Commuting bike wear & tear

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lindsok

Commuting bike wear & tear

Post by lindsok »

Could those of you who commute share your opinions on the quality/reliability that works for a daily commute, up here in Scotland the wet and the salt in winter apparently take their toll. (I have not cycled the 5 miles to work, 3 days a week, in winter) What are the experiences of those who cycle year-round, the reason I ask is I am looking at a touring bike (steel frame) for commuting, and want it to last.
Thanks
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Mick F
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Post by Mick F »

My memories of Cycling Scotland are from the early/mid80s.

I commuted regularly from Balloch, over Black Hill to Helensburgh, up Clydeside and Gareloch. 14 miles each way.

I took its toll out of the bike. I cleaned it every day or two in the winter, and once a week (I suppose) in the drier weather. The summer was still damp, and yes I know, summer is damp in southern England too! But damp up there is damp. It doesn't dry during the day, it stays damp. The roads are damp and greasy and my wheels seemed to be always dirty and grimy. Mudguards were on all year.

Salt and grit in the winter were ever-present. Once or twice, we were sent home early coz Black Hill was snowed over, so I had either to get going up Sinclair Street out of Helensburgh on my bike, or hope someone would give me a lift!
Mick F. Cornwall
glueman
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Post by glueman »

One answer is to have a cheap winter bike. It needn't be rubbish, just simple and inexpensive - something second hand will do. The reasoning is that road salt will grot decent components quickly and you will be too tired to clean the bike more than once a week.

Steel isn't an issue if you are prepared to paint or nail varnish over stone chips. I toured and commuted on a 531ST bike solidly for ten years, at one time 40+ miles round trip. Eventually had it resprayed and it went from borderline skip fodder to like new. I rode it yesterday, nineteen years after I bought it.
Accept that chains and sprockets will wear and be prepared to lube frequently, perhaps daily, and recognise the overall cost will be miniscule compared to any other mode of transport.
PW
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Post by PW »

Agree with Glueman, plus I treat winter iron wheelrims as disposable & rebuild the wheel with a cheap rim as soon as the brake tracks become concave.
The winter iron has a number of uses, it saves spoiling the good machinery, uses up the half worn obsolete bits in the scrapbox & provides a cheap testbed for experiments. Wanna fixie? Fancy some weird handlebar setup? Hybrid derailleur/Sturmey Archer gears? The winter iron's where you try it out.
If at first you don't succeed - cheat!!
lindsok

Post by lindsok »

Thanks for your feedback, as I intend selecting a good quality bike using the 'cycle to work' scheme.
mankymitts
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Post by mankymitts »

I have a Dawes Super Galaxy which I got just over 2 years ago. I already have a road bike and got the SG to commute and for touring and longer day rides.

It is subjected daily to the Scottish weather abnd has now done about 12000km. Virtually everything bar the STI's, chainrings and hubs has been replaced. However, given the weather that was to be expected. My road bile has done 20000km and still has the orginal campag brake blocks on it (it only goes out when it's dry). The SG can go through them every 2 weeks in the wet, with the rims suffering eventually.

However, it is a great commutting bike, carries my stuff in panniers, is stable and reasonable fast.

I find that when it is coldest it is also dry and so Jan & Feb tend to be drier than summer.

MM
PH
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Post by PH »

You might consider a hub geared bike.
I spent this evening cleaning and doing some maintenance on mine. Apart from squirting a bit of 3 in 1 on the chain when it squeaked it hasn’t needed any attention since November, about 4,000 miles ago.
Asdace

Post by Asdace »

My bike I use for work and shopping is a Dawes Discovery 201 and I must of in the 3 years I've had it. Reckon on 15,000 odd miles, still got the original chain on. Tonight coming home from work, the headset is loose and must be a knackered seal. So it's down to LBS this morning, to see if it's repairable otherwise new bike and that will be a cheap mountain bike from Tesco.
mwooldridge
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Post by mwooldridge »

I have been communting in Aberdeen for four years, and cycle all year round. Have until a couple of weeks ago done this on my Galaxy which I bought new 12 years ago. Other than annual replacement of chain and sprocket and the eventual wear and tear you get the bike is still in very good condition. The only thing that really stops me is when the snow gets too deep, although I came off at the beginning of the year on a massive section of black ice.

Hae now upgraded my bike to a Van Nicholas Amazon with Ti frame :) which will hopefully solve the salt problems that everyone has me.tioned above. Will have to wait for the winter to see how it performs.

Would say any touring bike will suit, just get what is comfortable, maintain regularly, good tyres and you should be fine. If you are as North as I am you might want to consider disk brakes a snow and grit can take its toll on rims.

Mike
lindsok

Post by lindsok »

Thanks for your all your information, maybe I should be in the market for a submersible as opposed to a wrong-up as the recumbenenters would put it. Das Bike..
jake
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Commuting wear and tear

Post by jake »

Sorry to "but in" on someone else's topic. I was very interested to read about MWooldridge upgrading to a Van Nicholas Amazon. So am I. How are you finding it? Is it worth the extra dosh?
lindsok

Post by lindsok »

PH - you mentioned the hub gear, would you use the Shimano nexus, and did you notice mechanical loss/lower efficiency and do you repair puncture on the rim?
Hub gear could offer a solution....
mwooldridge
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Post by mwooldridge »

Van Nicholas is great. Have only ridden it a few times so far. had some problems with the left Shim 105 gear shifter .. it locked up and could not release tension at all .. have since got a replacement.

The bike though to ride is great. Frame is solid with all the lugs you could ever need and does not feel flimsy in any way. The ride is very smooth. My Galaxy is reynolds 531 and I have a separate road bike that is aluminium 7005 out of all three bikes the Ti frame eats up any rough best of all giving a nice smooth ride. Will do a review when I have done some more mileage.
another_dave_b
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Post by another_dave_b »

mwooldridge wrote: I came off at the beginning of the year on a massive section of black ice


Would you recommend studded tyres, or are they overkill?
PH
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Post by PH »

lindsok wrote:PH - you mentioned the hub gear, would you use the Shimano nexus, and did you notice mechanical loss/lower efficiency and do you repair puncture on the rim?
Hub gear could offer a solution....


Hi, sorry just noticed this. I haven't tried the modern Shimano hubs, I did have an older 4 speed which was trouble free.
I now have a Rohloff and a SRAM. The Rohloff is in a purpose built frame so wheel changing is easier than with a derailleur. The SRAM is in a standard hybrid frame, so it maybe takes a couple of minuets longer, no big deal. Sometimes the hub gears feels like they're slower, comparing commuting times there seems to be no difference.
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