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I am considering an 18 mile each way road commute a couple of times a week but I really don't enjoy riding on the road. What bikes will be most familiar/comfortable for a dyed in the wool mountain biker and how much quicker will they be than a decent steel hardtail? Is a 29'er with semi slicks a decent option?
A cheap, second hand, road bike with full mudguards that you are happy to neglect would be my choice.
Have a look at something that will take up to 40c tyres. Maybe a cx bike. I've got a boardman cx which works for me most of the time. Fit some 28-32c road tyres (conti gp 4 seasons or similar) and flip the stem so it rises and you're in a more upright position. You'll soon get used to it.
For a pure road route, anything less than a drop barred bike is a poor compromise.
The extra tyre clearance will give you clearance for mudguards or bigger tyres for off road action. Ideal bike for touring too.
No. road bikes aren't that hard to get used to.
Have you got safe storage at work?
I'd suggest giving a road bike a try as 18 miles is a long commute on any bike.
Is it just the drop bars you don't like?
I have a speshi crosstrail, can't recommend it for that distance its ok for 3-5 miles 5 days a week but its a bit slow when compared to my road bike and its heavy. Once this c2w has been paid off I will be getting a boardman cx I should of got it in the first place.
Get a road bike, but one that will take 35mm+ tyres and has disc brakes. Drop bars, whilst something that some MTBer struggle with, are invaluable for a commute that long. Your first day with a head wind will be all you need to realise.
Mudguards are also a damn good idea.
Personally I'd not look at CX bikes, the new breed of gravel bikes is what I'd be looking at.
Road bikes are simply a lot quicker over that distance, quicker and easier... I'd take a guess say you could do 18 miles in 1 hour 20 on the quick shod MTb, you'd be doing more like 1hour5 on the road bike.. Whether 15 mins means that much to you, is down to you.
Me though, i'd still take the hybrid/29er myself as i don't enjoy the road tyres/wheels/brakes and accept i'm slower.
Yes to safe storage. Cx could work as there are a couple of tracks I can use when dry. The route is about 80%winding country road, 20% a road. Not comfortable with drop bars but I guess I can adapt if they really fo make a difference over 18 miles.
Not comfortable with drop bars but I guess I can adapt if they really fo make a difference over 18 miles
Others will disagree but IMO once you get used to them they're a much better option on the road. Lots of hand positions and to ability to get tucked in work well. If you can find a bike with Shimano hydraulic disc brakes too you'll be about there.
Something like [url= https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBPXFMTIAG/planet-x-full-monty-shimano-tiagra-4700-disc-road-bike ]this[/url] (sorry, PX link) would perhaps do the job, big tyre clearance, guard mounts and good brakes. Sorted!
Get a road bike with plenty of clearance and more relaxed geometry, it'll be comfortable, stable, practical and quick. I was dyed in the wool like you and ended up with an Arkose for road/light off road riding and it is the right tool for the job, as good as a light 29er HT with slicks would be.
A CX/gravel/adventure bike shod with 35-40mm tyres will roll surprisingly quick, only ~2mph slower than skinny tyres. Drop bars doesn't mean you have to ride on the lower part of the bars as you keep your hands on the hoods but if encountering a strong headwind you'll really appreciate the lower position if needed. Full-length mudguards and mudflaps are essential too for winter commuting.
Vagabond with Marathon shoes 🙂
MOnstercross - building one now, just waiting for bars to arrive in the post.
As others have said for an 18 mile commute you will definitely want a full guard. You will also want something reasonably quick and efficient. Road bike fits the bill but a crosser or 29er with drop bars might not be a bad compromise.
Full guard keeps you dry and warm when the roads are wet.
If you're buying new, go for hydraulic discs. I've got mechanical discs and find that they're worse than my sram caliper brakes on my road bike.
Not comfortable with drop bars but I guess I can adapt if they really fo make a difference over 18 miles.
They are great for different hand positions plus may help you to get a bit lower which can help in a strong prevailing wind. I find them more comfortable for tapping out miles which is why I'm interested to try a drop bar 29er. I have always liked the Ergon grips with integrated bar ends on the XC bike which give a similar (but wider) position to riding on the hoods.
16 mile each way commute and road/cycle path/country lanes.
There's no way I'd try this on anything other than a road bike
having tried it once on the HT with slicks !!!
+1 to the Hydro discs too if you can ....
If you're buying new, go for hydraulic discs. I've got mechanical discs and find that they're worse than my sram caliper brakes on my road bike.
you could always go for decent mechanical brakes and set them up properly...
I have caliper brakes on both my road bikes and no plans to change that, but I'd look at hydro discs if I were buying a commuter bike now.
I have a genesis equilibrium and had a 2012 croix de fer.
The croix de fer was much more fun to ride - partly as it was a bit shorter in the cockpit and it was also steeper in the head angle, so quicker steering and more 'darty'.
I also quite liked an alu cannondale synapse I tried - comfy and maybe more mtb like in fit.
Also much prefer the slightly flared drops - especially if you take it off road.
So I would say get something like the older croix, which you can also use for some offroad at the weekends for fun - you might get hooked on that type of bike.
Nothing wrong with cable disks.
We've just taken delivery of some 2017 Specialized Diverge ESWs for our rental fleet. Lovely bike that is very flexible. Fit mudguards and/or rack for commuting, CX/gravel tyres for off-road and you could go touring on it too.
Hopefully i can chip in with regards to road bike/ monstercross/ 29er.
My commute to work is either 9 miles in, 28 home, or 28 miles both ways, so i'm clocking 190 to 240 miles a week.
In the summer i ride my road bike (roubaix disc with Shimano hydro brakes) and in the winter i alternate between a Salsa Fargo and a cheap Holdsworth Singlespeed.
Drop bars are definitely the way forward, i live in an area known for it's headwinds and it means you can tuck down out of the wind as others have said, it means you have a variety of hand positions. If you're used to mountain bikes, fit a slighter wider road bar, so you can place your hands on tops easily. With the state of British roads though, i was surprised that my Fargo wasn't actually that much slower, probably average 17mph on road bike, but i average 14-15mph on the Fargo, just because it is so comfortable on rough roads.
Fit decent tyres, such as Continental 4 Seasons, fit decent lights that you can actually pick out pot holes and the like on the road, not just be seen with and double tape the bars so they are more comfortable.
Would also suggest riding with MTB shoes/ pedals, i wear road shoes for riding for fun, but commuting where you are stop/ start at lights and junctions, it so much easier to keep clipping in and out with SPD's, also much easier to walk in when you get to work.
you could always go for decent mechanical brakes and set them up properly...
Wow. I've got trp spyre with compressionless cables and sram red with Swiss stop pads on the road bike. They're pretty comparable.
Both get dicked on by hydraulic disc, especially braking whilst on the hoods where there's less leverage on the levers.
I agree - drop bars for a road commute that long.
[i]35-40mm tyres will roll surprisingly quick, only ~2mph slower than skinny tyres[/i] - but they do make it [i]feel[/i] harder work!
35-40mm tyres will roll surprisingly quick, only ~2mph slower than skinny tyres - but they do make it feel harder work!
Completely untrue.
Don't compare heavy "commuter" tyres with puncture belts, low TPI and wire beads to folding 23c tyres.
I run Vittoria Voyager hyper 38c, a lightweight, folding, high TPI 38c tyre thats £15 from px
Its rolling resistance is comparable to skinny high pressure narrow tyres.
http://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/tour-reviews/vittoria-voyager-hyper-2016
They don't "feel" as fast because they are not transmitting the road surface vibrations.
OP get one of the new generation of "do it all bikes" with discs, and fit large volume lightweight tyres like the voyager hyper or compass tyres
Oh, and set them up tubeless.
[i]Completely untrue.[/i]
For you.
dknwhy - Memberyou could always go for decent mechanical brakes and set them up properly...
Wow. I've got trp spyre with compressionless cables and sram red with Swiss stop pads on the road bike. They're pretty comparable.
an immediate retort about setting them up correctly when mechanical brakes are dissed is standard practise on this forum, I thought...
OP get one of the new generation of "do it all bikes" with discs, and fit large volume lightweight tyres like the voyager hyper or compass tyres
I'd be agreeing with this.
Drop bars are for me, an oddity. I've tried loads, know the potential benefits, but can't quite get used to them to feel comfortable, and it ends up just niggling on every ride.
I much prefer a flat bar and barends on a roady. Something with a nice long stem to get the weight distribution ok, wide enough to give leverage, but not 700mm+.
for taht, I'd be looking at a hybrid type bike. one of the Trek Fx's or evans pinnacle flat bar road bikes. but yes, change the tyres out, it'll make a hell of a difference.
I'd disagree with getting lightweight tires. Going 1mph quicker is (in my opinion) no tradeoff for fixing a puncture in subzero, dark, rain at the side of an a-road.
In my experience (15,000 miles over 2 years commuting), I've not had a single puncture, and really not used the brakes much - I've cable disks, and still on the original set of pads with little wear - they're probably applied for ~20 seconds a day. Obviously if your commute is hillier, with more suicidal drivers, that number might be significantly higher, but I wouldn't spend a significant amount more money to get marginally better feel (outright power isn't an issue - locking skinny tires is easy).
I do 16 miles each way every day bar one, where I do 42 miles each way. There's not a chance in hell I'd use anything other than a proper road bike for anything above 10 miles and I wouldn't bother with big heavy draggy tyres either.
Frankly you'd have to be a hero to do that distance on an MTB or monstercross thing. I've swapped between various bikes across the year, from fixed to carbon road to gravel and most things in between. I'm currently on a grade with full guards and even with a -17 stem and a pretty roadie setup (even down to 28mm GP4000's) I still prefer a proper road bike. Fixed is another option, means you pace yourself and much less stuff to go wrong/fix
If you're going to be riding every day make it easy for yourself. Light and fast bike beats heavy rugged bike any day...
I use a cx bike with slick tyres for the commute.
If you are totally against drop bars a Boardman hybrid would be my recommendation. More road orientated than a lot of hybrid bikes and pretty quick.
https://www.canyon.com/en-gb/mtb/dude/dude-cf-8-0.html or https://www.alpkit.com/sonder/bikes/sonder-vir-fortis-sram-gx1 😀
Commuting is more about safety and reliability than outright speed for me.
I'm with Lovewookie on this; I think drop bars are an awful anachronism on a commuter/road bike.
My road route (other hillier options exist) is 17 miles each way, mix of back roads, main road and city with a total climb of about 300m each way. I hate the compromises of drop bars, rubbish braking ergonomics and poor steering leverage giving limited control when it gets fast & techy.
I ride a couple of flat bar, steel framed fast bikes and have no problem keeping up when I use the same at long sportives. One is an old On-one Inbred 29er, the other a new Croix de Fer; both have flipped stems, 540mm flat carbon bars and bar ends. Decent wheels & tyres make them as fast as any drop bar bike and the choice of hand positions is plenty. The old one is currently set up with heavier wheels and chunky semi-slicks; the newer bike is lighter built and has 32C slicks. I get great braking from mtb discs too; it all works for me, so please don't dismiss the idea of your commuter also being adaptable to touring/gravel etc.
For twice a week, and with 18mi not being too long, i'd just do it on your 29er tbh. With the exception of the ability to tuck down into a headwind that you get with drop handlebars a 29er isn't really massively slower.
At a nice steady zone2 pace i'm ~3.5mph slower on my 29er than carbon road bike, and thats probably mostly made up of the rolling difference between x-kings and 23c - the aero benefits of a road bike aren't really that significant until you either get a headwind, get super fit, or start pushing the pace up.
If you are totally against drop bars a Boardman hybrid would be my recommendation. More road orientated than a lot of hybrid bikes and pretty quick.
+1.
I had a Boardman Hybrid (which I sold to buy an Arkose) and it was plenty fast enough for a decent commute run.
I prefer flat bars for commuting too.
I had a "fast hybrid" and there was a negligible difference between that and my road bike. Both setup with similar position, same tyres etc..
16 miles each way
can be tow path or road all the way or mixture
Use a road bike or Road tyre Inbred
just use whatever I fancy or whatever is running at the time
Love biking, don't need anyone to tell me what to use
Get a dynamo wheel and lights setup too with a set of smaller usb flashing lights as backup/secondary.
I've got an sp dynamo wheel with B&M front and rear lights.
Cotic Escapade or Roadrat.
I have a GT Grade and its great for this
Mango point AR 🙂 job done . Drop bars are spot on for the journey you have described, the upright wide position of a mountain bike is a right PITA when slogging along a road into a headwind.
I like my Whyte Shorditch for winter commuting.
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But saw a [url= http://prologuecycling.co.uk/bikes/kinesis-tripster-ace/kinesis-tripster-ace/ ]Kinesis Tripster ACE[/url] in a shop the other day that made think twice.
I've used a Genesis Equilibrium for the past few years. But have suffered a bit of a shoulder injury this year so have started to use my 29er. The riding position is much nicer for me. Speed is much slower - about 5 minutes over 7 miles, but that's probably because I'm still using nobblies.
If I was to buy another commuter - I'd probably go a Croix De Fer and put flat bars on it.
I would go for a gravel bike. The roads are shite, full of holes and arseholes. A gravel bike will give you something like 38mm of tyre to smooth the ride, and you can take it off road to avoid the arseholes.
I don't like drops either, so I've bought a GT Grade flat bar bike. Comes with the same frame as the gravel drop bar version but with a handy triple sora groupset with shimano hydraulic brakes.
I really like it and having put bar ends on it find it ideal at commuting with the ability to fit wider tyres to go off the beaten path. You can also pick them up pretty cheap at the minute
I was against drops so fitted flats on my CdF 2015 when I got it new. Rode it like that for the commute over winter in the High Peak and was ok, swapped the bars for some low risers off a BTwin which felt slightly comfier then gave in and went to the original drops and was a huge improvement. Fully converted to them now, wouldn't go back for sure (and I'm used to seatless trials bikes with super high front end setups).
Also found the standard Conti semi slicks to be more than upto the job riding down roads heavily used by HGV's accessing quarries so loads of potholes and rough riding, speed was pretty decent (up with the roadies on Strava segments) and not one single puncture.