Originally Posted by
kuroba
I beg to disagree. I've commuted 10mi on 3 different bikes so far and had considerable differences in time.
- On my Dutch bike, it took me 1:30hrs to commute to work.
- On my hardtail MTB with city tyres (1.5" Kenda Kwick Trax) my commute reduced to 1hr.
- On my new "adventure" road bike (with 35mm tyres) my commute is 45mins.
To accomplish what you say your route would need to be largely non-stop with no junctions and you'd need to ride your road bike twice as fast as your Dutch bike. Neither of these very likely.
Most people have a fair number of junctions requiring them to stop and for some these stops make up half or more of their total commute time.
A person of moderate fitness can comfortably ride 10 miles on a Dutch bike at 13 MPH (46 minutes) and a road bike 17 MPH (34 minutes). However, someone who can average 26 MPH on a road bike for 10 miles can also very easily average over 18 MPH on a Dutch bike with the same power output.
Assuming no stops you're averaging 15 MPH on your road bike and 7.5 MPH on your Dutch? That difference doesn't compute. My buddy's 85-year-old mother rides 20 miles, including hills, at 11 MPH on her Dutch bike loaded with groceries. Why were you so extremely slow on your Dutch & Mtn bikes?
Robert Holden rode up Ventaux on a Boris Bike (much more difficult than a Dutch) in 2:55 and on his road bike in 1:50 so even one of the toughest climbs in cycling can't produce a 2x difference.