Road Bike as Commuter Bike?

[VeganBikeChick]

I'm a newbie road cyclist, but rode a commuter bike for 6 months prior to having my road bike, when living overseas. I purchased my road bike because after moving back, I wanted something with a lot of granny gears to get up the steep hills on my way to work. However, I need it to function as both a commuter bike and a touring bike. Has anyone done this with their bike?

Ideally, I should have 2 bikes, one for commuting, and one for touring, but the budget only allows for the single bike I have. I want to outfit my road bike with fenders and possibly a rear rack for panniers, but I want to have the versatility to take it on group rides as well. Is it going to be a total PITA to have to remove the rear rack/fenders every time I want to use it for non-commuting purposes? I don't intend to ride in races (at this point) but I don't want to stick out like a sore thumb in group rides with my fenders and rear rack.

Edited to add that I sold my commuter bike while I was overseas so I no longer have that bike :)

Any advice appreciated.

[Tri Girl]

my road bike is my commuter bike. It's a 90's steel Bianchi. It has a rack and fenders. I also use it to do group rides and short tours.
IMO, it would be a PITA to take all that stuff off when you want to ride fast. I mean, I guess you could get a seatpost rack (but that won't hold much weight at all) and ez clip on/off fenders (but they won't allow for full coverage if that's important).
You can make modifications to make it suitable for both for sure. I ride it with the empty rack and fenders when I go on group rides. I don't care about the extra weight- it doesn't bother me. I always feel much faster when I don't have the panniers on the bike- I *feel* like I'm flying- even if I'm not. :p

[Biciclista]

my road bike is my commuter bike too. complete with fenders, a rack and lights.
oh you're in Seattle too! try to get the fattest tires that will fit on your bike, that will help.

[kfergos]

You won't stick out, especially in Seattle. Every group ride I do, somebody brings a bike with fenders and rack. Plus, REI's website specifically mentions how your make of bike was designed to accommodate commuting accouterments. I'd say go for it -- you'll be in good company and doing recreational rides on a commuter bike will (a) impress people; and (b) build your strength. Good luck!

[Sky King]

Ditto for the road bike/commuter Bike:)

At first I was a little self conscious with my fenders and racks but not anymore. The groups I ride with are not racers but just people who enjoy a group ride now and then and I have zero issues with staying with the group. I suppose I could stay in with a group riding faster (20 mph plus) but just isn't my thing.

I ride a Rivendell Bleriot with Gilles Berthoud Fenders and Saddle plus a Nitto Front Rack and a two Zimbale Canvas Bags. I can ride for miles and miles and still have a smile on my face at days end. Here is a photo of SKY

Encourage you to not stress about it and just have fun.

[jordanpattern]

I'd been planning to use my road bike as a commuter indefinitely (I use it to commute now), but after looking on craigslist and seeing a bunch of totally serviceable old road bikes for under $200, I'm thinking I'll just buy a beater/commuter for riding to work. I realized I don't want or need to put all that wear and tear on my nice bike, and I can afford a couple hundred bucks to avoid it.

[Velocivixen]

Arkel has a quick attachable rack for panniers called the Arkel Randonneur Rack, which looks really cool. If you go to their website there's a short video showing how it (rack) hooks on/off the bike. It might be your solution.

[szsz]

totally serviceable old road bikes for under $200, I'm thinking I'll just buy a beater/commuter for riding to work. I realized I don't want or need to put all that wear and tear on my nice bike, and I can afford a couple hundred bucks to avoid it.

Exactly! I have my 20+ year-old hard tail outfitted for around town. It's the bike I use when we go out to eat or to street fairs or the grocery. I have the tires filled with slime so that I don't have to worry about flats. It's slow and heavy with streamers and a neon rack -- people see me. It's an old steel workhorse and it is the one I would grab if there was an emergency. Peace of mind bike. I don't love riding it but I love that it is part of the stable.

Sorry, off-topic!

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For another bike that I may use to commute short distances I am hoping to be able to find a small basket that is easily attached and removed from the front bars. Anyone ever seen such a thing?

[VeganBikeChick]

Thanks for all of the replies :o I'm trying to get out of the mind set that a road bike is just for racing/touring. And actually, I've seen quite a few road bikes around here that are totally set up for commuting, so I don't think I'll feel so weird about it now.

[sfa]

My touring/road bike is also my commuting bike--a 20 year old steel Miyata. I've even raced with it a couple of times. I leave the fenders and rack on most of the time, but take them off for most races. I left them on for one charity triathlon that was only 10 miles on the bike, so I didn't feel like dealing with taking the things off and then putting them back on. I may have stuck out a bit, but there were all kinds of bikes at that event, so I stuck out less than the woman on the banana yellow cruiser with daisies on the basket!

[amandar]

What sort of touring are you talking about and how much weight are you planning on carrying?
I love my Salsa Casseroll, it serves as my road bike, commuting bike, and light tourer (loads under 20 pounds)
You'll want to keep in mind what the roads are like around you. The roads where I live are terrible, so my commute bike needs to be able to run at least a 700x28 tire. You also need wider tires for touring.

Does your current bike have fender and rack mounts? A lot of modern road bikes don't.
Fender mounts are a plus, but not a necessity, race blade fenders along with waterproof shoes work fine for me.
The same for rack mounts, you can get by with a roomy saddlebag or seatpost rack.

[colorisnt]

Don't know if this is a really late reply. I have been so busy with school that I haven't been around a lot lately, but I have two road bikes - one is dedicated for touring/racing and the other is only a commuter. I don't like the idea of having to take that stuff off when I ride because I want to go pretty fast and be pretty competitive (at least that is what I am training for now). However, if you are okay with having those things on there, I know plenty of people who tour with fenders/a rack and do great! They don't care and only have room in the budget for one bike.

I really don't like MTB's or hybrids, but I love a good road bike. It's all preference. My Dad has a commuter that he likes that is a hybrid and thinks commuting on a road bike is nuts, but when you deal with the hills I do, you are happy to have a carbon fork and a very light bike! It's all personal preference. Some people can't stand road bikes (my mother), but love an MTB or a hybrid. Who cares what anyone thinks! You love your bike, that is all that matters!

[VeganBikeChick]

Thanks for your reply, colorisnt. I decided to go ahead and get fenders and a rack for my road bike. It doesn't bother me so far, and if I decide I really want to get into riding, I may get a more decent road bike down the road.

[colorisnt]

Awesome! Glad to hear it!

[Velocivixen]

Hey Veganbikechick, not sure if you are originally from Seattle, but I live in the Portland Metro area and I can say for certain that a road bike decked out for commuting would seem perfectly "normal" here. I don't imagine that Seattle is too different. I can say this with certainty because we've got some weird/unusual bikes around here. So go for it. Knock yourself out with accessories. Soma makes some nice road bike sized fenders of different colors even. Civia has Market 48 fenders of anodized metal in a lovely red that I may end up getting if/when I get my road bike! Have a great time too.
Cheers from down the way.

[Christopher]

I have a bike like Sky King's and similar to what the OP wants. Can't fault the reasoning - the one problem I had was getting sufficient clearance for fat tires and fenders. I think the various Surly models deal well with that.

No need to take the rack off unless you want to - here's my light tourer at the top of the Paterberg in Belgium, complete with rack and fenders! It handled the cobbles better than I did, but everyone on fancy bikes ignored my greetings and waves!

[VeganBikeChick]

What a beautiful photo!!