[Closed] The Shame Of Commuting

Ha, yes, I don't have pics to hand, but my once proud Marin Nail Trail, a veteran of the Alps no less, is also reduced to skinny tyres, plastic crap on the back and a bottleholder. It was the tyres wot did it though - welcome to Dorksville.

I bought a road bike.

phone holder

My current commuter has 2.25" knobbly tyres. Resistance training...

What njee said - basically, you don't have enough bikes.... 😉

mustard: yeah I know. 😕

But I track my commutes on Endomondo, so my phone is effectively my bike computer. Plus it means I don't have to stop and get it out the bag if I get a text/call and I have the option of listening to some tunes. 🙂

basically, you don't have enough bikes

Agreed. Sadly I don't have enough shed space or money either 😀

how do you unclip the carradice with that mudguard there ?

njee20 - I've also bought a road bike. But that's as far as I'm prepared to go. Its sits unloved amongst the 'proper' bikes. Mudguards? Bell? Reflective strips? Panniers? Lycra?

[img] http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSwg8k5er64fR_3ahw6hf1tcbvNKr6ulTBeZcWFMbojjGH7jKPuJO0GapkR0g [/img]

Up yours grandad!

My Cove Handjob has gone the same way skinny tyres, bar ends, mudguards & panniers but I love it (I will post some pics tomorrow). I have done a few 70 mile plus rides and have the touring bug.

I don't commute through the winter months so it is actually in MTB form at the moment. I ride MTB in winter and road in summer now.

how do you unclip the carradice with that mudguard there ?

It [i]just[/i] fits, hence the slightly odd angle of the mudguard.

Probably overkill as the Carradice has a mudguard bit on it too, but my work laptop is in there so I [i]really[/i] don't want it getting muddy!

Don't think of it as shameful, your bike has simply had a change of career...

With a bit of fettling and a change of tyres it could ride the trails again!

Think of it as having the capacity to offroad should you need it.

njee20 - I've also bought a road bike. But that's as far as I'm prepared to go. Its sits unloved amongst the 'proper' bikes. Mudguards? Bell? Reflective strips? Panniers? Lycra?

Huh? I'm confused... Are you calling me grandad? You're so awesome because you waste money on things that you don't deem cool!

Did you need planning permission for that stem...?

I don't know how you can look people in the eye.... 😉

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Fixed gear, no mudguards, no phone holder, no practicalities.. 🙄

Up yours grandad!

SCRUBBERRRRRS!

done the same to my 6 yr old Blur xc - winter commuter now with ice spiker tyres. This is Norway mind

road bike for commuting in the summer

Did you need planning permission for that stem...?

😆 Original spec would you believe? Stupidly long by today's standards.

My bike in hard core offroad mode.
[url= http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2614/5698585055_d573f9c306_z.jp g" target="_blank">http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2614/5698585055_d573f9c306_z.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/53067724@N00/5698585055/ ]Genesis Day-one[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/53067724@N00/ ]Jon Wyatt[/url], on Flickr

My bike in commuter mode
[url= http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2614/5698585055_d573f9c306_z.jp g" target="_blank">http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2614/5698585055_d573f9c306_z.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/53067724@N00/5698585055/ ]Genesis Day-one[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/53067724@N00/ ]Jon Wyatt[/url], on Flickr

(Although admittedly, the knobblies there wore out in five minutes so I put some more commuter friendly hybrid tyres on, not that it stopped me using it for hard core offroad)

Fit some decent mudguards. My commuter is fixed. Rack, bell, full guards, puncture proof tyres. Permanent mounted lights (not yet a dynohub).

njee20 - I wasn't having a pop. Merely pointing out that I too have made the ultimate sacrifice. But there are things that are just a step too far - Mudguards? Bell? Reflective strips? Panniers? Lycra? 😀

OP: gorgeous bike, be not ashamed of your MTB commuting abomination!

I once fitted a clip on mudguard to my Mather, for a commute.

I felt degraded and nasty.

Far better to get muddy and be proud.

samuri - that's lovely.

is it singlespeed? - cause i can't find a SS Genesis Day1 with discs...

njee20 - I wasn't having a pop.

I see, clearly just being senstive today! 🙂

Despite many years of resistance I fitted mudguards a couple of years ago to the winter/commuting bike and they really do make sense! Still look crap though.

samuri: yep, that is a lovely bike.

Some kind of tourer or cross bike would be a good thing (though obviously I'd want one with gears), especially if it had suitable mount points for my mudguards and a pannier rack 😀

Fit some decent mudguards.

Suggestions? These crud catchers seem adequate - I don't mind a bit of mud as I get changed at work anyway, I just don't want to get soaked or get crap in my eyes.

[url= http://www.wiggle.co.uk/sks-commuter-mtb-mudguard/ ]SKS is my recommendation[/url]. I haven't done this with a suspension fork, but someone will have. They follow the curve of the tyres, so don't look quite so awful. I assume you have eyelets on the rear? If not P clips are your friend.

I've gone the full hog this year and fitted full length mudguards, rack and panniers and puncture proof tyres to my hardtail for the commute. A good dose of reflective stickers have been applied too. It may not look good, but it is well worth it in my opinion as everything from my clothes to the drivetrain don't need cleaning every day, and so should last much longer. Dare I even say it, (touching wood) I've never had a puncture since either, even though the hedge trimmers were out last week.

@djaustin: no eyelets and cowled dropouts. But yeah I could use P-clips I guess, do they come with some or do you need to buy separately?

@hs125: pictures please? I want her to know she's not alone in this humiliation 😀

That's the river bank at Newcastle Business Park not 2 mins from here - I hereby claim my £10.

I couldn't bring meyself to do it to a mountain bike, so got my dad's old 80's road bike, put on full mudguards, touring pannier on the back, lights....just need some trouser cycling clips to complete my commuting look.

That's the river bank at Newcastle Business Park

Yep sure is. I ride along there then cross the Tyne at the Millennium Bridge.

I hereby claim my £10.

Sorry that offer expired about.. ooohh.. 10 seconds ago.

@djaustin: no eyelets and cowled dropouts. But yeah I could use P-clips I guess, do they come with some or do you need to buy separately?

You'll need some. Drop me a line and I can put some spares in the post (in the interest of bike sartorial elegance)

Powdercoated, slicks, road gearing and a thumb shifter from a halfords BSO. But I still love it!
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Drop me a line and I can put some spares in the post (in the interest of bike sartorial elegance)

Cheers djaustin, but I'll stick with crud catchers for now. Putting on "real" mudguards with bolts and stuff just seems a bit too permanent.

I don't want to spook her any more than I already have.

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Oodles of reflective tape, sks guards (badly fitted by yours truely)
Three rear lights, cheap crap flashy front one and a magicshine eye burner.

I like to think that this is more gopping...
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"phone holder" you sad git. "I'm on me bike!"

😆 As explained: phone = GPS logger + bike computer + tunes.

(also I have no shame)

I've got a Genesis on one but it looks nothing like that samuri! got it as a fixed now, one front brake, full guards. I need to spend money on it TBH it's falling apart.

OP, would that saddle bag take a shirt well, IE would it crease it?

Yeah it'll take a laptop, shirt and trousers easily without crushing them. Here's a better photo:

[img] ?w=350[/img]
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/carradice-sqr-slim-bag-including-sqr-bracket/

But there are no dividers, straps or pockets inside it (other than a small zip pocket for tools/valuables) so you'd want to think about how to stop them moving around too much or sliding down to the end.

I just wear jeans an t-shirt to work so I just wrap them around the laptop and sling the lot in the bag - which has the added bonus of protecting the laptop from being bounced around too much.

You may also want to consider the Topeak Office Bag which may suit your needs better as it keeps everything flat.

Bit more pricey though and I was put off by reports of the MTX bar swinging about a bit.

cheers Graham, might have a look at both of them, currently I'm coming into the office on a sunday with shirts for the week, and its getting right on my nerves!

One thing to note with the Carradice bag warton: They are very much a "some blokes in a shed" operation so they can be hard to find in stock and stock takes a looooong time to arrive (I ordered that bag in mid November and finally got it at the end of December).

Late but as promised a picture of my converted Cove Handjob to help share your pain. I usually have an Altura pannier bag attached to the rack. It works pretty well as it has a nice low centre of gravity.

Even have bar ends and pretty good mudguard coverage. Hangs head!

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