Nirn

Hi, I know there's already a lot of discussion on the topic of mountain vs. road, but I still have a lot of questions.

I'd really like a road bike, but I'm not sure how it would work out in the city.

For example, you need to hop on a sidewalk, what do you do?



Aren't you worried about damaging your road bike, especially if it doesn't have any front suspension? What if you hit the rear wheel to hard?

And what about this?



What do you use? Thoughts, opinions?

demoncyclist

You never need to hop on a sidewalk. In most urban areas, it is actually illegal to ride a bike there, and at the bare minimum it is a danger to you and to pedestrians.

Nirn

Whaat? Well, I guess we have different laws then.

About 85% of all the other bikers I see daily are riding right on the sidewalk. Usually this works out fine, there aren't that many people to stop the bikes from easily passing them.

I understand why it would be illegal when the sidewalk is crowded with people, there's no way you can ride a bike faster than walking speed.

But yeah, I've yet to see such crowds on my travels.

Rootman

Perhaps a hybrid that is closer to a road bike in style? That's why I ride a Giant Roam 2, fairly narrow tires with some lugs on the side for the rough patches, grass and gravel, 29" wheels, trigger shifters with a higher end gearing. I can hunker down to get aero and use SPD clippless to maximize the power. Although I still stop and pull my bike up curbs, I'm just so freaking clumsy that the last time I tried to hop a curb I ended up on my side in the road

And PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE to NOT let this be another thread that degenerates into a free for all about riding on the sidewalk.

ill.clyde

Get a cross bike Best of both worlds.

Semi-road bike geometry, drop bars, fatter tires to soak up some of the bumps of urban commuting. Rolls more efficiently than a mountain bike.

My choice is a 2012 Kona Jake. Bought it specifically for commuting but also with a hopeful eye toward racing cyclocross.

As for sidewalk riding, yeah, not the best idea and possibly illegal. There's a couple of places I hop onto sidewalks on my commute, but it's for a very SHORT duration for either a drawbridge with a grated surface or a place under a viaduct where two lanes get squeezed a bit and I wanted a place to bailout of traffic. That said, most sidewalks are ADA accessible these days with ramps up and down them so you shouldn't have to "hop" a curb unless absolutely necessary. And if so, you get to learn/practice the art of bunnyhopping

joshuatrio

Hmmm. I love my road bike which was purchased about a month ago. It's fast, comfortable, and fits my needs. However, if I were in a city environment, I'd probably go with a mountain bike.

Reason being. Debris, curbs, and having a suspension would be nice. Flat bars also seem more ideal in traffic.

Dig riding a road bike on bike path's and smoother surfaces/long distances, but if I were dealing with a lot of traffic, it would probably be a MTB.

I did own a flat bar road bike. Great commuter. Could be a good option for you. But it's nice to have a road and an mtb. Seems the hybrid makes you want 3 bikes (road, hybrid, mtb), when if you start off right and get a road or mtb, you end up only wanting the other style (and having 2 bikes). So on/off road are possible. Makes life a little cheaper.

Not sure if any of that made sense.

fietsbob

use the wheelchair access, curb cut at every corner .

Nirn

Ok, let's talk about cross and hybrid bikes.

1. So the tires and frame are thicker. I get that.

2. But it doesn't have to have front suspension?! I thought that was the main point.

3. And what's the advantage of drop bars in an urban environment? You should rather sit a bit more upright to see the traffic better.

As for the whole sidewalk thing, I think it's a bit different where I am: By default, everyone is allowed to ride on the sidewalks. Safety gear rules is another story, of course.

If you want to ride on the road, with the cars, you need to get the proper license, that costs some money and shows that you know all the rules. And even then, I imagine there would be some age restrictions when it comes to the roads.

Nirn

Exactly, but it isn't there all the time!

Every time I ride from my home to the central city, I get at least 2 or 3 of these sidewalks just ending abruptly near a small one-way car road.

Nirn

Ok, here's a question to all the commuters with road and other such bikes.

How easy is it to raise the front wheel off the ground? I'm not talking about a bunny hop, that's way out of my level.

It know it's harder, on a road bike you're more stretched out, but then again maybe the problem is that I'm just an beginner.

alan s 

Get a fat bike, and you won't have to worry about obstacles and potholes. Will also build up your quads. Otherwise, do what everyone else does -- watch where you are going.

ill.clyde

See my input in red

Nirn

I'll have take it into consideration.

Besides, what will I do in winter with snow and ice.

ill.clyde

Like anything it gets easier with practice. Practice in a park or on a grassy area if you're worried about falling. Place an object in front of you and learn to raise the front wheel. Then as you're more comfortable, work on raising the front wheel over, and then the back wheel as it follows.

jrickards

I'm really curious as to where your from, country and state/province would be sufficient. To the best of my knowledge, there are neither licence requirements nor age restrictions in either the US or Canada (I could be wrong though).

Nirn

Thanks

bikemig 

For a new bike, a cross bike is hard to beat. For a used bike, I'd get either a road bike that can take fat tires or a used rigid mtb. In terms of price and usability, it is very hard to beat a used rigid mtb. They tend to be inexpensive on CL (you get the occasional dweeb who tries to make a lot of money on a vintage mtb but most don't command a premium) and they are easy to mod for commuting. On a longish commute, though, I'd opt for drop bars. You could mod a vintage mtb with drops or go for a road bike that takes fat tires. In any case, I'd get a used bike over a new for commuting unless your wrenching skills are poor or you really want/need a new bike.

MRT2

Now I am confused. Where are you that you cannot ride on the road with a bicycle because of your age, or because you don't have a driver's license?

Nirn

Europe/ Estonia/ Tallinn

Small-medium city, population ~425,000. Density 2,700 per square km (maybe compare that to your own town).

So the reason (I think) the rules aren't so strict, is because the population isn't big and dense enough to require it.

calyth

Seems like the laws looks a little weird. If you're in North America, typically, sidewalk riding is illegal, or at least very frowned upon.

You don't need suspension for the bumps on the road, unless they're like major potholes or sinkholes. Dodge them by paying attention, don't use super low spoke wheels if you really worry about it.

If you are in other countries, and do have different laws, then some of these advice won't apply.

Nirn

Both and neither.

I don't have a licence, because technically I don't need it.

Even if I had it, I wouldn't ride on the road. I'm young, no experience with riding in real traffic (with a car for example), so overall It'd be too dangerous imho.

fietsbob

.. practice your Bunny Hop .. if you can do it well, you can beat all your competitors around the course in cyclocross races .

as opposed to getting off, jumping over the barrier , and geting back on ..

you can also raise the whole bike and yourself up to the height of the sidewalk
and then you land, with a light impact, on the sidewalk height.

You jump up and bring your bike up underneath you , as once your body mass is in motion ,
it is larger than the weight of the bicycle..

unless your bike weighs like a T36 Tank.

https://www.wikihow.com/Bunny-Hop-on-a-Bike

also used in Observed Trials, bounce hops with the brakes locked .. works on Unicycles too.

Nirn

Thanks for the advice so far!

The most important thing overall is to be alert and ready with whatever bike you're riding with.

The cross, hybrid commuting bikes look really interesting. I know I'm definitely not going with a road bike with those tiny tires. I'll definitely look more into it myself.

Nirn

Thanks, guys. All I needed to know was if those tricks were even remotely possible with a bike other than mountain.

Of course, I'm a beginner, I know nothing about all those different types of racing like cyclocross etc.

DiabloScott

I used to have an un-shocked MTB for commuting - it worked fine but I just don't like MTB riding on pavement - even with slicks and fenders - it's fun for a while, and maybe the perfect bike for some folks, but not me.

Now I have a road bike that takes 32mm wide tires and I really like it. It's more of a touring geometry than a cyclocross, it has really wide drop bars for lights and computer and a bell. I can easily ride off curbs (trail to street transition), and I can easily pop the front wheel up a curb... but it's a fixed gear and I can't really hop the back wheel up so I usually one-foot the curb riser.