Commuting to Work

romperstomper

Hi all,

I'm getting back into cycling after a gap of 5 years (and about 2.5 stone). Its 16 miles round trip from my house to work (cycle lanes most of the way for whatever safety use it is). My question is what bike should I go for (max budget 300). Also where should I get it.
Most importantly is there a way to ease myself into this? The last thing I want to do is get injured and then lose my motivation with the plan.

Thanks

Raam

I started cycling into work about a year ago, round trip 28km, which is a little bit more than yours. I also have cycles lanes most of the way.

My initial plan was to do at least 2 days a week, but I never kept to that plan. Instead I did every day, every week because I love it so much. It's one of the best decisions I ever made.

I recommend that you get the best bike you can afford (hopefully you have a safe place to lock it).

Get a road bike or a hybrid as they are easier to cycle on the road than an MTB (that said, I cycle an MTB which I wouldn't swap for anything)

At first I found the wind a big problem, but now it doesn't bother me.

Remember that when you get your new bike, you will also have to spend a few quid on accessories (pumps, bike tool, clothing), but you can build all that up over a few weeks.

All the best with the cycling

P

daymobrew

Your situation has come up here a few times before. Do a bit of searching of the forum for ideas.
Your commute is a little shorter than mine. I'm big on safety gear (helmet, hiviz gear [jacket, sam browne belt, reflective ankle straps with lights, front and back lights]) but each to their own on this (see the ongoing helmet thread for strong opinions on both sides).
I have a mirror which I find sooo handy, though it can sometimes give me too much information.
I wear gloves, primarily to keep my hands warm but also to provide a cushion for my palms. And they will protect my palms if I come off the bike.

Other advice is to carry a pump and puncture repair kit. There is a recent thread which discusses this (some people put puncture prevention liners inside the tyre which helps).

This Raleigh Metro for e300 has a rear carrier, mudguards and 700c wheels (and you can get nice narrow tyres for these later).
If you buy stuff from Cycle SuperStore (Tallaght), sign up for their loyalty card and get 5-10% discount off everything.
I recommend you get a commuter bike like this Raleigh. Mountain bikes are heavier and have fat tyres, both of which will slow you down.

With respect to injuries - just be safe on the road. 8 miles each way will seem a lot when you start off but you will get fitter and faster.

Good luck. Let us know what you buy and how your commute goes.

romperstomper

Thanks for the replies guys.
With respect to gear, as i used to cycle i own quite a bit already. I have good specialized shoes and gear (some will need replacing but i have enough to start off with), a good helmet (bought recently). Only accessories I think that i will need will be waterproofs as i'll get lights and mudguards with bike (both of which i regard as essential).

As both of you do 100+ miles plus a week, what sort of timeline before this amount of cycling will pay off with a better figure etc? I ask this as a big motivation for switching to cycling is weightloss.

As regards bike brand etc, I have had a specialized, a GT & and a raleigh and have found the specialized to be the best made of the bunch (admittedly its been 5 yrs since i bought a bike so this might have changed).
The style i will go for will probably be hybrid (or whatever I feel is most comfortable)

rubadub

I have those tyre liners mentioned. I now leave the pump and spare tube behind (unless I have an important meeting!), they seem really tough and I cannot imagine getting a puncture unless it is a major spike.
I have a MTB but did have thin slick tyres so it was sort of like a hybrid. It does go faster but I changed back to normal MTB tyres for winter, they are a little slower but so what? a few mins difference tops, and I am also doing it partly for weight loss like yourself so the efficient physics of a racing bike are not a priority. I had to cycle one when I had a punture and would never get a racer, so uncomfortable!

I have lost about 2 stone over about 10 months, slow but sure, cut out some junk food but am not a health nut or anything and still drink like a fish.
I started out taking 1 hour, now I do it in 25mins.

I reckon I do 60-70 miles a week including weekends, I cycle everywhere now, it is so much faster (and reliable) than public transport, and faster than using a car if it is rush hour. It is also efficient timewise, i.e. I know guys who drive to work, takes them longer than cycling, if I was to drive I would give myself 30-40mins because I am unsure of traffic, yet I am certain of my 25mins on a bike. These guys then go to a gym after work so their free time is spent excercising, makes no sense to me, plus the cost of the car, petrol etc, and the cost of the gym.

Civilian_Target

Yeah - hybrid's the way forward. You'll need to set aside €80 to get lights, mudgaurd, a lock and a reflective jacket, but you seem to have the rest of the gear setup. Just get the lightest bike you can, and go for it!

16 miles round trip should see you getting fit in no time - I got pretty fit in 8 months doing a substantially shorter journey.

JimmySmith

Thinking of cycling to work too.

How long would the average person take to cycle 10 miles?

pan

Average time to do 10 miles!

Depends on lots of factor - how fit you are? What kind of bike you have?
Road bike are much faster that a MTB (well I should say more efficient)

It should take 30-40mins.

Pan

cyclopath2001

pan wrote:

Average time to do 10 miles!
It should take 30-40mins.

30 mins would be very quick for a beginner, even on a road bike, & especially in the city. Maybe 1 hour.

romperstomper

well im going to be doing 8 miles. what are the initial estimates??
45 mins??
what would be the time after say 3 months? will i ever be able to cycle 8 miles in
30 mins? (bearing in mind im 26)

snipe

romperstomper wrote:

well im going to be doing 8 miles. what are the initial estimates??
45 mins??
what would be the time after say 3 months? will i ever be able to cycle 8 miles in
30 mins? (bearing in mind im 26)

I just began commuting a couple of weeks back after a gap of 6 years (and about 3 stone). DART and/or driving were wrecking my head so decided to go for it. Round trip is about 36km and had previously being doing each leg in 28 - 30 mins. Dusted off the trusty Trek 900S MTB one Monday and set off - big mistake. An hour and twenty minutes later I made it to car park in work at the slowest speed possible without falling over. Red of face & lungs nearly seized up but worse was to come when I got off the bike - my legs had turned to rubber and collapsed under me. Cue chortles from the onlooking smokers.

Having endured the mortification I decided to stick at it. Got Trek hybrid a couple of days later and that's made a difference. Down to about 45 mins e/w now as fitness improves, though still finding the wind a pox. 8 miles in 30 mins is very doable once fitness levels pick up.

Stick with it.

rubadub

romperstomper wrote:

well im going to be doing 8 miles. what are the initial estimates??
45 mins??

Give yourself an hour at least. I started out slow on purpose and took 60mins for 4.5miles, though some was uphill and I used to take breaks and walk some bits, (christ I was unfit!). Now I can do the same bit in 17mins, but I usually do it in 25-30mins. I raced it in 17mins with no bag and got a good run on the lights. I also arrived a sweating mess. That is one point to consider going to work.

I would do my round trip of 9 miles, i.e. hills evened out in about 40-45mins at a fairly quick pace, i.e. I pass out nearly everybody, even some guys on racers in the full gear, though they usually chase after me!

randomname2005

Depending on how you cycle (not stopping at lights, squeezing up the inside of traffic etc) a significant proportion of the journey could be sitting in traffic. Back when my cycle computer worked the cycle (12 miles round trip ) would take less than 20 mins in, 25 home but the real time was over 25 and 30.

It may be worth looking at www.dto.ie, there is a journey planner there where you can put in starting point and destination and it gives you the shortest route, it may not be the best route as it may have more lights etc but should give you an indication.
R

Civilian_Target

Yeah - a cross-town commute of 8 miles at rush hour will take an hour to start with, and I doubt you'll be able to get it much below 40 mins. Depends on the route, traffic and stuff, but I always found Santry->Ranelagh (which is about 8 miles I think) to take half an hour minimum, even at night.

youcancallmeal

randomname2005 wrote:

It may be worth looking at www.dto.ie, there is a journey planner there where you can put in starting point and destination and it gives you the shortest route, it may not be the best route as it may have more lights etc but should give you an indication.
R

Nice link, cheers

Mucco

snipe wrote:

Round trip is about 36km and had previously being doing each leg in 28 - 30 mins.

36km/h is pretty fast.
I'd go with the idea of 1 hour to begin with, but you should be able to halve that fairly quickly. But don't forget to add in traffic lights + junctions to your time estimates. I do about 12.5km (~7.5 miles) in around 30 mins give or take 5 mins depending on the wind!

M

snipe

Mucco wrote:

36km/h is pretty fast.

Indeed it is Mucco, or should I say was. Still a fair bit off that pace at present.

Not as impressive when it was 18K in the am and 18 in the pm though.

As has been pointed out there are many variables on any given day - traffic, wind, presence of other cyclists to chase down etc., and the fact that some days are dogs for no apparent reason. The advice given on allowing an hour or so seems spot on.

rubadub

Mucco wrote:

36km/h is pretty fast.
I'd go with the idea of 1 hour to begin with, but you should be able to halve that fairly quickly. But don't forget to add in traffic lights + junctions to your time estimates. I do about 12.5km (~7.5 miles) in around 30 mins give or take 5 mins depending on the wind!

M

Yeah the speedo can be misleading. You get to learn the lights on your route. I slow down at points to gain overall time, i.e. I get a little rest and do not have to stop for lights, the rest allows me to race to the next lights that I know would otherwise change. If I get a good run on lights on the N11 (and there are none of these fuking walkers that insist on walking 2 abreast on cycle lanes, or general wanders like on the stretch from whites cross to foxrock church), I can get up to 55km/hr on the bike and I am often passing out cars. And that is on a MTB, that was breaking the speed limit last year! there was a 50 limit for months on the N11 last year which very few people knew about or obeyed.

robfitz

rubadub wrote:

that was breaking the speed limit last year! there was a 50 limit for months on the N11 last year which very few people knew about or obeyed.

You were not breaking the speed limit, the speed limit only applies to "mechanically propelled vehicles" and guess what a bicycle isn't a mechanically propelled vehicle.