suggest a commuter for me.

Pearl

THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING
since ive felt much better from being sick, i want to seriously look into commuting once or twice a week via bicecleta. im looking to spend around 400-500 max on a comfy road/hybrid bike.

my commute is 5.5 miles, slight rolling hills, nothing tooooo strenuous. im thinking i can do the commute to work in under 45-50 minutes.

the two bikes that stood out were:
trek 7.2 fx (i was watching a guy at the shop play with the one he just bought, he seemed happy)

Specialized Sirrus, which looks more "roadie" than the mountain bike inspired trek.

i also am curious to see what everyone else is using for commuting and such.

thanks.
 

don

Well-Known Member
I think this Redline would fit the bill nicely:

925-800.jpg


http://www.redlinebicycles.com/adultbikes/925.html

I'm not sure how much it retails for but I really like the singlespeed, fenders and bars.

FWIW, I rode a Kona Paddy Wagon for my commute a bunch of times last year and it worked great. Door to door was about 3.5 miles. The Paddy Wagon was $600 so a little more than you want to spend but I think it's a good value for the bike.
 

THATmanMANNY

Well-Known Member
I commute with my mountain bike by having another wheelset with slicks. I lockout my fork and I get to go pretty fast and save room in the garage.
 

Pearl

THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING
i would do another wheelset for my mountain bike, but the SS gearing on the road would keep my pace pretty slow :(

im also worried about the SS not being ideal (even though im a huge SS fan) but id be willing to give it a shot.
 

Nimrod

New Member
Buy a Road Bike cost a couple of years old (Can be had very, very cheap) then add Gator Skin Tires and your good to go.
 

don

Well-Known Member
i would do another wheelset for my mountain bike, but the SS gearing on the road would keep my pace pretty slow :(

im also worried about the SS not being ideal (even though im a huge SS fan) but id be willing to give it a shot.

I agree, I think the MTB SS gearing would be too low for the road. But, with the right gearing, a SS is almost perfect for a commuter especially if you dig and are used to SS already. My Paddy Wagon has 42/16 gearing and was great for the rolling hills I could hit on one route for my commute (Navesink River Road for anyone who has ridden Hart or Huber).

I also did a 50 mile ride in VT this summer with it and it was fine some of the mid size hills we hit too.

A 2nd wheelset w/ tires is certainly a good option but it's kinda nice just to grab a bike to hit the store for an errand or 2 especially if you have it fitted with a storage rack never mind having it ready to go for commuting.
 

Pearl

THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING
id have to try the gearing on my commute, i have a couple of tricky little bridges i may get too lazy on the single speed :p

any other people have suggestions for bikes?
 

MTB Aussie

Member
I use an old hardtail mtb with skinny slicks, a rear rack and good lights. It is 24 speed. I also use it for around town and errands.
 

bonefishjake

Strong like bull, smart like tractor
Team MTBNJ Halter's
look for an old steel, rigid trek or something on craigs or fleabay. buy a pair of mtb "slicks" and roll that way. you'll probaby be out the door $300 tops. i rode my trek 970 equipped with slicks on the road for a long, long time. the gearing is fine you just really never get out of the big ring.
 

al415

Banned
If I don't take the motorcycle I commute on an old track bicycle. I'd say stick to 700c wheels, and pick something with enough clearance for fenders. A properly geared SS or fixed gear would be fine on the short distance you have to commute. You can pick up old road bikes super cheap at yard sales, fle-markets etc. Then use the rest of your budget to modify the bike into your perfect commuter.
 
Top Bottom