I want a fancy commuter too...
#1
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I want a fancy commuter too...
I saw a specialized allez parked next to me today and I was wondering, man I wish I could take my roadie out to commute with. Anyone else commute with a nice road bike and park it outside?
#2
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I commute with a mercier corvus. Don't know if that is classified as a nice roadbike or not but it has 105 components and a nice carbon fork. One thing that it does have that "nice" roadbikes normally do not is rack dropouts on the back which makes it perfect for me. I have put 7000 commuting miles on it since I bought it last year. I figure I spend most of my miles commuting, why not use my best bike and make it more enjoyable? (I do have a tarp that I throw over it on rainy days).
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#3
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I've been thinking the same way lately. My old Giant Farrago is starting to give me the willies - it desperately needs a new rear wheel, and could do with a new chain, brake pads, cables, headset and grips. Every time I think about doing any of that, I think about how much more sensible it could be to put that money towards a road/cyclocross/touring bike that would make my commute faster and more enjoyable, and turn the Giant into a singlespeed or 1x7 errand bike. My bike commuting miles are at least equaling my recreational miles these days, so as Paul L. says it may as well be a good bike to ride! The bike seems pretty safe down here, locked up in a secure garage or some spare office space downstairs, so I'm not too worried about it being stolen.
Just got a big refund check thanks to a superannuation treaty between Australia and the US – all my social security and medicare tax paid since October 2002 has been given back to me. So I think it might be time to bite the bullet…
Just got a big refund check thanks to a superannuation treaty between Australia and the US – all my social security and medicare tax paid since October 2002 has been given back to me. So I think it might be time to bite the bullet…
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#4
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I've posted about my bike before, but anyway, I think of my Trek 1500 as a "nice" roadbike. I commute with it twice a week because that's how often I'm working. I do not leave it outside, when I'm at work, and usually only if I take it to Wal-mart, or soccer, etc., but the crime rate here is pretty low anyway. Of course I still use Kryptonite locks on it.
#5
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Originally Posted by slvoid
I saw a specialized allez parked next to me today and I was wondering, man I wish I could take my roadie out to commute with. Anyone else commute with a nice road bike and park it outside?
#6
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Originally Posted by jfmckenna
Then why not just take the roadie out? just curious? Is theft a problem in your parts? I ride a scwhinn junker fixie to work and leave it out side under my window unlocked. Then again I don't lock my car or my house either and never had anything stolen...
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Originally Posted by slvoid
I saw a specialized allez parked next to me today and I was wondering, man I wish I could take my roadie out to commute with. Anyone else commute with a nice road bike and park it outside?
#8
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I ride my Paramount or Stumpjumper to class at the present since I don't have a commuter right now... typically though I do commute to work on my Paramount since its a 7mi ride and the roadbike is much faster and more comfortable. For going to class, normally I just a 34:18 singlespeed mountain bike since I am only going about a mile and dodging peds around campus, but thats outta commission so the Stumphumper and Paramount fill the role... no big problems as of yet...
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Madison has one of the lowest general crime rates in the country, but bike theft is high here. Most of that is theft of opportunity, though; the hayseed students forget that they're now living in "the big city" (which, as an ex-Detroiter, is still a "cow-town" to me), and leave them unsecured, or poorly secured. So a good Kryptonite lock is sufficient here. Just don't leave your bike parked in the same place for too long; somebody will think it's abandoned and vandalize it just for the jollies. And don't park near a student tavern after bar-time, for the same reason.
I rent a bike locker (THREE YEAR waiting list) where I work, so it's safe for my roadie (late '90s Cannondale R500). Before that I parked at a rack on a covered deck (former loading dock) behind a building across the street. Technically it's "outside", but it's directly adjacent to the Credit Union, so it's pretty secure. I even left "loose" things like the computer head and headlight attached.
A couple I know down the street have nice roadies (forget what, exactly), and they wrap the frames in old innertubes both to protect and to disguise them. Nice idea, but it adds a lot of weight.
I rent a bike locker (THREE YEAR waiting list) where I work, so it's safe for my roadie (late '90s Cannondale R500). Before that I parked at a rack on a covered deck (former loading dock) behind a building across the street. Technically it's "outside", but it's directly adjacent to the Credit Union, so it's pretty secure. I even left "loose" things like the computer head and headlight attached.
A couple I know down the street have nice roadies (forget what, exactly), and they wrap the frames in old innertubes both to protect and to disguise them. Nice idea, but it adds a lot of weight.