Just dont get road bikes for commuting

[Big JD]

yes they are efficient, fast and cut down my commute by around 10 minutes (usually 45 on a MTB SS) - I get that. They are great for long rides on the road into the hills and along the beach - if you are into that sort of thing. I just dont see the benefits of a drop bar road bike for commuting out weigh the disadvantages.
Drops - I never ride in the drops - always on the hoods and in that position the effectiveness of the brakes(standard road type) is poor. Drops give you multiple positions but few where the brakes are in good position.
Brakes - rim brakes suck - well mine do - and in an emergency you just skid those skinny slick tyres
Tyres - so bloody skinny and puncture so easily especially after rain and they are certainly not strong enough for the odd gutter drops or jumps and pot holes.
Position - suited for aero positioning on the bike with longer stems the norm. Also road bikes suited for sitting and spinning where alot of commuting requires quick changes in position.
Toe Over Lap - WTF - I had no idea this existed and what a major hassle - esp on a SS.............. this is reason for me alone
After commuting on mountain bikes for years and a road bike for a few months, I personally feel so much safer on a MTB with strong wheels, great brakes, more upright position and big tyres with grip. I commute in Melbourne and a MTB also give me the opportunity to hit the trails on the way home.

Anyone else feel this way or am I just not getting it?

 

[moorey]

I'll join your club. I rotate between my 12.5kg, my 14kg and my 17.5kg MTB's for the daily 25km commute. Wouldn't touch a roadie for the job if you paid me.

 

[Kingshill]

I use a roadbike for the commute. However, I put on slightly thicker tyres with some decent tread after a slide down an asphalt hill in heavy rain.

Maybe cyclo-cross is the answer?:dance:

 

[moorey]

I use a roadbike for the commute. However, I put on slightly thicker tyres with some decent tread after a slide down an asphalt hill in heavy rain.

Maybe cyclo-cross is the answer?:dance:

Its 'AN' answer damo...Just as '5' is 'AN' answer to the sum 2+2.

 

[Kingshill]

Its 'AN' answer damo...Just as '5' is 'AN' answer to the sum 2+2.

it's a hypothetical supposition

 

[moorey]

it's a hypothetical supposition

pfft. Remind me not to use your firm for my accounting needs....

 

[Big JD]

you two need to talk this through - good to see you have this avenue to get it out otherwise it might back up and cause other issues in your life - like constipation

 

[g-fish]

I'll go the other way. Last year I did my 10km commute each way on a 29er for 3 or so months, and then changed to a carbon roadie. The roadie smashed the mtb, so much faster, more comfortable, more efficient. Braking was fine (alloy wheels, dura ace brakes). Yes you don't use the drops, but nothing beats riding in the hoods on a well set up road bike for prolonged comfort.

I don't really do "road" riding. I ride 50kms max, seeking out big hills to bomb and railing high speed corners. I'm very confident on the road bike. Good tires (michilem krylions) and good fit out make a big difference.

Having said all that, I'm now doing all my commuting on a steel cx bike with flat bars. Though the plan is to move to drops.

 

[Big JD]

I'll go the other way. Last year I did my 10km commute each way on a 29er for 3 or so months, and then changed to a carbon roadie. The roadie smashed the mtb, so much faster, more comfortable, more efficient. Braking was fine (alloy wheels, dura ace brakes). Yes you don't use the drops, but nothing beats riding in the hoods on a well set up road bike for prolonged comfort.

I don't really do "road" riding. I ride 50kms max, seeking out big hills to bomb and railing high speed corners. I'm very confident on the road bike. Good tires (michilem krylions) and good fit out make a big difference.

Having said all that, I'm now doing all my commuting on a steel cx bike with flat bars. Though the plan is to move to drops.

cool Mr Fish

 

[Ozkaban]

Meh. I commute on a full carbon roadie with race (ok, GP4000s) tyres. Why? 'cos I love riding it. I've tried commuting on the MTB and I realised why so many friends with MTBs say that riding on the road sucks. It's because it's slower, harder work and not nearly as much fun in the corners on the black stuff when compared to an sub 8kg road bike. I have a heavier alloy roadie with 'commute' tyres on it and it's been relegated to family duties for the same reason.

Don't get me wrong - *anyone* who is out riding their bike, especially for any purpose that involves leaving cars off the road (like commuting) is great in my books. I don't care what you ride.

As for safer, yup brakes on road bikes suck in the wet compared to discs. I recently changed my OEM brakes for Ultegra ones and it made a lot of difference. They're nothing like discs but there's quite a bit of difference in stopping power between cheap and good road brakes. Don't be fooled by the skinny tyres - they are far more sticky and agile than MTB tyres, slicks or not. As I said though I run high end tyres which wear out pretty quick but they stick very well wet or dry. You're right about gutter hops and potholes with the thinner rims. And of course being able to hit a trail on the way home would make a big difference. My commute route doesn't offer that option.

Don't take my opinion too seriously though - I'm one of those idiots who actually likes riding up hills...

 

[John U]

I commute along the eastern freeway on my all of my duallies (except the 160mm all mountain bike). I am finding more and more bits of single track off the side of the path as the years go by. I am now commuting with knobbies on instead of the previous 2.0 Kojaks. I really look forward to it.

I have my fully rigid 26" geared bike for wet days. I stick to the path on those days.

The only time the road bike comes out is when someone wants to borrow it for around the bay. I've hung onto it incase I ever work in a location where I can't leave bike in a secure location.

Riding on the road for long periods is tedious. Riding on busy roads for extended periods is dangerous.

Find a back route with some bits of singletrack and a couple of jumps, if you can, and commute on your MTB. Fully agree JD.

Even when I did a 30k each way commute I used my MTBs. Back then I took the most direct route possible and it put me in danger on occasions. I would've always been safer on my mtb though.

 

[Capone]

Roadie all the way to commute to work.

Right tool for the right job, i know its pro to be in a mountain bike forum and say how hard you are for riding a MTB to work.

Brakes are not an issue, yes they dont have the out and out power of discs but the tyres work amazingly well at helping the stopping process.

I like the speed you can hold on a roadie, and yes it can be a lot of effort if you work hard and dont sit behind someone.

 

[akashra]

I use a roadbike for the commute. However, I put on slightly thicker tyres with some decent tread after a slide down an asphalt hill in heavy rain.

Maybe cyclo-cross is the answer?:dance:

I got my cross bike about 18 months ago, and have been commuting on that - but also occasionally commute on my road bike, and prior to that used an older road bike.

The first thing that should be pointed out is the myth of knobby tyres being slower. For quite a while I had a separate wheelset with 25C road tyres which I used on the cross bike for commuting, thinking this would help. Frankly, it doesn't. In some places it might make a 3km/h difference, but over my 35km route that's only 10 minutes. And generally it's not even that much. The actual resistance loss from using 35C tyres I've decided is not a significant reason to use 25C over 35C. Grip, however, is better on 25C road tyres... mostly.

For a long time I had a big problem with descending at high speeds on the cross bike (60km/h+), which I thought was due to the bottom bracket height, but after going back to cyclocross tyres I believe maybe now it's a compliance problem - that bumps in the road are better handled by a baggier tyre.

The biggest problem the cross bike has is toe-overlap. In fact, if I could find a cross bike that doesn't have this problem, I'd probably go grab one. Toe-overlap is also a huge problem trying to trackstand at traffic lights, as I frequently find my foot wedged in between the wheel and frame, or the wheel unable to turn.

Other rather large problem is grip levels on knobby tyres. Certainly when I get closer to home there's a lot of roundabouts and sharp turns, which on bitumen cross tyres don't handle well - at all. And in the wet it's even worse. The combination of the toe overlap and cross tyres/side knobs is such that I can't take some corners and roundabouts at even close to the speeds I'd take them on the road bike - and ended up railing a gutter a few days ago when I found myself unable to take a right turn through a roundabout.
Knobby tyres though means I can take some gravel paths and grass sections. The alternative for my route would be some windy bitumen/commuter path, which because of the lack of grip on the side knobs, might actually be slower. This was never a problem commuting on a 26" MTB.


Ultimately, given the choice, I'd take the road bike out every time. The only reason I use the cross bike for commuting is that I'm rather precious about my roadie - I don't want to damage it. Or, more accurately, I don't want it getting crunched by a car. But of all the bikes I own, my road bike is the one I actually enjoy riding the most.

 

[ido09s]

I always get told its due to keeping fit so why would you want to do it the easy way? Ride the 12kg mtb and be proud of the fact your doing the same job as the guy on his sub 8kg carbon weight weenie road bike

Its like complaining that riding the back streets is too slow.... i thought the longer you stayed on the bike the better it would be, and the stop starts can only help for strength and fitness cant it?

 

[wilddemon]

pfft....

How did you find your way in here anyway? New posts?

 

[moorey]

How did you find your way in here anyway? New posts?

Eat A dick. I'm a well rounded guy:noidea:

 

[The Duckmeister]

Horse for course. While I love riding my MTB, it's just not the right tool for my all road commute. The setup is jut wrong for getting there quickly & efficiently. I also don't ride my good roadie for commuting; I have a base-level alloy-framed, Sora equipped beast which is great as an all weather kick-around hack. With Gatorskin tyres, punctures very infrequent. For 7km ech way, it's not necessary to don the lycra, so I just ride in "civvie" clothes. I wonder if by looking "normal" the drivers don't see me as a "bloody cyclist", 'cos I get very little in the way of aggro or dangerous driving directed at me.

 

[Ozkaban]

I always get told its due to keeping fit so why would you want to do it the easy way? Ride the 12kg mtb and be proud of the fact your doing the same job as the guy on his sub 8kg carbon weight weenie road bike
<snip>

Happy for you to be proud (and slooooow)

I'll keep having fun and getting home earlier.

As for fitness, just pick a bloody big hill and ride up it repeatedly...

 

[harmonix1234]

I guess it depends on your commute.

I used to commute 20kms each way on an old country highway. Flat as a tack and almost dead straight the whole way.
Roadie was great because I could just lock into a groove and churn it out. Nothing to see here, just movin.

However, my old Job in Hobart used to be about 2kms through Burbs/City.
I loved the hardtail MTB for this because I could duck and weave through the streets and flick it up and down gutters. There was even a nice little bump in the footpath on the way home where a tree root had raised the footpath into a nice little kicker and I'd always challenge myself to see how much distance I could cover off this little ramp at speed.

If you have any chance of having some fun on your commute, or your commute has any form of rapid short and sharp alterations in terrain, elevation or surface I'd go the MTB every time.

Currently commuting 4kms through the city on a roadie and I'd much prefer to be zipping around on a MTB just for those times when I want to hit up a footpath and go sown some steps or something.

Anything more than 10kms and it's a roadie hands down.

 

[harmonix1234]

Its 'AN' answer damo...Just as '5' is 'AN' answer to the sum 2+2.

haha Nice one moorey