Best bike for commuting.....
 

Hi everyone,

I'm quite new to this site, but have already posted various threads because there is so many knowledgeable people around here. So here is yet another one for your reading enjoyment :p

I'm currently riding a 2012 Trek Lexa. Been riding it for a little over a week and it is a great bike. However, my main purpose for a new bike is for commuting. I've been commuting the past 2 years on a hybrid bike with some charity bike rides sprinkled throughout the summer. My current commute is about 100 miles per week. I did my 2nd commute today on this new road bike, but I'm not quite sure I am on the right bike. I have a rack and when I put my bags on it, the bike tends to be heavy in the back but really light in the front, almost too light and tends to be a bit tempermental to control. I am reluctant to believe that the frame of this road bike is meant for my commute.

I've thought about taking this bike back and replacing it with a 2012 Trek 7.6 or 7.5. I need something mainly for my commute, but also something that will be good for some charity rides this year (30-60 mile rides) and to do my first century ride on, too.

What do you guys think? Should I just bite the bullet and get the Trek 7.6 or 7.5, or should I stick with the road bike? :bang:


Thanks everyone!

Hmm. I've been on my Marin hybrid for almost 3 years now. It's a decent bike that's always been comfortable, albeit slow, but I've always wanted to experience what my commute would feel like with a backpack and drops instead of a rack, trunk and flatbar.

Bite the bullet and get a real commuter. The Trek FX models are perfect for commuting. I would strongly suggest that you make the switch.

Good Luck! :thumb:

Thanks. That's king of what I'm leaning towards. How do the FX 7.5 or 7.6 handle charity rides and a century?

In the beginning when everybody is fresh, there's much drop riding and aerodynamic movement. It's generally the fastest part of the trek. However as time progresses, many roadies start sitting upright on their hoods anyways. That's the equivalent of riding with flatbars, more or less. The main problem with hybrids are the flatbars, because they limit your hand positions. The longer the ride, the more you need a change in hand positions. Therefore, distance favors the drops!

They would do it, but you are in the wind more throughout the day (more upright position) and therefore it will take longer and use more energy. Either way they are a challenge to ride (a century that is). The 30-60 mile charity rides would be fun on the Treks you listed - just enjoy the ride on it and try not to turn it into a race. I would pick a bike for the majority of your riding, not the extreme one day possibility of a century. The 7.5 and 7.6 are very nice bikes for all round riding and are great commuters. You could get a nice set of bar ends for a ride similar to being on the hoods.

I wouldn't say there is a "best bike" as in a "best make and model" for anyone so much as there is a better type of bike and what would be a good compliment of accessories. I'm always a fan of a hybrid bike with fenders and a rear rack. Your standard hybrid has a much more comfort-focused geometry and will be much less "squirrely" than a road bike in pretty much any conditions.

• Hybrid Frame Bike (700c wheel with 32-38 width)
• Mounts for rear rack (bonus if it has front rack mounts!)
• Mounts for fenders
• Front and Rear Lights

You have a rack and bags already, so all you would need is fenders with pretty much any of the Trek 7.x bikes and you would be set. Lastly, I would suggest that, as a female, you shop around for a ladies frame bike from the year prior. These are always SO VERY DISCOUNTED and you can save yourself hundreds of dollars with a bit of searching. In fact, I have a co-worked who just recently started bike commuting who went out and got a 2011 GT ladies hybrid with a carbon fork for $450. The guy even threw in fenders and a rear rack.

I wouldn't want to do your commute on a Trek FX. 20 miles per day is too long for a flat bar bike. I'd be more inclined to stick with the Lexa, and use a good quality backpack or messenger bag instead of a rack.

If you need to stick with Trek, and want to swap, see if you can get your hands on maybe a Trek Lane, if they make one in your size. It's more of a drop bar road bike, but designed to handle commuter type needs. Don't get too hung up on women's specific bikes. A lot of that is just marketing. Buy a bike that feels good to your body.

You can comfortably do centuries on a flat bar bike, but that bike has to fit you VERY WELL. I'm talking that level of fit where you swear that the bike was made especially for you. It's a lot of work and luck to get a bike to fit that well.

I am a fan of the FX series. I had a 7.5 and recently upgraded to a 7.6 It's a great bike for my 15 mile commute. I think it would be fine for a 20 mile commute as well (20 miles RT, maybe not 20 each way).

It will be fine for charity rides. It would not be ideal for a century ride though. If you decide you want to do a century on it, I'd look at adding Trekking bars to it (or maybe aerobars) to give yourself some extra hand positions.

The FX line are great bikes. In my opinion the 7.5 is the best deal in the line (I got a great deal on the 7.6, or else I would have stuck with the 7.5). You may want to look around to see if you can find a deal on last year's model. Also, I think they switched from triple to double chainrings upfront on the 2012's, but I could be wrong.

I'd get this

I ride 30 miles a day with a rack on a MTB and it's perfectly fine. Handlebar style has little to do with comfort. Flat bars with bar ends give plenty of hand positions. A rack is much more comfortable than carrying the weight on your back.

Trek Lexa Is a WSD type geometry>. since it fits well you next bike should mirror
that set of frame measurements. at least reach /top/tube..

men's bikes are proportionally with longer Top tubes. so will fit different.


My commuter thru the winter was a Bike Friday A travel Bike ,
406 20" wheels .. IGH and Disc brakes .
carry my stuff in a pair of panniers over the front wheel.

I've used different bikes as commuters over the years. I really like having a different bike for commuting than for road riding but if I had to have one bike to do it all, I'd go for a steel cross frame.

Before getting rid of a bike that actually like, save for the handling when loaded, I'd look at ways to lighten your load. Don't know what all you carry, but odds are there is some stuff that could be eliminated. Also, you might consider investing in a Carradice type saddle bag- I hear that there are no adverse performance characteristics when fully loaded.

Since I'm putting off doing some household chores, I looked over the geometry specs for the Lexa. Don't know what size you have, but chain stays of 16.1" and sub 39" wheelbase aren't numbers that lend themselves to using panniers. You may be 'canterlevering' your current rack/bag combo too far past the rear axle, which would easily cause the symptoms that are describing....

The FX would give you a CS of 17.5" and a WB of 41.5" (or greater, depending on frame size), which means you'll have little to no issues riding while loaded with your current bag/rack/commuter load.

+1

You could get some bar ends to give an additonal hand position, but doing so won't properly simulate riding on the hoods of a drop bar. Flat/riser bars are wider than drop bars- you'd have to cut a flat bar down a bit to even come close in re-creating the position.

I'd get the FX mostly because a person needs more than one bike. ;)

On my commuter I want:
Fenders
Rear rack
Appropriate gearing for the ride
Wheels easy to remove and flats easy to fix with tire size flexibility.

The FX could provide all of that. I'd add bar ends and clipless pedals to the mix too.

I understand your point but I tend to disagree. One might also say that 20 per day is too far to ride with a back pack.

If the OP is looking for speed and efficiency yes, stay with the road bike. For practicality and flexibility, go with the FX.

I don't think so. I do 30-miles per day with a backpack. It's just a matter of getting the proper backpack.

I did the 30 mile round trip last year with flat bars and a backpack. I found the flat bars to be a far greater inconvenience than the backpack. Even with bar ends, the trip was not very fun. Bar ends don't really come very close to emulating drop bars.

Agreed but personally I like to ride flat bars with bar ends. It can provide 3 or 4 hand positions. I especially like them riding out of the saddle.

I did a 38 mile ride yesterday on a Trek 2.1 with a backpack. A *very* lightly loaded backpack. I would much rather have not brought it though.

Anyway... I commuted on a MTB last year, and decided to buy a road bike this year. My commute is about 12 miles each way. I just hate using flat bars that far. If I didn't care about speed it probably wouldn't matter - on every downhill, or fast flat area, or headwind, I wished so bad that I had drop bars. I have a couple climbs as well in the area of 400' of climb over a mile or so, so I wanted something light for the way up and fast on the way down. I don't want to carry much in either a backpack or rack. I bring clothes to work on Monday in my car and only bring a couple of odds and ends in a backpack, which I'll probably pare down enough to the point where i don't need the backpack either.

If I really wanted to use a rack though, I would definitely pick a different bike. However, I'd pick a road bike with drop bars that was just more designed for commuting. But that's just me - if that were the "best" bike then I wouldn't see hordes of people on hybrids and MTB with flat bars commuting around here. And if that were the "best" bike, then I wouldn't also see hordes of people on road bikes with drop bars commuting as well.

One thing about flat bars - they put your wrists in one extreme end of their rotation. With your arms to your sides, lift your forearms parallel to the ground and rotate your wrists in as far as you can - that's close to where you are on flat bars. Rotate them the other way and you'll see you get about 180 degrees of rotation. Right in the middle, the "neutral" area, is where you'll be on bar ends or on the hoods of drop bars. My wrists/forearms would get sore on flat bars and I really wished I had bar ends. I would actually just hold the handlebars and the ends with my palms facing in for a bit to relieve the tension.

personally, I value efficiency (commute about 200 miles/week, energy savings are important). So I ride a super light (15 lbs) aero road bike with aerobars, and carry the bare minimum in a backpack or aero seatpost bag to reduce drag. I usually average 20-22 mph over my 40 mile round trip commute...My whole set-up is actually ironman bike-ready (for which I am training).

My weight: 125 lbs
Bike weight: 15 lbs
Weight of gear+water: 10-15 lbs depending

Thanks everyone. you all had such great pointers and wise words that I've been chewing on the past couple days. Finally, I decided to go with my gut and I took back the Lexa this morning. I have been riding on a flat bar bike the past 2 years, and just wasnt able to find my comfort on the drops. I tried 2 different bikes with drops and the comfort level just wasnt there. I decided to get a bike that will be better for the majority of my riding (commuting) rather than the one time a year century ride. I'm going to place an order for the 7.6 FX this week at my local bike shop. Thank you, once again, for all your help. I've learned a lot from all of your suggestions and look forward to posting pics of my new bike when I get it :) :hug:

Oh my God, the lane is $1200? Why? Why would anyone get that over something like a Jake? But, I guess it's not all about the specs.