picking a versatile bike that can handle a longer commute
 

My 1993 Bianchi MTB commuter may have breathed its last (cracking chainstay near the BB), so I think I'm ready for a new bike with skinny tires. Maybe even drop bars, since I recently discovered that the ergos with drops aren't as brutal as they look. This new ride should be usable for longer casual rides (10-40 miles) and may be used for my 22-mile commute one or or two days a week. Options so far, with my perceptions:

Cyclocross
(+) sturdy, room for larger tires, rear rack provisions
(-) compromised?, possible gearing limitations on pavement

Road
(+) highest avg/max speeds
(-) focused, frail(?), max tire 23-25

"Hybrid" (flat bar road or city bike)
(+) easy/familiar ergos & low-speed handing
(-) avg/max speeds limited by ergos and possibly gearing

Road bike ergos seem like they'd be a PITA for stop-and-go, but they sure accelerate quick. The route is surely a consideration (see "speed" references above), and can be posted if it helps. If I spend enough time on the sidewalk then maybe a hybrid makes more sense?

On the far end of the hybrid spectrum, I like the idea of an IGH (Nexus/Alfine/etc) and discs, but I figure that going further into workhorse moves further away from fast.

But what's fast enough?





(spoiler alert: don't skip post #34)

There is plenty between the "Cyclocross" and "Road" descriptions you have here. For one, there are many road bikes that can accept larger tires and rack/fenders. What it seems like you're looking for is a speedy commuter/credit card tourer, so I would look into bikes like the Redline Conquest/Metro, Jamis Aurora/Bosanova, Trek 520, Kona *****-Tonk/***** Inc, or Raleigh Roper/Clubman/Port Townsend. Some of these even have discs.

For a road bike with everything, check out the Civia Bryant. It's expensive and heavy, but fairly fast and maintenance-free with IGH and discs.

I've had hybrid bikes for the past decade. My current ride is the Spot Brand ACME with Alfine 11 & Gates Carbon CenterTrak Beltdrive:

http://spotbrand.com/bikes/product-page/acme/

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=241219

This has checked a number of boxes on my ideal bike list:
1. No chain & gear cleaning
2. No risk of getting my office pants greased/damaged
3. Very effective disc brakes for the regularly wet weather rides I do
4. Shifting gears while at standstill waiting at a light (lots of city riding)
5. Gear ratios that meet my commute needs
6. Alu frame/carbon fork
7. Ease of changing the rear tire due to ingeniously designed pivoting drop out brackets that do not require resetting belt tension

While this bike is quite a bit heavier than my previous all carbon Devinci Helsinki hybrid (19 lbs vs 23 lbs), the Alfine & Gates setup have surpassed my expectations.

Also, CX bikes can be incredibly versatile, so the SOMA Double Cross and Surly Crosscheck should be on your list. They won't be any slower than a comparable road bike if you slap some slicks on the rims.

This last fall I got a 2010 specialized sirrus and thats done the trick, I ride about 15 miles every day on a hilly cummute. It has good high end gearing for the road and I did put some cross tires on it for the gravel and snow.

I think a cyclocross bike makes the most sense in your quest. IMHO and considering your alternatives they are the most versatile and can change over time more easily than the others if your needs/wants change. I don't understand your limitations though "Compromised" How so? "Gearing limitations" I don't see it.

Let me be an example. Today my cross check is a single speed, a fixed gear or an Alfine 8 speed IGH depending on the day or the weather or the tires I need to ride. Obviously it could have a traditional 2x10 set up as well. So there are really no gearing limitations I use road bars in the Spring/summer/fall, and albatross bars (or flat bars in the past) for winter. It can accomodate skinny tires, medium touring tires Cycolross tires, or 35mm Studded tires. Fenders, and a rack, or not. I ride it to work every day, I ride it all around town, and I've ridden it on 40 mile rides many time. (although I do have a road bike as well). It's fast enough. It's tough enough and it's versatile enough.

Another vote for the 'cross bike. Gearing can be whatever you want, and fatter tires are nice. As are drop bars. :thumb:

I have a 30mileRT commute. I love my bike except I don't think I can get the fenders I want to fit with the tires I have and no front rack eyelets., but I if I could go back in time 8-9months ago I would have built up a Surly Cross Check for my commuter bike. As modernjess said above, its very versatile.

Orrr... you could get your frame rewelded ? :o

You sir, have WONDERFUL bicycle. However, using the stock photo from Spot will not suffice. We need you to post some bicylce pictures. Have you put a rack and/or fenders on that bike? I'm in the process of building a belt drive bicycle with Alfine 8 speed hub. Have you had any issues at all with the drivetrain? Are you running the new centertrack belt and cogs? How does it feel when you really lay into it? Any belt slippage or feeling of stretch?

Keep in mind that you can put some interrupter brake levers onto drop bars if you like to ride more upright on the bar top in city traffic.

But, like several above, if I had the budget I'd look at a cross bike as an all-rounder.

What, 48t or 50t big cookie ain't fast enough for you?

Dropbars are not inherently "nice" or "better". It's not a fact. It's your personal preference and your own opinion. And I disagree :D

Picutres in the works...but here's the skinny:
1. LBS put on some high-end poly-carb fenders (German made I believe?)...performing way better than the PlanetBike set I have on previous bike. No detectable rattling as I ride along.
2. LBS installed a Tooba rack...nice and solid and the curved frame meshs nicely with the overall look of the bike frame.
3. I put on an Ortlieb Downtown bag with the newer QL-3 mounting system...wow it's sweet. Attaching/detaching from the rack is just like picking it up off a table and putting it down again. The catches engage smooth as silk.
4. Yes this bike has the new Gates CenterTrack belt...which has a groove down the center of the belt and a flange on the cogs to engage the groove...so no issue with the belt drifting off the cogs if not perfectly straight. Silient running, smooth and no vibrations. As for loading...I do the stand-up thing going up the steepest hill in my commute and I weigh 190 lbs. No belt slips so far (1 month of 5days per week doing 14 miles per day in lots of rain). Cannot detect any stretch...theory indicates this would not be measurable without special equipement.
5. Have small issue with the IGH jumping gears occassionally. Might have solved it this weekend with a cable adjustment, but need more miles to be sure.

BTW, Spot Brand also sells MTB, Road & Cyclocross frames...all have the option of being chain or belt driven, traditional gears/IGH or SingleSpeed.

Take a look at the Salsa Vaya. It has drop bars, but the stance isn't as aggressive as a road bike. You can easily add fenders and racks. It will also take very wide tires, if you want to go offload.The stock tires are 40mm. You have your choice of a compact double and brifters, or 3 chain rings and bar end shifters.The Vaya is awesome and very versatile. It even has disk brakes.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/y...-02-46_395.png

Why not consider something with a touring frame as an alternative to the cross?

Total non-issue.

I only own road bikes. I usually take the most direct route home because I want dinner ASAP. That route is only 4½ miles. There are 14 stoplights, 7 stop signs, and a roundabout. How's that for stop-and-go? I averaged 17.9 MPH on that route home tonight. Oh, and I also had to stop twice for cars waiting to turn left.

Integrated levers are perfect for that kind of run. Everything's always at my fingertips.

Only you can answer that. As for me, I'm just getting there.

All my bikes have drop bars, as well, and I do a lot of stop and go riding. No interrupter levers, just a high bar cockpit. Having my bar at saddle height makes things a whole lot easier.

'Fast' is a result the work You put into pedaling it..

Efficiency is the amount absorbed by the hardware between turning the pedals
and going down the road..

Step 1) go test ride Bikes.. in the bike shops, and see what they Feel like ..

DFW you have a number of different dealers representing a bunch of brands..

people tend to Tout what they Bought..

http://www.bikeforums.net/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=13967691
 

brifters excel in stop and go traffic. you have your hands on the hoods or the hooks, and all the controls are right there, you can flick up and down through the gears as fast you care to.

(and if you're on the sidewalk, you might consider running shoes, and not a road vehicle.)

My Singular Peregrine is set up with an Alfine 8, discs, drop bars, and a brifter. It's not light (particularly with the generator hub, the lights, the rack, fenders, and Chicago resistant tires), but its as fast as I can ride it. (My choice of crank and sproket makes 8th gear is about the equivalent of 50/13 on a road bike, and first 39/29. That's plenty broad range, if a little sparsely populated.) Losing the commuter gear, and putting faster tires on it, I suspect someone fitter than I could keep up with a road bike.

But what's 'fast enough' depends on you. I see people on my commute on everything from all out racing bikes who think they're practicing for the Tour d'Epo to people on 50 year old cruisers who look happy clunking along at speeds slower than I can comfortably ride, and pretty much everything in between.

I have a Gunnar Sport, which meets all the OPs criteria but is light and fast, and a Bridgestone XO2, which is more of a touring bike with 26 inch wheels. There's not much of a speed difference, and the Bridgestone is much more useful.

Unless you just want to buy another bicycle, I would seriously consider rewelding my bicycle. Rewelding could completely restore your Bianchi. It would be just like new all over again, if done correctly. Afterall, the Bianchi is made of steel. That's what welders do. They weld steel. Most are very good at! That's just part of the advantage of owning a chromoly steel bicycle. People of the third world do it all of the time!

On the other hand, you could just donate your bicycle to a bicycle co-op and let them worry about it. If you go the co-op-donation route, then I would suggest that you test-ride the following for your new acquisition:

Road Bikes

1) Surly LHT

2) Jamis Aurora Elite

3) Trek 520

4) Salsa Vaya

5) KHS Flite/Road CX-100

6) Trek Steel Cross Lane

7) Raleigh Roper

Hybrid Bikes

1) Jamis Coda Elite

2) Surly Ogre

3) KHS Urban XCel

Mount and Test-Ride Them All, Before You Pull The Trigger!

Good Luck! :thumb:

- Slim :)

PS.

A nice powder coat paint job in glossy black would look awesome, after the repair. You could even order new Bianchi decals. You'd be good to go for another two decades! ;)

I do road bike for longer distance commute than you mentioned. In fact, I modified my folding bike to be more like my road bike as well.... (not as aggressive but still bar under saddle).
Honestly for the distance mentioned above... anything would do... It's matter of what you like.

Photo of my ACME:

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=241270

Thanks for all the feedback! The old Bianchi (currently SS, BTW) is not going away -- too many miles and memories to let it go, or even refinish! But it needs a bunch of basic work (gears, brakes) on top of the frame weld, so I made the mistake of starting looking at new(er) alternatives, and boy oh boy is it a slippery slope.

I'm always window shopping bikes, and one that caught my eye a few years ago was the Schwinn World Adventure. This seemed to have everything I wanted for my 5-10 mile commute at that time (albeit complete overkill at $1500!), and the Giant Seek 0 and Spot Acme and Scott Sub 10 still speak to me today. (Love the idea of belt + IGH; got my wife a GT Aerostream a while back and WE have not been disappointed!) I still love the IGH in principle but wonder about durability (servicing/replacing derailleurs is relatively easy) and performing the inevitable flat repairs.

It's only recently, with the longer commute (which I haven't yet pedaled during the week) that I began to worry about weight and take an interest in finally trying drop bars. My first short spin on a proper road bike was an eye opener.

Last time I clocked my current route (22mi each way) it was about 1h40m... I think I saw 12mph on average. Bringing that average speed up, to bring the time down, to make frequent commuting more feasible, is the reason for my interest in speed. (Someone pointed out to me that certain CX models have MTB cranks, i.e. 44T big ring, hence my perceptions above.)

I am planning to demo some more bikes (perhaps even rent something) to find out what works and what I like. Hopefully I can stick to that plan and not impulsively pull the trigger on some new toy!

(Side note: The reason I mention sidewalk is not that I'm scared to ride on the road -- in fact I practice VC whenever I can, and am diligent about watching my six. But the best route I've found so far has some long stretches that are three lanes each way with a 45mph limit. In theory this should be ridable when traffic's not too thick, but I've seen thick clusters moving close to 60mph and don't want to be caught in front of that if it's not necessary. When there's a long stretch of unused ADA-compliant sidewalk right there, I'm not too proud to use it. Not trying to take sides on VC, and I realize that using the sidewalk dishonors the core of VC, so please accept my apologies if this is a sensitive subject. I do make a point of performing a full stop whenever required by law; I consider it an opportunity to disprove a bad stereotype to motorists. ;))

Anyway, thanks again to everyone for your input. I think I'm going to like this place. :thumb: