Is a road bike right for London commuting?

[brokenbetty]

I mainly use my bike for commuting from South Tottenham to Cannon St. It's a 6 mile straight run down the A10 from Seven Sisters with one long but mild climb at Stamford Hill.

In the last year I have variously ridden a very old Trek (given away), a Dahon Cadenza (stolen and currently a Carerra Subway. They are all hybrids with straight bars.

On the longer straights I feel like the bike is too short and I want to stretch out forwards, so I'm wondering if I should switch to a road bike. On the other hand, I count 37 sets of traffic traffic lights on the 6 mile journey and of course the traffic is heavy at that time of day.

Oh, and I'm 5'1" and 10.5 stone, so not one of nature's greyhounds.

What do you think - will the start/stops just leave me with the disadvantages of a road bike (less visibility, less manoeuvrability) and never give me enough space to get the advantages?

I do see a lot of road bikes on my commute, but judging by the haircuts and the fact I mostly see them south of Dalston I assume they were bought for fashion rather than suitability.

Any thoughts much appreciated

Liz

 

[MacB]

I don't see any reason not to, some thoughts:-

controls in traffic - roadbikes can be twitchier but, as you gain confidence, this will become less apparent. There is nothing to stop you putting on cross top levers so that you have a braking option from the tops. You could even put just a front lever only here. I use butterfly bars so have a side position very similar to the hoods of drops but my controls are on the flat bar position. I ride on the flats in traffic, for access to controls, but would much rather be on the sides/hoods part.

road condition - some road bikes are very delicate and some roads feel like a full suss MTB wouldn't be enough. Too delicate and you could run therisk of damaging wheels but plenty of stronger wheel options for a commuter bike. A lot of touring bikes are drop bars and they'll handle anything within reason

clearance/fittings for tyres/guards/rack - a full on road bike will accomodate very little like this but there are options that will, Ribble Winter trainer for one.

a do it all bike - this was my original ambition but I've now decided that there's no satisfactory way of doing this, it just involves too much compromise. I concluded that 3 to 4 bikes are the correct number for me. One as a main commuter, keeps guards and rack on all year round. One as a weekend bike. One as a general shopping/pub/backup commuter. The 4th would be a full on MTB if you want to do serious off roading, I don't so my ideal number is 3. Though some may argue that you need 2 weekend bikes, one for nice weather and one not. Personally I'll never own a bike I'm not prepared to take out in any conditions.

 

[ufkacbln]

Why not adapt the machine (s) you have?

A set of "trekking bars" will allow all the present controls to be used and allow a stretched position as and when you require it.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Hi

No reason at all why you shouldn't use a road-bike for commuting... as long as you have somewhere safe to park it!

 

[nigelnorris]

Hi

No reason at all why you shouldn't use a road-bike for commuting... as long as you have somewhere safe to park it!

Less likely to be stolen than a MTB or a hybrid, allegedly.

 

[potsy]

I too am looking for my next bike,mainly as a faster commuter than what I currently have(trek 7.1fx) just over 9 miles e/way all on road,have looked at the Spesh Allez and Secteur but don't know if these will be suitable.
Trek 1.2 and Spesh Tri-cross also on my ever growing 'short' list.
May even stick to a flat-bar but upgrade to a better version of the fx,or a Spesh sirrus.
MacB,what is your commuter bike?

 

[Rassendyll]

I don't subscribe to the view that road bikes have less visibility. Maybe it helps that I'm taller but I ride either a MTB or road bike to work and I've never got on the road bike after a day on the MTB and felt that it compared poorly or even felt very different in terms of visibility.

And as for maneuverability I think it's six and two threes - you might not jump kerbs but you're faster and more nimble I reckon. And you'll have the satisfaction of going past all the posers with the haircuts.

I much prefer going in on my road bike, that's probably the best reference I can give. On the MTB it's a commute, on the road bike it's a ride .

 

[srw]

It'd be like driving a Ferarri into London - it's the wrong vehicle for the job. Look around you. Most of the riders you'll see will be on hybrids, Bromptons, Pashleys, tourers or those fashion-victims' single-speeds. You won't gain any speed advantage unless you start jumping lights.

 

[srw]

you might not jump kerbs

Ahem. In London you do not jump kerbs anyway. Kerbs mean pavements. Pavements are for pedestrians. You've got 20 foot widths of tarmac to play on - leave the narrow bit for those who have a right to it.

 

[BentMikey]

If you're riding on the road, then obv. in most circumstances a road bike will be better than a MTB.

 

[BentMikey]

Ahem. In London you do not jump kerbs anyway. Kerbs mean pavements. Pavements are for pedestrians. You've got 20 foot widths of tarmac to play on - leave the narrow bit for those who have a right to it.

+1

 

[fay144]

Ahem. In London you do not jump kerbs anyway. Kerbs mean pavements. Pavements are for pedestrians. You've got 20 foot widths of tarmac to play on - leave the narrow bit for those who have a right to it.

I actually have to jump the kerb on my commute in order to access a purpose-build cycle path - there is really no other way. I'm not in London, right enough. That sort of genius planning is reserved for aberdeen council.

I was recently thinking about how much of my urban commute would be unsuitable for a road bike due to road surface and nice touches like the above, and it's probably a fair bit.

I'm watching this with interest, as currently commuting on a MTB, and considering what my new bike will be...

 

[BentMikey]

Road bikes will deal just fine with kerbs. You don't need the weight, un-aerodynamic position, or over-engineering of a MTB for an urban commute.

 

[Twanger]

On the longer straights I feel like the bike is too short and I want to stretch out forwards, so I'm wondering if I should switch to a road bike. On the other hand, I count 37 sets of traffic traffic lights on the 6 mile journey and of course the traffic is heavy at that time of day.

Liz

The dilemma!

One solution is to attach bar ends to narrow straight bars on a hybrid with a longer stem. You stretch. Contrary to common sense I have never suffered from having my brakes in the "wrong" position.

 

[ttcycle]

I regularly ride a road bike for my 8 mile commute through London- there is real joy in it on a road bike and no it isn't about fashion. I'd have to disagree with NigelN though as I've had my bike stolen twice in 6months so give that some consideration. It does take some getting used to but my old hybrids not been out in a while!! I just find a lighter, nippier bike is much nicer on the roads, the stop starting style commuting is easier in respects of that and I feel that the drop bars offer more control and it's easier to filter through traffic.

I'm 5ft 3.5 so a bit taller than you but would stress that you fit a bike correctly and find one that is comfortable -possibly also consider a female specific one (that is me making an assumption that you're a woman!) as it can be fitted out in different ways to a gents bike- very important considering your height.

Good luck and happy bike shopping - if you need someone to come and check out some bikes with you I'm more than happy to - just PM me.