What do you use to Commute?

[ColinOldnCranky]

...unicycles would have featured as well if I had more options at hand.

In which case we would have knoocked of 20" folding bikes and even given Single Speed a run for it's money!

[leximack]

currently doing most of my commuting on a Flat Bar SS (approx 700-800km a month) on it, kitted out with rack and panniers.
Does the trick for me as i dont climb any monster hills.
Occasionally ride the Geared CX, but have lost interest in it and sits on the trainer mostly now.
Occasionally ride the drop bar roadie if i am going for a super long commute home after work.

Don

[njg02]

Riding a recumbent, TWBent dual 26". Doing about 400km a week.
Neil

[numb3rsman]

Hi Everyone from Newcastle NSW!

This is my first post so bear with me

Currently using a 15yo Apollo MTB with slicks due to weather and state of the roads/shoulders

In summer I was using my roadie with drops.

Cheers, Dave

[ColinOldnCranky]

You guys make it too complcated. Simple is good.

Let's see... 24" fixed wheel. Steel frame, no double butting or anything but still only around 6kg. Water bottle, trip meter, knog frogs on the fork facing fore and aft and a woolskin seat cover.

Don't need much else.

[MiG]

You guys make it too complcated. Simple is good.

You have previously said that you average 11 to 12 km/h on your commute. I think the second wheel and complexity is quite justified when it results in a 2.5 times speed bonus

[Daus]

I use my MTB most days with the occasional foray on my steel 70's road bike. I prefer the MTB as I can travel along the back roads and bike paths and avoid the early morning "Tradie's" traveling on the main roads- I have had one too many close calls. The other advantage is the upright seating position as I use a backpack to carry clean gear.

[kiso]

I ride a hybrid, set up for commuting with lights, panniers, and mudguards. My previous bike was a cheap MTB with road tyres and all the above accessories, but the hybrid's just as strong and a little lighter and faster.

Things I'd like on my next commuter would be hub dynamo, brighter lights, maybe hub gears and disk brakes. I'd stick with a hybrid or touring frame, for strength. I think reliability is more important than light weight for a commuter.

[HappyHumber]

mrmgmgmrm... I abstain.
I mainly ride fixed dropped bar roadies.

[Baalzamon]

Ride my cyclocross, it has dynamo lights, mud guards, no taterskins but intstead Schwalbe marathon cross tyres so very punctureproof.

Would like internal gears at back

[Lark2004]

I voted for my Roadie(drops), but I do also ride my MTB(slicks)... just at this point in time the Roadie see more action than the MTB, once I get a new set of cranks on the MTB that will change. I also do the occasional commute on my SS.

[thelittlebattler]

Currently don't have any other choice, but I reckon I'll always use a drop roadie, with a backpack... If I ever go touring the racks and panniers might get used. I reckon the commuting roadie will get the hand me downs from nicer roadies as my stable grows. Would probably only ever get a flat-bar hybrid or something for pedalling with the missy/fam (years off I hope )

[Chris249]

I went "other" because I use a TT bike (old Cervelo P2K) about 40% of the time, and that seemed more interesting than hitting the "drop bar roadie" option evebn though the roadie gets slightly more use.

I should leave the TT bike at home more often because I don't want to wear it out, but it's just too much fun to ride.

[hartleymartin]

My 20"-wheeled shrinky dinky Raleigh Twenty bicycle. Because of it's small size, a lot of shop-keepers and owners tend to let me bring it inside, and bus drivers also let me bring it on with me. It goes where a full-sized bicycle can't.

[gdt]

I use a drop bar roadie, with a lightweight pannier rack during Adelaide's hot summers.

But I've also done the commute on a Giant "Holly" 12 inch girls bike.

[croonneck]

I just have a 4km (one way) commute to Uni. I normally use my Malvern Star XCS 2.0 hardtail on most days, and my 24" Unicycle when I actually wake up on time before class

[DrJay]

MTB on slicks at the moment, looking to move to something faster. Candidates are drop bar SS light tourer (Masi Commuter), other light tourer, cyclocross. Need rack mounts, so that limits my options, but there are still too many choices.

[westab]

Only have one choice - Roadie - and wouldn't have it any other way as they are the only bikes I have riden for 30 years of riding. There are good things about the other bikes but riding my "racer" still makes me feel like a kid when I got my first bike an Apollo 10 speed.
I have thought about getting a drop bar single speed for wet days as there are less parts to clean.

[Quinns Rocks Roadie]

Trips to work are a daily TT to get there on time, so it's my old school geometry road bike with carbon tubes and stays that does the job for me.
I dream of a steel frame SS with light rims and singles (tubular) tyres for daily spin classes/intervals on the way to work.

Eric

[casual_cyclist]

With an MTB I can belt it over gutters and other urban obstacles with a bit of immunity to damage, and its not so attractive to thieves.

I hear a lot of people say this as the reason why they ride a mtb around the place, but what's your commute like that you have the need or even opportunity to be jumping over gutters and crap? Maybe I just don't notice because I always ride a roadbike, but I can't think of anywhere on my commute that could be shortened by jumping kerbs or similar. There's the odd bump on the way that's not pleasant seated, but I just get out of the saddle or bunny hop those.

I'm the same. A couple of weeks ago I found a gear that I quite liked and didn't change gears on my commute again. Because my roadie wheels are a bit more fragile, I am more careful where I ride. My ride is straight down some back streets then down a bike path. The gutters bit comes in when I ride through no through rides (well, to cars anyway) and the bike path has some kinks which can be taken out on the MTB. I have been more relaxed on the MTB because I don't have to take so much care where I ride and I'm not even changing gears anymore, so all I have to do is sit back and enjoy the ride. Oh, and those big, fat tyres soak up a lot of the bumps so it's a nice comfy ride too. Mine is a rigid frame.

[elStado]

Currently my Orbea AOS which I guess is more hybrid than roadie, due to the relaxed ergo, flat MTB style bars and 700x35 semi-slick tires on it. Rides quite well, reasonably comfortable, the 35s soak up most bumps and I haven't had any issues with punctures since buying the bike early last year.

Before the AOS I had a hardtail Giant Rincon MTB, with MTB styles mudguards and 38 semi-slicks. Actually rode quite well and handled many urban shortcuts through sandy bog patches, parks and over curbs. However it looked too good and was stolen at the Perth train station.

I am presently collecting parts and organising the restoration of a mid-80s steel roadie with drop bars, should have it ready to ride in the next few weeks all going to plan. I'll be making this my new all-round beater bike for short (2-5km) rides to Uni, the pub or mate's places. Will eventually dump the gears and opt for a single speed configuration for pure simplicity and weight loss. Thought about going fixed, but there's obvious downsides of it being fixed for what I'll be using it for, singlespeed should be sweet. Might chuck a flipflop hub on it so I can change it to fixed if I want a challenge.

[jezza323]

im commuting on my only bike, its a 2001 Norco charger MTB i bought off a mate cheap. front shocks were a bit stuffed, so i bought a $50 rigid fork from a Hong Kong ebay seller (Mosso brand fork), some fat semi slick tyres (these ones - http://www.velogear.com.au/products/CST_City_Classic_Tyre_26_x_1_9-858-78.html) and started riding it to work has hydraulic disc brakes, 27 spd, and gets along pretty well all things considered

also started doing a bit of mtb riding on weekends with the knobbies which were on the bike when i got, but swapping tyres is beginning to give me the shits...

[silkishuge]

Typically, I use my steel stead. If it is raining heaps, I will use the cyclocross. Grocery shopping, I use the cyclocross since it has panniers. I usually only carry a back pack to work.

J

[casual_cyclist]

I rode in on my Masi ‘09 Speciale Randonneur this morning. For me, out of the box, it is a perfect commuter bike. All I have done is add lights and a bike computer.

http://www.bicycles.net.au/forums/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=8664&start=550#p266957

[familyguy]

I use a drop bar roadie, with a lightweight pannier rack during Adelaide's hot summers.

But I've also done the commute on a Giant "Holly" 12 inch girls bike.

Sorry, just revisited this thread...gotta ask. Why?

I've recently gotten jack of commuting on my roadie with a backpack, so I bought hartleymartin's Fuji Touring frame and am slowly building it. Racks + rear panniers = no bad neck!

Jim