Help- what bike should i use for a Daily 10 mile commute

General cycling advice ( NOT technical ! )
Ayesha
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Joined: 30 Jan 2010, 9:54am

Re: Help- what bike should i use for a Daily 10 mile commute

Post by Ayesha »

For an absolutely DEDICATED COMMUTE bike, look at the Pashley Roadster 26.

Hub brakes, Dyno lighting, Sturmey 3 ( or 5 hub upgrade ), full chaincase, rear rack, brooks saddle.

You won't have to spend squillions on lycra.
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Swallow
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Location: Cornwall

Re: Help- what bike should i use for a Daily 10 mile commute

Post by Swallow »

I know you are asking about a cycle for commuting but will you use it for recreational riding at all, say at the weekends. If so will this influence your decision?
'Kernow bys Vyken'
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[XAP]Bob
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Joined: 26 Sep 2008, 4:12pm

Re: Help- what bike should i use for a Daily 10 mile commute

Post by [XAP]Bob »

I used to do 10 miles each way on a BSO - it was fine, until I got the 'bent bug ;)

I'd ensure that your gearing is *just* suitable for the hills in front of you now. By the time you've worn them out you might want to up the gearing a bit - you'll likely never want to drop it.

Mudguards are not optional - they are mandatory for any serious "all weather" commute - even if just to prevent you eating road soup quite as much.

A rack is essential - even if it will be lightly/not loaded frequently it will carry the litte you always want with you, and will carry a weeks worth of shirts at a time - rucksacks are hateful things over that distance.

Dynamo lights are highly recommended - nothing worse than running out of lighting...

Comfort is critical.
If you have the time then ride lots of bikes - else go to a decent local bike shop - at least for an opinion.

Punctures...
Well, I used to run Marathon+ at max pressure, with a locked out front fork (I'd changed it to get a disc brake)

Maintenance:
Time is needed to keep the bike running well (and over ten miles you'll notice if it isn't). Many people here have a second bike, allowing a "grab and go" in the morning if major maintenance is required.
A shortcut has to be a challenge, otherwise it would just be the way. No situation is so dire that panic cannot make it worse.
There are two kinds of people in this world: those can extrapolate from incomplete data.
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fatgirlonabicycle
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Re: Help- what bike should i use for a Daily 10 mile commute

Post by fatgirlonabicycle »

I'd go for the hybrid, especially if you are starting/returning to regular cycling. It'll do you for weekend pootling, and you can even do the odd charity ride. I've done things like Liverpool - Chester - Liverpool in decent time on a £200 hybrid.

Fun fat fact: I'm obese and one of my bicycles is a road bicycle. It's become a lot more comfortable since I've lost some weight, but before this getting down in the drops was a little annoying, since my gut got in the way! So if you do loose weight through cycling, this is both a justification for getting the hybrid at first and for getting a road bicycle later on.

Anyway... Second everyone's suggestion to go up to your C2W limit on everything you could need - mudguards and rack if they don't come with the bike, lights, pump, panniers, all adds up, but you won't regret the spending if you are using it every week. Some comfy MTB shorts with pad would probably also be an investment.

Like everyone else, I wouldn't discount cycling through the winter. The right kit will make it totally doable. But wait and see how you feel about it after a spring and summer of commuting.

Most of all - enjoy it and good luck. I cycle to work everyday and love it rain or shine. The ride out gets me in the mood to work and the ride home helps me shake off the stupid stresses of the office.
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meic
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Re: Help- what bike should i use for a Daily 10 mile commute

Post by meic »

If you want to ride in the winter, you can buy studded winter tyres for a hybrid but not for a racer.

Though by then you will have saved enough money on car-juice to buy a second bike any way. :D
Yma o Hyd
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531colin
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Location: North Yorkshire

Re: Help- what bike should i use for a Daily 10 mile commute

Post by 531colin »

Think 3 times before you buy a road bike.
Just scan these pages and see how many people have bought road bikes, to find the gears are too high, and the bars are too low.....and the tyres too narrow, and theres not really space for mudguards, or fittings for a carrier.

If you get fit and find you enjoy it, you might want to ride at the weekend for fun....join a club, and then think about a different sort of bike, after you have seen what they all ride.
mrjemm
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Re: Help- what bike should i use for a Daily 10 mile commute

Post by mrjemm »

I'll add that along with 'road' bike (read racer by another name, and the folks who don't realise we're not all sporty will use weird words like Sportif/ve, Audax, TT etc... and not realise it's worse than techno geek talk) another type of bike to be wary of at the moment is the cyclo cross bike (AKA CX or cross- the name will have those or just X in it), which is NOT as do-it-all as some would have you believe. Being 'in' though, there'll be some pseudo cross bikes that may be almost suitable...

I won't make a suggestion though, as I don't commute, and have nowhere near the expertise or experience of many/most here.

Just as many opinions though. :mrgreen:
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RickH
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Re: Help- what bike should i use for a Daily 10 mile commute

Post by RickH »

meic wrote:If you want to ride in the winter, you can buy studded winter tyres for a hybrid but not for a racer.

Though by then you will have saved enough money on car-juice to buy a second bike any way. :D

If you subsitute "road" for "racer" then you can get the Schwalbe Winter Marathon in 700x35 (example at CRC).

Nailing my colours to the mast as a drop bar guy (now drop bar hydraulic brakes are becoming available I'd consider building up a drop bar MTB! :) ) - there is always the 3rd alternative - of what is often sold as a "cross" bike because of its Cyclocross roots. Drop bars (useful for when that 10 miles home on Friday night is into a howling headwind) but a slightly more upright riding position than a racer (changing stems can be an inexpensive way of changing positions a bit over time if you want higher, or even lower). They have more tyre clearance for fatter tyres (including the above studs) & often fittings for a rack & mudguards. Halfords do the Boardman Team CX.
Former member of the Cult of the Polystyrene Head Carbuncle.
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meic
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Location: Caerfyrddin (Carmarthen)

Re: Help- what bike should i use for a Daily 10 mile commute

Post by meic »

I was using racer to cover road bikes of any sort that have caliper brakes limiting their tyre size.

Audax and Sportive bikes are slightly better allowing you to have mudguards but they will not run to studded tyres that I know of.

Then your tourers, cyclocross and hybrids will allow fat tyres, studs, mudguards and racks hopefully.

Next you will be wanting hubgears and disc brakes for minimal maintenance.
Yma o Hyd
mrjemm
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Re: Help- what bike should i use for a Daily 10 mile commute

Post by mrjemm »

Ha!

Just after I say to avoid CX, 2 posts promoting them. See, told yer I was not an expert or experienced...
dbascent1986
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Joined: 24 Sep 2012, 9:14am

Re: Help- what bike should i use for a Daily 10 mile commute

Post by dbascent1986 »

...one upgrade not too overlook is to get a decent saddle. 10 miles each way is a nice commute - I have 21 miles each way but it is a fair weather commute, with the car filling in on bad weather days. As a consequence minimal investment in all weather gear and cycle in work clothes/shoes plus a wind stopper when necessary.
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gentlegreen
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Re: Help- what bike should i use for a Daily 10 mile commute

Post by gentlegreen »

I'm 52 and 18 stone. My commute is 4 miles going, 5.5 miles home with the odd hill. (I live in Bristol).
I've been cycle commuting for over 25 years all year round. I was a motorcyclist for the 10 years before that.
I endeavour to end every commute with a flat-out sprint and in a pool of sweat, often extend my homeward commute to 20 miles, rarely do less than 20 miles on a sunny Sunday - quite often twice that, and I've also done a lot of two day camping trips.

After a decade and a half of trying to commute on old-style 10 speed racers with the lowest gear being 42 x 28 x 27 inches (I always had to get off and push it up the final hill), cotter pin cranks, bendy wheels and fixing p*******s by the side of the road, 12 years ago I finally bought a brand new alloy frame mountain bike with unbustable competition-grade wheels, disc brakes and kevlar-reinforced tyres.
I raised the gearing to 28/38/48 front and 11 to 34 back. Brooks B17 saddle so no need for funny cycling shorts, pedals with spikes - no way would I ever want to be attached to my pedals - apart from anything else, my feet don't naturally sit parallel.

I almost don't have to worry about potholes - and there are a lot of them on the roads and paths I use, and my pump is something I hardly ever need except when I replace a worn out tyre.

Every time I revisit the notion of owning a second bike, that bike always ends up being as similar as possible to the one I already have.
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Mr. Viking
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Re: Help- what bike should i use for a Daily 10 mile commute

Post by Mr. Viking »

At first seeing it was 10 miles each way, and hilly, I thought drop handlebars would be a good idea, as they can help when cycling fast or uphill, but when I have used them I have felt quite vulnerable as my visibility has been reduced.

I used to commute on a Dawes Graduate, which is like a Pashley but more cheaply made, about 3 or 4 miles each way and had no trouble, and gave excellent visibility and comfort, but 20-30 miles is about as far as I have managed in one go on it, and that left me pretty knackered. Also, with the comfort handlebars, I find it frustrating to go up hills.

Probably a touring bike, with drop handlebars, but a slightly more upright riding position than other road bikes, and a range of low gears, with a frame designed for carrying loads could be the best option. I believe the Thorn Sherpa or Club Tour, and the Dawes Galaxy are good options, though I've not ridden either of them.

I am 21 and also quite overweight
Elizabethsdad
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Re: Help- what bike should i use for a Daily 10 mile commute

Post by Elizabethsdad »

Just looking at what Halfords have to offer on their website it would be worth checking out the Raleigh Superbe or the Pashely Roadster Sovereign - the Pashley Tube Rider Pintail looks fun as well. It is a pity you are limited to Halfords as there are quite few other bikes I could recommend with the Alfine 8 speed IHG and disc brakes. Halfords used to do one - Carerra Subway - but they stopped doing it for some strange reason.
AshleyClements
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Re: Help- what bike should i use for a Daily 10 mile commute

Post by AshleyClements »

This is the thing you see, I feel I need the visibility provided by a hybrid but I feel like if I am investing this sort of money I should invest it directly in a road bike.

The time doesn't make any difference to me because it is only a 4 mile trip in the morning and 6 mile trip in the afternoon.

Again I don't need to have racks cause I will only have my lunch and ipad on my back because I have a locker at work and will be taking my stuff to work on the weekend.

I definitely not discounting winter riding, iv actually heard its quite fun! But I just want to see how I get on in the summer first.

Also, I have a limit of £1000 by C2W and therefore I want a bike for max £800 as I need a lock, helmet, riding padded shorts, lights, gloves etc.

I'm not too fussed about getting wet or dirty cause I will be riding in riding gear not work stuff which makes quite a lot of difference.

I am now looking at the Boardman Road Comp which is £799.

So it's either a toss up of this or the Boardman Team Hybrid.
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