Commuting - Who here is a roadie and commutes regularly on a road bike?

I see quite a few people here that seem to have a disdain for roadies in general. They put down the clothes we wear and the fact that we don't like kickstands or fenders on our bikes. I know there are many here who have beater bikes with full racks and paniers for commuting and I have no problem with that, I'm just curious who here commutes on a road bike.

Me, I have two road bikes. Both have double cranksets 53/39, one is a 9spd 13/26 and the other a 10spd 12/25. The 9spd bike is steel and the 10spd bike is carbon fiber and both have 700x23 tires. I've ridden both to work many many times and find them to be fast efficient commuter bikes. Then again, it rarely rains here in SoCal, I ride 100% on paved roads and I can shower at work.

BTW-I wear roadie clothes when I commute but do carry a backpack with a polo shirt, underwear and socks for work. I keep a pair of shoes, belt and a pair of slacks I change out when I drive in. I also keep soap and deodorant at work along with a towel.

I make my daily commute on a roadbike also, w/ a backpack also. I was never much for the look of paniers. I also wear 'roadie clothes' lol , they do what they say they do and help to keep me cool.

I used to ride a road bike, then I got a Rush Hour (single speed road with trackish geometry), and now I ride a SS cross bike, which is a road bike with more relaxed geometry, and it has braze-ons for fenders, racks, etc. although I just run fenders when it rains (don't like racks). So I voted for option #1, because I ride bike with drop bars and 700Cx23 tires.

PS: But I'm on business travel right now, and haven't been on a bike in a week and a half, and won't be home for another week and a half, and it's driving me nuts!

I commute on a converted MTB. I have to drive on Monday's so I use that time to put an entire weeks worth of clothes in the lockers at work and take home the dirty one's. I have a nice carbon Trek roadie, but choose to ride the MTB because I get a better workout on it plus it's pretty much indestructable. I do ride the road bike from time to time on my commute and let me tell you.... I fly! My roads are just like yours. I don't wear road bike clothes on my MTB. Don't need to. Don't sweat too much since it's cooler now and don't need the biking shorts as my seat is really soft. Has been working pretty well.

Mine's a mountain bike with skinny slicks. I put road bike.

Mine's a mountain bike with skinny slicks. I put road bike.
That still classifies as a mountain bike. :rolleyes:

I have an older Specialized Allez Sport road bike with a rack and grocery pannier that I drop my backpack into. I wear bike shorts and a cotton tshirt and push it pretty hard. i'm not really a roadie, just like riding a road bike. (Backpack is not much fun in Austin, where it's still in the 90's in October....)

I didn't vote as I commute on a road bike (drops, STIs, 700 x 28, carbon fork, "race" gearing) that has a rack and fenders.

I didn't vote since I have an old motobecane 10 speed which technically is a road bike that I am commuting on right now and will again next year. Once I get my rear wheel back (grumble grumble), I can start using my mtb again (with serfas drifters).

If I had a decent road bike I would use that (but I still wouldn't dress roadie :D ).

I used to commute on a Giant OCR 2 (med) fitted with rack on which I hung a pannier. With 25mm tires it was OK. The frame was a bit on the small side for me (I'm 6'0"), which is probably why I got real pain in my lower back if I rode it beyond 15 miles in a single ride.

I'm on a tour bike with racks and fenders, but at the same time it is a road bike.

Road bike in the Spring, Summer & early Fall but in the rainy season, full fendered touring bike or fendered road bike. They all can fit a saddlebag when needed. Don

My main road bike is a Bianchi Veloce, 9-speed Campagnolo groupset. I love it.

But the bike I actually find myself riding more often is my commuter road bike, a 1982 Schwinn Super Sport. It was a step under the Paramount in the classic Schwinn lineup, and I found mine with a full Suntour Cyclone Mk II groupset (which is unbelievably fantastic). I've got a 7-speed freewheel on the back, and man, the bike flies. Twenty-one pounds by my last count, lugged steel frame. My friends dig it, too.

I didn't vote because my Poprad commute bike is a 'cross bike with fenders, Blackburn rack, drop bars, bar end shifters, and skinny road tires.

I didn't vote as I commute on a road bike (drops, STIs, 700 x 28, carbon fork, "race" gearing) that has a rack and fenders.
Likewise... my commuting bike is a touring bike with a rack, bar-end shifters, 28 or 32 mm tires. Is it a road bike or not? :p I also have a "racing" road bike, but I don't commute on it mostly because it's not as comfy and doesn't have a rack.

I didn't vote as I commute on a road bike (drops, STIs, 700 x 28, carbon fork, "race" gearing) that has a rack and fenders.

I didn't vote either. I commute on a road bike that has a rack and fenders. So, what is the difference between the first two choices?

"Yes, I ride a road bike for commuting."
"No, I prefer a bike with fenders and racks."

Rod bikes can't have a rack & fenders?

My commuter is a road bike - Centurion LeMans RS, 28mm tires, no rack, no fenders. I'm working on acquiring a hybrid with fenders for riding in the rain.

I didn't vote either. I commute on a road bike that has a rack and fenders. So, what is the difference between the first two choices?

"Yes, I ride a road bike for commuting."
"No, I prefer a bike with fenders and racks."

Rod bikes can't have a rack & fenders?

Sorry, I guess I hadn't considered that. My bad...:o

Horrible poll on my part.

Road bike here. No need for fenders as I live in the desert and rain is quite the rare sight here (though this was the wettest summer on record in the ABQ), however, I do have a rack and panniers on one of my bikes (the Univega Sportour) for hauling goodies.

As for the kit, I don't wear any real biking clothes -- my bright soccer jerseys and running shorts are about as close as I come.

I ride a road bike with fenders and rack.......I voted 'road bike' so its skewed results

Sorry, I guess I hadn't considered that. My bad...:o

Horrible poll on my part.
Not at all! The term "road bike" is a weird one... because to some people it encompasses racing bikes, touring bikes, cyclocross bikes, and even singlespeeds, fixies, and flat-bar hybrids. While others use it to mean only a road racing bike. To further the confusion, "street bike" or "urban bike" often means a rigid mountain bike with semi-slick tires or something like that :rolleyes:

I think we need better terminology! I like Surly's model names a lot: the Long Haul Trucker, the Cross Check, the Steamroller, and the Pacer all give a pretty good description of what they are. Then again, I also like the names I've given my home-built bikes: Hephalocipede, Steely Dan, Sir Fixalot, and Lug Thife :D

Then again, I also like the names I've given my home-built bikes: Hephalocipede, Steely Dan, Sir Fixalot, and Lug Thife :D

Very nice. roonerisms spock!

Edit: Oh, count me in on the 'didnt vote because i ride a road bike with fenders and rack'. So sorry not to fit into the pigeonholes laid out before us.

Very nice. roonerisms spock!
Yank thou :D

Depends on the day. I haven't been riding my road bike much though because the drivetrain is almost dead and the rest of it needs a lot of work. If I start riding it a lot I'll remember how much I like it and be tempted to spend a bunch of money I'm trying to save getting it refinished and running perfectly.

I usually commute on a BMX bike or a lifted Bronco.

I sure as hell am not the king of efficiency.

hmmm, only 4 miles to work...throw the laptop in the backpack...and hop on the Bianchi

I voted mtb but I do use ride my road bike during the summer.

I think this poll expects us to be more one dimensional than we really are.
I commute on a roadie, and fendered fixed gear, and a singlespeed MTB, depending on the weather and what I feel like riding. If I had to pick, I would say that I'm a roadie commuter, even though I mostly commute on my fixed gear.I commute in roadie clothes with a backpack, and I basically ride faster than the other roadies out there in the mornings...so I guess that makes me a roadie, despite the fixed gear and fenders on my regular commute bike.

I voted road bike, but at the same time my road bike has fenders and a rack.

I'm on a giant ocr 3. With saddle bags or a backpack. Mine is only a 10 mile commute on quiet city streets. The Brooks saddle is long gone though.

Road bike? You decide. Redline Conquest w/ drop bars and road gearing, 700x25 Specialized Armadillo tires (a very fast tire), but also fenders and a rack. This is a light, fast and responsive bike, but I wouldn't trade any of that for I bike that wouldn't take fenders or a rack. I think I've found a winner. My only gripe is toe overlap when trying to trackstand at stoplights.

Edit: My own definition of "Roadies" are people on road bikes that have no clamped on accessories and don't wave or say hello in return when we meet on the road. I suspect that nobody in this forum truly fits that definition.

Road bike? You decide. Redline Conquest w/ drop bars and road gearing, 700x25 Specialized Armadillo tires (a very fast tire), but also fenders and a rack. This is a light, fast and responsive bike, but I wouldn't trade any of that for I bike that wouldn't take fenders or a rack. I think I've found a winner. My only gripe is toe overlap when trying to trackstand at stoplights.

Edit: My own definition of "Roadies" are people on road bikes that have no clamped on accessories and don't wave or say hello in return when we meet on the road. I suspect that nobody in this forum truly fits that definition.

You're probably right.

I ride an old, touring road bike with fenders, rack and aerobars. Fits me like a glove.
My MTB is not nearly as comfy, so I only use it for geocaching (http://www.geocaching.com) and the occasional spin around the neighborhood.

road bike... an ancient no-name steel bike I got at goodwill.... no fenders or rack needed for me! MMach, you geocache? I have some caches here in the PHX area. I have not been 'caching in about a year, tho.

I commute my 9 miles each way on Trek 100, with rack trunk and sometimes pannier. For errands around my neighborhood, (shopping and places leaving my bike unattended), I used a hybrid.

And I like all bikers: roadies, old ladies on cruisers, mormons. However don't like bears riding bikes in the circus.

"My own definition of "Roadies" are people on road bikes that have no clamped on accessories and don't wave or say hello in return when we meet on the road. I suspect that nobody in this forum truly fits that definition"
I call these "road" bikes, I think I'm a "roadie" but I wave at everybody on a bike.

Yeah, I see roadies as the full kit, poseur, elite bike, rider that refuses to interact with lesser cyclists. The tend to be stuffy, snobby, and always fixing flats by the side of the road. They never wave, nod, or even look at you.

I ride a road bike, [touring actually] with drop bars, a kickstand, fenders, a rack, and so much crap mounted on the bars that Im out of real estate.

I am a cyclist and refuse to be a roadie.

I voted road because it was the closest option...

technically I ride a roadie, but its become more of a single-speed conversion with fenders. I do wear lycra and disdain my kickstand (but short of using a sledgehammer, can't figure out how to remove it, so I haven't...instead I ziptied it to a chainstay)
I'm more of a backpack/messenger bag fan.

I think commuting on an uber-road bike (carbon frame, skinniest tires available, yada yada
is a bit impractical, but if you got it, ride it.

I ride every sat/sun with 'roadies', on either one of my commuter bikes (fixed and cx). I transport everything on my back, so aside from removing bulky headlights for daytime weekend rides I don't change the bike much.
Al

Okay, I'm not sure how to answer this poll....

I love riding my AL/CF road bike and ride it in tris and do group rides often, but don't do cycling races
I love riding my cross bike that is set up as a brevet bike with fenders/rack/lights for long easy rides
I love riding my old school mtn bike with fat tires (studs in winter), fender/rack and lights that has an upright seating position and crazy low gearing to help deal with snow/ice/ruts and will soon have a kickstand.

So: Do I commute on a road bike?
No, I ride a road bike but not for commuting, although my long ride bike could be thought of a road bike so Yes.
No, I prefer a bike with fenders and racks for commuting and long solo rides, but it is still pretty much a road bike in my mind so Yes.
No, I commute on a MTB except in nice weather months when I want to do a long solo ride after work which again is pretty much a road bike so Yes.

Where should I vote?

MMach, you geocache? I have some caches here in the PHX area. I have not been 'caching in about a year, tho.

Yea. I'm not as active as I was a few years ago, but it's still a good excuse to try and get lost in the woods.;)

Yea. I'm not as active as I was a few years ago, but it's still a good excuse to try and get lost in the woods.;)
What is a geocache?

I wish I could have clicked on multiple choices. I ride my "racing" bike to work as well as my full-suspension bike. I find that one of the best ways to ruin commuting for me is to no longer make it fun. Therefore I ride my commutes as if they were just any other ride. I ride in "kit" which is to say that I don a jersey, riding shorts and clipless cycling shoes. I don't carry a backpack or use panniers because I drive in twice a week to refresh clothes and also because I have to drive between sites for business activities on those days. My office has full facilities so it's not a problem to change and shower once I get there.

I do the odd group ride and even did a double century this year but I don't really put myself in the "roadie" category. I'm that guy with the ratty jersey and the bike with downtube shifters and mismatched tires and bottle cages.

My own definition of "Roadies" are people on road bikes that have no clamped on accessories and don't wave or say hello in return when we meet on the road.

All this time it's just been my waves disqualifying me?

I do the odd group ride and even did a double century this year but I don't really put myself in the "roadie" category. I'm that guy with the ratty jersey and the bike with downtube shifters and mismatched tires and bottle cages.
I was that guy! Then I bought a used Shimano 105 group for $75 and now I have 8 speed STI. 1997, I have arrived! I still have the ratty jersey, mismatched tires and cages, and I usually wear running shorts too :D

I commute with a mtb... soon to have semi slicks.

I WANT to have a road bike in a few months, but dont think i'll use it for communting... 4 miles isnt too bad to commute.

how come you guys that use road bikes use those bikes for commuting instead of a mtb where u can abuse it as much as u want?

how come you guys that use road bikes use those bikes for commuting instead of a mtb where u can abuse it as much as u want?
Well... my MTB got stolen around the time I got my first road bike and I haven't since replaced it :( Road bikes are kind of addictive: once you've ridden one you see how much faster and more maneuverable it is on the pavement, and you want to ride it all the time. At least that's how it's been for me :p

PS- Slick tires on an MTB make a huge difference, which I'm sure you'll find out! That and body position are the major differences between a road bike and an MTB.

What is a geocache?

(With apologies to SDRider. I don't mean to hi-jack your thread.)

Geocaching (http://www.geocaching.com) is a listing site for containers that people go out and hide in the woods and in parks. After hiding a container, the hider then lists it on the site with the coordinates to its location. Other geocachers then enter these coordinates into their GPSs and set out to find the container, sign the log book and sometimes trade trinkets.

how come you guys that use road bikes use those bikes for commuting instead of a mtb where u can abuse it as much as u want?
Because one doesn't need to abuse a bike to commute on roads. In fact it could be said its easier to avoid potholes and debris riding solo (commuting) that riding in a group where one needs to rely on leaders to properly call out obsticals.
Al