40 Mile Round Trip Commute. £1000 to spend. All Year. Suggestions..

[AhThisFeckinThing]

What do you have to carry for your 40 mile commute? I have to take my suit and shoes etc. I have a 10 mile each way commute and wouldn't really want the rucksack on for much further when it's got tools, tubes, a pump and a lock etc in there too. So that would mean getting something which could cope with a rack.

I might look at something like the Dolan Preffisio on that budget.

I carry food for at least a 10 hour period, bits of cycle clothing I may need on my return, ie beautiful weather into work, 10 hours later on the return its lashing down. Thats it. I try to drop all clothing off, once to twice a month in the car.

 

[lejogger]

I carry food for at least a 10 hour period, bits of cycle clothing I may need on my return, ie beautiful weather into work, 10 hours later on the return its lashing down. Thats it. I try to drop all clothing off, once to twice a month in the car.

If I didn't need to carry much... I.e. just something light in a small rucksack that you barely notice then the world is your oyster.

Clip on guards can go on virtually anything so you don't even need to be fussy about eyelets or clearance.

I'd go for something very light and very fast to make the long journey as pleasant as possible.

Get the best frame you can... Components are neither here nor there because you'll be replacing them once a year anyway.

SRAM rival is very good on a budget. I can barely tell the difference between the rival and red shifters.
I couldn't tell you about shifter quality on lower models of Shimano or campag.
I mention the shifters because they will obviously last where the drive train won't.

What bikes do you like the look of that you're considering?

 

[AhThisFeckinThing]

What bikes do you like the look of that you're considering?

Road bike style, possible cyclo cross. Any make considered. Just has to be right. If I can sort a winter bike, from my old collection, for the drier months what would be a possible. The Dolan does look good.

 

[mark st1]

Ive recently gone from commuting on a hybrid to a road bike as my commute has increased in distance and i find the road bike position more comfortable. I got a 2013 Specialized Allez Sport it has a Carbon fork and 2013 Sora and for £725 i think its worth every penny. Comfortable and a joy to ride if you wanted you could get the next one up the Elite which has Tiagra but thats £900 so depends if you think the extra money is worth the group set upgrade. Just make sure you get a comfy bike that's the main thing.

 

[mark st1]

Like the OP I commute a decent distance. All on roads. On my bike I can travel the 25 mile one way trip in a smidgeon over an hour.

That's pretty bad ass as an average time

 

[Andrew_P]

Road bike style, possible cyclo cross. Any make considered. Just has to be right. If I can sort a winter bike, from my old collection, for the drier months what would be a possible. The Dolan does look good.

My main advice is that practical is not often fun, and boy you want a bit of fun on a 40 mile round trip. I minimise my load by driving to work over the weekend and drop my stuff off for the week. Food I get local. Only a few months do I need my rucksack and that's when it is cold in the morning and warm in the afternoon.

The 1k mark is pretty tough, where are you allowed to buy from?

 

[lejogger]

That's pretty bad ass as an average time

True dat!!!

I can just about maintain a 25mph average over a short TT, but on the commute I'm doing well to get much over 20 with lights, traffic and luggage.

Kudos.

 

[Andrew_P]

That's pretty bad ass as an average time

Depends on how big a smidgeon is

 

[VamP]

That's pretty bad ass as an average time

Depends on the size of the smidgen tho

 

[mark st1]

Depends on how big a smidgeon is

lol 1 hour 59 minutes would be my smidgeon me thinks. Ive got my 11 mile commute down to 40 minutes and i though i was doing well

Hope you are not having blood transfusions in your lunch break @VamP

 

[VamP]

lol 1 hour 59 minutes would be my smidgeon me thinks. Ive got my 11 mile commute down to 40 minutes and i though i was doing well

Hope you are not having blood transfusions in your lunch break @VamP

It's flat around here so averages over 20 mph are not tough. The point wasn't my speed per se, it was more to highlight the upsides of a fast road bike for a longish commute.

But I just peeked in my databank, and the shortest time was 1hr 9 mins.

 

[lejogger]

Have you looked at the Canyon Roadlight AL?

 

[Andrew_P]

Have you looked at the Canyon Roadlight AL?

That's good call, but I think he is limited to Cyclescheme

 

[fossala]

It's flat around here so averages over 20 mph are not tough. The point wasn't my speed per se, it was more to highlight the upsides of a fast road bike for a longish commute.

But I just peeked in my databank, and the shortest time was 1hr 9 mins.

But keeping speed isn't what a light bike is for, your main benefit is acceleration and claiming and then it's not by that much. Think about your total weight.

I weight 70kg + 10kg bike = 80kg
Say you weigh 70kg as well + your 7kg bike = 77kg

Doesn't look that much different now. Marketing has go it into everyones head that light bikes are fast bikes, so fast riders buy light bikes. I live in Cornwall where hills are everywhere, so the effect of light bikes should be even bigger. I have quite a few KOM's and always quite high up in most segments I've ever put any effort into. I'm not saying that it won't make you faster, just by how much.

Another example (a bit more solid one) is riding with panniers. With 20kg extra on my bike, I was only 3 mins slower on a 30min commute. This is even more than just weight as well as the wind resistance is greater when you have 56ltr panniers on either side of your bike.

 

[VamP]

But keeping speed isn't what a light bike is for, your main benefit is acceleration and claiming and then it's not by that much. Think about your total weight.

I weight 70kg + 10kg bike = 80kg
Say you weigh 70kg as well + your 7kg bike = 77kg

Doesn't look that much different now. Marketing has go it into everyones head that light bikes are fast bikes, so fast riders buy light bikes. I live in Cornwall where hills are everywhere, so the effect of light bikes should be even bigger. I have quite a few KOM's and always quite high up in most segments I've ever put any effort into. I'm not saying that it won't make you faster, just by how much.

Another example (a bit more solid one) is riding with panniers. With 20kg extra on my bike, I was only 3 mins slower on a 30min commute. This is even more than just weight as well as the wind resistance is greater when you have 56ltr panniers on either side of your bike.

Is this the "hybrid with panniers just as fast as a race bike" shocker?