Road Bike as Commuter Bike?

[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!

[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 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.

[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.