Originally Posted by
Mr Pink57
I would still use the MTB for commuting. There is going to be wear and tear and I would rather put this on a cheaper bike. Still get a CAAD 10 and enjoy your weekend rides/races on this bike.
The example I will give is a sad example.
A good friend of mine bought a nice Trek road bike to which she put a rack on and road it all year. I told her when she got it she should just use her old bike to get to work and use this bike on weekends or maybe just Fridays. Well she did not listen to me and about 6 months later it was stolen. On top of that it had a lot of scratches the drivetrain was wearing down, bar tape was peeling, and so on and so forth.
I am not saying this is going to happen to you, she took this bike everywhere all day everyday (no car). And her older bike is older and not a nice looking bike to which no one would really want (hybrid upright type bike) I think she would still have the Trek.
Just less opportunity of a nice bike getting stolen if you are not commuting on it everyday is all I am saying. Bikes are expensive I think.
That is something to consider and I think it depends on how secure a place you have to keep your bike at work and how often you'd be bringing it other places where it might be a target for theft.
I can keep my bike in my office and I commuted with the same road bike I used for triathlons 8 or 9 months out of the year. It's not a suitable bike for winter otherwise I would have ridden it year round.
As far as wear and tear goes, to be a good racer or triathlete, you NEED to put miles and miles and miles on that bike. Commuting will only be a part of it but you might was well take advantage of it, especially if you're like the OP and have young kids. Bar tape will wear. So will cassettes and chains. You replace them as needed.
You may want different tires for race day and if you had money to spare you might even want a training bike, - but it should still be a decent road bike that's going to be similar to your race bike in how it handles.
Tons of people in the US have bikes but only use them sporadically. Compared to that, commuting is a harder life for a bike. A harder life still is in store for a bike used for training and racing.