Ultimate commuter

[ridesaGT]

OK, car lease is up soon and i'm sick of the traffic.

I want to commute 3 days per week by bike, 60k round trip. It's got me stumped what bike to get, i'll have a budget around $1000 - $1200. I'm thinking single speed for simplicity with disc brakes for the wet days?
Or i could go a CX with flat bar or i could look at a hard tail MTB (this would be great if the 6" dually breaks down).

I have a religious weekend trail ride and often a midweek blast but not always. In saying that i'm probably not the fittest.........yet

Any suggestions?

[petertronica]

I want to commute 3 days per week by bike, 60k round trip. It's got me stumped what bike to get, i'll have a budget around $1000 - $1200. I'm thinking single speed for simplicity with disc brakes for the wet days?


Is that 60k round trip per day? You'd have to be mad to do that on a single speed, or completely delusional if you think you'll be able to keep up with someone on a similar bike with gears.

It's very true that there's a tool for every job, and you can't beat a flat bar commuter for commuting, something like a Specialized Cirrus should fit your budget.

If, however, that's 60k round trip per week, which is 10k to work, 10k back etc, you could do that kind of distance on anything. I commute 6.5k to work every day on a stumpy with fat road tyres, simply because for that short distance it's so much damn fun to ride, and my route hits the occasional kerb or two. Can't keep up with the flat bar geared commuters though. Well, not all of them..

[alchemist]

Is that 60k round trip per day? You'd have to be mad to do that on a single speed, or completely delusional if you think you'll be able to keep up with someone on a similar bike with gears.

A little mad perhaps, but not neccessarily delusional.

[petertronica]

Or go by the name Mr L. Armstrong.

[alchemist]

Or go by the name Mr L. Armstrong.

Nah he's rubbish on a SS

[petertronica]

Nah he's rubbish on a SS

He could beat you on a penny farthing ;)

[ridesaGT]

Is that 60k round trip per day? You'd have to be mad to do that on a single speed, or completely delusional if you think you'll be able to keep up with someone on a similar bike with gears.

Yes, 60k per day x 3, so 180k per week

I thought i was being a little ambitious with SS, but the fitness increase would be exponential.
by the way, would be riding from Carnegie to Dandenong in Melbourne, so only some gradual climbs, nothing steep:)

['Ross]

Yes, 60k per day x 3, so 180k per week

I thought i was being a little ambitious with SS, but the fitness increase would be exponential.
by the way, would be riding from Carnegie to Dandenong in Melbourne, so only some gradual climbs, nothing steep:)

Thats pretty much my Uni commute, I do it fixed (ss) and never had any problems. My commute is incredibly flat, hills are the only problem I could forsee. You won't be as fast as the superstars wearing lycra pretending to train for some important event, but who cares.

[Dicky]

A flatbar roadie with discs is the safest bet - it won't give a damn what the weather's doing.
Steel or carbon rigid fork is preferable over alloy.

If you don't have too many nasty intersections to contend with, consider a mid to high end steel roadie from 10-20 years ago.
The ride quality will blow anything new for that price out of the water.

SS or even fixed is still an option, if there isn't a bloody great mountain in the way...

[bdstorer]

Is that 60k round trip per day? You'd have to be mad to do that on a single speed My daily commute is 56km and I ride that on my Surly Steamroller 46 x 19 fixed single speed AND there is a monster hill mid ride (the Bonnet).. I'm quicker uphill than the other commuters but slower downhill and on the flat.. but there is no maintainence involved in riding ss..

I wouldn't recommend a MTB over that distance, even with slicks it'd just be slow..

What about a Surly Cross Check? $1400ish.. Durable, rugged and would be waaay zippier over that distance than an MTB.. and more fun than a flat bar roadie.. I tried the flat bar roadie thing a few years ago.. (Kona Dr Dew) didn't like it..

[Binaural]

Is that 60k round trip per day? You'd have to be mad to do that on a single speed, or completely delusional if you think you'll be able to keep up with someone on a similar bike with gears.

It's very true that there's a tool for every job, and you can't beat a flat bar commuter for commuting, something like a Specialized Cirrus should fit your budget.

If, however, that's 60k round trip per week, which is 10k to work, 10k back etc, you could do that kind of distance on anything. I commute 6.5k to work every day on a stumpy with fat road tyres, simply because for that short distance it's so much damn fun to ride, and my route hits the occasional kerb or two. Can't keep up with the flat bar geared commuters though. Well, not all of them..

He's not mad. I do about 25km each way 5 days a week on a singlespeed with flat pedals and low rise bars. I haven't been overtaken for weeks, although I am pretty competitive. Riding singlespeed as a commuter definitely does more for the parts of your body other than your legs - you have to get up and stomp from time to time and steep hills benefit from a bit of torquing the bike with your arms and torso. When I went from geared to singlespeed, I added less than 5 minutes to my daily commute.

To be honest, making your commute faster/easier is overrated. If your bike is 10% faster, that's all of 6 minutes over an hour's ride - not a big deal, and you'll notice the increase in fitness from pushing a less efficient bike more anyway. Plus, you can lock a plainer/cheaper/slower bike up in more places than you can lock a top-end speed machine. I also run fatter tyres than I really need just to smooth things out and make sure my rigid forks don't send me under a car if I hit a pothole in poor light. My converted MTB also enough of the handling feel of my offroad MTBs that I feel I can easily switch for the weekend.

That said, I would get a geared roadie if I were doing more than about 80km a day - that's getting into serious k's in my opinion. Other's feelings for what constitutes serious distance may differ, of course ;)

[Christo]

Is that 60k round trip per day? You'd have to be mad to do that on a single speed,

You callin' me mad? That's my commute.

Go SS for the low maintenence - but then even keeping my SS commuter running well is hard enough after 300kms a week - biggest problem I have is spoke tension - the hills always cause the spokes to loosen after about 3 days, gets very noisy. Let alone adding gears to the mix.

The specialized tri-cross SS looks the goods for commuting, bang on your budget too.

I wouldn't recommend flat handlebars with that sort of distance, even a gentle breeze can be a bastard over 30kms, at least with drops you can do the aero tuck.

The tri-cross also has canti brakes which kick butt over traditional roadie brakes.

The surly would be great but considering commuters get flogged hard, I wouldn't want to put a (semi) boutique frame through that - Surly's IMO deserve better than that.

If you do go gears the Vivente (nee mongoose) randonneur is set up as a great commuter out of the box at a great price.

[alchemist]

The surly would be great but considering commuters get flogged hard, I wouldn't want to put a (semi) boutique frame through that - Surly's IMO deserve better than that.

Bwah ha ha! I'm a Surly fan and I'd never describe them as boutique. They're built strong and to be ridden hard.

[Tomas]

Trek 7.5FX... Carbon fork, roadie drivetrain, flat bar, light wheelset.... $1199...

[Blas4me]

Yes, 60k per day x 3, so 180k per week

I thought i was being a little ambitious with SS, but the fitness increase would be exponential.
by the way, would be riding from Carnegie to Dandenong in Melbourne, so only some gradual climbs, nothing steep:)

What route are you taking? I used to ride to Springvale from Carnegie everyday and there's a beaut track along the Dandy railway line from Murrumbeena/Hughesdale to Westall...well probably more like halfway between Clayton and Westall but you can continue along Haughton road to Westall...Ok, not the best explanation but if you want more ideas on good ways to go shoot me PM as I tried a few different ways when I got bored of one!

Oh and SS is good fun going that way, I did that too because it is mostly flat.

[ridesaGT]

Thanks for all the responses! I still think single speed is the go, but i'll have to give it a good go first before i 100% commit. The question now is what bike, what ratio????

[bdstorer]

The question now is what bike,

1st choice: Surly Steamroller. Steel. Reliable. Cheap. $800ish
2nd choice: KHS Trackbike. Steel. Reliable and even cheaper. $550ish

there is a new Giant er, 'Bowrie'(?) SS roadie that retails for about $700ish but its Aluminium..

all of the above can be run either as fixed or ss with a flip flop hub..

what ratio????

I run 46 x 19 but I live in Hobart and have to deal with big hills.. Andy White told me he ran 46 x 18 in San Fran where the hills are even bigger.. these ratios are easy on the ups but pretty spinny downhill.. I have ridden 47 x 19 and 47 x 17 in Hobart.. the later was a tad hard up the bigger hills but not impossible.. this ratio would probably suit Melbourne fine..

[Ham]

Trek 7.5FX... Carbon fork, roadie drivetrain, flat bar, light wheelset.... $1199...

yeah there pretty good if your shorter than 185 cms the sizes are pretty small.

i commute on an old school steel roadie which is a 61 cm so its perfect for me (im 193 cms)
got it for free the only problem i had was getting new wheels for it as it was narrower between the dropouts. I gave it a bit of tlc and it rides so sweet i also train on it sometimes when i dont want to ride my other roadie.

[nsr077]

What about a tourer? I commute on a fuji tourer with panniers and its been fine. Its really comfortable and not really all that much slower that say a CRX.. smack bang in your budget to..

[ducan]

Giant CRX series. Cant recall if they have discs though !

OR

Cannondale badboy Disc. $2000 ( little over budget, but there HOT )

[ridesaGT]

has anyone heard of these guys?

www.bicyclerecycle.com.au

i sent them an email today, they might have a sweet old top end frame just waiting for some tlc,

has anyone ridden a salsa Casseroll?

[bdstorer]

has anyone heard of these guys?www.bicyclerecycle.com.auYep. I found them quite rude to deal with. Rang them twice about 12mths ago chasing frames/parts and was deal with in a unprofessional manner. Not recommended.

Recently came across a similar store in Brunswick Melbourne called 'human powered cycles'.. They were waaaay better to deal with.. and from memory there was a sweet Paconi in the yard.. but I don't think it was cheap..

has anyone ridden a salsa Casseroll?

No. But I eyeballed one @ a Hobart bike shop recently.. The colour was a bit dud but if that doesn't bother you it looked most tidy. Spotted a candy red LSurly Long Haul Trucker last night being built up at Treadlies bike shop.. now there is a sweet looking ride... What about the KHS ss?

[ridesaGT]

Spotted a candy red LSurly Long Haul Trucker last night being built up at Treadlies bike shop.. now there is a sweet looking ride... What about the KHS ss?

The Surly's do look sweet as. The salsa is a bit pricey for what i want. The KHS looks good, would need to ride first. Felt have a nice looker also, SS, aluminium frame with carbon fork for $900.

I plan to email a few shop's in the coming days to see what i can get a hold of and ride before i buy.

Very keen to be riding steel though........

[bdstorer]

The Surly's do look sweet as I have a Surly Steamroller and it is by far my favourite bike (cosidering one of my bikes is a Santa Cruz.. that IS a compliment to Surly).

The KHS looks good, would need to ride first It's alway a good idea to 'ride before you buy' if you can. My mate Dave had a KHS track bike that he toured through Australia on and then worked in Hobart as a courier on.. Very solid frame.. His original spec had to be replaced incrementally as it is very basic but for the money.. well, you can't go wrong. The KHS frame is heavy tho.. it weighed a bit more than my Surly..

Also had a look at the Giant SS at Treadlies last night.. yuk!

[beatlloydy]

Funnily enough I am looking into the perfect commute bike too..Although I dont think I will be purchasing one as I have a lot of old bike/parts at home.

My commute (I only do weekly) is from 60-80 km each way (depends on what way I go). I have been doing it on a MTB with Mxxis semi slick detonators....best time was 2hrs flat on a MTB along the M2...(Grays Point to West Pennant Hills)...then they banned us from the M2 and the ride went out to 2hr 20 mins down epping road etc....Last week I was advised to try the cycleroute from St Peters to Homebush etc...well it was nice and scenic but dumped me onto Silverwater Rd and not too friendly after that...also took 3hrs...I am going back to my normal one which is over the bridge, down Epping rd etc.

As to the bike I have an old stell framed Reynolds 653...I am looking at Maxxis Detonators 700 x 25c but I was also looking at the Maxxis 38's ...I may have enough clearance to fit them...I basically want a bombproof road/cyclocross type bike that I can hop up over gutters if things get out of hand (as they do with crazy motorists sometimes).

Any suggestions on the perfect road tyre for commuting..willing to sacrifice a little speed for good stability etc. I find the 700 x 23c a little too thin for everyday commuting.

[luckyphil]

I have a Surly Steamroller and it is by far my favourite bike (cosidering one of my bikes is a Santa Cruz.. that IS a compliment to Surly).
Same with me. I have a ridiculous dollar value of bikes in my stable, and my Steamroller is easily my favourite bike to ride. A delight to ride, every single day.

[bdstorer]

Any suggestions on the perfect road tyre for commuting..willing to sacrifice a little speed for good stability etc. I find the 700 x 23c a little too thin for everyday commuting.

Conti Gatorskin. Best commute tyre ever. full stop.

[Eggyolkeo]

2nd you on the Gatorskin suggestion. Just choose your width!

[johnny_boy]

[QUOTE=bdstorer;1298751]Recently came across a similar store in Brunswick Melbourne called 'human powered cycles'.. They were waaaay better to deal with.. and from memory there was a sweet Paconi in the yard.. but I don't think it was cheap..

[QUOTE]

The blokes at HPC's are great to deal with, and definitely know their stuff. Actually willing to chat to you about things too, which is sometimes hard to find in people that know alot! They have some nice stuff there, but they know its nice, and price it accordingly. The popularity of fixies in Melb has surely helped this. I've picked up a couple of random bargains though such as $10 cranks.

On the issue of gear ratio - I run 46 - 16 on my roadie, which is pretty bang on for around my side of Melbourne. You may want to drop to a 17t if there are some hills in your way. Rubino Pros are a very nice too, a pretty soft but high mileage training tire.

[Techno Destructo]

Geez, I can't believe I missed this thread... Guess I've been a bit busy lately! :o
I do a 56km round trip, usually about 5 days a week, through Sydney.

My current commuter (without going into specifics) is a flat bar roadie with discs and gears. For all of Sydney's hills, and I've got a few of them (and a few nice sized ones in there as well), it seems commonsense to have a drivetrain that can change to the incline you're on. I do want to try SS for the experience and challenge (and the side benefit of low-maintenance), but that's a luxury I don't have the spare cash for now. It just seems riding singlespeed is like (well, in Sydney anyway...) going into a boxing match with one hand intentionally tied behind your back (which I respect, but I don't think is the most efficient or best way to commute).
Like Dicky said, discs are good for stopping in all weather, and allow you to get a warped rim from some pothole, and not slow you down AND still have full braking power.
Flat bars make it much easier for me to hop over curbs, potholes, gutters, pedestrians, etc... and I'm will to sacrifice some aerodynamics for the handling.
Gears, I use a pretty wide spread - again... why limit yourself with few choices? I've got a 52-36 (guessing on the small ring) and an 11-32 on the back. Covers everything from grinding in the biggest gear for when drafting behind buses/trucks, to riding up the ramps at the Harbour Bridge (several steep, steppy inclines that bikes are usually pushed up, sometimes ridden down, and very occasionally ridden up). As I said before... if the options are there... why limit yourself?
Tires I run are narrow and hard, since when I corner hard at speed and am leaning it over, I want a tire I can trust. Conti Gatorskins are great, but there's also a killer tire (sorry... can't remember the name) with a reflective band on both sides of the sidewall... great tire with the added benefit of visibility at night. Get ones with flat protection, then back that up with tire liners (Mr.Tuffy or Slime), 'cause even though you'll get more rotational weight... you're not in a race (I assume) and never having to repair a flat is worth it in my book (I fucking HATE repairing flats:mad:).

If you made it this far and wanna hear specifics... I'm on a Brodie Romax (cyclocross frame) with almost all handpicked parts (slowly replaced the stock ones over the years).
If I could buy a new commuter, no expense spared... I'd get one of those Cannondale Bad Boy Rohloffs. Sickest stock commuter I've ever seen.:eek: Probably the most expensive, too. A Brodie Ocho would be sweet if one ever became available (seem to always be sold out), and after that... the Kona Dr.Dew is a nice affordable option.

[Matty manuva]

I've had good luck with the Schwalbe tyres, never had puncture yet with them. I rode over a broken bottle once and still didn't get a flat:)

All the cool bike shops sell them - Kaos, iRide, BSC, Cog etc.

[bazza]

any reason why he shouldn't just get an entry level hardtail and put some skinny slicks on it? that way he has another mtb in case he main mtb breaks down or has something to ride on races/rides that do not require a bit squisher? while flat bar is the obvious choice, just putting something else out there.

[SCjack]

GT transeo top of the range model is 1199 hydro brakes ect really nice hybrid or have you considered a 29er?

[Skogar]

I don't know heaps about this but no-ones really talked about these kind of bikes:

I've got a Gary Fisher Wingara, went that option after deciding against the slick MTB. These are similar to a Giant CRX, although CRX's are damn sexy. Also, you can get an internally geared hub (7 speed) on some of these type bikes. I would call the bikes "New School" Hybrids, they're road bikes with flat handlebars except the frames are similar to skinny MTB frames.

I love it, it's real fast (44t big ring for down hills), really light, and comfy.

Dislikes: THe stock handle bars are not at all to my taste, they''re flat bars that come back. I'd rather proper flat, MTB riser, or drop bars. You can still aero tuck with flat bars, just use some imagination.

The wheels are pretty crappy, my spokes have popped(3 times so far) when I go round corners, I use panniers, don't know wether this has anyhting to do with it.

A steel or carbon fork would be nice, Alu can give you a bit of a fright sometimes.

The only thing I would say against SS in no "supercruise" , or accelrating at the same cadence up to max cruise speed, but I'm sure SS doods would consider this irrelevant, or even consider it half the fun. Definatley the inevitable "clunk" while trying to shift weaving through cars is annoying, and even a bit scary sometimes.

My V's are ok, but suck combined with above mentioned spoke problem. And discs would be better in the wet.

I think at the end of the day do your research and then go with your favourite, if you pick the logical best it might not be what you want to live with.

[climbo]

I have a Surly Crosscheck for commuting, gotta say it is unreal. It takes abuse and you can run it SS, fixed or geared so you always have the options to switch. Plenty of room for big tyres and fenders too. You can't beat it for value either.

[Le toro]

When i commute (summer) I ride a Kona Paddy Wagon with a MTB handlebar with 2" rise. I'm 6'4" so It makes it nice and comfortable for my 20km round trip. Its a great setup for getting through the city traffic and Im never wishing i wasnt on a SS. You can also flip the hub for Fixed, but it seems like a death wish riding fixed in heavy traffic.

Also, a question about tyres for commuting, what tyres could i use that are bigger than the skinnies it came with? I'd rather a tyre with a bit more 'give'?

[n plus one]

From memory they come with 28s and you can squeeze in 32s - maybe even bigger with a slick tyre - I was using Mimos.

[HillBilly]

... I use a pretty wide spread - again... why limit yourself with few choices? I've got a 52-36 (guessing on the small ring) and an 11-32 on the back. Covers everything from grinding in the biggest gear for when drafting behind buses/trucks, to riding up the ramps at the Harbour Bridge (several steep, steppy inclines that bikes are usually pushed up, sometimes ridden down, and very occasionally ridden up). As I said before... if the options are there... why limit yourself?
Tires I run are narrow and hard, since when I corner hard at speed and am leaning it over, I want a tire I can trust. Conti Gatorskins are great, but there's also a killer tire (sorry... can't remember the name) with a reflective band on both sides of the sidewall... great tire with the added benefit of visibility at night. Get ones with flat protection, then back that up with tire liners (Mr.Tuffy or Slime), 'cause even though you'll get more rotational weight... you're not in a race (I assume) and never having to repair a flat is worth it in my book (I fucking HATE repairing flats:mad:).



You can ride UP the Harbour Bridge ramps??? Hats off to ya... you da man!!! Very impressive.

The tyres you are talking about are probably Schwalbe Marathon Plus - lots of sizes available. The only improvement in flat protection would be solid rubber! Heavy brutes but brilliant commuting tyres.

I love crossers for commuting. My frame isn't disc compatible so I use Campagnolo mini V's which have heaps more grunt than canti's but still have enough clearance for wide tyres.

I commute 4 days per week 50km round trip per day. Lots of hills so I run gears (yeah.. soft).

Hillbilly.

[bdstorer]

When i commute (summer) I ride a Kona Paddy Wagon with a MTB handlebar with 2" rise. I'm 6'4" so It makes it nice and comfortable for my 20km round trip. Its a great setup for getting through the city traffic and Im never wishing i wasnt on a SS. You can also flip the hub for Fixed, but it seems like a death wish riding fixed in heavy traffic.

2nd the Paddywagon (my wife has one), it's a great commute package.. She runs hers fixed, ah, she removed the stock brake levers and took off the rear brake, she's put a 'cross lever up front instead. The bike is awesome for her.. she's commuting a 40k round trip on it each day.

but disagree with fixed being dangerous in heavy traffic. I had been riding to work fixed (with front brake) everyday for a year then decided one morning to flip over the rear wheel a ride freeewheel (a I put on a rear brake) ..anyway I found freewheel far more sketchy in traffic as you were relying on brakes to slow down or regulate speed.. Felt like I was gunna get skittled at any mo.. On my fixie I feel alot more in control. 2c.

[Techno Destructo]

You can ride UP the Harbour Bridge ramps??? Hats off to ya... you da man!!! Very impressive.

Hey, thanks HillBilly! It's not that bad if you have a reasonably "low-ish" gear on your bike... just roll into the bottom ramp to get your started momentum up the ramps, and then try to keep your speed constant (oh, and watch the timing of your pedal strokes so you don't clip your pedals on the top corners of the ramps).

It's a nice little way to spice up the commute into the city each day.