Australian Cycling Forums - Bicycles Network Australia

I realise that some people will have multiple choices, but what is your main choice/whip for commuting only?

I like the flatbar roadbike for general zipping around/ commuting. It's not as quick as a fully fledged racing bike but it's more comfortable when carrying anything.

Hardtail MTB with slicks at present, my ideal commuter would be a steel or ti touring bike with panniers though.

Pimped Kona Dewdrop, it's sorta like a dropbar hybrid.

I only know drop bar roadies. Would fall off anything else.

right now my roadie, will probably use the tourer I'm building up once it's done.... if I ever get there.

Hi

I picked roadie (drop) but really that is only my commuter on fine days, otherwise it is the touring bike for wet days and when I need to take a load in.

Andrew

Depends on which commute, my mood and which bike's turn it is:

For the 2km trip to/from the station, it is the train bike, currently a flat bar single speed

For the 42km ride to work it is split between a drop bar single speed and a geared drop bar roadie

As I had to pick one the drop bar single speed has covered over 2200km so far this year, the geared roadie 2100km and the train bike 150km, mostly commuting.

I also have a couple of other project including a cyclocrosser/tourer that will take on some of the commuting duties.

The poll is interesting, just about all kinds are represented.

Goes to show, just about all bikes today are suitable if they are reasonable quality, what I like the best is peoples reasons for their type of commuting bike, varied!

I use an old Raleigh hardtail MTB, cro-mo, or my newer Fuji hardtail touring MTB with good vittoria tyres for rolling on the hard. 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. You miss the sheer speed of a road bike though, I'll build another one, one day.

Voted roadie (drops), cause that's what I use 99.9% of the time.
For when it is really, really wet my other "bike"? would be under the Other(please specify) category. It's a Repco BSO (mtb with semi-slicks) - supposedly, when new, valued at $275 - It came free as a bonus on a mobile phone plan many years ago.

Cyclocross for me which was my purpose bought commuter. Probably only 70% of the time now as I've been riding the drop bar SS whenever there's a chance of rain. The past few weeks it's almost always been the bike selected.

Edit:

Bikejournal has the actual figures:

Commuting kilometres: 312km on the roadie, 1159km of commuting on the SS and 3167km on the CX for 2010.
The CX is 68% of the time while the SS has covered 25% of my commuting kilometres (roadie was 7%).

Not a bad guess of 70% earlier today for the CX bike . Looks like the SS percentage is going to keep climbing.

stevepedlin wrote: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.

Lethoso, sure I do, its not a lot or often, but it happens, and that's not to say I am riding aggressively or illegally, or have never ridden road bikes to work.

Its a matter of your riding style, and that depends on your riding history and background- if you have been riding only a road type bike for your commute, of course it wouldn't occur to you to ride your bike in a somewhat harder way, you might even be miffed when a MTB rider passes you on the way to work . If you grew up riding BMX competition as a kid, then there will always be a bit of that style of riding in you, and an MTB will handle a little urban commuting punishment that most narrow 700c road wheels won't, simple as that, and a well sorted one isn't even that much slower than a road or hybrid type between the lights or short stretches, it all depends on the rider.

I love road bikes, fixies or geared, don't have one at present due to an upcoming tour of Aus, I've sold them recently. But even when I do I still get a lot of satisfaction from commuting on a well sorted MTB for practical reasons- I can take dirt backroads and rough tracks home if i feel like a change of scenery and want to escape the tintop grind, see?

Depending on my mood:
1: Schwinn Madison fixed gear. Drop bar and used to have aero bars on it
2: Merlin Aerial titanium TT bike. Bullhorns with aero bars
3: Shogun Metro ghetto TT bike made out of an old hybrid. Flat bar with aero bars and a set forward BMX (LOL) seat post.

It may surprise you that my PB time to work is on the fixie, although my PB return trip is on the Merlin.

MiG wrote: 3: Shogun Metro ghetto TT bike made out of an old hybrid. Flat bar with aero bars and a set forward BMX (LOL) seat post.

Pic please?

Drop bar roadie most days.
Hardtail MTB in the wet or when I feel like a change.

My "tip find" Shogun Katana (circa 1990) which now sports flat bars, 9 speed Ultegra and custom 32H Velocity rims on formula hubs.

It's pretty heavy but a pleasure to ride.

lethoso wrote: 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?

i commute on an MTB and it comes in handy occasionally, although it's hardly a necessity. kerb hopping is useful at times, as is jumping off the PSP and riding over the adjoining shredded bark when morning golfers on the way to the clubhouse decide to spread their carts across the entire path. gives them a bit a bit of a fright when they hear the bell from a distance, refuse to budge of course, realise that i'm not slowing down then turn around with a slightly panicked look to see me go past off the path. it's the little things that keep me happy

lethoso wrote: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?

I'm just as likely to ride my roadie or fixed-cross up and down gutters, flights of stairs are a different are a different matter... (but I don't have any of these on my commute)

Felt SR91 Flat bar roadie all the way. Don't bother jumping kerbs but do quite a few k's on dirt roads with very few problems.

Martin

drop bar roadie but really would like to get a quality mtb because i have visions of riding over obstacles, namely car bonnets that poke out of side streets and cut me off.

I voted drop bar roadie - only ever ridden BMX otherwise
Been riding a Giant CRX3 and love it... it's surprising how quick you get after 6 months of 1-2 days commuting.

I was commuting on a flat bar/hybrid/city bike/whatever, then bought a Ribble Winter bike some months back. The flat bar hasn't been outside since.

stevepedlin wrote:The poll is interesting, just about all kinds are represented.

Not quite: I ride a 'bent as my commute. I'm one of the 2 "Others" in the poll.

High racer Bacchetta Giro 26 with 700c wheels fitted.



Cheers,
Graeme

Kalgrm wrote:

stevepedlin wrote:The poll is interesting, just about all kinds are represented.

Not quite: I ride a 'bent as my commute. I'm one of the 2 "Others" in the poll.

Yes I know I missed bents,had to resort to others as the poll is limited to only 10 options.
unicycles would have featured as well if I had more options at hand.