N+1: A fast commuter reverie

[roubaixtuesday]

With equinox approaching,  the bike with guards is back in routine use and thoughts naturally turn to an ideal commuter machine to inspire through the dark days of winter. 

This is just a dream and will almost certainly never come about: my current machine is a kinesis 4s with 11 speed 105, bought to be multipurpose and more than adequate,  excellent even, for current duties. 

The ride is 10 miles each way,  some suburban but mainly rural with a few hills, nothing too severe.   I never get out of the big ring on the current steed.  Roads are frequently muddy.  I don't cycle in the snow,  or severe frost, but other than that in all weather, all year round. Work has secure parking facilities. 

What would be perfect?

Here's my requirements:

Fun - light and fast
Practical - take mudguards and rack 
Low maintenance
Must fit my 6'4"
And be eye catching and inspirational

And here's my concept:

Single speed
Belt drive
Polished stainless frame. 
Disc brakes
Dyno hub lights
25mm tyres, maybe go to 32 for winter. 

I quite fancy fixed,  but whilst I've done quite a bit on the track I've never tried it on road and suspect the downhills would be rather tough. 

Ability to wimp out in future and fit hub gears might be nice. 

The nearest off the shelf machine I'm aware of is the pinnacle dolomite.

https://www.evanscycles.com/pinnacle-do ... e-EV306255

And here's an example of what it might resemble - imagine stainless mudguards and rack to match. Maybe with painted lugs though. 



http://www.saffronframeworks.com/build/ ... rban-bike/

So,  what do you think?

What would you advise me to change from my concept?

And what would your dream commuter spec be?

[pwa]

I would need a good range of gears for the hills, so not belt drive. But otherwise similar to your suggestion. A really pretty interpretation of an Audax bike. I'd want shallow rims though. I live near the coast and on some bits of road I can get a severe blast from gales coming off the sea. Deep rims are a no-no.

[mig]

i ride fixed to commute in all but the summer when the gears come out.

frankly i'd not look to be inspired by the bike during winter, more look for it to be reliable. i wouldn't choose those wheels in the image as they look flimsy - especially the front one.

i have steel frame with track ends - pompino type but several are available.
36 spoke wheels front and back, box rims. possible 32 front. 3 cross jobs.
virtually any front generator hub as most seem okay nowadays.
as wide a mudguard as possible with good flaps.
the saddle with which you're most familiar.
maybe softer winter tyres such as continental winter contact 2s.
i don't know much re. disc brakes but cantis seem okay on my fixed. i hardly brake anyway!

bingo

[roubaixtuesday]

Thanks for the comments.

The wheels in the photo are not meant to be representative. I'd need something more robust, but as light as my 85kg and uk potholes allow, and luggage on occasion. My thinking was that discs would enable this best to avoid needing very robust rims to allow for wear from muddy lanes.

[mig]

mostly the rear rim on my bike ne'er sees even the threat of a brake block. the front gets hammered though. i wouldn't have discs as they look heavy and not at all classical. you might love them though. i'd want the things to work though first time every time through the winter and not need lots of adjustment when covered in grime after a long day at the coal face.

[Brucey]

if you compare a steel-framed bike with 1-1/8" steerer and 'ordinary disc brakes' then the net result is often a bike that is slightly heavier and 'less fun' than a bike with a 1" steerer and drum brakes. So if you are thinking of steel frames, I vote for drum brakes; they are much less hassle, last for eons and they are completely impervious to the weather.

With a fixed gear I might only have a drum at the front, with a rim brake (that I would never actually use except in emergencies) at the rear. Come to think of it my hack bike doesn't gets its rear brake used anyway, and that isn't fixed gear....

BTW you do indeed need a hub generator if you want to free yourself from the unreliable shackles of blasted battery lights....

cheers

[pwa]

On a purely aesthetic point, I do still find that discs ( the discs themselves rather than the calipers) make a light road bike look odd, less elegant. It is something about visually filling in the centre of the wheel. Deep section rims have the same negative impact for me, making a wheel look like it has heavy MTB tyres when viewed from a distance. Big slabs of material don't add to the appearance of a good looking road bike.

[The utility cyclist]

I have my perfect do it all bike for all seasons and all terrains, can fit tyres up to 55mm, at least 42mm with guards, gear range from 126"-23", lightweight, very good handling, robust and can take a very heavy load, rim brakes which are brilliant stoppers and not bad looking either.

After building it up in 2016 it was just going to be for touring/longer rides and visiting family but increasingly it's taken over utility duties, winter rides as well as those days when you think you might want to grab something on the way back after a quick blast so this year it got a lot more outings than the carbon bike.
I hate it

Modern replacements, well there are much fewer non disc bikes/frames these days of a decent quality that cover all the bases, I haven't really been looking but I actually fitted a 28mm tyre (Panaracer Race Evo) that measures 30.5mm under the guards of a Roux Menthe Black. Reynolds 525 frame so sturdy enough for winter duties, come with carbon forks too which is always a bonus for me. Unless you get a v/canti brake enabled frame then you're limited to 30mm at the very most with guards and calipers unless a deeper drop brake and a hand built frame might allow wider?

[random37]

Belt drives are the lie that is true. Theoretically better, yes, but not really. Chains are simple, efficient, and cheap. Blast of oil after every ride. They are so cheap you can just wait till they go bad, then bin them.

I agree with Brucey. If I was bike commuting, still, I'd want a Sturmey front drum with a generator built in. You get lights without any maintenance, and they last for years.

Back when I used to commute, my most engaging bike was an old Falcon Black Diamond with Sturmey drums and a 3 speed hub on 700c rims. Lightweight, fast, very nice looking and I literally never thought about it; it always just worked.

[Freddie]

With equinox approaching,  the bike with guards is back in routine use and thoughts naturally turn to an ideal commuter machine to inspire through the dark days of winter. 

This is just a dream and will almost certainly never come about: my current machine is a kinesis 4s with 11 speed 105, bought to be multipurpose and more than adequate,  excellent even, for current duties.

More than adequate certainly, but given the cost of 11 speed stuff, do you really want to be replacing cassettes/chains and rings on a regular? Also, if something goes awry, do you want your best (only?) bike to be in need of a repair or your commuter?

Maybe you could do a cost/benefit analysis to see if a dedicated commuter would come up better over 5+ years than replacing 11 speed equipment. 

The ride is 10 miles each way,  some suburban but mainly rural with a few hills, nothing too severe.   I never get out of the big ring on the current steed.  Roads are frequently muddy.  I don't cycle in the snow,  or severe frost, but other than that in all weather, all year round. Work has secure parking facilities. 

What would be perfect?

Here's my requirements:

Fun - light and fast
Practical - take mudguards and rack 
Low maintenance
Must fit my 6'4"
And be eye catching and inspirational

And here's my concept:

Single speed
Belt drive
Polished stainless frame. 
Disc brakes
Dyno hub lights
25mm tyres, maybe go to 32 for winter.

You don't say whether there are showers or a way to clean up at work. Is this a concern?

My requirements would be slight different than those you listed, in order of preference:

Practical - mudguards (long ones with DIY front mudflap close to the floor), rack and capable of taking at least 32mm, preferably 35mm section tyres with mudguards fitted

Low maintenance - drum brakes front and rear, probably would stump for gears with non-indexed shifter, don't see point of single speed seeing as a single sprocket is almost as expensive as 6 or 7. Perhaps you could run 1/8" chain and rings. If you want some gears why not an internal 5 speed hub, although I prefer the spacing on a cassette and I don't think the extra maintenance on non-indexed gears is too onerous

Cheap - This stuff will be ridden through rain and muck, so needs to be cheap when it comes to replacing. If it will be used for many years, probably the cheapest route is internal gearing, following by 6, 7 or 8 speed cassette (these can often be had for under £10).

Fun - Fun is great, fun is nice, but nothing is less fun than finding out that your stuff needs fixing when you should be heading to work. For this reason I'd give discs are swerve. I just don't like that screeching, squealing noise they make when the pads become contaminated. How long do disc pads last exposed to the elements BTW? I'm sure drum brake linings will see out about 20,000 miles or so, hardly ever needing attention.

My concept would be:

Steel frame, probably 1" steerer perhaps originally specced for 27" tyres, so has extra room for potentially 38mm section tyres.
Drum brakes front and rear. No more squealing, no more adjustments, no more dirty fingers from cleaning rims
Gears would likely be 6, 7 or 8 speed cassette for cheapness
Dynohub lights would be good - looking at x-fdd front hub, it does weigh a far amount though, 1200g

If you have a few parts knocking around and the tools to build up from a frame, you could probably accomplish this for around £300-£400 (at 6'4" a 25" frame could be found, there are relatively few around but the buyers market is quite small too) with an annual expenditure many multiples less than with your 11 speed machine.

How much would the machine weigh all up...I suppose you could get it around 26-27lbs if you tried, but weight wouldn't be a particularly high concern for me, still under 30lbs should be easily doable.

[The utility cyclist]

Don't get the obsession with drums, I might spend£5 Iin pads every 2 years, rear wheel Iis ceramic so no wiping other than general cleaning and front is a 30 second job every few days during inclement weather and much less when not. Adjustments, it must be such a hardship for some to twist a barrel a turn or so, god forbid if one has to actually undo a nut and pull a cable a small amount.
Don't agree with dynamo lights for uk commuting, seperate lights are so good both in run time and ability to light up the road with the additional, flexibility of being able to fit to multiple bikes in seconds , not to mention hugely cheaper and also yet again the massive weight disparity.

Some may not be bothered about having a boat anchor for a bike but there are plenty who are.
Why have a significantly heavier bike that costs much, much more both to purchase and operate and has wheels/brakes/light system that you can't readily buy/replace/get fixed in any bike shop should you encounter a problem, or for that matter in places with no bike shop.
Drums and dynamo's are a backward step, drums dont solve any real problem frankly and have too many down sides to be practical or cost effective, dynamo lights whilst they might have their place are increasingly a niche product that sees so few scenarios where they have an advantage of any kind as to be 'oddball' kit that stick in the muds persist with despite cheaper/lighter more flexible use solutions are available.
There's no logic to it whatsoever for most people's riding, and definitely not winter commuting in the UK

[The utility cyclist]

Oh and as for gear systens such as 10/11 speed. Well ime 10 speed is barely more expensive than 7/8/9 speed for commuter/utility purposes and it certainly gives you better ratios for when you're tired or lugging a load and frankly the gear shifting on a set of ultegra flat bar shifters is a different level above any mechanical indexed shifters from the previous eras, by a lot and that's being used with a not so fresh 2001 Tiagra last ng cage RD.

For a few quid more for chain/cassette and shifters (derailleurs are same price) you get vastly auperior shifting and a gear choice that means fewer big jumps.
11 speed I'll grant you is an illogical choice for commuting for most people, the flat bar shifters are a bit rubbish/retrograde as well and need specific derailleurs.

[jimlews]

And this is a technical question

[pwa]

Oh and as for gear systens such as 10/11 speed. Well ime 10 speed is barely more expensive than 7/8/9 speed for commuter/utility purposes and it certainly gives you better ratios for when you're tired or lugging a load and frankly the gear shifting on a set of ultegra flat bar shifters is a different level above any mechanical indexed shifters from the previous eras, by a lot and that's being used with a not so fresh 2001 Tiagra last ng cage RD.

For a few quid more for chain/cassette and shifters (derailleurs are same price) you get vastly auperior shifting and a gear choice that means fewer big jumps.
11 speed I'll grant you is an illogical choice for commuting for most people, the flat bar shifters are a bit rubbish/retrograde as well and need specific derailleurs.

I happen to have 9 speed, simply because that is what was current when my commuter (a tourer) was first acquired and I have simply replaced like with like when things have worn out. But I live in an area with hills and never wish I had an extra cog. 3x9 gives me the range and steps I need. And I can run my chains, sprockets and rings in a sub-optimal condition for ages before gear shifting becomes unacceptable. I suspect 11 speed would require me to keep things a lot cleaner than I currently do.

For a practical commuter, unless you intend replacing it once every five years, a degree of toughness is useful. Sooner or later it will get knocks. So fragile is out. My commuter has finished up being dragged from under the front of a van on one occasion, with no discernible damage. I've hit the ground heavily with it a couple of times on ice, again with no harm done to the bike. So my ideal commuter would not require too much care.

[PH]

My thoughts when it comes to commuting - I have to want to do it, it's a lot of time riding and it's not a punishment, fun to ride is top of the list. Cost - I know cyclists have a reputation for frugality to maintain, I'm a glass half full sort of person and my starting point is how much I save. At one time my alternative to riding was £3,200 a year, it's currently about a third of that, maybe I don't dream big enough but I've never come close to spending the same on cycling.
Currently commuting on a Thorn Mercury Rohloff, SON dynamo and lights, brakes are disk rear V brake front of carbide rim, ti rack, Brooks C17, Ergon grips... Both hubs are on their third frame in 15 years (One upgrade, one broke) all other components 1 - 10 years old. The fit and forget nature of dynamo lights suits me, on the odd time I run a non dynamo wheel I don't notice the weight and speed difference. There isn't anything on it I'd replace (if I was starting from scratch I'd look into belt drive) Biggest upgrade is a choice of bikes just for the sake of variety, ideally different routes as well , whatever it takes to make it fun.