Am I riding the correct type of bike?
- Thread starter DanH
- Start date
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Deanno1dad
Über Member
- Location
- Romford
biggs682
Touch it up and ride it
- Location
- Northamptonshire
one word answer is budget !
you can pick up a good road or hybrid for around the £100 area , stick some better puncture protected tyres on either and away you go .
single speed is good fun and a lot less to go wrong , cant comment on fixed mine aint ready yet
you can pick up a good road or hybrid for around the £100 area , stick some better puncture protected tyres on either and away you go .
single speed is good fun and a lot less to go wrong , cant comment on fixed mine aint ready yet
steveindenmark
Legendary Member
My opinion is that you chose the wrong bike from the start. Although the MTB will do the job, the wheels go round etc. But it is heavy, will have large knobbly tyres, suspension forks that weigh a lot and possibly has nowhere to attach a rack for luggage. If you are not going off road proper, you are better off not having a MTB.
A second hand road bike (racer) with either 25 or 28mm Schwalbe Marathon tyres would probably do the job. The Schwalbe Marathons are excellent puncture resistant tyres. I ride mine on country tracks, gravel roads, through town etc and have never had a flat. Road bikes often have 23mm tryes for racing but they are too thin for comfortable commuting.
Fixies and single speed are ok for flat commutes but even then, they are not for everyone and I would avoid them if you know nothing about them.
I have drop handlebars on my road bike but never put my hands on the drop part. I see no reason to change the handlebar.
It is nice to have a rack to carry a bit of luggage, even if it is your lunch.
You can pick up a second hand racer for very little and it may convince you to ride more.
Steve
A second hand road bike (racer) with either 25 or 28mm Schwalbe Marathon tyres would probably do the job. The Schwalbe Marathons are excellent puncture resistant tyres. I ride mine on country tracks, gravel roads, through town etc and have never had a flat. Road bikes often have 23mm tryes for racing but they are too thin for comfortable commuting.
Fixies and single speed are ok for flat commutes but even then, they are not for everyone and I would avoid them if you know nothing about them.
I have drop handlebars on my road bike but never put my hands on the drop part. I see no reason to change the handlebar.
It is nice to have a rack to carry a bit of luggage, even if it is your lunch.
You can pick up a second hand racer for very little and it may convince you to ride more.
Steve
- Location
- Shrewsbury, Shropshire
Up to about £15 each would get some decent tyres but you might find some good deals around. As for width, the ones I went for are 1.75 inch and I picked a touring tyre because they still give decent grip off-road but a narrow slick like the 1.5 inch Cityjets would almost certainly be faster.
As said, if you can lock your suspension (if your bike has it!), then I'd do that and fit 26x1.5 Schwalbe City Jet tyres. When I switched to City Jets, my average speed on a 7 mile route dropped by over 17% and I think that you'll need to spend a fair amount to get a considerably better solution.
If you want to change bikes, though, do you like dropped handlebars? They are probably not a requirement over that distance and you are used to flats, so I'd stick with them and get a rigid (without suspension) flat-barred bike with 700c wheels, probably 32mm all-terrain tyres.
If you want to buy new and (relatively) cheap, my son has a Specialized Sirrus which gets used for a similar route (about 4 miles to school) and he loves it. I think they are around £300 and I'd call that an ideal bike for your route. Note, though, that's an ideal bike, not the ideal bike, as there are a lot of options from the likes of Carrera, Trek, etc.
If you want to change bikes, though, do you like dropped handlebars? They are probably not a requirement over that distance and you are used to flats, so I'd stick with them and get a rigid (without suspension) flat-barred bike with 700c wheels, probably 32mm all-terrain tyres.
If you want to buy new and (relatively) cheap, my son has a Specialized Sirrus which gets used for a similar route (about 4 miles to school) and he loves it. I think they are around £300 and I'd call that an ideal bike for your route. Note, though, that's an ideal bike, not the ideal bike, as there are a lot of options from the likes of Carrera, Trek, etc.
potsy
Rambler
- Location
- My Armchair
Very disappointed in you norm, perfect oppurtunity to sell another Tricross 
I'd be temptd to fit slicker tyres on the bike too, certainly the most cost effective way to go, if it's still not light and nimble enough then maybe look at something like the Sirrus or Trek hybrids
I'd be temptd to fit slicker tyres on the bike too, certainly the most cost effective way to go, if it's still not light and nimble enough then maybe look at something like the Sirrus or Trek hybrids
Very disappointed in you norm, perfect oppurtunity to sell another Tricross
Well, it would be a great choice (note my question about drops) but you're looking at the thick end of a grand for one and I'm not sure that's what the OP is considering spending for a 5 mile commute.
Muddyfox
Guru
- Location
- Blackdown Hills Devon
Thanks guys - more insightful comments and advice (particularly SteveinDenmark and Norm).
Am seriously considering spending some money now, £300 budget perhaps. Even the missus has given it the thumbs-up...
My original MTB was only £40, and merely to gauge if I could actually a) make it to work easily, and more importantly b) enjoy it! A resounding yes to both.
I do worry about a Road Bike, as my route is far from smooth.
It's looking like a Hybrid is the likely option. 32mm tyres seems suitable enough.
Am seriously considering spending some money now, £300 budget perhaps. Even the missus has given it the thumbs-up...
My original MTB was only £40, and merely to gauge if I could actually a) make it to work easily, and more importantly b) enjoy it! A resounding yes to both.
I do worry about a Road Bike, as my route is far from smooth.
It's looking like a Hybrid is the likely option. 32mm tyres seems suitable enough.
Argh... the H word.
32mm tyres will be fine. If you have a few mins to waste (and referencing potsy's comment about the Tricross) I took a video of a ride a few months ago to show how much of a non-event cycling can be.
Anyway, there's some road stuff and, at around 4:10, some off road stuff, all done on 32mm tyres. In fact, if you start watching at around 6:00, there's a pretty good example of the sort of track that I ride on 32mm tyres. I'd recommend watching with the volume turned down, though, the camera was attached to my chest strap and you can't hear much other than my breathing, which sounds like the dodgiest porn film you can imagine.
As someone who regularly commutes into Edinburgh from the Pentlands on a fixed wheel bike and also rides around Midlothian for social rides on one can I just say that to imply that they are unsuitable for hilly areas is poppycock. I agree I wouldn't tackle the Alps on one, but then I wouldn't tackle the Alps with a geared bike either.
I have also seen Hipsters riding fixies around Edinburgh although I ride a fixed wheel.
D
Deleted member 1258
Guest
quote="Touche, post: 1778164, member: 5884"]As someone who regularly commutes into Edinburgh from the Pentlands on a fixed wheel bike and also rides around Midlothian for social rides on one can I just say that to imply that they are unsuitable for hilly areas is poppycock. I agree I wouldn't tackle the Alps on one, but then I wouldn't tackle the Alps with a geared bike either.
I have also seen Hipsters riding fixies around Edinburgh although I ride a fixed wheel.[/quote]
Agreed, my commute is far from flat, if you click on the map below you will see what I mean. In the winter my fixed is also used for club and leisure rides and the area around Coventry is far from flat.
I have also seen Hipsters riding fixies around Edinburgh although I ride a fixed wheel.[/quote]
Agreed, my commute is far from flat, if you click on the map below you will see what I mean. In the winter my fixed is also used for club and leisure rides and the area around Coventry is far from flat.
Boris Bajic
Guest
+1 on this. I have a similar steed, although rather less posh. It is absolute mustard for urban commuting. I have fewer teeth all round on the cassette and I ride it locked out and on slicks. Fast, sturdy and fun.Slicked up MTB all the way .. not all MTB's are heavy and front suspension with lockout does'nt need to be heavy either and you certainly dont need to have 700c wheels to achieve a decent average speed
As to earlier points about commuting on fixies, it can be an absolute hoot but only if you love the whole fixed thing. I do. Many don't.
Hills are no problem for fixed-gear riding (unless they are Alps, as already stated). The potential problem is that some otherwise perfectly rational people cannot enjoy riding fixed. My son is one, so I do not say this in a negative way...
