For the past 8 years I’ve used my Salsa Casseroll as a commuter and leisure bike / kid trailer lugger. As such, it’s set up 3×10, panniers and mud guards and frankly weighs more than a small battle ship. However, rather than the 6km flattish commute I currently have, after moving house in a month or so I’ll have a 35km commute that’s anything but flat. Consequently in the summer months I’ll be happily riding my TCR into work on bike days and ensuring I have a change of clothes etc at work. However, in winter this approach has a small problem: the TCR wears carbon rims, and in the wet these are scary (not usually an issue in Adelaide, but might not have a choice commuting). As my new commute will have a long twisty descent, I’m not so keen on using this bike for that route, as obviously commuting means I have no choice but to ride in the rain sometimes. I seem to have three choices here:

1) different wheels (and necessarily brake pads) on the TCR for winter. Downside to this is that it’s often good enough weather to get out in the dry so would be a pain to swap wheels and pads every other ride. Also not so keen on trashing this bike in wet conditions.

2) lighten the Casseroll. Lose the guards and racks, better wheels, some hand-me-downs from the TCR and upgrade that. Downside is frame is still heavy. Up side is now I won’t regularly be commuting on it this avenue might see me still using it relatively regularly

3) new (to me) cheapish alloy roadie. Downside is what on earth do I do with the Casseroll? I have mused about converting it to CX / gravel duties, but it only has mounts for calliper brakes, and chainstay clearance may be an issue.

Sell it and buy a new disc specific road/cx bike, I had a very light well specced Cannondale CAADX 105 bought very cheap but hankered for a steel frame so bought a 2017 Salsa Vaya frame to build up , which is just finished. I suppose it is a trade off in weight versus comfort but I haven’t weighed my Vaya yet but feels pretty damn light, my spec is

Salsa Vaya frame and carbon fork

Hope pro 4 on WTB Sti 650b rims

WTB Byways

Salsa Stem and Cowchipper bars

Salsa Carbon seatpost

Full 105 drivetrain

Trp/hd brakes

https://salsacycles.com/bikes/archive/2017_vaya_gx

Option 2 but keep the mudguards, surely? This gives you a winter commuter, which seems like what you want.

Aye, perhaps keep the guards, but much less of an issue as I’d be in cycling gear for that commute and have decent facilities at work. Right now with only a short ride I just throw my shirt in the pannier.

Another vote for option B and keeping the guards.

If you’ve got lighter bits then they may as well be put to use, but don’t go OTT, 32c tyres, 32 spokes, full length guards, and comfortable bars, tape, saddle etc are far more likely to get you to commute on a slightly drizzly day than any amount of carbon trinketry.

I swapped my old Claude Buttler Super Dalesman (badge engineered Dawes Super Glalaxy with canti brakes) for a CAADX (disk), any difference in ride* it make such a minimal impact on the overall enjoyment that it’s inconsequential.

*yes the cannondale is lighter, stops quicker, and has a bit more zipp, but on the other hand I’m hardly likely to instargam the shit out of my lunch break down by the river, it just doesn’t make me feel as happy inside.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/LS44sB]2016-10-02_09-15-40[/url] by thisisnotaspoon, on Flickr

To be honest, I’m not sure it needs the strong wheels. My main reason for reticence about the Casseroll for this commute is the 500 m 10 km climb on the way home from work. It’s bloody hateful on it in its current guise. Anything to make it more pleasant up that hill is definitely an improvement.

Thought you were buying an ebike for this commute 😉

Yeah, I’ve nixed that idea @trail_rat as I can’t avoid busy roads and thus don’t want to tow the little one in a trailer.

However, a couple of days a week I should be able to ride in as MrsZ will do the nursery/school run in the car. No trailer = no excuse for an ebike (or at least taking the view that having an ebike would defeat the object of trying to further increase my fitness)

I would just use it as is and try to relax about the speed of the ride. Long commuting year round isn’t a race, its just part of the day. If you try and hammer it you will soon loose the will quickly. Ride it as it is for a full year, then re assess and when stuff wears out replace it with a better bit.

Sack the house move, load the Salsa up and ride through France?

Not quite sure that’s an option, RS.

It’s going to be new wheels for the Salsa at the very least as the ones that came with it are cheap and heavy, ditto the tyres. Losing those and the racks should make it more bearable

Have a look for vittoria voyager, massive sem slicks 400g each.

edit https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/TYVIVOHY/vittoria-voyager-hyper-folding-tyre

superstar for not too speedy wheels.

or buy my Kona Jake (L) disc, alloy, big tyre clearance £275.

On a long commute the rack will be worth keeping. Tyres will make the most difference as always. The wheels won’t make much difference. Get the most out of the originals.

It sounds like you want/need a bike in the fast audax mould, which would sit midway between your TCR and the Salsa, e.g. something like the Spa Elan from Spa Cycles with a titanium frame to shrug off winter’s knocks and any road salt, mudguards, discs and a triple for those days when you are run down and finding that climb harder than usual, or the equivalent from the likes of Van Nicholas if that’s easier to buy in Australia.

If you have the option of a car or public transport on those days when the weather is bad or you are not really feeling quite up to riding, then it’s easier to make do with whatever you have. However, if you are committed to doing the ride every day, then you want a bike that will not only be pleasurable to ride, but will also make it easier for you (relatively light, low enough gears, and an emphasis on comfort rather than stiffness). You might even decide that something more touring oriented, like  Spa’s titanium tourer, would be even better.

I suspect the idea of a new decent bike will fall at the first hurdle if raised (TCR is only 6 months old and is an SL so I’m still very much in brownie point debt for that). Rack can go as can juggle logistics on bus/car days so won’t be carrying anything other than me. Tyres are big hefty city commute tyres so they’re first out, thanks for the recommendation @jkomo, I’ll look into those.

Will look at new wheels in due course. Perhaps mavics with whatever their ceramic coating is now called. I used to really get on with ceramic coating in pre-disc days of MTB. Given the focus is hills in wet weather that’s not such a bad idea…

Those Exalith rims aren’t cheap!

Deffo keep the guards, being able to get dry at the end of over an hour’s ride is in no way comparable to *being* mostly dry for all that hour! Plus all the rest of your kit (drive train and clothing) will last longer.

Those Exalith rims aren’t cheap!

True, but if I could afford ceramic D521s for my GT Outpost on my saved up Saturday job wage as a teenager 18 years ago, I can hopefully stretch to them with a proper job now 😃. TBH the Casseroll is about the only bike of mine without decent wheels, they’ve always been one of the first upgrades I do.

Point noted about the guards though. They’re a bit cumbersome but very effective, so perhaps I should keep them.

It has struck me that that I do technically have an “in between” bike, a 1980s Pinarello Treviso. However, just about everything on it needs replacement. Just can’t bring myself to sell it as I’ve seen a couple done up very well, and I’ve always had a thing for steel bikes (hence the Casseroll). Probably the most expensive option of all in terms of filling this gap…

My main reason for reticence about the Casseroll for this commute is the 500 m 10 km climb on the way home from work. It’s bloody hateful on it in its current guise. Anything to make it more pleasant up that hill is definitely an improvement.

Oh, in that case take everything off and convert it to singlespeed.

Christ, I’d either never get up that hill, or travel everywhere else at 10 km/h if I single speeded it! Oh, and my knees would explode!

But have you read this book?

No…

Do, it’ll explain why my suggestion will help you achieve your aim 🙂

Perhaps, but given I’m having physio on my knees, I doubt a fable, however noble will assist too much. Stamping up hills is not currently an option for me sadly.

That said, the book could be useful to demonstrate to my wife that I do have room for more bikes 😆

Rack can go as can juggle logistics on bus/car days so won’t be carrying anything other than me.

If you will able to choose to use a car or bus on days when the weather is bad in the morning, or you are not feeling up to the ride, then that makes a huge difference, and my main advice is just to make do largely with what you’ve got. If this is your first winter of commuting like this, then it’s going to be better to wait and experience the ride for while (in good and bad conditions) before deciding what needs spending money on.

A few further random comments:

– It does NOT just go without saying that your absolute overriding priority above everything else is safety. A light fast bike purpose suited to the ride is a ‘nice to have’, but I would regard anything safety related (providing it’s effective) as essential, regardless of cost.

– Therefore even if you are not riding in the dark, I would want rear lights (plural) in particular, especially for visibility in the rain to cars behind. My choice for one of those rear lights would be the pulsing type (as opposed to flashing), e.g. Exposure Blaze.

– Hi-viz and reflective clothing (hi-viz or the most hideous lurid pro-team top for day, reflective for dark). Presumably even if you can use the car or bus if it’s raining in the morning, on some days you will get caught in the rain on the ride home. So you also want rain wear that is hi-viz/reflective, as well as being as good as it gets for ventilation/breathability given the climb. You need good kit: being uncomfortable, cold and wet is itself dangerous: you want to be fully alert and concentrating all your attention on the road and traffic around around you. Showers Pass make some good foul weather kit, e.g. their neon green Refuge Jacket and some other jackets with reflectives.

– I’ve a pair of Vittoria Voyager Hyper 32s on one of my bikes, and they are very nice fast rolling tyres. However, I’ve have seen some suggestions on the thread about those tyres on the CyclingUK forum that their wet weather grip is not the greatest. I would have a look at the Schwalbe range (not the heavy dead feeling Marathon Plus, but one still with some puncture protection, fast rolling and with excellent wet weather grip).

– I am sceptical of the value of the Exalith rims. On this CyclingUK forum thread it is suggested that the rims need to be kept clean of grit etc., require special brake blokes (do you have the cantilever braked version of the Casseroll? if so the special brake blocks might not even be an option for you) and may quickly wear off. I would instead focus on getting your current brakes as well set up as possible, e.g. if cantilever low straddle cable for maximim mechanical advantage, best brake pads available (Salmon or Swiss Stop).

– I would fit the Busch and Mueller Star mirror (comes in 60mm [part no. 901/2] and 80mm [part no. 903/2] diameter versions – I like the 60mm) to any drop barred bike I was using for commuting.

Thanks @slowster – great advice. I already have plenty of lights / high vis – Adelaide drivers, whist not too aggressive, are downright inattentive, so being seen is paramount. I will be after a better front light though as my really bright ones are helmet-mount MTB lights and I’d rather a compact unit on the bars for the commute.

I picked up some good Santini bib tights at the TDU village for peanuts, and still have all my UK cold / wet weather gear for the top half, so staying warm shouldn’t be an issue.

Happy to take any suggestions of tyres. With guards in place it can probably take 35s, and as this will be my wet weather bike, grip will be more important than speed. As the big descent is now essentially just a cycle path (used to be the main road before a freeway was built), it can be rather greasy in the wet, and you can carry a lot of speed down there before you find the grease….

My main reason for suggesting the exaliths is my previous experience with ceramic D521s in the muck and filth of the wet pennine moors, and the excelled when wet / dirty. I’m also familiar with the need for the special pads, and how to treat them to make them last. Sadly my Casseroll is still on callipers, one plus being that I will be able to get pads to suit. However, again happy to hear thoughts on this as I’m guessing there’s some difference between their ceramic coating of 15 years ago and what’s on those rims now.

Mirrors – riding mate has an arm-mounted one that he swears by, which I might try. However, whilst the roads being travelled will be too busy for the bike trailer (see now defunct ebike post), they’re not that busy by city standards. I’ve never felt the need when out more generally, but I agree it’s something to keep in mind.

Weight is very far from everything when it comes to a bike that climbs efficiently (for an example see ‘planing’ by Jan Heine). I would keep the mudguards and rack (it’s a commuter!!) but change the wheels and tyres. If you are still concerned about weight loss then there are some super light racks out there (eg https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/carriers-racks/black-tor-tec-velocity-hybrid-alloy-rear-rack/ )

Perhaps, but given I’m having physio on my knees, I doubt a fable, however noble will assist too much. Stamping up hills is not currently an option for me sadly.

Fair enough. Depends what your knee issue is, though: I started singlespeeding while recuperating from a hyperextension injury and it was fantastic for it because it made me stand while working me hard, so I built up muscle strength quickly without too much bend in the knee, ie without straining the stuff around the joint in the seated position. YMMV, I’m not a physio, etc 😉

That said, the book could be useful to demonstrate to my wife that I do have room for more bikes 😆

😀

Sadly it ends with all your bikes being removed from the house, though 🙂

Sadly it ends with all your bikes being removed from the house, though 🙂

Bugger: the google synopsis didn’t say that!!!

Re: knee, it’s recovering from uneven strength in my quads primarily, coupled with separate old injuries in each of them. Outer quads much stronger than inners. When I put too much force through the difference in strength misaligns my knee caps and they grate and become inflamed. Since starting physio I’ve been able to pinpoint climbing out of the saddle and sloppy technique when I’m shattered in a long ride as the two points at which it starts up again. It’s getting better thankfully, but it’ll take a while yet: some days after biking I can barely do a single squat without intense pain in both knees

In that case a singlespeed might not be a great idea 🙂