Upright bike for short commute?

[cassdawg22]

Hi All,

I am considering buying one of these "on trend" vintage style ladies bike for my commute to work. Looking at a few different bikes there looks like there is 3 different riding styles? - fully upright, a little forward lean and a more flat bar hybrid type bike with even more forward lean.

My question is if my commute is only 5km all flat and I was hoping not to change clothes ie wear my nice girlie slacks and shoes, how comfortable in my office clothes are each of these different styles or will my clothes be restrictive?

I live 100km+ from my local bike store so hoping to do as much research online as possible and excuse my noob terminology, I like cycling but am far from the level of most on here!

Thanks, C

[brumby33]

One of those retro style dutch cycles would be ideal, they have the mudguards, and a rack and some have a front basket.

Whatever you do, don't buy online for your first bike, even with a decent drive, its worth going to a bikeshop to ensure yyou're getting the correct size for you.
Getting it from the bike shop to your place could be an issure unless you have a wagon or ute of some kind. Do you know anyone nearby that knows a bit about bikes and who can help?

Its best to feel happy with your purchase so yyou'll get out and ride more.

Cheers

Dave

[Fjenkins]

I have a globe live mixte bicycle - like this one (but mine is green not black): http://www.specialized.com/ie/gb/bikes/ ... live2mixte" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I would be happy to recommend this setup and find it perfect for the kind of cycling you're talking about. They were available through the specialized bike shops a few years ago - not sure if they are still, but no doubt they would have something similar.

It's a slight forward lean, nice comfy tyres and wide-ish handlebars. Very happy with the hub gears and chain guard, which help with wearing normal day clothes and not getting grubby from the chain. And that big front rack is perfect for holding my backpack or just a normal bag, with an occy strap to secure.

I wear skirts and day clothes all the time, no probs (but I tend to wear shorts under my skirts just to be sure). One of the great things about not needing to change clothes when I get to work, is being able to wear my skirts/dresses and know they're not getting all crumpled inside my bag during the commute.

Agree with the earlier post though - find a shop and ride around on one if you can, to see if you like it. I was originally pretty sure I'd need a small frame, but it turned out I needed and extra small. If I hadn't gone to the shop, I would have bought a bike too big for me.

There are plenty of similar bikes around. I think the front rack was the biggest revelation and something well worth looking at.

[AlexHuggs]

I have a hybrid with a bit of a forward lean and do fine in shirt and chinos around town. But my regular commute is 20km so wear sports gear for that.

[Thoglette]

My question is if my commute is only 5km all flat and I was hoping not to change clothes ie wear my nice girlie slacks and shoes, how comfortable in my office clothes are each of these different styles or will my clothes be restrictive?

Fully upright with swept back bars with grips well above your seat is the most comfortable for slow (a.k.a. zero sweat) riding on flat ground. You can move your hands forward and bend the elbows if the "red mist" appears

[ianganderton]

Here are some of my thoughts in random order

How far forward your position is tends to make big differences to efficiency mainly due to aero dynamics. Put simply this means a bike and rider will go faster for the same energy input the more aero dynamic the body position.

Buy the bike type you like and feel suits you.

Ask friends and family if you can have a quick go on their bikes if possible. This will help you decide what you like and what suits you. If you do this before you go to the bike shops you will already be much better informed.

If at all possible go to as many different bike shops as you can and try as many different bikes as you can. You'll be surprised how much you learn from this. Wear the type of clothing you want to ride in too.

What is comfortable often depends on a persons level of flexibility and fitness

Our about town bikes are hybrids with reasonably sporty positions. We ride then in relatively normal clothes. We don't have rack on them which can mean needing to wear a pack sometimes and that equals a sweaty back

Bikes that are not flashy and not expensive are a lot easier to lock up somewhere and leave unattended. This makes bikes much more useful

Buy a bike you really like. You will get much better value out of it because you will ride it more