Cycling to work, change of bike for longer commute

Kai123

Hello,

I've a dilemma in that I live fairly close to work but looking to move out of a shared house into my own place. I currently cycle to work on a big, heavy mountain bike. It takes me around 17 minutes to cycle to work and 15 minutes coming home. The bike was primarily bought to save time and comfort, since even the most modest of effort, Its so much faster than walking.

So, in regards to moving further away, this would put another 17 minutes on my commute to work, maybe longer. I've been looking into getting a moped or a car, but after working out the finances I could get a seriously good bike instead and avoid the costs of having a car (and keep fit at the same time).

Since commute time is my primary concern and I am a super casual cyclists (I only cycle for work), my question is does the weight of the bike, the gears and tires vastly affect the speed of cycling?

I know it will, but no idea by how much. It would also be a hybrid due to the amount of glass on the cycle path going to work (the main road opposite Corduff in Blanchardstown). I bought my current bike for €85 from Adverts, but would be willing to spend around €1000 for a hybrid.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Kai.

dahat

I go out on a regular basis on my Giant Roam 3 Hybrid type with 700x 32 tyres. I do anything from 30-75km spins and average speed of 26-28km/h.

This would be quite a heavy bike I'd say so weight shouldn't slow you down or be too relevant to you over the distance you are going.

Carawaystick

Have you got slick tyres on your existing bike?
They make a huge difference to knobbly mtb tyres
If you have, are they pumped up hard?
Again a big difference in speed

Lumen

Puncture risk need not affect your choice of bike. Puncture resistant tyres are available in various sizes.

Kai123

Thanks for the advice so far! I can see why people love this as a hobby. I've big brutal mountain bike tyres so looking at slicks for mountain bikes now. Its like checking out new PC hardware.

I'll be taking pics so I can actually take stock in what I have and work from there. I'll upload them once their on the PC.

bp_me

I had put some fairly cheap slicks (schwabe city jet I think.. they were 12 euro each or so on CRC) on my old MTB as well as locking out the front fork and it made a fairly significant difference to the pace. I also adjusted the position to replicate a road bike in so much as possible on a hardtail (not that much in reality).

The weight is only really a factor on the hills but then you have lower gears to spin up them as long as you arent in a rush.

Carawaystick

A track pump is good also, I run the mtb slick tyres at ~85-90 psi not many garage airlines run to that kind of pressure.

paul mountainbike

HI use a dose of slime ,puncture sealant in the tubes.

Used to do a 17 mile commute back in wales ,which had some mean hills on it ,using an old saracen mtb .
Got it down to just under the hour in the morning and hour n half at night ,as longer climb on home run.
That was on slicks .

The worst was wet days.

Kai123

bp_me wrote: »

I had put some fairly cheap slicks (schwabe city jet I think.. they were 12 euro each or so on CRC) on my old MTB as well as locking out the front fork and it made a fairly significant difference to the pace. I also adjusted the position to replicate a road bike in so much as possible on a hardtail (not that much in reality).

The weight is only really a factor on the hills but then you have lower gears to spin up them as long as you arent in a rush.

There are Michelin "Wild Run'R Slick" MTB tyre's on sale which I might get. All the reviews are saying the grip is good but they might puncture since they are thin (although no-one complaining about punctures).

Anyway, getting deeper into this, the bike is actually pretty rusty (chain and gears). It might be the case of seeing how long it lasts before getting a new bike, but will have fun with the one I have for a while longer.

bp_me

Kai123 wrote: »

Anyway, getting deeper into this, the bike is actually pretty rusty (chain and gears). It might be the case of seeing how long it lasts before getting a new bike, but will have fun with the one I have for a while longer.

While the correct answer is always n+1 it's actually pretty cheap to replace maintenance components. Also a small bit of preventative maintenance goes a very long way.

Trekker09

I use my bike to commute, 30km door to door. I love it and the money I save on diesel means I can upgrade parts as and when I want/need. It can be tough enough in the mornings, but once out it's never as bad as I thought it'd be and the shower when I get to work feels great!

Trekker09

.........sorry, meant to add that you'll actually enjoy the longer commute more as you're just getting warned up at 17 minutes :rolleyes: Definitely treat yourself to a lighter bike, you'll appreciate it.

Kai123

Trekker09 wrote: »

I use my bike to commute, 30km door to door. I love it and the money I save on diesel means I can upgrade parts as and when I want/need. It can be tough enough in the mornings, but once out it's never as bad as I thought it'd be and the shower when I get to work feels great!

I used to drive to work. When I had to move out and sell the car, I moved closer to work to walk. Even before this, I couldn't even contemplate that "long walk" of just 25 minutes. "What if its cold and raining?" etc etc.

Now its just a matter of fact. I've the right clothes for rainy weather and now the commute is nothing. I was planning on moving a little further away, which had me looking at cars again before it clicked that it would be vastly cheaper and better to just cycle, hence this new found interest.

Kai123

bp_me wrote: »

While the correct answer is always n+1 it's actually pretty cheap to replace maintenance components. Also a small bit of preventative maintenance goes a very long way.

Considering I was willing to dump 2k into a cheap car, let alone a new bike...it would probably be much cheaper to replace the parts.

ms34

Kai123 wrote: »

Hello,

I've a dilemma in that I live fairly close to work but looking to move out of a shared house into my own place. I currently cycle to work on a big, heavy mountain bike. It takes me around 17 minutes to cycle to work and 15 minutes coming home. The bike was primarily bought to save time and comfort, since even the most modest of effort, Its so much faster than walking.

So, in regards to moving further away, this would put another 17 minutes on my commute to work, maybe longer. I've been looking into getting a moped or a car, but after working out the finances I could get a seriously good bike instead and avoid the costs of having a car (and keep fit at the same time).

Since commute time is my primary concern and I am a super casual cyclists (I only cycle for work), my question is does the weight of the bike, the gears and tires vastly affect the speed of cycling?

I know it will, but no idea by how much. It would also be a hybrid due to the amount of glass on the cycle path going to work (the main road opposite Corduff in Blanchardstown). I bought my current bike for €85 from Adverts, but would be willing to spend around €1000 for a hybrid.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Kai.

Mod note: <snip> advertising. Please read the charter, all ads go in appropriate section.

ms34

Apologies I wasn't aware. Just read the charter so I'm more informed now

RainyDay

Kai123 wrote: »

I know it will, but no idea by how much. It would also be a hybrid due to the amount of glass on the cycle path going to work (the main road opposite Corduff in Blanchardstown).

Stay out of the cycle path so. Take whatever space you need on the road to cycle safely.

Qualitymark

Weight of the bike affects hills. You'll sail along happily enough on an old trudger until you hit a hill, then the weight makes a big difference.

One of the problems with buying secondhand, by the way, is that people haven't really copped on to the fact that the Bike to Work scheme has ravished secondhand value. People put up a bike "worth over €2,000" on advertising sites and are grieved to get only offers under €800, because that's nearly what buying the bike new would cost you if you were getting it on the Bike to Work scheme.

Carawaystick

A 2 grand bike would cost you 1500 takehome on the BTW though. Relief only on the first 1k of bike