bobbyd2

hi all, im just about to purchase a Trek madone 4.5 compact from my local bike shop , im buying it through the companys cycle scheme , i choose this bike as it looked nice and light and i hope was a good choice ?? i am going to ride to work , which is 9 miles from my house and 9 miles back , ive ridden a marin mountain bike but never a road bike any tips as im sure it will be very strange to ride in a lean forward position , im 14 stone 2 and very fit , training 3x a week , running and circuits and just to add im from maidstone in kent England . many thanks bob.

10 Wheels

Welcome Bob to Bike Forums.
With racing wheels you may get a new nickname as Fast Bob.

bobbyd2

thanks for your reply , sorry not sure what you meant by racing wheels ?? should i have clip in pedals and how long should it take me to ride 9 miles.??? kind regards bob.

10 Wheels

I looked up a Trek Madone 4.5 Compact and it had racing wheels.
9 miles, depends on cross streets, stop signs and lights.
A fast ride would be 25 to 30 minutes (just guessing)
Have you commuted the 9 miles on the mountain bike?

10 Wheels

Pedal choice is all yours. I ride with toe clips, No Straps.
I use walking shoes. So when I stop I can walk anywhere.

RonH

Before I retired my commute was ~9 miles each way. Lots of hills. My commute thru Atlanta traffic took about 45 minutes. I bought a cyclocross bike because they are built a lot tougher than road bikes and it had braze-ons so I could mount a rear rack to carry my panniers - where I carried all my stuff.



The Trek has an all carbon frame with no braze-ons for mounting a rack. How will you carry all your stuff (clothes, lunch. laptop, rain gear, etc.)?
If you're using this just for commuting I'd recommend a Kona Jake or a Jamis Coda or something similar and they're much less expensive.
The Trek is make for long/fast weekend rides.

AndrewP

Just ride in whatever shoes are comfortable until you are comfortable with the handling of the bike. Then look for SPD pedals and shoes to match as you will also be able to walk in them. Spend whatever it takes to get a comfortable shoe with stiff soles, you can save money on the pedals as they all work much the same. If you need to carry things use a saddle bag rather than a back-pack. Deuter makes backpacks that keep a space for air circulation down the back (my son uses one). When staying with my daighter in Bromley I visited Leeds castle near you and had a very enjoyable day.

bobbyd2

no , ive only driven it so it will be strange to ride to a road bike that distance for the first time.

bobbyd2

Hi , many thanks for your reply . i will take a back pack with my lunch in and clothes for work are already there . i also want a bike that i can ride at weekends and will also only ride to work in the summer as will take car on the other occassions .