Commuting - Thinking about Commuting

I'm new to cycling (about 3 months), but now I have the bug, and am thinking about commuting to get more miles in. My commute would be about 13 miles each way. One concern I have, is do most people just use their regular training bike? Do you change out anything for the commute, or just go with the normal setup?

I bought a Klein Quantum in March, and I really like it, but not sure I should expose it to commuting. At the same time, the only other bike I have is an old beater (which was the reason I hated riding for years!), and since I spent a fair amount on the Klein, I'd hate to leave it home.

Sorry if this seems like a ridiculously silly question!

Thanks!

I found that I was beating up my road bike on the commute. The wear and tear just wasn't worth it. The roads I ride tend to have potholes the size of craters, broken glass, and a fair amount of train tracks.

So I ride the roadie on long weekend rides and use a new Trek 520 for commuting. I occasionally still use the roadie for commutes with the intent of taking the long way home.

Bottom line: if you have challenging road surfaces to navigate, you're probably better off preserving your investment in the roadie and getting a lesser set of wheels for the commutes.

I do my commuting on my off-road bike (which apart from an unfinished project folder is my only bike). If you're spending most of your riding time commuting you might want to get maximum enjoyment out of it by riding a nice bike, but it will cause wear and tear...

I commute on a 531c audax or a 38 year old steel bike. the other day I met a guy on a folder who was commuting about 20 miles (he preferred it to his road bike as it had suspension), and often pass guys on mtbs.

Commuting does cause wear and tear but parts are replaceable.

I'm with Andy, the commuter is my oldest of three bikes, it has been used and abused. The wear and tear the commuter bike gets from carrying loads and the various weather and road conditions it is subjected to make me cringe at the thought of riding either my road bike or MTB as a commuter on a regular basis.

I ride 13 miles each way as well, on a daily basis, and I can tell you that it's worth doing what it takes to make it happen.

I ride touring bikes. One is a steel loaded-tourer; the other is a ti light tourer, but both are fitted with touring rims and 700x32c touring (or cyclocross) tires.

Personally, I think wheels and tires are the main issue, not frames or components. You want to be able to manage rough pavement, you want to avoid flats, you don't want broken-spoke or or truing issues. So a road bike that might even have trouble cleating 28mm tires could be a problem. Some people ride them anyway -- heck, around here track bikes with 700x23 or smaller tires are very popular among center city messengers>

So I think a lot depends on your route and the amount of detritus and broken pavement you expect to encounter. If it's no different than roads you already successfully ride, then you'll probably be fine.

The other issues IMO have to do with cargo carrying capacity (rack mounting, heel clearance for panniers) and fender clearance for rainy commutes.

But there are almost as many variations on solutions to these problems as there are commuters. Even if you drive a week's worth of clothes in to the office weekly so you don't have to carry anything on the bike, and only ride in fair weather, you'll still be way ahead of most people if you commute 3 days a week.

RichC

My 0.02 euros:

My bike is my primary means of transportation. Therefore I must be able to pay the costs involved. If I cannot afford to ride and maintain my bike, I obviously shouldn't have bought it. It'd be a waste of a good bike to keep it in the garage.

But bear in mind, most of my mileage is logged while commuting, so I try to optimize my gear for that. As a result my bike is excessively heavy and clumsy for unloaded road cycling, but I like the way it handles with (heavy) load. If you do enough of both kinds of riding to justify the cost, IMHO separate bikes is definitely the way to go.

--J

If you are commuting regularly, you deserve a decent commuting bike, not a junk heavyweight one, but an ultra-light racing bike is probably not the best choice.
Im with the others in riding a touring style steel bike, with long drop caliper brakes (28-32mm tyres + fenders), rack, permanently attatched lighting.and gearing suitable for a commute, not a race.
The wheels are not top-grade components, but they are handbuilt by a good shop.

Heavy bikes such as cruisers or low-grade MTBs are not stronger than touring bikes, just heavier. Even standard road bike frames are more than strong enough for any road. With a lighter bike, you can be more agile around potholes.

IMHO, there are 3 styles of good commuting bike for longer commutes.
All weather lightweight road training/audax bike
Full-on touring bike (Trek 520 etc)
Lightweight roadified non-sus MTB (cross-country style, not downhill).

For travelling around a city, the other good style is a lightweight hub-geared model such as the Bianchi Milano.