Commuters! Opinions Please!

[pikato]

Ok, so I'm finally confident enough in my cycling skills to give commuting to work a shot. My trip is a little over 8 miles one way. Now, in my mind, my normal road bike ('05 Giant OCR 3) tires are fine, but Kirk thinks I need a different set of tires since Corpus is known for having less than stellar roads--frequently covered with sand or dried mud, etc.

I kind of see where he is coming from, as this morning I paid attention to the road conditions as I drove to work, and there was quite a lot of mud & crap around.

Thoughts, please.

[spokewench]

Riding on a little mud or gravel on my road bike does not bother me - but I've been riding a long time, have a lot of mountain bike experience, etc. If it bothers you, then by all means by a commuter bike with wider tires and maybe mountain bars, etc. American Breezer makes GREAT COMMUTE BIKES - or buy a used mountain bike to ride to work - You do not need a road bike to ride 8 miles to and from work.

I have an old mountain bike that I usually commute on just because I like to ride it. I think that commuting is usually a more laid back type of riding than what I usually do so it is nice just to cruise into work - no pressure, no riding hard, just a nice way to get to work and back. I also use some a combinatin of our excellent FUTS trail system and roadways to get to work so a mountain bike is little better for this combination. I hate to ride a roadbike on trails. :)

[tulip]

My commuting bike is a Jamis Coda Comp with 700x28 wheels. It's great for DC streets, which are mighty rough. I'm hesitant to ride my Luna road bike on those roads, although I have done it a couple of times. The main thing, though, is that my Luna is a WOW bike (red!) and very noticable and I don't want anyone to decide that they WANT it badly enough to knock me off my bike and take it. That, and there are no dropouts for a rack on my Luna, so I can't put a rack on and so I can't use panniers. I don't like riding with anything on my back.

A cyclocross bike would be a good choice, as would a touring bike.

Congratulations on starting to commute. It's great to have fun getting to work!

[newfsmith]

Most of the time I ride a touring bike on my commute, which is only a mile longer than yours, but in the summer I don't hesitate riding my road bike. I ride on some fairly messy roads, with broken pavement, sand washouts, etc. I do look for flat resistent tires, or use Spinskin liners. If your bike takes 26" or 700 tires I strongly recommend Specialized Armadillios. If you need 650's you a limited to the Continentals and Schwalbe touring tires, or Spinskins. If you are concerned about the cost of changing tires, just change your rear tire. Front flats are less common, and are quicker and easier to do. If you have fairly new tires, consider the Spinskins.

If you are riding your good road bike, besides a good and secure place to lock it up, you do need to avoid heavy rain. I haven't damaged my frame, but I have ruined a rim by being forced into a puddle by traffic and hitting a pot-hole the puddle had hidden.

Commuting offers many opportunities for training. I tend to hammer my way to work in the morning, then return home at a more casual pace, on a longer route. I arrive at work well energized and get home de-stressed. Don't let tires keep you from trying commuting. Good luck.

[Ashgarth]

I would LOVE to commute to work on a bike. It is about 6-7 miles along Lake Michigan shoreline and double wide roads so plenty of room. The only thing I am nervous about it locking my bike up and not being able to keep an eye on it in the parking lot, and then there is the fact that there is no shower at work or anything like that. I work in marketing so I have to look presentable etc....I am a little nervous about clothes with wrinkles, makeup etc. Stupid I know, but my work environment seems to limit me....not the fact that I don't want to. :/

[DeniseGoldberg]

I use my road bike for my commutes. Its tires may not be quite as skinny as some of your bikes - my roadie is a Bike Friday Pocket Rocket - but the roads I'm riding on for the most part are in decent condition. There are some bad sections, but I'd need to be pretty careful on my touring bike in those sections too.

The recommendation about using a beater bike? My question is really why... my commute at it's shortest is 18 miles each way. I usually ride the 18 in the morning but I ride home a slightly different way to avoid some afternoon traffic conditions I don't like, and I often add some extra loops as I head home too. So my commute is generally 40 to 43 miles round trip. I wouldn't be happy riding anything but a bike that is perfectly fit to me. (OK, maybe you've been careful and your beater bike is a perfect fit.)

You should ride whatever bike you're most comfortable on given the riding conditions and distance.

I commute only in good weather - although I have been caught in the rain. If I do get caught in wet conditions, the first thing that gets cleaned when I arrive home is my bike. And if I were commuting year round, perhaps I'd ride a bike that I didn't care about as much in the bad weather... and I'd probably use something with fatter tires then. Again, I believe it's based on the riding conditions...

--- Denise

[betagirl]

I commute in Chicago, where the roads are good but my route has a lot of glass, sometimes gravel if they're doing construction, and other various things in the bike lane. I ride my Trek 1200 road bike with 700x25 tires. I have continental ultragator skins on the front tire and michelin erilium on the rear. The erilium has a kevlar tread, which after 3 flats in a week I was all over that :) I've had good luck with them so far. I've ridden in rain also, and my traction was still good. I don't think you need knobby or wider tires for what you're going to be riding on persay.

[snapdragen]

Another good "bomb proof" tire is Panaracer Pasela TG (Tour Guard) I've used them for years, I've only had three flats since 2000.:D

[Kori]

I just started commuting to work on my MTN bike. It's 14 miles each way but both times I've done it I worked past dark so my hubby picked me up. I need to stop doing that though or we won't be saving gas money.

Anyway, I thought I needed a road bike but now I'm not sure. I'm not going for speed or making a sport of riding. I just want to get some exercise and save on gas. I also like the option of riding in the gravel and dirt along the busy road when the shoulder is small. I rode a beautiful trail today that was part gravel.

I'm also lucky that I work at a fire department so I can shower at work and dress casually. Almost everyone there ride bikes often too.

[Geonz]

I really prefer my hybrid with fatter tires for commuting. There are a lot of advantages to ahving a "beater" bike for commuting, including that when you get back on the light bike, it's FAST :-) I picked up my Schwinn Racer for $32 on e-bay (plus about that much for shipping, plus about $50 to overhaul it)... it's got about 8,000 more miles on it now.


The only way to get past the "oh, it's not that I don't want to!" stuff is to decide that you want to do it anyway, aiming, say, for *one* trip just to say you did it (to shut people like me up :-)) .
Have a friend who drives who'd let you stick your bike in his/her car? Or... find others who might want to too, pool together to buy a bike rack... or... cruise the whole building...pretend that on X date, well, you *have* to ride the bike (because the car is not available)... and make the necessary arrangements.
There is travel attire designed to help people be sharp and presentable despite challenges...
If you really *do* want to, you just m
ayh be able to find a way.

[vj_pdx]

I've been a fairweather commuter for the last two years, but in the last couple months, I've been more consistent, commuting every day. It makes a huge difference in my mood at work.

My problem is: it's downhill, mostly, going into work, so I get there reasonably unsweaty... and uphill on the way home. I hate the going home part.

The biggest part of the issue is that I'm 260#, but I can more easily change the bike (though I'm working on the weight. But I gotta be realistic about this).

I've been alternating between my Townie 3-speed, which is adorable but makes me hate the day I was born while riding up the hills, and my sweetheart's Townie 24-speed (which is better. But still). Rising up to hammer on the pedals feels icky. Neither of the Townies fit on our bus racks either.

I've heard great things about the Breezers, but I'm not ready to pay that kinda money for a commuter. And then at my LBS, I saw the Trek T80 Navigator. Actually, I wouldn't have noticed it except a Dutch woman had spotted it and very excitedly kept exclaiming that it was like a Dutch bike.

I did a test ride last night. It comes with everything you could need for commuting, it's tremendously light and feels very solid, I could stand on the pedals and hammer away and feel totally balanced. The price is right, and it has road tires, which makes me hopeful I won't be such a slow poke. But.... I feel like I have to totally lean the bike over to put my feet on the ground. I don't think I can even tippy-toe.

I am so spoiled by the Townie that I'm unsure now what I should do. Is this something that I'll just get used to? Or am I looking at the wrong bike? Help please! :confused:

[tulip]

How far is your commute?

[vj_pdx]

3.5 miles. It's nothing, really. Or would be if I were in better shape.

[tulip]

You should get whatever bike you want. You don't need another bike for your commute, but if it will keep you motivated, why not (budget permitting of course)?

Make sure that the bike fits you, and that you are comfortable riding it. If you end up getting a nicer bike, you might be motivated to ride more and longer. The weight will come off with longer rides (assuming the input is less than the output!)

I'm glad you enjoy riding. It's so much fun.

[Deborajen]

Yes, ride whatever is comfortable. Personally, I prefer commuting on my mountain bike vs. the road bike because it has the wide, knobby tires and isn't as susceptible to flats. A flat can make a big difference in the amount of time it takes to get to work.

Deb

[Triskeliongirl]

In my experience, tire width makes less diference than tire quality. For years I road my bike friday pocket rocket pro to work with 26mm primo comet kevlars. Even toured with them on packed dirt in chiapis. The tires were great, but the bike got stolen while locked in a bike rack (hence the reason to ride a beater). My beater is still a pretty good bike though, I fixed up my old terry classic touring bike, upgraded her to drop bars and an ultegra/XT mix. In the beginning I used panaracer pasela tires, 25mm wide, but not tourguard and flatted a lot, so switched out the rear only for the 32mm wide TG tire and have been fine. But, some days I have taken in my terry titanium Isis which has 23 mm shwalbe stelvios which also have a flat resistant compound built in, and have had no problems. I am now on cape cod, with sand and coastal roads, and have no problems with Isis and her skinny 23mm tires, but I do have pretty decent bike handling skills. In fact, I have yet to have a flat since I put the stelvios on her. They are really nice fast tires!

[mimitabby]

3.5 miles. It's nothing, really. Or would be if I were in better shape.

hey, my commute is a full half mile longer than yours. but going up that hill coming home IS hard. and you do it with a 3 speed!!! wow!!
your bikes sound like cruisers. (am i right?) You are really doing great!
put you on a hybrid or a road bike and you will be going up the hill a lot faster.

I just got a new road bike and uphill is one of the places that i've noticed the difference!
good luck.

[vj_pdx]

Thanks for all the encouragement, ya'all!

Yep, the Townies are cruisers. You sit in a semi-recumbent position, and so you can't stand on the pedals on hills, which to me just seems intolerable. They won't fit in the bike racks, and since I'm usually cycling alone, I'd like that option for getting home after dark. And it just feels so very slow. Very comfortable, but very slow.

(For some reason, I still think I'm a teenager and 140#, and that I should consistently be able to go that fast!)

I'm going back to my LBS this morning to try, try again! Thanks again!

[tulip]

Wow, I wouldn't want to ride a Townie up a hill, but they sure are fun along the beach.

Try lots of bikes out and see which one(s) you like best. Try going up a hill if you can, although that's not always possible in the bike shop parking lot. I bet you will enjoy riding more if the hill was more comfortable.