Considering a Road bike for commuting... good idea?

(RDSMIT) wrote in
:

A ROAD BIKE WILL BE FASTER, BUT IF YOUR RIDING ON SIDEWALKS YOU WILL
FELL THE BUMPS.ROAD BIKES ALSO DON'T HANDLE MUD AND GRAVEL VERY WELL.
YOU CAN TRY A CROSS BIKE. THEY HAVE ROAD COMPONENTS AND MOUNTAIN BIKE
PARTS. THEY HAVE 700 WHEELS AND WIDER 28-30 TIRES GIVING YOU A SOFTER
RIDE WHILE LETTING YOU BENEFIT FROM THE FASTER RIDE.CANNONDALE HAS THE
BAD BOY AND SPECIALIZED HAS THE SEQUIOA, CHECK IT OUT. I RIDE A AIRBORNE
TITANIUM CARPE DIUM WITH BOTH ULTEGRA COMPONENTS ( ROAD) AND XTR
COMPONENTS ( MOUNTAIN BIKE) IT HAS A STRAIGHT HANDLEBAR AND ROAD WHEELS.


Yo!!!
AOL boy!!!
No need to shout!!!
There's this little button on your keyboard called the "Caps Lock".
Hit it once.

Mike Beauchamp wrote:

Well, there's no use me spending all my money on a new road bike if I'm
going to be so paranoid as to leave it home all the time when I have to go
somewhere...


I got a nice Nishiki road bike (say 1980?) for $30 US. The poor old girl
could stand a paint job, but for now it rides very nice. It is a touring
bike with 15 gears; a lot of fun.

I got a 1990 Fuji for $41 US on ebay, but had to pay $30 for shipping. It is
a real hoot to ride. I had had trouble with the darn tires, but I have that
sorted out. It looks like a couple of years old --- not 13.

So, I am saying you need not just ride a beater in town. Get an older bike
that you really like. SURE, someday it will be stolen, but they all are if
you live in the USA.



--
Regards, Joe

"Mike Beauchamp" wrote in
:

Hey all,
I'm considering purchasing a new bicycle (Maybe $800 CDN total) to
replace my nearly 8 year old Mongoose IBOC Pro mountain bike. I used to
use it mainy for offroad but a knee injury stopped that, and in the past
few years I've used it purely for commuting (10K's to school and back,
30-40K rides on weekends, stuff like that).

I'm just wondering if purchasing a road bike would be more appropriate
than a mountain bike. I most certainly don't want to be one of those
kids riding on the side of the road with a fully suspended downhill
mountain bike with the seat all the way down bouncing up and down on
each pedal stroke.

I want something that can use my energy as efficiently as possible, and
get me going as fast as possible. Like many commuters here I'm sure,
it's definately more fun going nearly the speed of the cars instead of
having them wizz past you. Is a road bike as fast as I think it is?

In the past few years, I've added slicks to my mountain bike, etc. All
in the name of a smoother and more efficient ride on pavement.

Here's my concern. Obviously a road bike is going to be a more harsh
ride, with the small tires and the high air pressure, etc. Are small
bumps in the road going to be as bad as I think they are? Is that why I
don't see too many people riding around the streets on nice road bikes?

I'm going to go try a few road bikes out tomorrow, mainly for fun.. but
I'm wondering what people think in here. Should I stick with a mountain
bike? Another reason for wanting to get a road bike is that I can
convert my mountain bike back to offroad and have two bicycles for
whatever type of riding I want to do.

Mike
http://mikebeauchamp.com



One thing I can't believe no one has mentioned yet is that road handlebars
are considerably safer than MTB handlebars.
Since they are narrower, you are *way* less likely to be clipped by a car
while riding on a road with little to no shoulder.

- Boyd S.

Mike Beauchamp wrote:

Hey all, I'm considering purchasing a new bicycle (Maybe $800 CDN total)
to replace my nearly 8 year old Mongoose IBOC Pro mountain bike. I used
to use it mainy for offroad but a knee injury stopped that, and in the
past few years I've used it purely for commuting (10K's to school and
back, 30-40K rides on weekends, stuff like that).

I'm just wondering if purchasing a road bike would be more appropriate
than a mountain bike. I most certainly don't want to be one of those kids
riding on the side of the road with a fully suspended downhill mountain
bike with the seat all the way down bouncing up and down on each pedal
stroke.

I want something that can use my energy as efficiently as possible, and
get me going as fast as possible. Like many commuters here I'm sure, it's
definately more fun going nearly the speed of the cars instead of having
them wizz past you. Is a road bike as fast as I think it is?

Probably not; I find the difference in speed between my touring bike and my
"beater bike", a MTB with slick tires, to be fairly small, especially in
the city. There is a difference though, especially at higher speeds or in
headwinds.

Here's my concern. Obviously a road bike is going to be a more harsh
ride, with the small tires and the high air pressure, etc. Are small
bumps in the road going to be as bad as I think they are?

I've never found it to be an issue on paved roads, except for some "chip
and seal" country roads.

Is that why I don't see too many people riding around the streets on nice
road bikes?

That's more to do with marketing and consumer misconceptions, in my
opinion.

I'm going to go try a few road bikes out tomorrow, mainly for fun.. but
I'm wondering what people think in here. Should I stick with a mountain
bike? Another reason for wanting to get a road bike is that I can
convert my mountain bike back to offroad and have two bicycles for
whatever type of riding I want to do.

If you're like me, you'll find that road bikes are much more enjoyable on
roads than MTBs, especially if you start going longer distances, where the
added hand positions of the drop bars can make a big difference to comfort.

--
Benjamin Lewis

Seeing is deceiving. It's eating that's believing.
-- James Thurber

mark freedman wrote:

"Mike Beauchamp" wrote in message
...


I'm considering purchasing a new bicycle (Maybe $800 CDN total) to
replace


used it purely for commuting (10K's to school and back, 30-40K rides on
weekends, stuff like that).

As I pointed out in Email, theft is an issue when a bike is
locked up for extended lengths of time. By all means, buy a
road bike or touring bike for your recreational rides, but use
a clunker for the 10Km ride to and from school. Anything valuable
will tempt thieves.

Unless you live in an unspoiled Eden.

.. . . or unless you have the luxury of being able to take it inside with
you.

You can get used clunker road bikes as well, of course, which may be even
less of a target to thieves than mountain bikes.

--
Benjamin Lewis

Seeing is deceiving. It's eating that's believing.
-- James Thurber

Boyd Speerschneider

wrote:

One thing I can't believe no one has mentioned yet is that road handlebars
are considerably safer than MTB handlebars.
Since they are narrower, you are *way* less likely to be clipped by a car
while riding on a road with little to no shoulder.

- Boyd S.

The difference in handlebar width makes you "*way* less likely" to be clipped?
No offense meant, but exactly how wide are your flat bars? Your shoulders are
the same width no matter what kind of bike you ride. I think you're picking
non-existent nits.

Regards,
Bob Hunt

In article ,
(Hunrobe) writes:

The difference in handlebar width makes you "*way* less likely" to be clipped?
No offense meant, but exactly how wide are your flat bars? Your shoulders are
the same width no matter what kind of bike you ride. I think you're picking
non-existent nits.

A tape measure stretched from tip to tip on the riser bar on my
MTB reads 27 inches. It's pretty wide. It's great for steering
a straight line while spinning up steep slopes in bull low.

And I think it gets drivers to give me a *wider* berth than
I might otherwise get. The handlebar sort of automatically
takes the lane for me. I even have a mirror on it, extending
to the left. The handlebar also compels me to ride even further
out from the door zone than I would with something narrower.


cheers,
Tom

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Peter Cole wrote:

At typical speeds, the efficiency of a road bike comes from aerodynamics. You
can get a similar position on any MTB, but the flat bar means you'll have to
stay in it. Road bikes are significantly lighter, which helps a little in
hilly country. The real problem with MTBs is that they're geared all wrong for
road riding.

Most road bikes are geared too high for their riders. If the
professional racers who can have an average power output of 400 watts
use nothing higher than a 53/11 top gear, then riders of lesser ability
will have no practical use for such high gears. Many would benefit from
lower climbing gears, but that would not be macho - they could no longer
say, "I climbed such and such with a 39/22 gear".

Tom Sherman - Quad Cities USA (Illinois side)

"Mike Beauchamp" wrote in message ...
Well, there's no use me spending all my money on a new road bike if I'm
going to be so paranoid as to leave it home all the time when I have to go
somewhere...

Mike
http://mikebeauchamp.com

then it sounds like building yourself a good bike that doesn't *look*
good should work out. plus, since youll expect to pay far less, you
can feel good about upgrading a few bits and pieces. just nothing
shiny

a beater doesnt have to feel like a beater. in fact, 'beater' is a
misleading term. ill call my beaters 'city bikes' from now on. great
bikes. they just dont look too tempting, and you can lock them to a
streetsign without fretting about he paint job.

dont keep cruising on your mtb if you feel the need for speed. buy
yourslef an old used bike your size, replace the tires, put some nice
brakepads on, all set! insta-citybike.

My suggestion would be to find a nice old steel bike with 130mm rear spacing
and get some 8 or 9 spd STI/Ergo going.

It can be cheaper than you think. Try eBay or your LBS.

"Lewdvig" wrote in message
. ..
Its faster and the roads are smoother than they look - at least they are
here in Calgary.

"Mike Beauchamp" wrote in message
...
Hey all,
I'm considering purchasing a new bicycle (Maybe $800 CDN total) to
replace
my nearly 8 year old Mongoose IBOC Pro mountain bike. I used to use it
mainy
for offroad but a knee injury stopped that, and in the past few years
I've
used it purely for commuting (10K's to school and back, 30-40K rides on
weekends, stuff like that).

I'm just wondering if purchasing a road bike would be more appropriate
than
a mountain bike. I most certainly don't want to be one of those kids
riding
on the side of the road with a fully suspended downhill mountain bike
with
the seat all the way down bouncing up and down on each pedal stroke.

I want something that can use my energy as efficiently as possible, and
get
me going as fast as possible. Like many commuters here I'm sure, it's
definately more fun going nearly the speed of the cars instead of having
them wizz past you. Is a road bike as fast as I think it is?

In the past few years, I've added slicks to my mountain bike, etc. All
in
the name of a smoother and more efficient ride on pavement.

Here's my concern. Obviously a road bike is going to be a more harsh
ride,
with the small tires and the high air pressure, etc. Are small bumps in
the
road going to be as bad as I think they are? Is that why I don't see too
many people riding around the streets on nice road bikes?

I'm going to go try a few road bikes out tomorrow, mainly for fun.. but
I'm
wondering what people think in here. Should I stick with a mountain
bike?
Another reason for wanting to get a road bike is that I can convert my
mountain bike back to offroad and have two bicycles for whatever type of
riding I want to do.

Mike
http://mikebeauchamp.com