"Long" commutes

[Simon Galgut]

I have been thinking about this one, and I like the idea of minimising the gubbins exposed to the elements.   I intend to set my commuter up so that I can run two rear wheels by choice: Fixed (or S3X) and Rohloff/SRAM iMotion 9.  My only issue is that I remember the 3x7 I had borrowed last January not changing in the worst of the cold.  Although I never had that problem with my Sachs 2x6 orbit...

Yes, I thought about that too. However the fixed chainline is 42 and the Rohloff is 52. And the OLN of the Rohloff is 135 and the fixed is 120. And then I gave it up as a bad job.

I'm sure there are ways around it, but not quick and easy ones.

[clarion]

OLN of S3X is apparently 135mm

Chainline is an issue I'd need to think about

[Frenchie]

One thing I have forgotten to mention and others have intimated is that you do need to set up a bike bits budget to cope with wear and tear induced by this sort of annual mileage....
I find than I get through a couple of chains, a cassette and a tyre as a minimum every year. I tend to renew the cassette in the spring and then ride it and the last chain to death in the wet and salt of the following winter. Pedal bearings, chainring, a wheel and brake/gear cables every other year. Bottom bracket and headset every 3-4 years or so.

On my fixed the transmission costs, even for good components, are low. I use cheap pedals (Time ATAC), which I like but will happily to replace as they need.

I need to check my rear rim; maybe upgrade to a ceramic. I ugraded the brakes on teh Pompino but am still not very pleased with what I have; in the wet I need to pay attention. That I don't know how to fix!

I have a spare bike ready, my Langster, which has also been recently checked and has a new chain and sprocket and a new rear wheel.

I also have a Raven with a Rohloff which I could use in the winter. At the moment the bike sheds are full and the Raven has paper-thin walls which "ding" very easily; in the autumn and winter things may well be different and I could consider taking the Raven.

[TheLurker]

<snip>
You are going out mid day. 28 miles is a lot more pleasant then than 16 miles at 7.30.  
</snip>
 

Nah, I'm leaving at 0630 for a 14 mile jaunt to work,  going out for a 10 or 12 mile bimble at lunchtime and then going home.  It sounds as though you've got noticably steeper hills to deal with than me, but the road conditions don't sound any worse.

<snip>
Even basic maintenance such as oiling the chain and topping up the pressure in a tyre do not happen during a Winter commute time.
</snip>
 

Wiping the chain down and (re)anointing "midweek" only takes me a few minutes and unless it's been pissing it down (like last night) it doesn't happen at all. Otherwise any and all other maintenance is done on Sunday ahead of the next week's travelling.

[edit]
Hmmm, feel a bit of fraud posting on this thread with such a short commute.
[/edit]

[hatler]

Well, I do a meagre 20 miles a day and I find that my appetite for weekend cycling is definitely reduced. Not that I can't do it, I just don't have the same burning desire that I had before I started the commute. Of course, I'm much fitter than I was before the commute so weekend cycling is lots easier !

[Wendy]

Well, I do a meagre 20 miles a day and I find that my appetite for weekend cycling is definitely reduced. Not that I can't do it, I just don't have the same burning desire that I had before I started the commute. Of course, I'm much fitter than I was before the commute so weekend cycling is lots easier !

On my days off I have approximately this much desire/capacity to go for an extra ride:0.

[clarion]

Oh I want to ride seven days a week, but I'm definitely on the low-lower end of 'long' commutes. Enough to make non-cyclists say, 'How far???', but nothing compared to what some of you multimilers do.

[Frenchie]

So far I still want to go out when I can... I don't ride the same at the WE. I do longer rides, faster, with friends; mind, this could explain why I do get tired too. Come the autumn things may well change though.

[GruB]

I carry much the same as Simon re: spares and tools.  I also use a Carradice in the winter but this time of year cope with a large Topeak saddle pack.
I also agree wholeheartedly with Pieter about a good tyre choice.  As you know I prefer Michelin Krylions - whatever your flavour as long as puncture resistance is high as there is nothing worse when your hands are cold. Stopping and starting again in the winter can be a drain too as you cool down.
Base layers and layers are the key. I have found more layers work better than thick layers.
Good mileage deserves good kit so I have Assos bibs / tights and Gore overshoes / jacket.

My summer mileage is always quicker as I can corner with confidence and my brakes work reliably unlike in the wet.

[border-rider]

One thing I have forgotten to mention and others have intimated is that you do need to set up a bike bits budget to cope with wear and tear induced by this sort of annual mileage....
I find than I get through a couple of chains, a cassette and a tyre as a minimum every year. I tend to renew the cassette in the spring and then ride it and the last chain to death in the wet and salt of the following winter. Pedal bearings, chainring, a wheel and brake/gear cables every other year. Bottom bracket and headset every 3-4 years or so.
My "winter" commuter (VN Amazon) has ceramic rims and matching blocks which resist wear very well but I suspect the long term outlay would not be much different given the larger initial expense of ceramic rims versus more frequent replacement for standard rims. Standard rims lasted 2-3 years.
I think I will take a leaf out of Simon's book and get a Rohloff next time.

This is why I started riding fixed seriously.

I used to do 35 miles per day on a very rural route, and the bike was taking a thrashing - not just gears & chain, but rims too - especially in the winter.

I put together a fixed bike with a hub brake (and later hub brake with dynamo), and that would go about a year without needing attention; it got a new sprocket and chain as needed, and the occasional tyre.  That reduces the budget a lot, and it makes for fewer failures on the road.

[Frenchie]

I had Thu off and what a difference it made: I felt very fresh on Fri morning and was quite literally flying to work.

I got the Langster back today with a new rear wheel. I think I'll ride that bike as much as I can and will go back to the Pompino in the autumn/winter. The Pompino may well need a new rear wheel build too.

[Chris N]

I have been thinking about this one, and I like the idea of minimising the gubbins exposed to the elements.   I intend to set my commuter up so that I can run two rear wheels by choice: Fixed (or S3X) and Rohloff/SRAM iMotion 9.  My only issue is that I remember the 3x7 I had borrowed last January not changing in the worst of the cold.  Although I never had that problem with my Sachs 2x6 orbit...

Yes, I thought about that too. However the fixed chainline is 42 and the Rohloff is 52. And the OLN of the Rohloff is 135 and the fixed is 120. And then I gave it up as a bad job.

I'm sure there are ways around it, but not quick and easy ones.

On-One 135mm double fixed hubs (currently £15, On-One | Rear) have a 52mm chainline.  Ok, so you miss out on the multiple fixed gears, but you could still flip the wheel.

[Chris N]

To keep it fresh, it's worth setting intermediate informal targets.

...

I like to try and complete my ride without putting a foot down - rather than going fast.

[clarion]

Absolutely impossible on my ride, unless I massively improve my trackstanding.  This morning, a fast ride consisted of 10% not moving.

[Chris N]

I am a bit concerned about the coolest part of winter as I do use some country lanes, and know that I will get nervous if there is the risk of ice; I may need to stick to the busy road into/through town then. 

For this coming winter, I've already got two sets of tyres for the 'rat: 35mm CX tyres and 37mm touring tyres.  Both will fit under a set of 45mm (?) mudguards so should see me through most weather.  I might invest in a set of studded tyres I can fit if it looks like it's going to be really bad.

I've also got the option of the main road all the way - it's 5 miles shorter, but it's a very busy trunk road.

Absolutely impossible on my ride, unless I massively improve my trackstanding.  This morning, a fast ride consisted of 10% not moving.

Fair enough - I only have a handful of junctions where I might need to stop, and one set of traffic lights.

[Chris N]

What about food and recovery?

Lots of both.  Don't eat breakfast before you go out in the morning if you want to lose weight, but make sure you eat plenty when you get in to work.

[clarion]

Fair enough - I only have ... one set of traffic lights.

You lucky Barstard!

I have been thinking about this one, and I like the idea of minimising the gubbins exposed to the elements.   I intend to set my commuter up so that I can run two rear wheels by choice: Fixed (or S3X) and Rohloff/SRAM iMotion 9.  My only issue is that I remember the 3x7 I had borrowed last January not changing in the worst of the cold.  Although I never had that problem with my Sachs 2x6 orbit...

Yes, I thought about that too. However the fixed chainline is 42 and the Rohloff is 52. And the OLN of the Rohloff is 135 and the fixed is 120. And then I gave it up as a bad job.

I'm sure there are ways around it, but not quick and easy ones.

I see from the catalogue link that the S3X is available in two flavours: 120 & 130mm, but both still have 42, 43, 44, or 45mm chainline

[GruB]

With regards to winter / ice riding, I found the country lanes much nicer to ride on than the supposedly sugar gritted main roads.  I felt much more slippy on the main roads 

Of the three falls I had last winter, all three were on massive chunks of icy snow that I really should not have been attempting to ride on.   

[CommuteTooFar]

With regards to winter / ice riding, I found the country lanes much nicer to ride on than the supposedly sugar gritted main roads.  I felt much more slippy on the main roads 

Of the three falls I had last winter, all three were on massive chunks of icy snow that I really should not have been attempting to ride on.   

When you commute you learn every point on the commute where there will be trouble.  You know all the old pot holes in the dark and where ice forms.  My problems.

Radyr lane through Golf course mostly fine but the open part collects water and the wind blowing across the wide section forms black ice. Worst case solution use bus route out of Village. 

A4119 westward at the Castell Mynach Pub.  Snow and Ice get compressed by light stopped vehicles and persists. The slight down hill is slightly hairy.  No way around this.

From Hendre to Coed y Mwstwr (East of Bridgend) High point sometimes gets slippy. Low points collects water and long sections of ice you can not stand let alone ride over. Solution - Avoid.  Use foot path along A473 between Pencoed and Coychurch. Or if really cold and icy use A473. [Past several crashed cars last Winter]
 

[GruB]

I agree totally about knowing the road, intimately 
I am adept at seeking the smoothest line.  I have one section of really bumpy stuff and I think of it as my own little bit of Paris Roubaix type cobbles 

[Frenchie]

May get some cyclo-x tyres if needed. Even if I (get to) know the route well I still am no big fan of riding on ice and snow.

In any case it works this long commute thing; when I switch to a lighter bike, and with a bit of a rest, I am feeling absolutely great and fast! Riding at pace to work and back is very good training! 

[pdm]

This is why I started riding fixed seriously.

I used to do 35 miles per day on a very rural route, and the bike was taking a thrashing - not just gears & chain, but rims too - especially in the winter.

I would love to go fixed but I don't think its practical on my route - me being a lardarse and the route with lots of long gradients of up to 15% and a maximum of about 4km of "flat". I could probably cope with the uphills - I have tried and succeeded doing them on a 65" gear but the downs are too long and fast for such a low gear - it would probably slow the commute too much 

[clarion]

I like to try and complete my ride without putting a foot down - rather than going fast.

I made a note of some details, for my own interest.

Yesterday morning was a pretty fast ride.  50mins riding; 45 moving.  10% standing

Last night: 1h6 riding; 59m 35s moving.  11% standing

This morning: Almost uninterrupted ride.  1h3 riding; 56m moving.  8.9% standing.

Yup, this morning was amazingly continuous.  I decided to count the number oif times I needed to put my foot down.  It was eighteen times.  Sure, I slowed right down at some junctions almost to a halt, but they didn't count.  If i did trackstand, I'd've needed to do it for an average of about 23s.  That sounds quite manageable, really   And I was riding for an average of 3m40s (c.1.3km) in between stops, though it must have been more frequent than that in the latter half, as I had only dabbed seven times in the first half hour (approx 12km)

[Morrisette]

I've been following this thread with interest as I'm looking at the option of doing my whole commute on the bike rather than giving the train company another 1000 pounds. It would be 16 miles each way, country roads/Sustrans route with the last 3 miles or so through town. My bike is a Specialized Vita (the women's design of the Sirrus I think?).

At the moment the plan is to do it until the clocks change (or until it is pitch dark at ~6pm - towards the end of October I think) as I don't fancy the route in the dark. I'd then pick it up again in mid-March when it gets lighter again. I'm under no illusions that starting again in March will be anything but torture!

I have done it quite a few times before, so I know the journey is possible in a reasonable time, but I've only ever done it on consecutive days once, and I did feel that in my muscles the next day. I think I'd be aiming at doing Monday-Tuesday, take the train on Wednesday and then doing Thursday-Friday. This will also enable me to take all the clothes I will need in to the office on the 'train' day.

I guess this is reasonable? My fitness level isn't all that, I don't seem to be able to get faster than 1.20 on the route at the moment but I guess this may improve if I do this much more riding - have people found this or does the improved fitness get cancelled out by tiredness?

My other question is - are any of you long-distance-commuters girls? The people I see on the road whenever I've done this route are 99% males in full racing kit....

[GruB]

It will take about 4 weeks for your muscles to adjust.  The trick I reckon is to keep pushing, within reason.  Let them get used to the extra miles but do not do anything massive on the speed front.

As for stopping - don't take that darker months off.  In many ways riding at that time of year is easier as you can see the cars in advance but you may need to slow down slightly due to the slipperier surfaces.  Invest in some decent lights, front and rear.