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

General cycling advice ( NOT technical ! )
Vorpal
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Re: Help- what bike should i use for a Daily 10 mile commute

Post by Vorpal »

AshleyClements wrote:Ok this sounds like a good bit of advice to me, it seems that a road bike offers everything that a hybrid does apart from the brakes but if thousands of other people get on we'll without disk brakes then I'm sure I will.

Luckily I'm pretty good at adapting to a new thing and fairly sporty regardless of my weight lol

Thanks


The gearing is different. The hybrid has lower gears, so will be easier to get up hills.

I would say that each has it's advantages. But it may depend largely on what else you want to do with the bike, rather than your commute. If you think you make take some longer leisure rides, maybe the road bike is a better choice. If, on the other hand, you might like to run some errands or do some shopping by bike, the hybrid with a rear rack is a better choice. The same is true if you might like to try some light touring or cycle camping.

Ride them. Ride some other bikes, too.

AshleyClements wrote:Can you get mudguards for full road bikes?


Sort of. There are some strap on sorts. They're often referred to as 'race blades' but that might be a specific brand. That's what I've got on my road bike. They aren't quite as effective as proper mudguards, but they are much, much better than none. :)
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s1965c
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Re: Help- what bike should i use for a Daily 10 mile commute

Post by s1965c »

I think peer pressure's the real winner here.

Bottom line is road bikes look sexy, hybrids (with mudguards and racks) don't.

We all have our own ideas of what would make the best tool for the job of a dedicated short haul commuting bike through traffic, a hub geared upright bike with chain case, mudguards and hub dynamo driven lights comes toward the top of my list.

But there aren't many 22 year old lads who want something sensible like that, and end up with something totally unsuitable.

Whatever you buy, enjoy your bike and revisit this thread in a year's time to see if your opinion's changed.
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[XAP]Bob
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Re: Help- what bike should i use for a Daily 10 mile commute

Post by [XAP]Bob »

rucksack weight isn't the issue - it's the sweat factor. Your back can't cool down with a rucksack.

If it's going to be that light then a rack top bag or a saddle bag or a bar bag are all good options.
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.
Brucey
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Re: Help- what bike should i use for a Daily 10 mile commute

Post by Brucey »

weirdly, years ago, if you bought an off the peg 'racer' it would probably have clearance for mudguards. These days this is less likely to be the case. If you want something which is essentially a racing bike, but with clearance for mudguards, it is often called an 'audax bike' and often costs more....

cheers
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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 »

s1965c wrote:Bottom line is road bikes look sexy, hybrids (with mudguards and racks) don't.


Woah there, hybrids with mudguards can look hella sexy. My bamboo mudguards are total chick/chap magnets!

It's all how you rock it!
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Re: Help- what bike should i use for a Daily 10 mile commute

Post by eileithyia »

AshleyClements wrote:Can you get mudguards for full road bikes?


Well my small framed road bike I use for commuting / training / touring takes full mudguards...

Rucksack... remember the sweat factor rather weight ugh...
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vjosullivan
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Re: Help- what bike should i use for a Daily 10 mile commute

Post by vjosullivan »

AshleyClements wrote:I may not use mud guards as I don't care about getting too wet either and I still probably won't use racks on the bike, so in that instance should I just get a road bike?

It's not just about getting wet. All roads are covered in grit, grot, oil, mud, diverse roadkill remnants, dogshit, birdshit and all sorts of other stuff you'd rather not know about. When road are wet, this stuff is driven - with considerable force - into your trousers, up your legs, into your skin, in a stripe up your back and into your hair, and - when going around a bend - up your front and into your arms and face. It all needs to be washed out again when you get to work and again when you get home. And you really don't want to be pulling on clothing that's still dripping with this stuff from the previous journey, so you need to have extra stuff to change into and it all needs way more washing than normal.

The stuff off the wheels that you don't end up wearing, is also hammered straight into the nice and shiney paintwork you fell in love with at the shop and also straight into the bottom bracket and into chain and all through your gears forming a lovely gritty paste that will wear them down nicely. That same paste also does a brilliant job of lubricating your rim brakes, extending your wet weather stopping distance almost to the horizon while also grinding down the wheel rims. (Disc brake because of their design and location and much more immune to this.) And also into the face of anyone unlucky enough to be cycling behind you.

Mudguards catch all this crap and drop it back on the road, thus preserving you, your clothes and the bike. They also bring about world peace. Ask anyone.
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Re: Help- what bike should i use for a Daily 10 mile commute

Post by Ant »

Wisest of wise words!

I was admiring a colleagues' new bike this morning (coincidentally a Boardman hybrid) and asked him "don't you miss your mudguards?" (It lashed it down this morning) He replied "oh yeah, having some fitted as soon as I take it in for a service!"

To the OP, hopefully you have picked up on the notion of mudguards! Also as everyone says, test ride as much as possible. Just remember that any old bike will manage a 10 mile round trip well enough, so perhaps think about any other times you might use the bike, e.g. Long road rides or canal towpaths? Remember a road bike does limit you slightly...
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[XAP]Bob
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Re: Help- what bike should i use for a Daily 10 mile commute

Post by [XAP]Bob »

Ant wrote:I was admiring a colleagues' new bike this morning (coincidentally a Boardman hybrid) and asked him "don't you miss your mudguards?" (It lashed it down this morning) He replied "oh yeah, having some fitted as soon as I take it in for a service!"


Mudguards...

To the OP, hopefully you have picked up on the notion of mudguards! Also as everyone says, test ride as much as possible. Just remember that any old bike will manage a 10 mile round trip well enough, so perhaps think about any other times you might use the bike, e.g. Long road rides or canal towpaths? Remember a road bike does limit you slightly...

Yep - started my 10 mile each way commute on a BSO (£99 or £150, I can't recall) and it was fine. Yes I'd likely have been quicker on a lighter/thinner/better bike - but I still managed to average *just* shy of 20mph through traffic.
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.
Ayesha
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Re: Help- what bike should i use for a Daily 10 mile commute

Post by Ayesha »

AshleyClements wrote:Can you get mudguards for full road bikes?


No. You make them yourself out of cheap curtain rail.

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

Post by Ayesha »

[XAP]Bob wrote:
Ant wrote:I was admiring a colleagues' new bike this morning (coincidentally a Boardman hybrid) and asked him "don't you miss your mudguards?" (It lashed it down this morning) He replied "oh yeah, having some fitted as soon as I take it in for a service!"


Mudguards...

To the OP, hopefully you have picked up on the notion of mudguards! Also as everyone says, test ride as much as possible. Just remember that any old bike will manage a 10 mile round trip well enough, so perhaps think about any other times you might use the bike, e.g. Long road rides or canal towpaths? Remember a road bike does limit you slightly...

Yep - started my 10 mile each way commute on a BSO (£99 or £150, I can't recall) and it was fine. Yes I'd likely have been quicker on a lighter/thinner/better bike - but I still managed to average *just* shy of 20mph through traffic.


So, riding a cheap 'heap of junk' BSO didn't put you off cycling?
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[XAP]Bob
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Re: Help- what bike should i use for a Daily 10 mile commute

Post by [XAP]Bob »

Not at all - It took me ~55 minutes the first day.
Within a couple of weeks it wasn't killing me, and had dropped to 45-50, within a few months it dropped to 35-40, then slowly dropped to 30 minutes (always just over - 30:12 was my best ever)

I knew no better in terms of bikes really - I joined this forum after a couple of months of that commute, and have gone completely mad since then ;)

I did indulge myself in a pair of M+ tyres, partly for the puncture protection, partly to have a tyre with a "road stripe" down the middle, to lessen the "knobblies" effect. I didn't really know how heavy they were - but they can't have slowed me that much.
Eventually (after clipping the corner of a Jag, who did catch me up and apologise for pulling out and then stopping, due to weak brakes in poor weather) I switched forks for the cheapest set of forks the lbs offered with disc mounts, they also have a suspension lock out (bonus). (New front wheel as well obviously)
Several snapped spokes and a rear axle later I also swapped out my rear wheel.
I also switched the BB and chainset (after the bb snapped - but a while after :oops: ) upping the gears in the process
I also switched the cassette (it was shot to pieces) - again upping the gears.
The left crank fell off, so I got another (although it doesn't match ;) )
And I added bar ends.

Note - "I" in this context involves the transfer of funds to my lbs...

A colleague gave me a pair of SPD pedals - and BOY did they help, had to spend £25 on shoes mind...

But all of those upgrades were gradual - the bike is still a BSO, but as I'm now riding a distinctly non-BSO ICE Sprint 2 it doesn't bother me. I still use it for leaving at the station (even when I go abroad for a couple of days. It's got a pair of frame locks, and gets locked to a sheffield stand under CCTV. It also looks like a beat up wreck!

Personally I think it was about the best few hundred pounds I've spent. I bought it as a toy, and it demonstrated the beauty and simplicity of cycling for transport. Despite the fact that there is very little left of the original bike* it's still a BSO, and I still love it.

Bob


* Frame, bars (new stem), grips, levers, rear brake, seatpost/saddle, rear mech.
New stem was required because the original had to be destructively removed when fitting a new fork - no charge.
I *think* the rear mech is original, the front died through neglect in top gear.
Last edited by [XAP]Bob on 19 Apr 2013, 4:27pm, edited 2 times in total.
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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[XAP]Bob
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Re: Help- what bike should i use for a Daily 10 mile commute

Post by [XAP]Bob »

I still have very little in the way of cycle clothing (despite being a lycra convert) - most of mine is from those well known designers: lidl and aldi.

My first winter saw me dress up in 5 layers of mixed density layers (thermals, two t-shirts, thin fleece, high viz wear) - now I top out at a long sleeved T shirt and gilet (in the really cold bits of the last winter I added a t shirt as well)
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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mill4six
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Re: Help- what bike should i use for a Daily 10 mile commute

Post by mill4six »

I'm a rack convert to the extent that I'm planning to fit a tortec slimline rack to my Ribble audax, retire it from race duty and re-commission it as a commuter with a hub dynamo. I do ride it to work in the summer but I hate the rucksack, even though it has the Deuter air system to ventilate my back. In the winter I use my Airnimal and the rack is a real relief. I only carry my tools, tubes, sarnies, spare kecks, t-shirt and shoes (uni-pannier). All my bikes have mudguards, quick release on the Ribble. Of course this means I shall have to buy a new race bike. I am currently lusting after a Felt AR5. Must.....wait......till.........Jan/Feb........cheap deals!
profpointy
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Re: Help- what bike should i use for a Daily 10 mile commute

Post by profpointy »

Ashley's OP precis:
10 mile commute, roads, little luggage, quite hilly, £500-£700

"I know the advantages of the road bike are the drops and speed but the advantages of the hybrid is that I am always 'upright' and in control.

Who should I listen to? My colleague (road bike) or Halfords (hybrid)?"
------------------------------

Some thoughts - I strongly recommend a road oriented bike for 10 hilly miles, ie drop bars, lots of gears, and reasonably lightweight. Your budget should get you something pretty reasonable.

"flat- bars: always upright and in control" - we'll I concede "always upright", but the implication that drop bars mean "not in control" is just silly. The advantages of drops are 1: choice of hand position 2: lower wind resistance. Flat bars are fine if you don't mind putting more effort in to go slower, won't ever have a headwind or cycle uphill, and don't want a choice of hand positions. Bumbling to the shops on flats is one thing, but 10 miles is a long way to battle into a headwind. Fair enough if you've back problems or whatever, then that's different.

Who should I listen to?" - well probably not Halfords would be a good rule of thumb, but apparently their Boardman bikes are actually quite good for all that.

As others have said, I'd certainly want mudguards and a pannier rack, though you could get by with a saddle bag instead of the rack so long as you're not carrying a laptop or anything big. I'm not a believer in rucksacks on a bike.

An audax style bike is perfect for your stated needs - simplistically this is a "road" bike with mudguards and a pannier rack, and probably slightly lower (and more useful) gears than a race oriented bike. An audax bike is somewhat lighter than a tourer (eg Dawes Galaxy) which is designed for heavy luggage though still usually with drop bars.

At the risk of generalising, drop bared bikes are often geared too high for everyday use - fine for Bradley Wiggins, but not so good for the rest of us, so may be worth a shopping around a bit to get more usable gearing - something like the hybrid comes with. I'm not sure I'm convinced by the "compact double" chainsets either, but to be fair, have only used triples - other than my old 10 speed (ie 2 x 5) which was way too high geared.

Someone said his friend's frame was cracked by carrying only one pannier. A moment's thought should illustrate that this is clearly nonsense. When pedalling you're putting 80kg (or more!) on one side of the bike, then the other. How much leverage is a couple of kg in one pannier going to have. If you're carrying a load of coal home, you're going to use both panniers after all.
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