Right bike for commuting

[i hate hills]

I currently have a mountain bike with road style tyres on it . Not racing bike tyres you understand but for want of the correct word "not so chunky" tyres. Never owned a racer so is this bike i have good enough for a round trip commute of around 26 miles ? Or should i be looking at a racer? Reason i have shy ed away from racer bikes is the thin tyre / puncture ratio that you dont really experience as much on a bike with chunkier tyres. I would love to get others feedback on this .Cheers.

 

[Peteaud]

Be a lot easier on a roadie

 

[i hate hills]

Yeah.I am bit concerned about puncture issues slowing me down.

 

[HLaB]

Yeah.I am bit concerned about puncture issues slowing me down.

The p'ture issue is a non issue IME

 

[Peteaud]

M+ or conti Touring sorts the p********* issue

 

[Cyclist33]

Punctures are either a fact of life or largely mythical dude... for instance, on my hybrid, which has either 23mm width proper road tyres, 28mm slicks or 40mm knobbly tyres, depending on how I'm feeling, I have had one puncture in about 2000 miles total, that was on the 28mms. A lot of it has to do with the inflation of the inner tubes, the state of the tyres themselves and the sort of surface you're riding on.

If you're really worried, tyres such as Schwalbe Marathon + or Durano Plus, or Continental Gatorskin, offer the race tyre experience with added puncture proofing.

Stu

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

There are fast-rolling tyres that offer reasonable puncture protection on a road bike. Given that you will be faster on a road bike, the odd extra 10 minutes fixing or changing a tube will still make it quicker on a lighter bike on average. And it's more fun for more of the time!

On my road bike, I've got used to Vittorio Rubino Pros, the folding variety. As they're easy to take off and put on again, punctures aren't a big deal, just a minor inconvenience and they're grippy enough while being easy on rolling resistance. My tourer has much more robust tyres on: they roll slower and they're such a pain to get on and off that I really dread getting a flat.

Though I'm not organised enough, regular distance commuters tend to spend a bit of time checking their tyres for cuts and bits of flint, glass, thorns, etc. They're like nails waiting for the road to hammer them in, and removing them cuts down on punctures.

 

[i hate hills]

Thanks to all of you for your input. You guys have just shown me that I've a good lot to learn regarding tyres etc....Going to do a bit more homework on this and hopefully get a new bike around birthday time . Cheers.

 

[biggs682]

Yeah.I am bit concerned about puncture issues slowing me down.

just cause a tyre is wider it does not make it less prone to punctures !

use a road bike with some puncture protection and you should be fine , most road bike with take a 28 tyre no probs

 

[Easytigers]

I bought quite an expensive hybrid and loved it for the 18 months I rode it regularly... Then got a £300 road bike thinking I'd use them 50/50...now only get the hybrid out if there's a problem with the other bike!

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

just cause a tyre is wider it does not make it less prone to punctures !

+1. I had my worst ever session of punctures on a set of 26x2.0 tyres (6 punctures in less than 2 weeks)

It's more about the construction and the materials used in the tyre really.

 

[BlackPanther]

In 3 years/18,000 miles I've never had a puncture on a Marathon plus tyre.

On road/hybrid bikes I use an Marathon Plus on the rear, Durano plus front, and I've had only 2 punctures in 3 years with the Duranos. I ride 95% on the road, the rest on decent cycle paths, so you may not have such an enviable record as this if you use rougher paths.

Yes the M+ tyres can take a bit longer to change, but with the right technique, there's not much in it.

As for using a racer for commuting, I found my Allez more comfortable than the Dawes hybrid I had before. This was mainly due to the drop bars, as it makes a massive difference having 3 different hand positions to choose from. I hardly ride 2 wheel dfs anymore, but I've just bought a Scott sub40, which although it's described as a 'hybrid', to me it's just road bike with flat bars.

 

[jonny jeez]

I currently have a mountain bike with road style tyres on it . Not racing bike tyres you understand but for want of the correct word "not so chunky" tyres. Never owned a racer so is this bike i have good enough for a round trip commute of around 26 miles ? Or should i be looking at a racer? Reason i have shy ed away from racer bikes is the thin tyre / puncture ratio that you dont really experience as much on a bike with chunkier tyres. I would love to get others feedback on this .Cheers.

Hi and welcome, sorry I missed this thread earlier.

I road an MTB for a few years and she was fine...better than fine actually she was brilliant. I had low profile road tyres and locked out the suspension so she road more like a hybrid than an MTB.

I could easily manage 20mph average rolling speed (on the flat) and even took her onto the mud at weekends with a change in tyres.

Brilliant bike.

But after a few years I swapped out to a road bike (racer) and can honestly say...with full respect to my old MTB and more than a little love and affection, that I shall not be going back.

Road bikes offer a sharper ride, easier in many respects and the feel smoother and more in tune with the road. But at the end of the day I rode 40 miles a day, 3 days a week for a few years without any issue on the MTB.

Must give her a clean this weekend poor old girl.