Originally Posted by
zacster
After years of using a converted mountain bike for commuting, I was all ready to go this morning and found it had a flat. As I was in cycling clothes and it was getting late I decided to just grab my road bike instead. This bike is totally unsuitable as a commuter, carbon frame, Campy group, super light wheels, no lights, bell, rack or fenders.
I slung my messenger bag/pannier over my shoulder and took off, and I immediately realized why I don't do this often. I hate carrying things on my back, and then when I hit the hill in the park I realized how much that weighed me down. When I got to Manhattan, I realized that the Look Keo pedals were totally inappropriate for the traffic, and basically I had to take it easy, as tempting as it was to just take off. On the non-traffic areas though I definitely had an advantage.
Ultimately it took the exact same time as usual. It isn't how fast you can go on any one stretch in NYC, it is how many red lights you need to stop at.
I've always commuted on a road bike. Over the years I've graduated from old steel to carbon fiber with endurance geometry. Looking at a Ti road frame as well...if the price is right I'll build that next. It's really not that big of a deal, ditch the messenger bag though and get a decent lightweight day pack. I've been using a Marmot Ultra Kompressor for the better part of 6 years; that backpack replaced racked panniers which themselves were replacements for a messenger bag.
Learn to pack lightly. I typically carry a change of clothes (sometimes including shoes), lunch (a mixed greens and/or kale salad, snacks, a burrito), 1 liter of coffee, cards and keys, a flat kit (spare tube, levers, pump, multi tool), and in the winter a pm kit (Pearl Izumi Barrier Elite jacket and/or Brooks wind/waterproof shell, wool jersey, Craft lined long-legged winter bibs, wool socks, Louis Garneau shoe covers, 2 pairs of gloves, skull cap, balaclava, extra pair of lined synthetic windproof tights). Keep your lock at the rack, find a place at work where you can stash stuff (I stash oil/vinegar dressing, powder gatorade, coffee beans, bean grinder, french press, food I didn't eat from the day before...).
On that last note - if your commutes by mtb vs roadie are the same, then you're not riding hard enough.