Commuting on a tourer

[samsbike]

I use my tourer 2-3 times every week to carry in clothes/towel/food/more food, and then use my road bike if I feel like it and the weather's smiling on me. It's a bit faster, a bit less comfy, but I do love riding it.

I am beginning to agree with this having got something a little lighter. My two bikes are too similar to be that different in the comfort stakes, but the steel bike has full lenght proper mudguards which are more useful for rubbish weather. However, the bike without mudguards is more nimble and although I have not commuted on it and the rides around home I feel fresher despite doing more climbing.

[jonbott]

I like the idea of trying the ride before actually going to work,was thinking of trying to use the train and cycle to Bodmin hospital,but not sure how long its gonna take...
job for next week I think
I`m really not fit enough or brave enought to cycle 30miles to work...along the A30

[Bartthebikeman]

The latest thinking is that for slicks there is no real difference, a 35c is just as good as a 23c.

Which is a latest thinking which is not universally accepted, I would say it was a minority opinion.

It is also based on the often forgotten and totally unrealistic condition that the tyres are inflated to the same pressure.
So pump up your 35mm tyres to 110psi and enjoy.

People seem to be hanging on to "...at the same pressure..." bit that which while correct on its own, doesn't really give one a full picture of what makes tyres roll fast on real (UK?) roads.
Wider tyres have lower rolling resistance not just at the same but at their optimal pressure e.g. using an excellent 15% tyre drop method.

The differences are very small on smooth surfaces but very obvious on bad roads where lowering the pressure can paradoxically reduce rolling resistance by allowing tyres to absorb road imperfections more effectively.
Comparing 23mm to 35mm tyres only makes sense only if using the same tyres at the optimal pressure. E.g. a 700x38C Marathon will be typically (but not always) slower than a 23mm Vittoria Corsa Evo NOT because it's wider but because it's designed as a touring not racing tyre. Hit the cobbles though and Marathons at half the pressure of skinny tyres are going to roll faster.

Going back to the OP question, I've been commuting and training on a 26" franken road bike with drop bars (the only road bike I've got) for over 2 years and I clock average speeds of 18.5-20.0mph on it. Shaven MTB tyres up to 2.10" wide don't seem to slow me down, quite the opposite http://bartthebikeman.wordpress.com/201 ... road-tyre/

In fact I've found that on New Forest roads a 2.10" wide 120TPI wide supple shaven XC MTB tyre at 20/30PSI rolls marginally faster than a 28mm Grand Prix road slick at 80/60PSI. That's based on many timed (stopwatch) runs not by feel. http://bartthebikeman.wordpress.com/201 ... -prix-mtb/


P.S. As for the popularity of certain opinions. Some people think, some just follow

[meic]

Some people think, some just follow

It appears that people can think and arrive at different answers. Though the correct answer will be arrived at empirically, not theoretically.

I (and a few others) have also tried riding with wider tyres and got rather different results, though my test were not quite as rigorous the results were consistent.

The obvious answer that explains discrepancies is the road surface, rough surfaces favouring fatter tyres.
I have found that the roads which I ride on are normally good enough, for enough of their length for thinner (28mm) tyres to work out faster. That is even with averages nearer to 13mph than 20mph.

[dbascent1986]

Only one puncture on Conti Contact Sport so far. I average 560 miles a month on the bike commute (fairweather - all weather would take me to 800 miles a month) - do not wear lycra but normal work clothes (work however is not in an office environment) with a merino base. So only have a bar bag (Carradice zip roll). The bike averages around 30 mins more than a car roundtrip. Average speed on my tourer with flat bar is 15mph including traffic lights/traffic. Given your Lincoln location (less traffic/flatter) and likely headwinds a road bike may make sense, although tourers do come with drops.

You will be attached to your commuter for the equivalent of 500 hours++ a year so creature comforts: saddle, mudguards, hubgear, good set up outweigh an extra 2~3 mph.