New bike suggestions - Low maintenance commuter

John U

John U

MTB Precision
My situation has changed a bit. My commute is now 37km. I've had a bit of RB advice to get my full rigid 26r into shape for it but I think I can justify a new bike.

Must be super low maintenance. Must have at least 8 gears. Fully rigid. Flat bars. Must take mud guards. Must be reasonably efficient. Must have hydraulic discs, shimano preferably. I'm lthinking belt drive with internal hub gears. I reckon I'll have between 1k and 1.3k to spend. Road sized wheels are a fair definite, would like to have similar tyres as on my current commuter which are slick, or close to it, run 70psi Max. This combo seems to take a bit of buzz out of the ride, has virtually no flats, without sacrificing too much efficiency. The 26r tyres are 2.0.

I have been looking at the Focus Planet. Mate has bought an Avanti Inc? and likes it.

My current commuter is a steel framed Jamis Dragon which I love. Would love a steel frame. I'm not expecting to see steel in my price bracket which satisfies my other criteria.

Got any suggestions?
 
I use to have a 700c flat bar commuter but it was never fun and hard to bring alive when you wanted. Sort of stuck in between a road bike and city bike wasn't fun in general. It was fast but I could have bought a road bike for that. So why not have fun AND fast!? Something like a NS Surge Evo with an Alfine 8sp, Sweeps and 650b slicks? That'd be fast enough with the seat up and the forks locked out?
 
Build your own?

I built this for ~$700, but had a few parts lying around already:

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I've been commuting for the last 16 years. I've tried forks with lock outs, duallies with high threshold shocks. I am digging fully rigid for weight saving, full effort into going forward, and zero maintenance.

I have full rigid 26r. I've got spares. But I'm guessing somewhere around $1000 for 29r frame fork and wheelset, with a fair bit of searching. Then I'd need to add tyres on top of that. And it'll still have an exposed drive train. Not enough return for the cost involved. Your bike looks cool though.

When I say low maintenance I really meant closer to zero maintenance. I don't want to do anything to this bike apart from tide it, check the tyres occasionally, and go over the frame and bearings once in a while.

It must take full length mud guards.

Have a look at the focus planet pro plus and you'll get an idea at where I'm thinking.
http://www.focus-bikes.com/gb/en/bikes/2016/allround/urban-planet/planet-pro-plus.html
 
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I had an Inc 3. Was a good, low maintenance bike. Negatives for me were:

Changing a rear flat was a mission.
Hub oil is really expensive.
I did about 22000 kays on mine and then the hub started making funny noises. Because hub and belt is so expensive it kind of makes it uneconomic to fix. But it could have kept going I guess.

I bought a derailleur bike, I'm happy with it. Actually road bikes need very little maintenance anyway and it's lighter and faster.
 
An Alfine internally geared hub could be a good option if you want gears and low maintenance. I would steer clear of belt drive, because then you need a frame with a split chain stay/seat stay which is more expensive to produce and limits your options for cheaper, good quality, steel frames.
Maybe a Surly Karate Monkey, or Surly 1x1 could work, if you want to reuse some of your 26" parts and rebuild the wheel with an IGH?
 
Good thread, I’m pretty much in the same situation! I commute about 20km to and from work each day, I’ve been riding my old dirt jumper with the seat up and very worn XC tyres, heavy and slow but I still enjoy it. However the frame is showing signs of fatigue and the components are pretty worn.

I have a replacement MTB frame which is sitting in a box in my spare room, I can’t decide whether to build it up as a second MTB/commuter as the parts on my dirt jumper are so worn and/or dated, hardly seems worth it! Realistically I’d only be able swap the bars, stem and brakes over as they’re new(ish)!

I’ve never owned a road bike and I’ve literally only ridden 100 metres on one! I wouldn’t mind the option of going on longer road rides than my commute on weekends etc., I certainly would if I had a bike that was more road friendly! I could probably get away with spending $1,000 without the other half caring, any suggestions?
 
Really keen on the belt idea. Even set up with IGH a chain will need some maintenance. Not concerned about the split frame. Slowmaniac what did you use to check the tension on your belt?

Path i8 has a nexus hub. I believe Alfine is better.

Anyone ridden a Lekker or had any experience with a nuvinci hub? They are releasing a belt driven nuvinci hubbed bike with discs in the not too distant future.

Focus planet pro is leading the pack at the moment.
 
Hmm I am not the biggest on maintenance so I checked it with my finger...

That was the biggest hassle for me - the bike had these horizontal dropouts and when taking off the back wheel it was really hard to get the right tension ('right' according to my not very scientific finger test) and also to center/align the wheel properly.

On my flat bar derailleur bike the only maintenance I have done in nearly 9000km is to just oil the chain and give it the odd wipe - just sayin'
 
I'm hearing you. The focus has sliding drop outs. Should be able to set the tension and then pretty much forget about it. There is app for checking the belt tension from gates. Measures the frequency of the belt when it is twanged. Gives the green light when it is set right.
I wouldn't expect to get 9000k out of a chain, even with washing and lubing on a semi regular basis. That is an excellent effort.
 
I have commuted all my life currently hilly 20 kms some gravel.
I have found a flat bar road bike to be the best.
I am with slow maniac on this one keep it simple , 32 mm tyres, road bike chains , cassettes don't wear very fast anyway .
 
Slightly off topic, but the new Shimano Metreo group set looks schmick for a bullhorn bar,d commuter
 
OK so I know it looks "GHEY" but the Ergon GP3 grips w barends are really comfortable for flat bars for long trips.
 
Just an idea.
The Dragon is a nice frame, how about picking up a ridged steel fork and fitting 700 wheels in?
My Salsa Ala Carte was a 26 MTB once but it fits up to 700x45 front and rear, 700x40 with full mud guards. I run wide flared drop bars and SRAM 1x11 hydro disk. But could just as easily be flat bar.
I find drops way more comfortable fully ridged.


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I've been doing a 30+km commute a coupla times a week for some years now. Tried the full suspension MTB, road bike, flat bar roadie, flat bar 29er MTB. The full suspension may well be more fun at times but over that distance becomes a drag. The roadie is definitely fastest if you stick to the blacktop and Strava is your thing. The flat bar bikes with rigid forks are a good compromise. I'd add the ability to put a rack on the back as important (flat bar bikes usually have the right mounting points) along with mudguards. Riding with a backpack for over an hour in summer is not pleasant. Panniers are more suitable for commuting IMHO. As far as drivetrain I just run whatever I run on my other bikes (Shimano 10 speed atm) so spares are readily available at short notice. You can go for quite a long time without maintenace bar just throwing lube on the chain for a commuter that mainly stays on the road.
 
i agree carrying a back pack is a drag. Have tried various carrying methods including bum bags, bags on racks , Deuter Race X air pack is pretty good.
If you leave your clothes at work I have found a handlebar bag is my favourite and best of all it looks super uncool.
If your commuter is not a glamour bike you can just use whatever for the drive train .
 
Best option IMO is the Giant Seek with Alfine. These can be had for around the $600-$800 mark depending on where you are located. Check out BikeExchange for the best option. The prices are also for NOS ~2014/15


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Build your own with a spot frame

I commute on a belt drive single speed at the moment, my trip is only 6km but a little hilly.

My bike is built on an old gary fisher elevated chainstay MTB frame, 26x2" wheels and 46x22 ratio. Picture below.

Love the ride and the acceleration is instant cause the belt has no flex, I come off red lights faster than cars. :nerd: Would highly recommend the Gates CDX belt for low maintenance commuter rides. Best thing is that I can ride into the office in regular clothes and not worry about my trouser legs getting dirty (ride is short so I don't sweat).

You have to really tension it well to get it to work consistently, I have it set to 90hz (above their recommendation) for my bike using the Gates app. I've popped the belt out before on 65hz tension, so be careful. Although my frame is quite flexy at the back due to the elevated chainstay, so your millage may vary.

IMG_0098.jpg
 
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