Commuting whats best?

I do 25 miles a day commuting. Currently use SS roadrat or giant OCR roadbike. Think you’d find roadbike quite a bit quicker – bigger wheels, lighter, no sus forks to squish robbing you of power. I use shorts and a merino or bamboo baselayer most of the time. Shell jacket if cooler, waterproof jkt if wet. Winter boots, winter gloves and tights when it’s cold

My 2 cents worth:

I commute once or twice a week – 22 miles each way – mainly on quiet (but poor surfaced) lanes, a bit of main road and some cycle path. I love it – it’s the best way to start and end the working day and really look forward to it. I started out with a Genesis Vapour CX bike which was great, but found the cantis to be pretty ineffective. I’ve recently swapped it for a Kinesis Tripster which I’m very pleased with. It’s great as it’s designed for the job – and does it very well. I like the carbon fork, discs, riding position (it feels like an ever so slightly stretched hardtail xc bike crossed with a road bike), full mudguards (SKS) and drop bars.

I have Crank Bros Candys on it so I can wear my mountain bike shoes (and boots in the winter) and not fall down the stairs at work. It has a 2×9 spd Tiagra drivetrain on it, so it’s not mega bucks if I do drop it, and for when it wears out. The wheels are disc specific Halo rims and some cartridge bearing mtb hubs – cheap to maintain and fairly well sealed anyway.

SS top, gilet and armwarmers for most of the time with bib shorts. Merino LS top, gilet and tights when it’s colder.

I swear by the Schwalbe Marathon tyres (available for 26″ wheels too) – excellent puncture protection and fast rolling (80psi) as like someone said earlier – you can’t be late for work. I use a clip on, seatpost mounted Topeak pannier rack as even though the bike’s got bosses for a proper rack, I like the ease of just taking the whole lot off and having it at my desk. I carry a bit too much crap with me, but usually pack a waterproof top, multitool and a few bits, tube, pump, zip ties, levers etc (can’t be late for work…) a small spare rear light, packed lunch, backup hard drive, phone etc. Could probably tour for a week on it… 😳 Also recommend the diddy Exposure lights and a FibreFlare at the rear that sits very nicely across the width of the panniers.

If you do nothing else, get some fast rolling puncture proof tyres for your Ragley and consider a seatpost mounted rack – I don’t know if they come with bosses like On Ones do? I just prefer it to wearing a pack. A hi vis jersey, gilet or jacket and some decent lights and you’ll be ready to roll.

HTH

Specialised Nimbus Armadillo types – slick tread pattern, roll well if pumped up hard, very robust and puncture proof.

I have some 26 SKS raceblades which are good and effective mudguards for a commuting mtb, but I can’t find a link to where you can buy them.

Maybe get some rigid carbon forks and fit the same crown race as your main forks, then you can swap between the forks at the weekend. Likewise it is useful to have a spare wheelset with the slick tyres on for commuting.

Disk brakes will be useful for when a car pulls out on you, a door opens, or a pedestrian steps out in front of you.

[Remember to always lean into the pedestrian that steps out on you – stops you bouncing out into the road and under the next car that is coming along – and shares the pain 🙂 ]

You see some pretty nasty accidents in London where someone on a road bike with crap brakes is flying along at high speed and then something similar happens.

Why 20 km? is it just because it sounds more than 12 miles? 🙄

I’m not reading all the bit in the middle but will reply with my experience to your original post. Ultimately though I’d go with your gut.

My commuting bike gets as many miles in as any of my other bikes so a halfords special was out of the question. But I had a low budget because I am aware that some day it will get stolen because I leave it locked up in the city centre quite a lot.

It needs to be reliable and require minimal maintenance. Therefore singlespeed (hub gear would be another option, its what my financee uses).

Fast, I’d love to stop off at the skate park, jump the steps and take the scenic singletrack but 99% of the time I just want to get where I’m going and quickly. Slicks and a fast setup (narrow bars, low front end etc.)

I prefer a mountain bike as the roads are poor and I have to ride through the city centre. I find it makes me feel more in control than when I ride my road bike.

Mudguards rack etc. are a good idea for most of the year.

I bought a bike that meant I could swap bits with my others. So I kept the same wheel size, hub size etc. Proves useful as it means I can take bit in an emergency and old bits from my mountain bike keep my commuter bike running.

I run a rigid singlespeed on-one inbred.

You could get a £100 bike but that would be awfull to ride and a waste of money to maintain.

I’ve got a Holdsworth 10 speed tourer that cost £180 many years back when I was 15 or so, so probably way less than £100 of bike now.

Even that is nicer and quicker to ride on the road than a mountain bike.

I also have a decentish (probably be about £900 new with all the bits) road bike as my current commuter, and that is nicer to ride for sure. But mountain bike on the road is just nowhere near as nice as dirt cheap road bike.

Maintenance wise, cheap 10 speed bikes are cheap to maintain – bit of 3 in 1 oil on the chain every so often, change brake pads / tyres when needed, not much else to do really, perhaps a new rim / wheel once every few years, again, those are pretty cheap too for old bikes.

The whole upright position / wide bars for traffic thing I don’t get really, same with ‘needing’ disc brakes. If you need to stop fast enough to need disc brakes, you’re not riding carefully enough. If you need the slightly quicker handling that wide bars may give you, you’re not riding carefully enough. You have a more upright position on the hoods of a road bike, but you have the added choice of a nice fast low position too. If you’re not comfortable riding on the hoods, then move your bars up slightly until you are. Plus, if you are riding like a loon, surely narrow bars are better for times when you need to get through tight gaps in traffic?

I can see disc brakes are a bit handy for the whole low maintenance thing though.

Joe

Recommend single speed if route profile allowa. Much less risk of a mechanical on the way in. And no need to spend the weekend fixing the bike.
Commuting’s great – massively increases your riding time and mileage. Enjoy 🙂

The whole upright position / wide bars for traffic thing I don’t get really, same with ‘needing’ disc brakes. If you need to stop fast enough to need disc brakes, you’re not riding carefully enough. If you need the slightly quicker handling that wide bars may give you, you’re not riding carefully enough.

I’d rather not have to ride slowly and carefully to make up for the fact I was using lousy brakes!

Its nice to me able to stop faster than anything around you

my commute is now 18miles each way and includes a couple of sections of gravelfarm track, no way would i be doing it on an mtb. The way i look at it is road bikes can handle the L’Eroica so some smooth gravel won’t be a problem. A road bike is more aerodynamic, which in my case with some very open roads is a godsend. it is also faster and means i can have proper tyres on the mtb without having to change them if i want to ride off road.

+1 TJ

you can never foresee or prevent everything that might cause you harm so improving your chances of avoiding that unexpected incident is a good thing.

in the same way that riding faster will always increase your chances of an accident no matter how skilled you are. it’s about risk and mitigating it.

n the same way that riding faster will always increase your chances of an accident no matter how skilled you are. it’s about risk and mitigating it.

What crap.

which bit and why? 😉

For on road commuting 700c tires and full mudguards are a must IMO. If there’s a lot of urban stuff I like at least 28mm tires and V brakes too. If it’s pretty much all urban I reckon there’s no real difference between drops and flats (maybe with bar ends).

Something fitting that description would easily handle a bit of canal path/dirt road too. I’ve got a Cotic Roadrat drop that’s doing the job for me quite nicely.

For clothing my main bit of advice is to look at a nice breathable windproof/softshell to wear 95% of the time and a waterproof to mostly live in your bag and come out the other 5%.

n the same way that riding faster will always increase your chances of an accident no matter how skilled you are.

that bit, what causes accidents is not speed, it might make the injuries worse, what causes accidents is stupidity. Ride defensively, position yourself, pay attention and above all do not do stupid things like undertake lorries.

I never said speed causes them, only that it can make specific ones more likely and therefore raises your overall chance of an accident particularly the ones where unexpected things happen and you have to react quickly. faster = less time to react = less likely to be able to avoid.

though no doubt some of the stw gods with their divine powers will not accept that the unexpected can happen regardless of how aware of your surroundings and situation you are 😉

never said speed causes them, only that it can make specific ones more likely

and

riding faster will always increase your chances of an accident

errr….

speed will make specific accidents worse, but having hit the deck fast and slow, there are times when fast is better. This includes crashing on ice, oil, mud, grass, etc.

And i am going to say that most crashes are down to stupidity and not speed.

for clarity I should maybe have written

never said speed causes ALL OF them, only that it can make specific ones more likely

hence increasing your overall chances of one which is what I said originally.

You might be twice as likely to have an accident if you cycle twice as fast, but you’re only cycling half the time so its the same.

Started commuting on my Merlin Malt 1. Put slicks amd mudguards on it. It was OK but eventually got fed up of swapping tyres and taking rack/mudguards on and off so got a cheap second hand road bike and much prefer it.

Most of the people who use a mountain bike for commuting end up turning it into a proto road bike with slicks/mudguards and solid forks.

How can a mountain bike set up like that do what the OP’s MMbop will do on the trails with 150mm forks and fat tyres?

only if all hazards are time dependent. Every time you ride past a junction there’s a statistical chance of an accident from say a car pulling out. every fast corner there’s a chance of oil on the road or a dramatic puncture.

every fast corner there’s a chance of oil on the road or a dramatic puncture.

yes, now back in the real world, i would rather crash quickly on a wet road because of oil than crash slowly. speed means sliding rather than broken bones.

Most of the bad accidents I see ARE made worse because the cyclist was going at speed and didn’t have time to react to the situation.

In addition it may be better to fall of at speed on a mtb but on the road why would it be better to fall off at speed? So you can slide further on the tarmac and maybe go under some approaching vehicle? So can fly further through the air over the connect of the car that pulled out on you?

Can’t see any logic in that argument.

speed means sliding rather than broken bones.

sliding under/into some other obstacle on the road?

fine but you’ve still increased your overall chance of an accident even if maybe (debateable in all circumstances IMO) the impact in some instances is less.

in some instances riding slower you’d have stayed upright.

mrmo – thats just pish. Crashing at speed you have more energy to be dissipated when you crash – the vertical fall remains the same – the horizontal component greater

Of course riding faster makes crashing more likely. It takes a greater distance to react to incidents.

Clubber – its almost impossible to get folk to understand risk.

yes, now back in the real world, i would rather crash quickly on a wet road because of oil than crash slowly. speed means sliding rather than broken bones.

Glad we live in different worlds.

You are right it’s the stopping quickly that hurts but sliding quickly on roads surrounded by walls, lampposts, buildings and populated with cars and lorries is not something I’d want to do.

I’m waiting for my apology mrmo 😉

Back to the OP.

Just to reiterate what some have already said. Schwalbe tyres seem ok for punctures and last a reasonable amount of time. I’ve just replaced a rear that had done about a thousand miles on and offroad. Mudguards are essential in winter I think, despite all their failings they do keep you a lot drier which is iomportant more for the return journey than anything ele. Putting on wet shoes and shorts isn’t particularly pleasant.

As far as backpack goes I’d say find something that is comfortable for you but don’t even bother messing about with waterproof bags. I’ve never found one that really was. Bag things up inside your backpack with carrier bags.

I’d only ever wear a waterproof for proper torrential rain on my commute and that’s just to try and retain some heat. For winter I bought a security guards jacket off ebay but that really is for seriously nasty weather, it’s so hot. You can see it a mile off though.

Lastly, visibility. The more day glo stuff you wear the better, people really do give you more room in the dark if they’ve seen you from half a mile away. As soon as I feel lights are needed I’ll fit some very bright flashing LED’s front and back plus a shoulder strap, plus arm bands and I have some stickers on my courier bag. (Which LED’s to get is a whole other discussion)

HTH.

reflective tape all over the bike makes a huge difference to visibility

what apology, you said fast always causes accidents, something you have already backed down on, and i have said i would rather crash with a bit of speed than slowly. Over the years the worst injuries have always been slow, ie 10mph or less, least damaging at 20mph ish. skin heals quickly bones don’t.

It is what stops you that matters, which is where stupidity comes in, pay attention, 9 times out of 10 you know what a driver is going to do, look where they are looking, pay attention to what is around you, slow down when you need more time, don’t undertake cars and particularly lorries, look for where a vehicles blind spots are, try and stay away from narrow busy roads. be careful of bus routes because they will be coated in diesel from buses and taxis. I am not stupid enough to think that going fast is the best course of action, but rather that if you know that there is a risk do something about it. I know the sections of my commute that are likely to be risky and pay extra attention.

Then when the road is open and you have the sight lines click up through the gears and blast, it all comes down to the right tool for the job, and i think the name road bike might be a clue.

an accident, not ALL accidents. Always increase chance of an accident not always causes them. I only clarified the explanation to make it clearer, not to change the meaning.

if you don’t understand the distinction there’s not much point discussing further.

and on topic I’d always choose a road bike

I have a kona paddy waggon fixed with mudguards and rack.
For the OP, i’d buy a set of Scwalbe Marathon Plus in 559 and try it with whatever rucksck you already have. (I have yet to puncture them on the tandem or airnimal).

Then after two months, you will know what you need.

Road bike vs. mtb is moot for your distance, but i suspect that you will end up with a second bike eventually 😀

Hi mate I would get a good jacket, and ome sort of buff for your face throat. Riding in the winter like last year this year is very cold!! Get a hump for your pack it’s high vis and water proof. You ll see peopl in yellow jacket with a black pack on!

Bike wise go slicks but if you can at all get a commuting bike you’ll trash your main bike with the extra miles and road salt grit. Plus it will have to sit and fester in the day and night you dint want to be washing it every day.

It’s hard work but the difference to your fitness is huge, just remember to mix the pace and route as much as you can to seethe benefits.

I do a hilly 9 mile ish each way commute most days on my hardtail. The only change I made was a cheap set of wheels and put some slicks on them, It makes it much easier and faster. I’m sure a dedicated road bike would be a bit better but I didn’t think there was much point just for commuting.

I haven’t noticed excessive pad wear and the discs and slicks combo is pretty good!

For carrying stuff I just use a rucksack as I can shower and change at work. I have never really bothered with mud guards either but I’m sure they would be useful on some of the lanes.

I think the main reasons I use my mtb is that I find it very comfy, I know how it handles and it has saved me a lot of cash over buying a new bike!

I ride a 15mile commute and depending on if i want to get to work fast or have a leisurely woodland pootle i use the road bike or mountain bike.

Can someone explain Mrmo’s posts please cos it don’t make a lot of sense to me fanks.

Well, for getting about in a busy congested area, I’ve found the perfect bike is a Hybrid. Larger wheels with narrow-ish tyres (700x38c) give a good compromise between speed and comfort, and also help slow you down quicker than very skinny slick tyres. You can also get tyres with a bit of tread on which helps on looser surfaces such as towpaths and that. The more upright position gives you better visibility of what’s around you, and mtb bars give better control than drops. As for speed; here in London, you’re not going to be doing more than 12mph or so average cos there’s too many junctions, traffic lights etc so all those fastards on racers just end up sprinting between sets of lights and not actually going all that faster over a distance at all.

I’ve found singlespeed to be fine cos it’s flat here more or less, and less stuff to go wrong is better. Drivetrains get filthy with all the crap on the roads, so not having to clean out derailleurs and cassettes is as bonus. I just wipe my chain down occasionally and then replace it when it’s worn. No shifters and cables to get clogged up with muck either. 38:16t ratio is ideal for me; good balance as it’s not too low and not so high pedalling when laden with shopping or when I’m tired or there’s a hill is too much. Can get up Haverstock Hill ok without dying.

V-brakes work fine, set them up propply, use decent pads and look after them. Far better than road calipers.

Rack and mudguard mounts are very useful.

Oh, and if you’re gonna lock it up, then tatty is best. Let the thieves target the shiny new bike next to it instead…

elfinsafety, i will try and explain from years of crashing, going slowly you hit the ground vertically hard. add a bit more horizontal speed into it and you slide a bit more, so you can scrub the energy off better. It hurts granted. There is also details, a bit of speed allows you to “float” the bike across rough roads and potholes better than going slowly and crashing through which cuts down on punctures and breakages.

What you need to do is pay attention to your surroundings and take control, i have to say most crashes i have seen over the years where other vehicles are involved are due to stupidity not speed, be it fast or slow. I have seen cyclists jump lights and get hit, i have seen cyclists get caught by railings trying to undertake buses and lorries. I have known people hit lamp-posts by not paying attention to the pedestrians in the area. Other cases have been cyclists hiding in the gutter which allows drivers to force their way past and then be surprised when they turn across them.

Infact thinking about it the faster you go there will be less chance of a car trying some of the more stupid overtaking manoeuvres. there are roads that if i do at 10mph i will be overtaken if i do 25 then cars give more space, ie safer.

Speed has never been a factor it has been awareness of the surroundings.

mrmo – increasing speed increase your chance of accidents as reacting to things takes more distance. Crashing at higher speeds means more energy to got rid of = more likelihood of injury.

the vertical component is the same, the horizontal greater.

TJ, more speed does not mean more chance of accidents, more speed means you hold up traffic less which means less stupid overtaking from cars. Gain some loose some.

And yes the vertical component of the impact is the same but the horizontal component allows you to loose the energy over a greater area.

Taking it to a stupid level, gliders don’t crash even though they are “falling” from thousands of feet. It is about how you loose the energy.

As someone who has some awareness of motorbikes i would have thought you would be aware that crashing at 100mph is perfectly survivable as long as you don’t hit a wall in the process. So to say that speed is going to increase the injury isn’t actually true, what matters is what you do as you go down. Put your arm out break your collar bone, roll and you’ll loose some skin but be ok.