Hi everyone,

I completed my first commute this morning on my bike! I think the mental challenge of doing it turned out to be more than the actual physical challenge. I feel a barrier lifted now I have done it.

I did get over taken by road bike users, which to me shows two things:

1) They are more experienced and fitter riders
2) They have bikes which are better designed for road use

My mountain bike has knobbly tyres and is quite heavy (16.1 Kg according to the spec Halfords | Apollo Evade Mens Mountain Bike)

I am also currently not able to fully utlise gear 7 (top speed gear) as this seems to slip, hopefully I can fix this somehow?

As you might see from my some of my other post I am looking into options changing to road tyres on this bike, I have also a road bike project (which is going to take some work before ready for the road). I am also on the keen look out for a ready to use road bike which I am looking forward to trying out commuting on.

Congrats! I'm still waiting on my first commute. It is 16 miles one way, so that's a good commuting distance. I just have to get the right weather and frame of mind to make the jump.

As far as adjusting your bike gear, go to YouTube and do a search. There are some great instructions on how to DIY and get it right. I still don't understand the $75 - $150 that the LBS charges for making a few easy adjustments. Good luck with it.

Hey spoliedrotten, whao! 16 miles. Mine is only 4.5 miles, so I admire you for taking that on! Go for it! I assume you will use your diamondback, not the unicycle

I just did bits of preparations everyday, check the bike one day, clothes and helmet ready the next, etc etc to help me prepare mentally for it.

Congratulations! It's an amazing feeling to get somewhere useful under your own power.

Changing the tires to tires with slick treads will make a world of difference. The weight of the bike matters a lot less. The new tires will make the bike feel like an entirely new machine.

Slick treads look like they will sacrifice traction. They don't. In fact, they improve traction. Most bike tires have some sort of minimal tread, not because it helps but because most people don't trust entirely smooth tires. The minimal tread neither helps nor hurts, so if that's all you can find, that's fine.

If your chain is skipping over the teeth of the cog in 7th gear, it's because your chain and cog are worn. You have to replace both the chain and the cassette or freewheel. I don't know if your bike has a cassette or a freewheel. They are basically the same. Freewheel is the old design where the ratchet is built into the gear cluster. A cassette comes on a more modern hub where the ratchet stays on the hub and you change the gear cluster separately. Some new bikes are still made with the old design, though. Your local bike shop (LBS) will help you select the proper replacements for your drivetrain and tires.

Welcome to the club!


[MENTION=152773]noglider[/MENTION] speaks the truth about tires. Weight matters only a small amount. I ride a 23 kg bike, that is with my minimal commuting load. I can keep up with roadies easy in the flats, hills are tougher.

Smoother tires and time will make the largest difference.

okride, there will always, ALWAYS be some one who can over-take you. You don't know how far or short they've ridden, etc. As you probably know the only REAL competition is yourself. The satisfaction you feel from meeting your own challenge and achieving your own goals is what's important for long term satisfaction in cycling, and life. I have never owned an expensive new bike, and my road bike, while nice, was 25 years old when I got it and is now 30 years old. If you can overcome that mental barrier you mentioned, you can do almost anything. Don't give up, and if you need encouragement you'll find it here on bikeforums, where I found it ESPECIALLY in the commuting forum!

Thanks everyone!

I can see why road tyres would actually provide more traction on the road. You have more rubber on the ground. Makes sense if I understand it correctly.

OK commuting back was harder than commuting to work, more hill climbs on the way back. I wondered if I could make some adjustment's on the gears to minimise the slipping before changing the chain and cassette?

Did you use the lower gears for climbing? Apologies if this is too basic a question, but it is worth asking. Also, before you change tires - do you anticipate riding in snow? That will affect your choice of tires.

Congrats on your first commute! It just keeps getting more fun as time passes

If it is the classic problem of the chain skipping over the teeth, no, there is no adjustment you can make to mitigate the problem. You can avoid the gears that skip, though.

When you get a new chain, be sure to lubricated it frequently enough to prevent this. Replace it before it is terribly worn. Doing so will prevent (or slow) the wear of the cogs. Your freewheel/cassette can last several chains if you take care of your chains.

Get yourself a gauge for measuring chain wear. Your LBS probably has one. Replace the chain when it is 80% worn and you won't have to replace cogs too. If you slip up and ride the chain too long, might as wear wear it out good and then replace the chain and cogs.

Thanks treadtread! Thats a good question to me! Yes I lower the gear when climbing so actually this is only a problem on the flats when I can't get top gear, however all the other gears are fine.

Yes this is one areas I was weary of when buying the bike second hand, even brand new there are reviews on this bike where people state the chain slipping. But as you say in this case the wear of the chain and teeth are not going to help.

I have cleaned and lubed the chain with 80w90 gear oil. This is what I use on my motorbike chain.

You are just starting to ride regularly, is that correct?

If so, then you shouldn't worry about being passed by roadies, or even by old ladies riding Pashleys for that matter. Your form (fitness) is but a weak shadow of the giant that it will be after you've been bike commuting for six months. Not kidding. In a couple months you will be pedaling smoothly up the hills that you are struggling on today, and in a couple more months you won't even call them hills.

I remember when I started bike commuting again, I was rather unfit, and was huffing, sweating and red faced, in the small chainring (of a triple) at 6 mph up a particular incline. After a year I rode that thing in the biggest chainring, pedaling like an angry machine, at 17 mph.

But then a younger, stronger rider would breeze by at an effortless 20+ mph, which just goes to show: there's always someone faster that you. Try as hard as you can to hold his wheel, and when you can't any more, be at peace with your effort.

One simple suggestion I have is - don't use the highest gear In terms of efficiency and wear and tear on your knee, the recommendation is to spin, not mash. I.e., try and maintain 70-80 rpm of the cranks in a lower gear instead of lesser rpm in a high gear. Are you already at the 70-80 rpm in the gear before the highest gear?

You are just starting to ride regularly, is that correct?

If so, then you shouldn't worry about being passed by roadies, or even by old ladies riding Pashleys for that matter. Your form (fitness) is but a weak shadow of the giant that it will be after you've been bike commuting for six months. Not kidding. In a couple months you will be pedaling smoothly up the hills that you are struggling on today, and in a couple more months you won't even call them hills.

I remember when I started bike commuting again, I was rather unfit, and was huffing, sweating and red faced, in the small chainring (of a triple) at 6 mph up a particular incline. After a year I rode that thing in the biggest chainring, pedaling like an angry machine, at 17 mph.

But then a younger, stronger rider would breeze by at an effortless 20+ mph, which just goes to show: there's always someone faster that you. Try as hard as you can to hold his wheel, and when you can't any more, be at peace with your effort. (If this happens a lot, it means you need to lose weight and grow more legs, or find a different route.)

Depending on how full the money tree is, I wouldn't put new tires on the MTB, I'd use that money on whatever the road bike needs, or on lights (safety) and rain/cold gear (comfort). Because once you get the road bike running, you won't ride the MTB for the commute anyway so the slick MTB tires will be wasted.

Oh by the way my rule of thumb is
1 - MTB with slick tires is 2 mph faster than MTB with knobby tires
2 - Road bike is 2 mph faster than MTB with slick tires
at a constant moderate effort level (like a fast cruise) on flat roads.
#1 is because of the tires, #2 is mostly because of the riding position.

Snow? I have not idea, I think that will be a whole other mental challenge Good point though, I can see where knobbly would be useful for these conditions.

That's correct today was my first commute and only been a leisurely rider every now and again before that.

Yep, that sums me up today.

Yes I am considering my options carefully and very much on the look out for a road bike (other than the project road bike I have).

I do have a question around the safety of the road bike and tyres in the winter months?

Thanks for the advice, i have no idea how fast I am spinning at. I will try count tomorrow over a minute

I found myself trying to find the balance between spinning like road runner and pushing like I was in slow motion.

If winter where you are means snow and ice, then any bike will be tricky or risky to ride. A skinny tire road bike will be worse than a knobby tire MTB, but neither will be good.

Glad you did your first commute! Every day after will be just as cool and exciting. I use a mountain bike for rides like this and simply installed urban tires on it to make it faster and smoother. Have fun!

Use proper chain lube,esp for the motorcycle. Gear oil has nothing to make it stick to the chain,so most of it just flings off. For the bicycle,ask your local shop what they recommend. For the motorcycle,best stuff I've ever used is Maxima Chain Wax(make sure you follow the directions and give it a chance to set up before riding).

Thanks, actually this is what is recommend in the motorbike manual. That's the main reason I use that. I will check out what you suggested though.

Too heavy for a bicycle chain IMO. I use tri-flow.

It really really depends. Roads bikes and skinny tires actually do pretty well when they can cut through the snow and/or slush down to the pavement (or a least a moderately grippy surface). Road bike tires are not good on ice.

If the road bike has clearance for at least 30mm tires then there are studded options available. It still wouldn't be very good if there was a lot of snow but I would think for the UK, it would be adequate.

Lots of people in this forum ride year round in all kinds of conditions including snow and ice.

I was so close to putting a bid on this road bike, it ended up going for £60. Not sure if this was a good decision or not? I didn't end up going for it. One thing I thought was, in all my time looking out for road commuters I have never seen any of them use this bike. It was so tempting, but might be too good to be true?

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