i find I’m either spinning out with the wind behind me or struggling with the wind in my face

Precisely why gears were invented. Stop fannying around and get some mechs on 🙂 Oh and if I were using an MTB in this fashion it’d have flat bars and bar ends on it before you can say streamlined.

but will something like a Carrera TDF be equally as uncomfortable due to lack of carbon fork?

No – the comfort is all in the position and contact points really. A carbon fork or frame might iron out some buzz but it’s extremely subtle and the sort of thing you might notice after 4 hours in the saddle – being a little less fatigued and pained all round and therefore feeling a bit more comfortable. That’s what I noticed when I got my carbon bike, although it was a more expensive bike than the one it replaced.

Or just go get a Kona Dew/Carrera TDF and sell this beaten up old SS for beer money.

I use one of these for my 27 miles per day:

I certainly wouldn’t ride 27 miles on this, but it still ranks as the most useful bike purchase I have ever made…

Support vehicle for Hit the North 2010

Christmas

Mechanical recovery service

That UTE does look awesome – could probably get more in that than my MX5!

It’s a common misconception that wider tyres have more grip on tarmac -they don’t.

Dammit no UTEs in the sale.

I would use wider tyres on an urban commute, but not as wide as TJ I don’t think. It’s not just grip, it’s cobbles, potholes, kerbs, bits of pathway etc.

I think my commuter’s got 38mm on.

I commute about 5-7 miles to work one way depending on the route I take. Used to use the road bike but it was getting battered over winter and ultegra bits were not cheap to replace. Managed to get a Marin steel HT with 7 speed Altus/Acera gears, had some better wheels and slick tyres, v brakes replaced cantis and the latest addition were bar ends. Looks pretty crap with full guards, but rides fairly well. It’s only about 5min slower one way then the road bike but it is almost 5kg heavier. With the cash saved on not replacing the road bike drivetrain I managed to pimp out the road bike and the Marin just keeps on working. 7Speed just works.i’ll do some rides to work on the road bike when it’s dry as I keep it inside but cycling to uni or around town then Marin is my weapon of choice, any bike thief would probably be afraid to touch it not to get some dirt or rust on his Lacoste tracksuit. My commute is not long enough to properly warm up so due to knee problems single speed is out of questio, cargo bikes look fun but I have a Tesco up the road and big waitrose round the corner and shifting 37lbs of a bike and carrying it to the top floor flat would be a PITA plus I would not want to leave something half decent looking chained outside for longer then an hour.

I’m using a Planet X Kaffenback with triple chainset, Conti Twister tyres and Bontrager race Bullhorn bars for my 12 mile canal bank commute. The triple’s overkill for the commute but with tyres swapped for something narrower it’s also my day-trip roadbike and touring trailer hauler too.

Very little mudguard/rack clearance on my small size bike is it’s only drawback. So it’s generally dry weather and courier bag for me.

Bontrager race Bullhorn bars

😯

Is it 1992 or something?!

Now back to being my commuter again after a spell as a general hardtail.

Lovely frame, but now tatty, had considered a drop handled 700C, but combination of offroad and urban, means this is more suitable.

I have a £200 Raleigh something-or-other that just feels right. It has 26″ wheels and mudguards, a weird headset, and V-brakes, and feels just like the sort of bike I would have ridden as a 10-year-old.

I love it.

Having said that, my MTB is a 2009 Fisher Big Sur and I have always been quite pleased with that too. Unquestionably fit-for-purpose. Yet I just rode by an older gentleman in a suit, riding my very bike, but decked out in full commuter gear. 😯 I don’t know why, but it made me feel a bit depressed.

Onzadog – Member
Did you actually need to take the wheelie bin somewhere or were you just proving a point?

Bit of both tbh!

I live down a farm lane so it’s about 150m up to the road where they collect the bins. To be honest, by the time it took to strap it on securely it was just as quick to walk it up to the road instead! Still, just goes to show what you stick on the back of cargo bike 🙂

cynic-al – Member

It’s a common misconception that wider tyres have more grip on tarmac -they don’t.

Bullshine. Of course they do. 🙄 Otherwise every vehicle would be on 15 mm tyres.

You might be more likely to aquaplane in the wet but I doubt any bike tyres are wide enough for that.