?
- Folding option looking strong; electric scooter is leftfield but not totally outrageous; Alfine also interesting.
Cheers!
Brompton, especially if you can get bike to work scheme.
I think he's expressed it badly but there is something in what he says. We did kill cycling in this country to the point when the majority of those riding in London were in Lycra, riding unsuitable bikes (including me). That's partly because we were having to ride in 30mph+ traffic around gyratorys but there's hangover effects even though cycling (in London at least) has increased and there is some decent infra. Those riders do look like alien to many people - your average joe doesn't look at the guy on the road bike with the aero helmet and think 'that could be me' whereas someone riding along in normal clothes on an upright bike might be.
I mostly ride in the city in normal clothes now and it's pretty unpleasant on the embankment track when some idiot on a road bike is trying to ride faster than the majority and overtaking into oncoming riders.
It's also pretty unpleasant in normal clothes riding behind people with no mudguards in the wet - they don't just put a black stripe up their own back, they send filthy water flying over everyone else. I went to Evans in Clapham yesterday and they must have had 60, 70 bikes in the shop. There were loads of attractive, well-specced, hybrids but the ONLY bikes that were ready to ride in the city, the only ones with ANY of mudguards, rack and dyno lights, were the Bromptons. Oh, and one small, step-through dutch bike with a wicker basket on the front.
A folding kick scooter would be fine. Doesn't need to be electric. Would be quicker and less effort than running anyway. And cheaper and lighter than a Brompton.
take a sheet of tarpaulin the first time you do your commute, leave it where you can chain up at the office.
My 1960s mans bike (it's a now defunkt Sun branded thing) that I picked up off eBay for approx £30 has been living outside for about 10 years without issue. In that time it's had a new saddle, chain, tyres and brake pads/cables but that's about it and for the last 4 years it's done a 6 mile each way commute at least 3 days a week. It gets serviced once in a blue moon but the chain is always well lubed. I don't care about the faded paint and rust as it's mostly non structural and the cosmetics help it not be a target for thieves. It's been a brilliant bike and I've put more miles on it than any I've ever owned and it's probably cost me less in total than the last Reverb I bought and that was 2nd hand.
|The Dutch bike thing is mainly attitude but a 3 speed Sturmey Archer and a waterproof seat go a long way to making it possible
I've tried both. The Brompton was far more adaptable even if I felt like a knob to start with. Ability to nip out at lunch to meet a mare the other side of town is handy, and you never have to worry about bike getting stolen as it's with you. Also tend to be fitted with mudguards and so better for cycling in normal clothes. Oh, and they are really fast off the lights. It's great fun pissing off the Lycra clad folk by beating them off the lights 🙂