Been Thinking About Commuting
 

If I commuted to work, I would have to build up something to commute on. Just thinking on the keyboard. The worst part of this is my wife is enabling me. She even had me move the repair stand into her sewing room so we could work on things at the same time. Right now, an almost finished tri bike is on it.

Thats great, how far is the commute?

Which bike will you be commuting on?

I love commuting. Do it!

Commuting is a Fun Challenge.

I'm not sure. I was hoping some of you would give me ideas. I was thinking of getting a steel frame and building up a 1x10. It's a flat 8 mile one way trip.

I just started commuting this year and love it! I built up a Huffy MTB as my commuter and it does well!

8 miles isn't bad. I was going to say to start commuting in the summer, not the winter. But the south may be just the opposite.

The choice of a "commuter" can be very personal. I like the skinny tire road bikes. I've commuted on my Colnago Super for years, and wouldn't have done anything else... except my "new" winter bike is Titanium.

Just go for it!

Great excuse for another bike. I am very happy with my Specialized Sirrus for commuting.

With recreational cycling, I can choose my routes and times to maximize my safety on the road. (No tricky intersections, no fast heavy traffic, no rising or setting sun in my eyes, no fog, etc.) Commuting adds constraints which may or may not work out well in your particular case.

When I was a car-free grad student, I did a 15-mile daily commuting loop, from home to work to campus to home, which worked out pretty nicely.

Commuting huh, look at some aluminum or steel frames, and think about using disk brakes, especially if its a wet area where you live. Fenders and racks are big pluses for most any commuter ride, but not absolutely "required", if you aren't so inclined. Maybe some wider wheels than usual, ride quality will be improved, say 32 or 38, even a good 650B would work nicely, and 36h hubs and rims. Some like to use a cyclo-cross frame as the basis for a commuter, that is totally up to you.

I'd check out the commuting forum here, too. Several of the 50+ people are frequent posters there, and this forum has some good people that will have some great input.

I like the fact your wife is on-board, and as long as you are compatible her moving her sewing machine in the work place will be good for her staying abreast of what your sport means to you. You will get some blow back about this, though, but not from me. Best wishes on the project, if you decide to build the commuter, N+1 is usually a good thing.

Bill

In nine years and nine months of commuting, and as a participant in the Commuting Forum, what I've found works best is a bike you love, that makes you want to use it instead of the car, then rewards you for doing so.

No one can tell you what that bike will be for you. But the place to start is looking at what you already like to ride. If you have a tri bike in the work stand, then I wouldn't suggest an MTB, for instance.

For commuting, as in touring, it depends on you're going fully loaded or not. A credit-card tourer doesn't need the things a fully-loaded one does. No point in looking at racks and fenders for your commuter if you intend to drive your clothes and week's worth of lunches to work on Mondays.

Personally, I love roadies. But I also don't own a car, so I need something to tote my stuff too.

The solution I've settled on is a bike that's the bastard child of a cross bike and light tourer for hauling stuff to work on Mondays and bringing home the laundry on Thursdays (four-day work-week). Then on Tuesdays and Wednesdays I can ride any bike I like.

Eight miles each way is a nice little commute. Long enough to work out the morning kinks and work out the stress on the way home, but not so long that you can't ride just about anything.

So rather than try to take someone else's idea (even my own) of what constitutes a "commuter" bike, then making it fit you and your nature, think more about yourself and what would give you a fun ride twice a day, then fit that to commuting.

That said, looking at your stable, something from the current crop of "gravel grinder" bikes might be just the ticket--28s under fenders, maybe rack eyelets. Gets the job done, rewards taking the long way home, and not a pig by any means.

You already have a (or several) bikes, correct? Just do it! You will not regret it.

Don't want to hijack the thread, but when we talk commuting,what is the higher end for mileage in a commute.The o.p. says hes going 8, to me thats very do able. I have been thinking about commuting myself,

The spirit of +1 lives on. Well done.

I like being able to run a fatter tire on my commuter than on my road bike. It adds some comfort and it can add (depending on the kind of tires you get) a lot of flat protection. Plus I like eyelets for a rack and fender.

I think it's tough to beat a vintage bike you pick up from CL for a commuter.

There's a heck of a lot to choose from (road or vintage mtb) and the price is right. Your best bet price wise tends to be a vintage mtb. They're cheap, well made, and ride pretty well once you throw on slicks. I like vintage road bikes as well but they tend to be more expensive than mtbs.

The point is that it's a lot of fun personalizing your commuter and the build process will get you motivated to get out there and commute.

I grew up in New Orleans. The weather certainly won't stop you from commuting in terms of the cold. There is some great riding in the Feliciana Parishes.

For a flat 8 miles, how about a steel frame single speed that can take 28 to 32's, fenders and a rack.

Mine is about 35 miles round trip, but very flat, with long stretches without lights or stop signs. Kinda nice, because I can dog it or TT it, depending on my mood.

I ride my flat, 8 mile one way commute on a vintage British 3-speed.

My commute is only 5 miles each way and I wish it was longer so sometimes I take the long way ;)

Thats about what i would have. One problem i have is i would have to leave the bike outside which does not thrill me.

Yea, I would have a problem with that too. I'm permitted to roll my bike into my office (via the freight elevator).

I'd still commute to work, but having to remove the lights and lock it up would be a PITA.

I'm flippin lucky ... my commute is a dream.

It is nice when you can use an existing bike for a while to find out what works and what sucks.
What made me switch from an occasional commuter to daily were dyno lights, fenders, and a handlebar bag.

Dyno lights make it a hop-on and go affair, always ready, no worries about going ninja part way home.
Fenders simply keep maintenance down and my shorts dry.
Handlebar bag keeps the stuff I need handy without forgetting, and holds just enough clothes and stuff for the usual routine.
Also nice to have larger tires, which don't need air every day, and float over less than perfect pavement.

So my rando bike made the perfect commuter. N minus 1.

Mine is 15 hilly miles each way I'm not a dedicated, year round commuter, but I try to ride twice a week when the weather is above 40 and I have enough daylight to get home before dark. I'm not really comfortable in the afternoon when it gets dark early, even with good lighting. Drivers seem to be much more aggressive on the way home for some reason.

When the topic comes up over in Commuting Forum, it seems that daily commuters tend to peter out after around an hour each way. Beyond that is doable, but due to time and fatigue constraints, most people drop off to 2-3 times a week.

With a four-day workweek, I do a hour each way most days in the three-seasons. That's my long loop, 17 miles.

Through the winter, enjoyment falls off for me with the temperature and snow depth. In the dead of winter 20-25 minutes each way is about all I want to do. Just enough to keep with the recommendations for aerobic exercise. Fortunately, I live only 4.5 miles from work, which works out.

Strongly agree on the dyno lights. It's the single most expensive way to make light, but infinitely more convenient than battery lights. Nice thing is, we older guys can afford the expense, and we appreciate that life's too short to fart around with battery lights twice a day, every day. I never even have to touch the switch. Ambient light sensor turns 'em on and off for me.

My back-up commuter is a rando/audax bike, although I don't use a front bag. Also agree rando/audax bikes make good dedicated commuters. The low trail front end geometry also helps keep it controllable in gravel patches and in the rough stuff. One of my routes includes cobbles. The rando bike eats 'em up. I call it my cobble gobbler.

http://www.brucew.com/images/portrai...ommute-800.jpg

Interesting. thanks

Before making any big investment on gear for commuting, try it once or twice with the gear you currently have. Or, ride to work and back on an off day to see it you still like the idea and think it's manageable.

Looking at bike racks at work, people are commuting on all different style of bikes. From re-cumbents, old steel MTB's, touring bikes, older road bikes, newer Ti road bikes, single speeds, and skinny tire racing bikes. Any bike that gets your from point A to B will work. As TSL said, find a bike that gets you excited about riding and make that your commuter.

My commute is 28 miles round trip. I'm more of a fair weather commuter. I work swing so always riding home around midnight, so gotta have multiple lights on the front and back. I've settled on a steel single speed with racks and fenders on a mostly flat route. When headwinds are strong, I would like some gearing, possibly my next N+1. I do find commuting invigorating with a great sense of accomplishment knowing I can get there and back without the truck. Plus I just feel better during the weak.

If you have nice safe route devoid of heavy traffic, that's also a big plus.

You can get lots of good information on the Commuting subforum. You can commute on any bike, particularly a flat route of 8 miles. However, in the spirit of N+1, don't let that discourage you from getting an additional commuting bike. I would start out riding a bike you already own, and then figure out what would work best for you. I've been bike commuting for 8 years, and my round-trip commute is about 31 miles (22 initially). I started out commuting on an Italian racing bike that I had on hand, and later switched to touring, sport touring and cyclocross bikes. I've carried my gear using backpacks, racktop bags, large seatbags and panniers. Currently I am using a racktop bag. I've also used various LED battery-powered lights over the years, but currently using a dynamo light system.