Bjazzman

Hi,

This is my first post in here. Im looking to ditch my Car on the days where i can bike to work. It's about a 13 mile trip if you went in a straight line from here to there. But normally, it will be alot longer than that since i will go around lakes and winding roads and taking backroads to get there. The commute does have it's share of "Minnesota" hills, and sometimes riding near somewhat busy roads. Someone reccomended i look at Road and Cyclocross bikes. Is this true? I don't need a rack on the back and i kinda like the look of the rams horn handlebars. My budget is no more than $1000. Are there certain tried and true brands i should look for? And what other factors should i look at to make my ride as smooth as possible(less work). Since it might very well take me an hour to get there, i don't want to be totally exhausted when i have to work an 8 hour shift and then ride an hour back.

d2create

Stick more with a cyclocross bike with frames that offer eyelets and brazeons. The first time you get caught in the rain you will wish you had fenders. You don't want a rack now, but you never know so it would be nice to have the eyelets for it just in case. And you'll want wider tires... 28's are a good place to start. Not too thin and not too wide. So the frame needs to have space for that and also the fenders. Typical road bikes can not accommodate wider tires and fenders and do not have the eyelets and braze-ons. Don't worry about brands, just go to your LBS and try a bunch of different bikes. They'll all feel and fit you differently and your LBS should be able to get you fit properly.

RonH

+1 on the cyclocross bike. That's what I have.

Look at the Jamis Aurora (touring bike) or something in the Jamis Coda series.
www.jamisbikes.com

bkbrouwer

I ran across this last night. Looks kind of intreresting for an entry level commuter.

https://www.sierratradingpost.com/p/4...Bike-2006.html

bsyptak

I'd go with the lightest road or cyclocross bike you can get for your money. If you know you're not going to put fenders &/or a rack on it or use it in the dead of winter or foul weather, go with a straight road bike. Sounds like your commute will be 15+ miles so definitely no flat bar bike.

lil brown bat

Buying a bike with drop bars because you like the look is just plain dumb -- sorry, but it is. Get whatever's functional. You probably won't be riding on the drops that much anyway, at least not to start.

Also, don't be too quick to make decisions about what you will and won't need. Experience is what teaches that. You're much better off just doing the commute on any bike you can borrow, and taking the knowledge you get from that to decide what bike to get, than you are surfing the web for recommendations, even from people who understand the problem you're trying to solve. The range of equipment that people use for commuting is huge, and it all works -- don't try to find the perfect fit before you've ridden a mile.

BroadSTPhilly

With that long of a commute I would definitely try to keep it light. Cyclocross could be a good bet. Look at the Surley CrossCheck. Also to the most important thing about bars are the comfort level. I used to ride a MB with straight bars and it was horrible on my wrists. Now I ride with drops and stay on the brake hoods most of the time. It seems to me that Bullhorns would encourage riding in a more upright position which will subject you to more resistance which again will not be fun on a long ride.

Andy_K 

Surly Cross Check or Kona Jake are good bets if you want to go with a cyclocross. Definitely ride a bike with drop bars and a bike with flat bars to see which you like best. If possible try to go for a long ride on both.

With a $1000 budget you should be able to get a pretty nice bike, but don't forget to save money in the budget for accessories (helmet, pump, mini tool, etc.).

m_yates

I personally think a touring style bike is the best for commuting longer distances. A touring bike usually has all the frame braze ons to make it easy to attach fenders, multiple water bottles, and racks (if you decide in the future to use panniers). Touring bikes are usually a mix of mountain and road components to give a very wide range of gears. They also usually come with wider tires and 36-spoke wheels that are tougher than typical road wheels with 32 spokes. These types of bikes are meant for riding cross country, so they are designed to be more comfortable than a typical road bike as well.

You can find lots of touring models in the <$1000 range. Check out the Surly Long Haul Trucker ($985), Jamis Aurora ($865), REI Novara Randonee ($806), Fuji Touring ($950), or Windsor Tourist ($600). Many local bike shops don't carry many touring bikes, but they can be ordered, or you can order one yourself if you are comfortable sizing one yourself. I upgraded to a touring bike from an old hard tail mountain bike. It makes my commute much easier and I am very happy with that style of bike.

bsyptak

Those two statements are sort of contrary to each other. I agree that the Cross Check is a good bike, but it's not the lightest CX bike out there by any stretch (25ish stock pounds). Probably one of the heaviest. While I'm not a huge fan of aluminum framed bikes, it's easy to get under 22 lbs with one...that's what I would consider light. As an alternative, building a Cross Check up from the frame with 105 or Ultegra & some fairly lightweight wheels (Forte Titans) gets you near the 22 lb mark. Of course that will likely blow your budget unless you can find a used group or a donor bike. It is quite possible to find a donor bike that's pretty cheap and is well outfitted.

tjspiel

Hi Bjazzman,

I'm from Minneapolis so if you're commuting in that area I have some idea as to the terrain and road/trail conditions you'll be dealing with.

If you're talking about 13 miles one way then a road or Cyclocross bike is decent advice. If you're in or near Minneapolis, I'd recommend going to "The Hub" - https://thehubbikecoop.org/ tell them what is you'd like to do and let them recommend a bike or two. Then try them out. You don't have to buy from there of course but they specialize in helping people who commute so they have a good sense for what's needed. A lot of other bike shops cater more toward competitive or recreational riders.

There are different types of road bikes. Those geared toward racing are going to have thinner tires and may or may not have the ability to mount fenders and a rack. I know you said you don't need to do that but if things change down the road and you find yourself wanting to haul stuff then it's good to have that option. Touring style road bikes are still relatively light, have drop bars and can accommodate wider tires. They may also have options for disk brakes. They tend to be bit harder to find in shops.

The knock I'd have against a Cyclocross bike is that more than likely it'll come set up for Cyclocross, - meaning it'll have heavier/knobbier tires than you really need or want. It's also going to be a tad heavier. It also might be geared lower than you want.

The nice thing about having a Cyclocross bike is that if you ever did want to do a little off-road stuff or riding in the winter, you'd be set.

For what it's worth, I commute 6 miles on a road bike for most of the year. I use a Mountain Bike in the winter but if I had the cash I'd get a good Cyclocross bike for winter/offroad/bad road use.

Good Luck

Bjazzman

i check out the alt bike shop in uptown this afternoon. I tried out a Marin Belvedere Commuter bike. It was actually cooler than i thought. It has regular crossbars and all the componets that would make up a sturdy bike. Does anyone have experience with this? And btw i would be commuting about 15-20 miles back and forth(so total of 30-40 miles per day). Would this bike do well for a starting commuter who doesen't like to get tired before he has to work? I like that it was higher up than the cyclocross bikes. I only got to try out the 15.5" but next time i will a/b it against the 17"

Andy_K 

I think the Belvedere looks like a pretty good bike. (The name, I think, is proof that no one working in the Marin marketing department grew up in the '80s.)

I just bought a Marin Muirwoods 29er. You might also want to look at that. It's probably a bit heavier than the Belvedere, and the Belvedere is already fitted with fenders, which is nice, but the Muirwoods has disc brakes, which is also nice.

Andy_K 

+1 on geared wrong (or at least not quite right) for commuting. I switched out the knobbies on my Kona Jake for a pair of Gatorskins.

-1 on the gearing. If you want to ride 13 miles without being tired, lower gears are the way to go.

m_yates

It looks like a nice bike already set for commuting (except for lights). The straight handlebars give you only one riding position, which may make you get tired faster, but many people ride longer distances with straight bars. Drop bars have an advantage of letting you move your hands around more and letting you drop down low when riding into the wind. Some people prefer straight bars though. It is mostly what you feel most comfortable with.

Bill Kapaun

Interestingly, the cassette on that is listed as an 8 speed 12-24??
Depending on how steep your hills are, the 24T large cog MIGHT not be large enough.
"Moderate" hills should be no problem, since you have the 28T granny ring.

Bjazzman

are there others in this price range i should consider? $500 roughly

Bjazzman

i did it!! i ended up buying a new Marin Corte Madera. It was $599 but includes lifetime setups. I got a few extras that im waiting for them to put on. i probably wont be able to ride it to work until thursday, but i get to pick it up tomorrow. Yay! my first serious bike