Commuting Bikes

[gremlin]

Hi there, new on here although i have been with CTC for a year. I hope someone can help me regarding a choice of commuting bike. For the last year I have been using my Specialized Allez and its clearly not really suited to the job. Its a great bike to ride but I am going through parts at a rapid rate and ideally would like a new bike that I can use for commuting 30 miles a day all year round and also I want to start touring and camping.

I have been looking at the Dawes Super Galaxy as what seems to me to be the best all round option, although i like the sound of the new Trek Solo which has a belt drive (no chain to clean) and hub gears. I have also looked into a Thorn but am unsure of hub gears. I would prefer drop bars for the variety of hand positions, but basically i need something that can commute comfortably all year round and then be a touring bike when needed.

Any advice or help would be much appreciated.

cheers

Simon

[northernmonkey]

Hello Simon,

Welcome to the forum, from another er, newbie, I believe we're called!

I recently bought a Surly Long Haul Trucker and have to say, I completely 'get' what all the fuss is about. It's like all my favourite ever bikes rolled into one. I got it for commuting and hope to start touring on it soon. It's a bit beefy but a joy to ride and when I cycle into central London each day, I just want to keep going. Not got much experience of other machines though.

Put yourself together a shortlist from the advice of the 'old sweats' on here, then go and try them all. Stating the obvious that, isn't it?

Happy hunting!

Mark

[gremlin]

Hi Mark,

Thanks for the advice and sometimes the obvious isn't..... at least for me I have not heard of the Surly Long Haul Trucker, but the name sounds the biz!

If it does the job for you commuting into London then it would surely be fine for my commute from Swansea to Margam near Port Talbot in South Wales.

i will check it out online and see if any other advice comes my way on other bikes as well.

cheers

Simon

[MacBludgeon]

Hi Simon, with that sort of mileage, and all weathers, I'd be looking for low maintenance, longevity and comfort, followed by weight, but the last really does come down to budget. Similar to you I started with a bike that the shop assured me would be fine for a 40 mile round trip commute. Once I knew a bit more I built a bike up around the Surly Crosscheck frame with a 9 speed hubgear. Whether you want hubgears or not my advice, if it's a dedicated commuter, foul weather, beast, is for as few gears as possible. My Surly now has a 3 speed hub gear and a SS/fixed rear wheel which I swap between. The 9 speed hub gear is being built into a new super commuter, mainly because I want disc brakes and the Xcheck can't accomodate. Starting from scratch then I'd be thinking along the lines of a Genesis Croix De Fere, or an On One Pompetamine Versa Pro. Basically anything cross/tour orientated but with disc brakes, drop bars and integrated shifters.

It really depends on how much you want to spend, for example I'm planning on a SON dynohub front wheel with Edelux front light and B&M rear rack mounted light. That comes to about £400 on its own, but I ride a lot of unlit roads and battery charging is a pain. If you're going to tour and camp as well then it might be worth investing in a custom titanium or steel frame. I'm a big fan of the Surly bikes but wish they accomodated disc brakes. For what it's worth I've looked at the Dawes and been unimpressed with the 'bang for your buck' that they offer, I'm seeing them at around the £1400 mark. You could get a titanium frame custom made by Burls for about £1k and then build up from there. It would work out more but you'd get exactly what you wanted as well.

[531colin]

30 miles a day is a lot of commuting. You will wear out stuff at that rate. However, the bad news is that you will wear out cycle parts on whatever bike you use. Chains on expensive bikes are no more durable than the same chain on a cheap bike! I would avoid using an expensive complicated tourer for a winter commuter.

I would be thinking of 2 bikes, a dedicated commuter and a fair weather/tourer. For winter commuting, there is a lot to be said for simplicity. How few gears can you get away with? Singlespeed?

The commuter will need to be maintained as intensively as it is ridden, but if you have a tourer as well, you can have the commuter off the road each summer for a rebuild.

What are you currently wearing out? I guess chains and sprockets. Wheel rims?

[Tail End Charlie]

I agree with having two bikes and keeping your best for touring. That way your tourer is always functioning perfectly. If you use it to commute aswell then there'll always be something not quite working properly as you never get round to fettling it. This does of course pre-suppose you have room for two bikes. I can recommend a fixed or single speed for simplicity.

[geocycle]

I'd certainly consider a good hub geared bike for the commute for the low maintenance. If you can afford it, and need the gear range I'd recommend Rohloff, otherwise something Alfine equipped probably the next best bet. Don't discount a Thorn if you want to go down the one bike route. For example, I'll be riding Bangor-Cardiff next week on mixed surfaces and then next morning use it for the commute, it is that versatile. It is certainly possible to run a rohloff with drops on an accessory bar if that's important to you, although the set up is not as slick as STIs for a derailleur.

[kwackers]

I do 28 miles a day on a Ridgeback Panorama and haven't had any problems with it in the last 18 months since I got it. Whenever I oil the chain (about once a week) I spray pretty much anything that moves (or is a bit shiny) with the oil. Twice a year I clean everything off and start again and for a short time the bike looks like new.

I'm not convinced by the idea of a winter hack, given my biggest mileage is by far my commute I want a decent bike for it, when I want to go touring then it's just a case of giving it a decent service before hand.

Last time I looked, tyres, brakes, chain etc all looked good for a while yet.

[Ontherivet77]

If you've got a safe place to store the bike at work, then get the best you can afford. Otherwise, do what I did - save an old 70s bike from the skip stick new tyres and a saddle on and away you go. Mudguards and pannier rack I already had and with a bit of fettling it is a perfectly serviceable bike which rolls along as easy as a dawes galaxy etc. The advantage being that no one is likely to pinch it (touch wood).

[cycle carnot]

Hi Simon,

Some choices will be down to you (flat vs drop bars for example).

I can only pass on my choices and why... so here goes. Bought my first dedicated road bike earlier this year, basically a sportive-spec bike, very light, skinny tyres, carbon fork. Great, fast, bike but not one for wet conditions and no lugs for racks or mudguards. Was going through components at a fair rate (tyres in particular) as I ride 200+ miles a week.

Decided to look for a bike (I wanted drop bars to give alternative riding positions on long rides) that would be robust, capable of doing lots of miles in all weathers and had lugs for racks and mudguards. Eventually discovered cyclocross bikes, and found one that fitted the bill. The one I bought is described in the link below, and was available from my excellent local bike shop at a very good price. It's about 15% lower (easier) geared than my sportive-spec bike, making hills a doddle, relatively. It works well off road too, on tracks and paths (not serious mtb trails obviously).

http://www2.merida-bikes.com/en_GB/Bikes.Detail.180

I replaced the rather flimsy cyclocross tyres and tubes with Scwalbe inners and these brilliant tyres (32c) which are very grippy, good in the wet and don't seem to wear. Also they seem to be bulletproof (no sign of punctures or damage in 2.2k miles): http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Vitto ... 360035184/

I've ridden 2200 miles in 15 weeks on the bike. Only item that seems to wear is the chain, Shimano HG53, which stretches to 0.75% (when I replace chains) in about 1200 miles. They only cost £10 (ish) and are easy to replace. I'll probably need to replace the front brake pads soon too.

HTH.

CC

[kwackers]

Only item that seems to wear is the chain, Shimano HG53, which stretches to 0.75% (when I replace chains) in about 1200 miles.

That can't be right can it? I'm not sure of the mileage mines done but it must be at least 5000. Can't say I've measured the chain, but a quick look at the sprockets shows the teeth to be symmetrical with no sign of hooking so I'd guess there can't be much wrong with it.

[cycle carnot]

Hi,

Having had to replace 2 cassettes when I had allowed the chain to stretch too far (more than 1%) I now measure and change chains routinely at 0.75% stretch. If the chain wears further then I found that it wore the cassette to match the new chain spacing, with the result that when I eventually fitted a new chain it slipped round the rear cogs. I couldn't see any obvious hooking on the cassettes I replaced either but they were definitely worn vs. the new ones.

Basically the old worn chains matched the old worn cassettes and didn't slip.

Now taking the view that chains are both easy to replace and cheap vs. cassettes.

A friend has recommended Wippermann (sp?) chains - he says they may last longer - so I might try those. More expensive than the Shimano though. They do have quicklinks for even easier changes.

CC

Edited to add: the HG53 is a lightweight 9 speed chain and I guess is fairly fragile. They do get hammered, I do a lot of hill climbing in high-ish gears standing on the pedals.

[531colin]

I'm with cycle cannot on this. I use Wipperman (Connex) chains and throw them away before they wear the cassette so that a new chain skips. I also use Pro link chain lube, which is clean (relatively).
Mick F is the chain cleaner par excellence on this forum, and he gets huge mileages from his chains. You'll find him if you search!

The arguement has been made that its just as expensive throwing away lots of chains as it is running the whole lot into the ground and replacing chain, cassette, and rings. The maths is on here too, somewhere. I suppose if you ran a single chainring and 5 speed screw on block on a commuter, it might make sense. Or singlespeed.....

[kwackers]

Well, I'm a good 5 chains in I reckon, so around £40 / £50 in 'profit'.
I'll continue until it's fried and replace whatever, at that point I'll be in a good position to see how my current maintenance 'schedule' works out financially.

Hmmm, looking on wiggle a new cassette is £19. To be safe I should price in a new chain ring and those two plastic cogs (whatever their technical name is) on the dérailleur...

[cycle carnot]

This is where belt drives and hub gears make sense!