As a guy ramping up to commute I have been scouring boards and sites trying to learn what I do not know. The last time I road a bike was in the early 90's and it was a poor man MTB which I used mostly as a rail/trail bike. So this post is to share the wisdom I gleaned and the assumptions that were shred.

Commuters all have the same needs:
Somehow I thought of commuters as bike tourers and vice versa. Short sighted I know. There are those with touring type of needs, speed/agility needs, theft camoflage needs, compact or folding frame needs. There are needs shared by all commuters, but I guess that is the same for all bicycle riders. We all want strong, comfort, durable.

Commuters are united as a group:
No, they suffer from inner clicks just like the road racers. SS distain the guy in granny gear. Messanger sees everyone else as 'the man' posing as a commuter. That being said, the commuter community view their bikes as tools and not toys and are generally strong advocates for the bike as a vehicle choice.

It is dangerous to commute:
Yep. It is also dangerous to get out of bed, take a shower, and walk to your car. When did humans become so obsessed with perfect security. Be smart and you will be as safe as anyone else on the road. Be dumb and you increase your danger level.

Big soft seats equal comfort:
First, only recumbents have seats. Bicycles have saddles and it is the ancient looking leather and steel brooks saddle makes butts happy.

Opinions are like a__Holes:
No, most people on have one a__Hole but have so very many opinions.

Don't look like a geek on the bicycle:
If that means that you ride without lights, helmet, and/or reflective tape then you are wrong. If that means that you need to know the rules of the road and how to ride your bike, that is right.

Add any other pearls you may have.

Commuters are a unique breed. We ride when roadies won't: during rush hour. We tend to take the shortest route, instead of the easiest or the one with the least cars. We need bikes that won't wear down after riding them day after day, week after week.

The three topics most relevent to us: how to deal with traffic, how to keep our bikes running smoothly, and how to clean up when we get to work.

I'd have to expand that to "We ride when no one else will."

I'm starting to get a lot of "did you ride today?" type questions since it's been raining for a week and the temperatures are down into the 60s...

And yes, I'm looking at studded tires so I can keep riding all winter.

If road bikes are like sports cars, mountain bikes like 4x4's, then commuter bikes are like old station wagons. They get you just about anywhere you need to go, and keep you out of trouble. Additionally they are built like a truck and are reliable and can haul some gear.

Except I have been commuting the last 2 months on my road bike My commuter has been sitting on the repair stand (In full working order). Somehow I can't bring myself to ride it. Once the snow starts perhaps some nokian studded tires and the wide flat bar will seem like more fun....

I know a lot of people who drive to work in their sports cars. Why not a road bike if you can? The sports cars guys will drive their clunkers if they've got them when they need to.

Following on the analogy my Sport Road bike is probably a Lumina maybe a camero. Not a vette, has some carrying capacity but definately not a station wagon either.

Considering how it snows in Manhattan where it usually melts on contact w/ the street and any accumulation is plowed aside during the day, I'm gonna ride the slicks all winter. If I can't, I'll just hop the subway.

Who's we, Kimosabe? If I have a choice between a 1/2 mile on a crappy road full of impatient rush-hour cagers or 1 mile on a fairly deserted residential street - guess which one I pick?

Station wagon for you maybe. My Fuji World hauls gear just fine, can hang with the roadies and is pretty to boot! More like a Caddy than a wagon.

Full service NYC. Where I lived in Brooklyn last winter, the roads were only sort of plowed and then only after about a week.

We'll see how the new digs are.

Except for those of us who use the commute as part of their training and are looking to rack up the miles while getting work. Or those of us who use a rambling detour to decompress from a long day at the office.

But this proves the OP's very insightful thread title. There are as many styles as there are commuters but we all want to get to work and home safely and reliably. And to not stink up the office.

EXPENSIVE!

Ive been using my Bianchi racer to commute since May. Man does it get expensive. Brand new rear hub at the start of the season has just been rebuilt. 3 sets of racing tires (michelins and contis). Cant wait until I get my new commuter built up, but have been reluctant to get on it because i can get to work SO much FASTER on racing bike.

Don't use racing tires. I have Bontrager Race Lite Hard Case tires and they are wearing just fine. If you like the Conti tires grab some Gatorskins.

I can't imagine what you did to mess up your hub

You're right, not all. How about a 10 mile commute with traffic vs. a 25 mile residential route?

I tried the shorter route, too. I decided an extra five miles of quiet country roads is much more enjoyable than the four lane, high-speed highway with narrow, if any, shoulders. And I'm getting stronger so the extra miles aren't a problem.

HERE...HERE! I will also go a mile out of my way to avoid a hill. Less traffic...flatter ride...I'm there!

Some of us work in a machine shop...not an office. it already stinks.

How much traffic, what kind of road?

I could probably shave a mile or two off my current commute if I stuck to the highways, but why would I want to miss dodging deer and other critters on the parkway?

I look at my commute as a chance to train for the weekend road bike rides I'm definately slower on my commuter with it being a heavier bike and loaded down but it really does make my aluminum TCR feel like a feather.

10 to 25? you're exaggerating. maybe couple miles max, but certainly not an additional 15 miles.

good ideas! although they are still costly tires. I will run pretty much any yellow tires on my racer (matches Pantani saddle). on my commuter im mostly running 25mm old mich axials now and cyclocross tires laster.

With regard to the hub, it was my fault more than strictly wear and tear since i only weigh around 130. I suspect I got some engine degreaser into the freehub mechanism when I was cleaning the cogs. lesson learned: remove cassete before cleaning gears.

Let me know when you find a tough, reliable yellow tire... I need some! I'm on the kevlar-belt Panaracers now, and they're fine... tougher than the Michelins I was riding before, but still not nearly as tough as I'm used to with generic 27" tires on my old commuter...

BTW, Orb fan?

Jumborider -- great thread and I think your observations are dead on. Commuters (at least while they are commuting) are utility cyclists who want to be safe and comfortable on the ride. They want to be able to commute and by one means or another get cleaned up and dressed so when the workday starts they look like any of their colleagues.

I certainly am in the camp that regards my bike as a tool, but I can sympathsize with those who prize their bikes more than that. I describe my hybird as the minivan of bikes -- it doesn't draw oohs and ahhs from people but it hauls what I need pretty much anywhere I want to go with few problems or hassles. All of that is important to me for my commuting style. It's good to have a thread like this to remind everyone that there is no orthodoxy to commuting. Take ideas and suggestions as they fit into your situation and ride to work however you want. Every mile you ride has got to be better than a mile stuck in rush hour traffic and every mile you ride is that much more exercise than you would get otherwise.

That should be programmed as an automatic response EVERY time someone on this list uses the word "WE" without a reference to whom else might be included besides the royal we.

Really SO much FASTER on a racing bike? What kind of bike are you comparing with your racing bike? What kind of commuting techniques are being compared? What is the actual time savings over what distance in what type of traffic conditions?

What is the cost, besides money, of being SO FAST on your commute? Do you consider being SO FASTworth the cost of carrying everything on your back (or not taking anything useful with you to gain precious speed), getting filthy when the road is wet, arriving at work in a sweaty lather, increased fears about bike theft or a 10+ lb. lock etc.etc.