Commuting - Commuting on a regular road bike

I don't commute as I'm still in High School (14 years old) and it starts at 7:25 and I don't have the energy that early in the morning, but I basically bike everywhere else. My town is extremely hilly but I still ride to my friends' houses 7-10 miles away when we want to get together. I figure that's the best thing to do since none of them are road cyclists like I am.
My question is this: is there any reason not to ride the Fuji everywhere? I get my best speed with it, it's the best on the hills, and I frankly just love it. Is durability an issue? I only do about 10 miles a day, so I wouldn't think so. Anyone else just make their cross-town trips on their bike but not full-fledged commuting?

Ride it wherever you want to! Not knowing which bike in your 'garage' is an alternative, it's hard to say if it will be more durable than anything else. Are you having any problems with any components at the moment?

In the 4x4 community, there's a saying: "run what ya brung".

In other words, just ride what you have and have fun! If it starts having problems, get them fixed and upgraded and move on.

Use it. Everything I have, from expensive rare and exotic audio equipment to my road bikes to my nice watches, etc, all show major signs of use. What's the point of buying something then babying it.
You bet if I ever got my hands on a dogma ego or a mclaren I'd ride the hell out of it. Life is too short to treasure and "collect."

Oh btw: make sure u lock it up good if it's a nice bike and you plan to leave it somewhere while you do your thing.

Just ride. I was in a similiar situation at your age and rode all over. I even rode my first century at 15, on a fuji too by the way, and I learned something that served me well in the high school days: chicks dig biker legs.

Dave

Unless you go out of your way to beat it up by taking it off road on a regular basis or hitting lots of potholes, your road bike will provide years of excellent service if reasonable maintained. I sometimes ride my road bikes on my 22 mile round trip daily commute. I would have no hesitation riding them every day as far as durability is concerned. I use different bikes because I always need to carry some stuff, sometimes a lot, and I don't want to put racks on my pure road bikes.

I agree with the rest; ride it. I personally ride my roadie to work. In addition to racks, the reason a lot of people don't is due to inclement weather: the potential damage to the bike and the risk associated with thin tires.

I have put treaded Panaracer 700c-28's on my road bike. I found that my 23's were wearing too quickly and didn't provide enough protection against flats. I like to ride as fast as I can, but I'm not riding in time trials.

Just ride. I was in a similiar situation at your age and rode all over. I even rode my first century at 15, on a fuji too by the way, and I learned something that served me well in the high school days: chicks dig biker legs.

Dave

I have also learned something, chicks don't dig biker upper bodies. :)

I have also learned something, chicks don't dig biker upper bodies. :)

that's why we have to fix our own flats... and use a minipump to pump it to 120psi!! its the only way we can build it up!!! :D

If you ride on a road, then ride a road bike. I commute on a road bike because a) I'm usually late for work, b) I'll often take a long detour home, and c) hey, I like to go fast!

So ride, Roadie, ride.

You may want to put a set of fenders & a rack on and eventually you'll need to replace the brakepads when they wear out. Just ride that Fuji until you wear out the rims! Then get new rims & learn to build a wheel. Don

Or you can have more than one bike. I ride my old Bianchi everywhere I can go within 10 miles. Then I ride my Dean Ti anywhere further.

Ride the bike you feel best on, but learn to take care of it. I like Zinn and the Art of Road Bike Maintenance, but you should check out some different manuals from the library (or at least look at a bunch in a bookstore) to see which best fits your need, then buy one. There is also a bike manual in the Bike Mechanics forum.

You will enjoy your rides more if your bike is in good shape. You will save money on repairs. And you will have the do-it-yourself satisfaction.

I also agree with freerangemike that you should consider wider tires if you are using the bike to get around a city. Roads are rough, and wide tires will take more abuse than narrow ones. I commute 16 miles round trip on 700c-28's in the summer, and 700c-35's when there's snow and ice. But if money is an issue, wait until your current tires wear out before upgrading.

Or you can have more than one bike. I ride my old Bianchi everywhere I can go within 10 miles. Then I ride my Dean Ti anywhere further. Wow, carrying the Dean on the Bianchi for the first 10 miles must be tricky :) .

Sorry, back to the thread. I commute on my road bike in warm weather when I don't have much to carry, 'cuz it's faster. In bad weather / winter, I switch to my commuter/hybrid.

If you are not doing any work type commuting, a regular road bike should get you anywhere... I originally started commuting to work on a road bike with a rack..Had to carry all my stuff in a back pack..That was ok...Could do that as long as I had taken my clothes to work..Now I have a touring bike. It is easier.
I would not worry about babying a bike..That is why lbs have mechanics. Or else learn to do your maintenance youself.

I did the same in my small town, road all over the place on my new Schwinn Varsity 10 speed, even carried golf clubs. I rode to work, to school, to my friend's houses. I even dreamed of going camping on the back of that bike, I still do. That bike served me well. I finally had to give it up after tacoing the front wheel into a car that pulled in front of me at an intersection, the lady didn't see me, and I plowed right into her flying over the hood. Being 15 I wasn't hurt, any injury would have been a badge of courage.
All that served me well, since there have been times where all I had was a road bike. Today I have 14, soon to be 10, when I donate four of my steeds to an adolescent halfway house a friend of mine owns.
So keep riding. It's what put Lance where he is today, racing the red lights in Plano.