City commute on a road bike?

lukester

Hi

I've been commuting for a fair few years, mainly on mtbs and latterly hybrids. I had a spin on a mate's road bike recently, and loved it, so much faster, lighter and just fun! As it happens he's selling his to upgrade to a flashier model, so I'm very tempted. I go for longer spins whenever I can anyway, so it would be nice to have something decent.

Most of my commute is on crappy Dublin streets though- would a road bike wheels be up to such a commute, full of potholes, humps and lumps of tarmac? I've had a search through the forums, but can't find anything definitive either way. I only have room in my gaff for one bike, so it's not an option to keep my old bike, it's one or the other. I'm hoping people will say it's a runner, because I really want this bike, but if it's totally impractical then I wouldn't do it.

Cheers

tunney

One bike is never enough. Get a bigger house

daymobrew

Post some specs/photos of the bike.
You could buy the bike and put on wider tyres (700x28 Specialized All Conditions Armadillo maybe) for a smoother ride (and good puncture protection).
You could also get stronger wheels at some point if necessary.

Chips Lovell

Road bikes are built for racing, so they're meant to take abuse. As long as the wheels aren't crappy, you'll be fine.

Hungrycol

I commute most days from Swords into town on my road bike and the roads are fine. You do have to be a bit more aware of uneven and gravelly surfaces than you would on an MTB. Quite enjoy freewheeling past MTB's on my commute though!

Get yourself some wider tyres, I have 700*25 Continental Gatorskins approx €25 per tyre. Oh and another secret is to put double the handlebar tape on the handlebars. Much more comfortable.

Harpz

I commute on 23's probably should use wider tyre but i just love going fast. The wheels are taking a fair amount of abuse with the bad roads and the occasional kerb:eek:. doing a bit of spoke maintenance to keep the back wheel spinning true but i think its worth it. A mountainbike would be stronger but i just love the feeling of gliding through the traffic with just a gentle casual rotation of my pedals and whizzing by gasping redfaced mountainbikers and frustrated motorists.

Itsfixed

Hungrycol wrote: »

I commute most days from Swords into town on my road bike and the roads are fine. You do have to be a bit more aware of uneven and gravelly surfaces than you would on an MTB. Quite enjoy freewheeling past MTB's on my commute though!

Get yourself some wider tyres, I have 700*25 Continental Gatorskins approx €25 per tyre. Oh and another secret is to put double the handlebar tape on the handlebars. Much more comfortable.

I have 28mm gatorskins and they're great. Or try Panaracer T-serv.

lukester

Thanks for all the advice- much appreciated.
I asked my mate and he said the bike has Alex DA28 wheels and standard road tyres.
The wider, re-inforced tyres sound like a good idea. I had schwalbe kevlar reinforced tyres on my last bike and my puncture rate went from 3-5 a year down to none.

I'll check out the options- I saw some Armadillos in Cycleways, just did some looking online, they seem to be not as grippy in the wet but are very tough, might be the ticket.
Can't wait to be on something light and fast, wish I'd thought of this years ago- always thought road bikes were not workable for city riding.

SerialComplaint

I switched from an antique road bike (actually, a Dawes Galaxy touring bike) to a fairly cheap mountain bike for my commute last year, and I'd never go back for two reasons. Firstly, I've been able to find a commute route which takes me off-road through some grassy areas. This keeps me well away from car traffic and busy pedestrian areas. But the main reason is having my fingertips on the brakes the whole time. I just couldn't go back to not having immediate response from the brakes when cycling in traffic.

Chips Lovell

SerialComplaint wrote: »

But the main reason is having my fingertips on the brakes the whole time. I just couldn't go back to not having immediate response from the brakes when cycling in traffic.

Don't know what you were doing, but it's possible to keep your fingers on the brakes all the time with a road bike

neilled

el tonto wrote: »

Don't know what you were doing, but it's possible to keep your fingers on the brakes all the time with a road bike

I kept feeling like a meercat with my hands on the top of the drops and head pointed up in the air - if i was back home in the sticks then a roadie with drops no problem but i feel more comfortable with a hybrid in the city - and i was on road bikes for the guts of 3 years or so.

copacetic

it's very easy to fit an aux 'suicide' inline lever to the back brake if not comfortable without one to hand. just like on most cyclocross bikes. they cost about €20.

SerialComplaint

el tonto wrote: »

Don't know what you were doing, but it's possible to keep your fingers on the brakes all the time with a road bike

Possible, yes.

Happens in practice, no.