Commuting - Hybrid, road, or rigid mtn bike?

Recently got my new mtn bike, and its sweeter than sweet (2006 specialized rockhopper comp disc). Got some semi slicks on there (kenda k-rads) for my commute, and the fork locks out too making road riding easier. That said, i know its not meant to be on the street, and frankly, i dont want it to be. I want a dedicated commuter/around town bike, but i dont know which kind.

My first thought was to get an older rigid mtn bike. Should work well enough, but its still likely to be heavy, up close to 30 lbs, and considering im on the hard stuff, whats the advantage really? Then i thought a road bike, but ive never ridden one before and honestly, i dont know anything about them and worry about the rims on a roadie (i dont want to be truing it every week). Then looking through the for sale drawer i saw a Trek 7500FX which is a hybrid, seems reasonable, but i dont know.

Damn it all! I dont know which would be best. So i ask you guys. What do you ride to work? What would you recommend? I want something thats efficient, can handle abuse (curb jumps, bunny hops, potholes, etc), can leave outside the supermarket (locked up with a krypto u-lock ofcourse) that wont attract much attention, and doesnt cost too much (ill be buying used and would like to keep it under $400 is possible).

Forgive the long post, and thanks for any replys.

I bought an early 80's Raleigh steel frame road bike and added a fixed rear wheel and stripped down all the unecessary components. There is the single speed option too; quite wonderful and uncomplicated and easy to maintain. Cheap and simple and particularly fun for those very reasons. Other than for long group rides I actually prefer fixed to my nice road bike. I also have an old mountain bike with slicks on it, but that is not as fun to me.

Flak, my wife and I both commute on Trek 7500's. They have been great bikes. My 7500 is a lot heavier than my road bike (Trek Pilot 5.2), but it's reliable and rugged, and I've ridden the heck out of it. I personally think that would be a great option for you. The question is... the one you saw for sale... is it the right size for you?

--gordy

Well it was an old sale so i wont be buying that particular one. I was just in the 'for sale' drawer for ideas, but i dont know what size i am. My mtn bike is 17" with a 6 degree 90mm stem. Im running risers but i dont like them and am considering going to a flat bar with bar ends like i had on my old ride.

Im thinking about going into my lbs and paying for a roadie fitting just so i know what size i should look for. But will that be useful for a hybrid or cyclocross?

Flak just tell them what model you are interested in and have them fit you to that brand/model. My road bike (Trek Pilot) is a 58cm frame, and I don't remember off the top of my head what size frame my 7500FX is, but in any event, if you are paying for a new bike the LBS should take the time and trouble to make sure you get the proper size. You should *not* have to pay for a fitting on a new bike that you purchase from them if they are at all a decent shop.

--g

Roadie....

No question about it !

I bought an early 80's Raleigh steel frame road bike and added a fixed rear wheel and stripped down all the unecessary components. There is the single speed option too; quite wonderful and uncomplicated and easy to maintain. Cheap and simple and particularly fun for those very reasons. Other than for long group rides I actually prefer fixed to my nice road bike. I also have an old mountain bike with slicks on it, but that is not as fun to me.
x2 ... 1970's lugged frame, stripped of all unnecessary components. I ride with a "B" group on a local cycling club on that only one gear.

Eventually I will get me either a nice road bike or a Lemond fixed gear.

I wont be buying new this time i dont think. Was going to go used, which is why im willing to pay for the fitting. I dont want to go in there and pretend im going to buy just to get the fitting for free only to go to ebay afterwards. Although if i was buying from them, then damn straight id be getting it fitted for free :p


Roadie....

No question about it !

Can i expect to be able to hop curbs, cut across small patches of grass etc without sending my wheels out of true? If a roadie can do that, then that sounds appealing as you just cant beat them on a smooth surface. If it can't, it may be a deal breaker.

Can i expect to be able to hop curbs, cut across small patches of grass etc without sending my wheels out of true? If a roadie can do that, then that sounds appealing as you just cant beat them on a smooth surface. If it can't, it may be a deal breaker.

Boy I have a deal for you! ... go hunting on the yard sales, get an old lugged steel frame.

Dispose:

Cranks
Pedals
Bottom Bracket
Wheels and Tires
Brakepads
Chain
Brake Cables if necessary
Derralieur
Shifting mechanism

Get new and modern.

Cranks - road - 44 or 42 teeth ring
Pedals
BBracket
Wheels and tires - 700c x 32 if you want to cross over some patches
Single Speed Freewheel cog - 18 or 17 teeth.
Brakepads (..Jeff)
Clipless pedals - (I waited a year and I regret the year I waited)
Shoes. /\/\ same

The finished product should weight about 25 pounds with tools and water bottle. A lugged steel frame will outlive you and will set you back 25 to 50 dollars. The whole thing should be (without shoes) 250 dollars more or less. You can go to wally mart, but you will not be getting the same thing for the money.

FYI about hopping curbs and stuff.

I do not dismount, but I also run over cracks in the pavement above 20 mph. My 36 spoke wheels are still very true, and my 700c x 25 tires (small diamond thread) do just fine over some grass and some gravel.

If I would be running in broken pavement all the time I would be running on 28's @ 80 psi. Since I run over niceish country roads I can run the 25's @ 120 psi. Grass running and urban chewed up pavement would call for thicker tires.

One with 32's or old skool 1.75x27's could....

My psychlo cross bike has what some consider undesrable rims,
Alex, and 700cx32 tires and they do take a beating.
Ive done all the stuff you mention all I would recommend are Armadillo
tires or other flat resistants...a tire made specifically for commuting or
touring.
I wouldnt make a habit of jumping cubs but over time I believe the speed
and efficiancy of the roadbike you will appreciate in the long run. I cant even
ride an MTB on the road anymore because they are soooooo ponderously slow :eek:
With ever pedal stroke you can just feel your power being sucked into a great big
black hole of ....nothing :eek: Ultra Mans warning lite blinks 3 blocks into the ride !!
:roflmao:
These are just my baseless, unscientific and totally biased opinions though....further
research would probably benefit your cause ! :D

Good luck !

I ride an IRO Rob Roy. It's a FG/SS cyclocross w/ braze-ons for water bottles, rear rack and fenders. It's smooth, quick, silent, and rugged. Check the sig for pics.

Just wanted to weigh in on this subject. Like Lem in PA my opinions are biased and unscientific. On a commute of 11 miles and under(mine's 10.5) I would vote for a hardtail, stiff fork mtb. Have a 94 fuji discovery that I paid 50.00 for three years ago and have never had a flat or broken spoke. It's been modified by replacing the crankset w/one from a touring bike. The 2 smaller chainrings have been removed leaving only the 46. The cassette is original and 28x11. Have repacked both hubs and bb once. Use standard 1.95 knobbies w/mr tuffy strips. My average mileage is around 400 mi per month. Used a variety of roadies for years and though I learned to be a good bike mechanic from the experience I'm glad I made the switch to an mtb...much more 'low maintenence' in every regard.

Definately stay away from 700c rims if you plan on bunny hopping and curb jumping . Does'nt take many hard landings before a road rim will start wobbling.

Forget the roadie. There they are, on the shoulder, changing flats. Or, carefully turning a wheel thru their hands while trying to eyeball the problem. I could never tolerate that scenario, which occurs more often than on a more rugged bike. Yup, I seen it. Forget about the weight, too. You are going to work.
Here's a solution: '88 Trek 830 mtb set-up for commuting. All original except for saddle, bars and tires. Cheap, rugged, and strong as hell.

North Road bars upside down. These are not mustache bars.
http://i4.tinypic.com/105y240.jpg

North Road bars upright.
http://i4.tinypic.com/105y2hl.jpg

A Trek 7700FX works great for me. It's not quite as fast and nimble as my roadie, but it is light enough to get up to speed in a hurry and maintain the speed of traffic. It is road bike light with any additional weight coming mostly from a wheelset that is plenty beefy for bunny hops, curb jumps and a little bike path single track. I have been commuting on mine since late last year and haven't had to put the wheels on a truing stand yet. The Bontrager Race Lite Hardcase tires have been a great combinaton of fast and bombproof too.

The main thing that I like about it is that it gives me a great riding position in terms of visibility and stability over the road. It is really really hard to dump that bike, and lord knows I have tried. It is really forgiving. It is upright enough that it makes it easy to see and be seen, which really helps in terms of communicating with drivers. The rest of the time, I have not found it all that hard to adopt a less upright position to get down out of the wind. It's a good compromise for me and my commute.

Why not try an IBEX Corrida? You can get them new for $399 with a Tiagra group. They have tougher wheels, which could probably handle curb hops better than road bikes. Not as tough as an MTB though. If I had a short commute and lived near town, I would definitely be looking at one of these. They also come with eyelets for racks and fenders. Doesn't get much more practicle than that. For a bit more money, Trek makes the same thing, but they are around $700 if I recall.

http://www.ibexbikes.com/images/Bikes/2006/COR-CT-720.jpg

I would suggest a used bike.
A more touring oriented roadbike or old style roadie/sports with clearance for 32mm + fenders, rack and fender eyelets.
You can set the transmission however you like, std race double, compact double, road triple, even a single chainring (1x8).
If you want a singlespeed or fixed then look for a frame with horizontal rear dropouts for tensioning the chain via the rear axle.
You can get some new wheels built up by your local wheelbuilder. I have commuted on Altus MTB hubs with Mavic 700c rims and DT spokes. It is a cheap and bombproof set capable of handling trails, curbs and potholes.

This kind of hack bike should ride a lot better than it looks.

Cheri took some pics, so now I post em every chance I get (I'm so vain).
I commute on all of them:

Primary commuter/touring bike: 2005 Fuji World
http://www.chipcom.net/pvt/fuji1.jpg

Fair-weather beater bike: 80s Bianchi somethingorother
http://www.chipcom.net/pvt/bianchi1.jpg

Bad weather/winter commuter: 2005 Raleigh Mohave w/Surly rigid fork
http://www.chipcom.net/pvt/Raleigh1.jpg

Seems to me everyone's right, in a way! Surely all depends on how you forsee using the bike/and on your prevailing ROAD CONDITIONS! If you are in an area, say in the southern states, with really good, well-maintained roads, and you don't forsee the need to curb-hop a lot, roadie no question -- I would. But I don't: I live in an area where, after spring maintenance and in the middle of summer, the roads (and MUTs) look and feel like they've just been subjected to a meteor shower -- just a fact of life here (and our city council). Add to that the fact that (subjective impression, I know) our driver education system seems to include mandatory 'aggression toward bikes' training -- well, riders need all the toughness/help/braking/low to moderate speed agility they can get built into what they ride (if commuting everyday). So, I use a good, very light h/t mtb, with discs, set up with 1.5" slicks -- and, seriously, there have been quite a few times when that set-up in and of itself has helped me avoid an unpleasant encounter. On this last point, I think it also helps to be realistic about one's bike handling skills/reaction times; mine aren't as good as many, I'm sure, and I value the 'stability' of an mtb in my prevailing conditions. When it comes to commuting, horses for courses I think.

Hey thanks for all the replys!

Im in Cleveland (well, Lakewood actually, and im commuting to Westlake, about 14 miles round trip), and our roads are less than steller, so i think that rules out a roadie, although huhenio had a good pitch. Problem is, im not much of a wrench, although this is the perfect opportunity to learn. If i were to go that route, how do i identify a good "lugged steel frame"? Are there specific brands i should look out for?

Otherwise, it seems like a used hybrid/cyclocross/touring bike (are these all basically the same kind of bike?) is the way to go.

Personally, i like the idea of learning to wrench and build up something of my own. Advice on that part would be great.

Thanks guys.

+1 for fixie -- once you ride it you won't regret it...

train safe

Cheri took some pics, so now I post em every chance I get (I'm so vain).
I commute on all of them:

Bad weather/winter commuter: 2005 Raleigh Mohave w/Surly rigid fork
http://www.chipcom.net/pvt/Raleigh1.jpg


Brooks Saddle on the bad weather/winter ??

It all depends on where you ride. I used to have a nearly flat ride. My trusty 30 year old 10 speed did fine.

But now my ride is very hilly and the road conditions are pretty poor. So I ride a vintage Specialized Hard Rock, with fenders, racks, lights and road tires. It seems to do the job.

http://www.jitensha.com/eng/images/02ebisupics/bluebishd.JPG

Lugs = tube connectors

Forget the roadie. There they are, on the shoulder, changing flats. Or, carefully turning a wheel thru their hands while trying to eyeball the problem. I could never tolerate that scenario, which occurs more often than on a more rugged bike. Yup, I seen it. Forget about the weight, too. You are going to work.

I have not had this experience of being "on the shoulder" with my single speed/fixed road bike after many commuting and rambling miles. There is of course nothing dysfunctional about a mountain bike with slicks, but I personally enjoy the frame geometry and speedy feel to the ride on a road bike configuration.

Because I ride fixed I am do not really trust myself to hop up a curb at speed, but I have dropped off of many curbs and sometimes with about 4-5 lbs of cargo in my bag on the back of the bike. Original (decades old?) Araya 36 spoke in front and Harris Cycles 36 spoke Mavic M-3 on Formula hub in back - tires are basic $10 continental 25s: no flats so far, and rims are still straight. (My actual road bike is a bit more delicate, and I would not treat it quite the same way as I do my fixed gear - but I still have thousands of miles on that bike with only a very few flats or mechanical failures of any kind.)

Fixed gear is a blast, but it sounds like the OP would be happier with single speed. IMO the maintenance learning curve comes from sprucing up an old bike. I have found that upkeep is not too much of a problem, although it is fun to tinker with a bike you "built up" yourself.

As far as finding a "good" bike for bringing back in new form... mostly it is about what you can find. Some of the more common conversions that come to mind are Raleigh, Peugot, Univega, Schwinn. Go check out Sheldon Brown's website - lots of great info there.

Ok lugged makes sense now, im already scouring craigslist and the local classifieds for garage sales :)

Decided to find a good old frame and build it up. Im assuming an old reynolds lugged steel frame would be good to shoot for. What else should i look at? Brands that made quality frames would be helpful. Bianchi, Cannondale, Schwinn (old school schwinn), who else?

Also, what should i avoid? I dont want to pick up a bike and find no common BB size or something. Im hoping that things like that havent changed. LEt me know.

Cheers again.

Heraclitus

I was being a little facetious at the expense of the Roadie. I should have added some smileys. They are great commuter bikes and blow by me all the time. BTW, that old Trek mtb in my pic also has original bombproof Araya rims.

I'd look around for Schwinn, Panasonic, Fuji, Trek and other good marquees and stay away from Mongoose, Huffy, Pacific, etc. FYI - a properly setup cyclocross, like my IRO Rob Roy w/ Deep V rims, can be jumped on and off curbs, ridden on cobblestones and crappy NYC roads and still be true and rattle free.

http://static.flickr.com/52/150129895_8c802d658c.jpg

Bianchi, Cannondale, Schwinn (old school schwinn), who else?
Motobecane ,Fuji, Raleigh. Peugeot.
... check the smaller LBS ... If they are like my LBS, they will have a rideable old bike for a 100 bucks.

... and then proceed to strip it down and rebuild.

Primary commuter/touring bike: 2005 Fuji World


Too bad they were discontinued. :( Have you ever used the extra spokes in the fancy spoke holder? :) (Looks like you seriously need to extend that front fender down with a sweeper mud flap or something.)

Heraclitus

I was being a little facetious at the expense of the Roadie. I should have added some smileys. They are great commuter bikes and blow by me all the time. BTW, that old Trek mtb in my pic also has original bombproof Araya rims.

Alrighty - gotcha;) Cheers.

Im not a road bike person, sure they cruz along good and move fast but I like the ability to hop a curb, go offroad, and have a more rugged durable bike. Ever try taking the stairs with a road bike?? it doesnt work well.

A hybrid might suit you well tho. Before I settled on the Piranha as my bike I almost got a Kaitai, a 29" wheel moutnain/road hybrid it runs so smooth and fast on the road like it belongs there but can go offroad with no issues. Has lockout on the shock, disk brakes and of course the bigger wheels.

Too bad they were discontinued. :( Have you ever used the extra spokes in the fancy spoke holder? :) (Looks like you seriously need to extend that front fender down with a sweeper mud flap or something.)

There are still some NOS out there. I haven't used the spare spokes...which speaks well of the wheels carrying my 230lbs and 10-80lbs of gear. My front fender flap is just fine with the stock tiny thing, My feetsies stay nice and dry. :)

Those skinny 853 tubes are so purty. Nice solid ride for trekking, too.