WHO

Greetings,
this is one of those many threads (I've been browsing for a while, doing search and such) where a newbie comes in and ask for input.

I'm a Montrealer who needs an alternative to driving the car downtown everyday for work. It's a 30 km round trip, but it's mostly the fact that I have to park like 15 minutes away for work to avoid paying for parking, plus the 15-20 min drive (when I can avoid the rush hour traffic) makes it 30 min at the shortest to get to work.
I feel I could avoid a lot of stress and money by enjoying riding a bike to work. Also, in Montreal, I don't have to drive witht he cars most of the times, we have a lot of reserved lanes for bikes. My taxes are paying for'em, might as well use it

I do enjoy mountain biking, and I already have a bike for that, isn't anything crazy, front suspension and good wheels. It's been damaged by downhill rides, and repaired,

I was considering modifying this one, by changing the seat, wheels, and perhaps the gearing system to bame it an hybrid kind of bike, that I could use for both mountain and city use, but the investments led me to consider purchasing a seperate bike.

I don't mind forking out the money that's needed, although I'd like to keep it under 700 or 800$ (canadian) and have something I'll be confortable riding on, and won't get me to work all sweaty and out of breath.
At first, that 15-20 km ride is going to be something, as I haven't been an example of outdoor activites lately.
I know, I know, after a while, I'll be willingly making detours to enjoy longer rides, I read all about that here But still...

BTW, I'll have to deal with downtown traffic, half of my ride will be almost non-stop, but then it'll be stop and go. A little cargo space would be welcome to.

Well, I hope I gave enough details to get good recommendations

iceratt

I like to use a touring bike. The Trek 520 is sturdy, tires arn't too wide, and it's comfortable. With paniers I can cary anything that I might need at work, plus there is room for groceries, if I have to stop on the way home. I know that my bike is out of your price range, but you could get something like it. Some people also like the bikes that are set up for commuting, and they tend to be less expensive. If you have cobblestones or lots of pot holes, you should have the wider tires and maybe suspension.

If you become carfree, of course, price will be no object.

WHO

How I wish I could simply go carfree! The winter is too harsh here to even consider biking the whole winter.
The price really doesn't matter too much as long as it's not 5000$ or anything that crazy, I'd just buy a scooter at that price

supcom

I suggest you replace your tires with some flat resistant slicks and give commuting a try with your current bike. Since you need to keep from getting sweaty, you probably don't need higher gears than what you already have.

For cargo, I use a Carradice saddlebag (www.wallbike.com) to carry my work clothes, spare tube, tools, etc. Others use rack and panniers or even just a backpack.

Juha

My 0,02€: get a decent pair of panniers. You probably have rain in the summer as well; buy a bike with fenders and lights. With the downtown traffic all your bike gear should preferrably be very visible, with lots of reflectors and bright colors. And be prepared for the exercise at first, 15-20kms one way will take its toll.

After a season of summer commuting get ready to browse the net and Forums for studded tyres and other winter gear!

--J

madpogue 

In Montreal? I thought winter there was comparable with, say, Chicago, Toronto, Detroit, et. al. There are folks here who ride all winter in such climes. Check out the "Winter Cycling" forum here if you're interested (it's pretty quiescent right now, 'cuz most participants live in the northern hemisphere). 'Course, for now, I'd just concentrate on getting started with bike commuting; you can cross the winter commuting bridge when you come to it.

Stubacca

Baby steps.

Put some slicks on your current bike and try the commute a few times to see if it will work for you. Just use a backpack to get started. After a week or two you'll know if commuting is for you. Don't let things like flat tires or a sweaty back deter you - both these problems have good solutions if you do want to get serious about it.

After that, spend some money on a dedicated bike. New is nice if you have a good place to lock it up (either a touring or cyclocross bike works well), otherwise search the local thrift stores for a decent older road bike. Get a rear rack and some panniers, fenders and some rain gear, and you'll be set to ride in almost all conditions!

MichaelW

For longer commutes, a touring or modern cyclo-cross/tourer are ideal. They are fast on the road, and suitable for light trails, can take rack and fenders.
Check out icebike.com to see how far into winter you can ride.
If you want to reduce the initial spend, then some 1.5" slicks on your current bike will do the job. I wouldn't recomend a back-pack on longer rides. Let the bike support all the load on a rack.

supcom

I like using my hardtail bike for 'urban assault'. The wider tires and front suspension are ideal for rough, debris strewn roads. It may not be quite as fast as my road bike, but it's a smoother ride and the smaller size makes it easier to get onto light rail trains.

WHO

Thanks for all the replies so far
I have to add that I have no problem with long bike rides, I used to ride all day long a few years ago. I enjoy biking a lot.
Things just got busy, and somehow I got to think a car was faster/more efficient.

Winters in Montreal are much rougher than Toronto or Detroit. We get 10 feet of snow one day, then it gets mild 3 days later and becomes slushy, then it's -40 degrees celcius and freezes over, until that cycle begins again. 15 years back, we used to only get a ton of snow, but at least it was constant.

Anyway, I might just stick with my original idea and mod my current bike. For some reason, I thought the price different wouldn't be that high, but obviously the most expensive part of the bike is the frame, so getting a whole new bike would be pricey.

I read that some people ride with different wheels in the front and the back. Should I consider this?

leconkie

Hi there,
If you're definitely going to have to deal with snow, slush and ice, don't get a road bike, in my opinion. They're great, even in the wet, but if you need to withstand a few crashes (which I'd assume likely in these conditions) get something tougher. If you're route isn't really hilly, weight shouldn't be too much of an issue, and with an UAB or MTB you can get out of trouble quickly by jumping on/off the pavement in a crisis. You also don't need to worry too much about submerged potholes under snow and you can get out of trouble fast by jumping on/off the sidewalk. I fell down a flight of stairs with my cheapo Jeep Liberty full sus bike and it upended and landed on me and the concrete from about 3 feet up and I limped away needing no repairs. That wouldn't happen with an affordable roadbike I don't think. Just my 2 cents

Juha

Sounds like fun!


Some people do that in the winter, putting one studded tyre in the front and a "normal" tyre in the back, as buying a complete set of studded tyres is too expensive or too much hassle. With the winter we have here, I prefer a full studded set. In summer road conditions I don't think there's much need for different wheels.

--J

cerewa

"How I wish I could simply go carfree! The winter is too harsh here to even consider biking the whole winter."

FYI-- I biked the whole winter, 2 years in a row, in montreal. I just moved out of montreal recently.

There's another guy, Michel Gagnon, who comes to this section of bikeforums who's from Quebec and I'm almost certain he rides all winter.

But you have to become a confident rider before riding on snow/ice.

WHO

I assume MTB stands for Mountain Bike? What does UAB stand for?
Keep in mind I'm a newbie
It's starting to look like I'd better keep my current bike and just get street wheels for it.
Which wheels have a good reputation, in terms of make and model? A guy at a bike shop wanted 80$ (each) for continental tires. I thought he was nuts.

crustedfish

UAB = urban assault bike

but i profire

UDV = urban death vehicle

PaulH

From what I have seen of Montreal, it is the Salt City. They dump huge amounts of the stuff there. I certainly would not want to drive any car I valued during a Montreal winter. I'd say cycling would be the best alternative.

Paul

WHO

It's not as bad as it used to be. The now premis their stuff and it's only about 30% salt. Besides, I drive a different car in the winter
Let's get back to talking about bikes, not cars!

I might like commuting so much that I decide to bike this winter too. I'll have to wait and see about that.

iceratt

from what I have seen of Montreal, it is the Salt City. They dump huge amounts of the stuff there. I certainly would not want to drive any car I valued during a Montreal winter. I'd say cycling would be the best alternative.

Now you have me worried about the damage that I might impart upon my bike. I love my bike! I better not take any chances that I'll harm it, and drive to work all next winter.

Michel Gagnon

I cycle year round in Montréal and abhorr salt. However, you should keep this in mind:

- Awfully salt slush exists about 2-3 weeks (total) per year. Winter is actually dryer than Summer and there are often long periods between storms.

- Fenders are, I think, a must. They are more useful in Winter than in Summer. Quite often, there is a light salty mist that is thrown around by the wheels. However, good fenders and mudflaps contain it all and keep the bike clean and in good shape. The front mudflap even protects the bottom bracket.

- My commuter is used 365 days per year, including during the worst times, when I wouldn't like to drive around. With studded tires during icy periods, knobbies otherwise. In late fall, I apply grease under the bottom bracket and grease the chain, and the bike remains in good shape all Winter.
That bike doesn't look as goo as it used to, but I bought it in 1980 and have travelled more than 70 000 km with it. It now has its second set of wheels (one was crashed, the other I broke it) and its second cransket.

- The touring bike is used throughout most of Winter, for longer runs. I usually don't do long trips during the worst weather (I'm not that crazy), so it suffers less from the elements. BTW, I use a rear knobby in Winter but never install studded tires on that bike. It has full fenders and mudflaps and there are no special maintenance issue.


As for "I love my bike! I better not take any chances that I'll harm it, and drive to work all next winter", think about it this way:
- Full fenders and mudflaps protect the bike from the elements, except during the worst of times. Fenders are easily replacable. You can't say that about fenders on a car.
- $1500 (CDN) buys you a really good bike, $500 buys you a very good bike if you select carefully and $200-300 buys you a very good used bike or a decent new bike (in some categories). Even if your favourite bike is a $5000 road bike and you were to buy a $1000 bike every 3-4 years, it would still be much cheaper than the wear and tear on a car.

- If you are fussy about a "performance-oriented" position on your road bike, you will find that you'll prefer a slightly more upright position in Winter, because of bulkier clothing.

Regards,

PaulH

If you ride a typical naked bike in the winter, chain wear will be the main hassle, followed by rim and brake pad wear. This wear seems to come from the sand, not the salt, and, though a profound hassle, is not a bike killer the way salt is a car killer.

With disk or drum brakes, internal gears, and a partial chaincase, I don't see any identifiable sand or salt related winter wear in Washington, DC, a city that is as salt-happy as Montreal.

I'd say that salt is a problem for cars because it tends to collect in places like rocker panels. Bikes don't have those. Sand is more of an issue with bikes, because the machinery can be more exposed. However, neither is a problem with fenders, some sort of chain protection (mudflap or case), and drum/disk brakes.



Paul

WHO

Thanks for the tips on winter biking, although I'm not there just about yet
I'll need to make up my mind now, as I'm really sick and tired of driving, especially now that all the events are approaching (F1 this week-end, jazz fest, just for laugh fest, etc).
Buy a new bike, or modify what I already have? hmmm...