Hello All,

I know this topic has been done to death, and I would do a search but I am not so sure what to search on. I bought a new road bike in June, a steel Fuji Club LE with Tiagra 9 speed components and Alex DA 22 wheels. Since I have been doing more riding this sunmer I am ready to start using my bike to run errands and commute.

Here are my questions:

1) With a few adjustments could I use my current bike for fitness ride and errands/commuting? If so besides a rack, what other things would I need?

2) Since I will eventually be buying/building a new bike for this purpose, what should I be looking for?

3) If I go with a used bike (one of the shops here sells used bikes) are there certain names I should keep an eye out for (I love steel)?

I am really excited about this new change and I really hope you won't mind answering my questions. Thanks a bunch.

CC

The only thing I would say is that if you are going to use a lightweight road bike for commuting, and you are going to mount a rack, beware using a seatpost rack. Over time, the pressure and stress can fatigue the seatpost and cause it to crack.

I have firsthand experience with this. Since I don't have any other reliable way to mount a rack, I replaced my seatpost with an old-fashioned heavy-duty seatpost from an old Schwinn Super Sport. I hope it fares better--I think it will.

Periodic inspection of your seatpost in this case might be a good idea.

Other than that, you can use a backpack. In that case, any bike can be used for commuting, just don't subject you bike to any kind of riding you wouldn't normally use it for, like riding through dirt, gravel, etc.

Thanks for the advice Pete. I have scoped out my route, and I am going to make a few training runs to the grocery store and other places next weekend to make sure I can do this safely.

Some rack manufacturer (Blackburn, I think) once made an adaptor that could be bolted into the quick release and would add eyelets. If you can find something like that, then you would have eyelets to use a "normal" rack.

Another issue you might have is if you don't have very low gears and have steep hills to climb. When you are nicely dressed, it's often better to take your time while climbing instead of rushing and sweating it. Also, a bike loaded with 50-60 lb of gear climbs hills more slowly...

Regards,

Based on my own commuter/utility/fitness hack bike, the specifications for a useful machine are:
Clearance for 32mm tyres + fenders using long drop caliper brakes.
Eyelets for rack and fenders.
Handbuilt 36 spoke wheels, but these need not be made of all premium parts. My Altus hubs work just fine.
A good headset and bottom bracket.
Gearing to suits your conditions. Stock racing gears are too high. Road triples are usually OK. You can be creative and use a low-ration double (36/48) or a mid-range single chainring.

There are some nice stock frames that are ready to build up. Workshops like Gunnar, Soma and Surley do good value light-touring or cyclo-cross/touring frames.
With used bikes, there are so many, but look for some quality in the frame construction. There is no excuse for riding a crappy used bike when there are so many good cheap ones..

You need knock down drag out dependability, you need to get where you're going. Big things i've found to give me trouble, inadequate wheels, tires and rear drive trane in winter, lube is a big thing, I use pro-link it seems to give me less drivetrane noise and more chial life than the rest. Get a good bag and become god friends with small plastic bags, they will assure that what you put in the bag comes out dry. Good luck with your commuting, Do it, it's a great thing to do.
Pete

well, pretty good advice for the used bike purchase. pretty much anything solid and reliable with no-too-skinny tires and low gears... i use a mountain bike fitted with a rear rack and fenders and lights. an old mountain bike with or without front suspension can be a great utility bike choice (wide tires, low gears, good brakes)

as to your current bike. there are 3 options:
1) use a backpack. here you can't carry as much stuff, but any bike will do
2) add a rack - although most racing frames no longer have eyelets. my old MTB does not have eyelets and i "built" connectors using hose-clamps from the hardware store. has lasted for some 5 years now. then for your recreational riding the rack will either be a pain (more weight) or you will have to remove it (i am lazy about such stuff)
3) seat-post rack if you have no eyelets (also for full suspension but not appliciable here). these allow you to strap something on but the one i have doesn't let you really carry panniers (there no place to hook onto below to keep out of rear wheel, plus no lateral stabilization)
4) use a trailer - they aren't cheap, but trailers are great as you can carry a LOT and you don't have to modify your bike - i.e. unhook and pretty much ready to ride fast/race... if you do SERIOUS shopping and really want to be car-free, a trailer is the way to go as you can carry heavy as well as long/awkward loads. (i have a BOB trailer which is also good for touring and off-road riding, but for utility there are other cheaper/beefier options)

between my 4 bikes i actually do all of the above with trailer hitches on 3 of them, racks on 2 (plus a seat-post rack that i rarely use for the full-suspension) and then nothing on my skinny-tired road-race bike.

I have a hybrid, not a road bike, but I don't use a rack. I use a backpack and load up as much as I can. I do all my grocery shopping and errands by bike, as well as use the bike to go from point A to point B with no problems. Plus, I still do long rides on the bike and training rides.

Road, mountain, hybrid, comfort... doesn't matter- it's just being smart and packing smart that does when you decide to commute by bike. I suggest you take Michel's advice to heart- he is the epitomy of the commuting cyclist and with a family, he commutes by bike and does everything else in between while he's at it!

Also consider your lighting system while you're at it. When winter sets in, it gets dark pretty darn early, and you'll need to have a good lighting system to get you home.

Good luck!

Koffee

I sometimes borrow my wife's road bike. It is not optimum for my commute, but it works fine. Since you are planning to get a new bike, I would suggest just buying a battery light (Road Toad, or equivalent), rear blinkie, and a backpack for stuff. Fenders would be good if you can fit them. You may want to get more puncture resistant tires and fit Tuffies. The idea is to set it up to make it a bit more suitable for commuting for now and so it can serve as your weekend bike/backup when you get another one.

What you should get for commuting depends upon a lot of things, including trip length, type of clothing to be worn while riding, the extent to which you don't mind doing maintenance, and how secure your parking area is. I think it is a "horses for courses" sort of thing -- what works for me may not work for you and vice versa. When I went shopping for my bike, I considered the following items to be requirements:

Internal gears
Chainguard
Disk or drum brakes
Dynamo lighting
Fenders
Rack

This if for a ten mile, all weather, year-round commute, mostly in urban traffic with many stoplights in a moderately hilly area near DC. There is one half mile stretch where I can get down in the drops and whiz when I am on the road bike, but it is less suited to the rest of the course. You will have to figure out what your own needs are, based on your riding plans.

Paul

I commute 100 + miles a week on a road bike and it works great. I wouldn't recommend going much over 30 pds for extended commuting but I find I rarely need to exceed that and I carry just about everything on the bike everyday. I used a seatpost rack and liked it, I am presently using a standard rack and like that as well.

A Carradice SQR bag is a more comfortable alternative to a backpack and does not require mounting a rack on your nice road bike. They are not huge, but are large enough for daily commuting, about 1200-1300 cubic inches. I have the Slim model.

I good old '70s-'80s sturdy lugged steel 10 or 12 speed makes a great, tough commuter. I have 3, a Schwinn, a Trek and a Bianchi. The construction is remarkably similar on all three bikes, and all have threaded eyelets for a rear rack.

My advice is a cheap bike with fat tires. On mine I put a Jaand Mountaineering back rack which is longer, wider and stronger than most, and I use Jaand fabric grocery baskets - very large and strong, and come off when needed.

Another option is to look at the Wald website. One could load their bike with huge double wire back baskets, a wire basket for on top of the rack and one for the front. You could carry four full size paper grocery bags this way. Wald makes more baskets than you could ever need in every size. Let me put it this way - they are very popular in China.

Or just buy a trailer...

Clay

Yup! I use a 1972 Peugeot UO-8 and a 1980 Peugeot PKN-10 for this purpose. (With its new paint job, the 1959 Capo will be semiretired from utility riding.)

Hubs, bottom brackets, and headsets are, in my opinion, the most important parts for a commuter bike. I wouldn't go cheap on these. If I was building a commuter bike from scratch I would use XTR or Phil Wood hubs and BB, and a Chris King, Syncros or equally good headset. Any other parts (drivetrain, brakes etc.) I would get decent stuff but I don't think it's necessary to spend alot of money to get the best.

All the above is great advice.

A couple of posters including our very brilliant Rainman and very knowledgeable JohnE suggest using older road bikes from the 1970's or so.

I agree for two main reasons:

1) The old wheels @ 27" X 1.25" hold up better to the daily stresses of cracks, bumps, and potholes than newer 700 cm X ~23 cm wheels.

2) Daily commuting really takes it's toll on a bicycle. No matter how strong the bike is, frequent maintenance will be required. Commuting is especially hard on the wheels. Most serious bicycle commuters I know do their own maintenance due to convenience, and perhaps cost. At this point in time, spare parts can be had for nearly nothing by cannibalizing old discarded bicycles.

I also liked Pete's suggestion about carriers. That was fresh.

Welcome to the wonderful world of bicycle commuting. EVERYONE benefits from you choosing to bicycle rather than drive an automobile so be diligent and keep it up!

For racks, you could try checking out Old Man Mountain - they're pretty cool, instead of needing eyelets at the bottom - they use a new QR axle that is longer. Only problem is that the top of the rack generally mounts to what would be cantilever bosses... but maybe you could try and work out a clamp system or see if he can help you out in that department... The guy who works that place seems *very* responsive.

Thanks everyone for all the great suggestions, tips and advice. Unfortunately I have to put this project on hold while I help care for my grandmother. But I have printed up everything and once things calm down I am going to try to get all this stuff together. Thanks again.