Best commuter bike for me

bogmanfan

General question here folks. For those of you who commute to work in the city centre, do you prefer a road bike or hybrid?
I commute from Lucan to the city centre every day, and want to start doing it on the bike. I have an old Trek hybrid right now, but used to have a lovely road bike which I sold a few years back.
I loved the speed and feel of the road bike, and the gears etc (it was 105) were just great. However, I only really used it for spins out to Kildare or up the Strawberry Beds. How suitable are these bikes to city streets?
Thinking of a new bike on the c2w scheme, so just wondering which style would be better. Looking at a Specialized Sirrus or Secteur probably.
Also, I start early (would be leaving home at 6.00) so every extra minute in bed counts
Apologies for the long-winded post , but I'd appreciate any feedback

seamus

The hybrids like the Sirrus are effectively road bikes with flat bars and a slightly different posture.

Will it be harder than a road bike? Yes, a little. The flat bars and slightly more upright geometry will increase your wind resistance and the slightly wider tyres will increase rolling resistance.

Will it make much of a difference? No, probably not, especially over the 10/15k from Lucan. A minute or less, at most.

cloinsigh

Just one more thing to note, in traffic flat bars are safer in IMO. Much easier for ducking in and out of traffic if needs be.
Many of them have wheels and tyres the same as "normal" racers (700 / 23) and the cycling position more comfortable.

bogmanfan

cloinsigh wrote: »

Just one more thing to note, in traffic flat bars are safer in IMO. Much easier for ducking in and out of traffic if needs be.

Thanks for that. I have heard this before alright, but I have seen a couple of bikes with an extra brake lever on the top of the bars, for riding through traffic, so that would allow for a higher riding position.
I'm lucky enough that my route into work (N4-north quays) is cycle/bus lanes almost all the way. However the south quays is not so friendly, and I will be in traffic on the way home (2.30 ish).

Lumen

bogmanfan wrote: »

I have heard this before alright, but I have seen a couple of bikes with an extra brake lever on the top of the bars, for riding through traffic, so that would allow for a higher riding position.

Many people who ride drop-bar bikes would disagree strongly with that opinion that flat bars are safer in traffic.

I think it's complete nonsense.

seamus

Lumen wrote: »

Many people who ride drop-bar bikes would disagree strongly with that opinion that flat bars are safer in traffic.

I think it's complete nonsense.

Agreed. There's no major difference. Riding on the hoods is equivalent. You argue that flat bars will allow you more power on the brakes in the event of an emergency, but in my experience you can easily apply 90% braking effort from the hoods when you really need to. 100% braking effort will only cause you injury anyway.

Besides, when riding in traffic you should never let yourself get into a situation where you need to hammer on the brakes suddenly.

Also worth noting that flat bars are typically 580mm+ wide. Drop bars typically 440mm. That makes you nearly half a foot wider. You'll notice the difference when trying to scoot between two cars' wing mirrors.
It could also be argued that the wider bars make it more likely that you'll be hit by passing wing mirror.

cloinsigh

It's an entirely personal thing. I prefer flat bars on my commuter bike (albeit shorter bars) and drop bars otherwise.

As with any purchase from an LBS I'm sure where ever you buy it from will allow you to take it for a test run first so it's whatever you feel more comfortable / safer with.

If you were racing, or always late for work , drop bars would win hands down. Try and get a test ride on both types in traffic and see which you prefer. You’ll get many differing opinions here, each with their own preferences but it’ll all come down to which you feel better with.

TinyExplosions

The biggest difference I find with drop bars is that when you're on the hoods, the widest part of you is your hand/wrist, so in the event of a mis judgement or tight squeeze, you could be whacking your hand off something, rather than the end of a handle bar.

Having said that, I'm perfectly comfy riding either style on my commute, so whatever you prefer would do you fine!

cdaly_

cloinsigh wrote: »

Just one more thing to note, in traffic flat bars are safer in IMO. Much easier for ducking in and out of traffic if needs be.
Many of them have wheels and tyres the same as "normal" racers (700 / 23) and the cycling position more comfortable.

Have to say, having used both, that I find the dropped bars better for traffic. The flat bars are typically a lot wider so you can't manouvre between cars so easily.

I also found (having broken my drops and having to ride on flat bars again) that the flat bars were a lot less comfortable on my 14km commute.