Anybody else commute to work via pedal bike.

Just like the title says. Anybody else commuting to work via pedal bike. If so what do you commute on and how far.

My commute is 12 miles each way. Luckily I have about 5 miles of bike path that I get to ride on. There are only two bad traffic areas I have to ride in. Luckily they are short and I can get through them quickly. Other then that is is wide shoulders or side roads.

I ride a 1980 Schwinn Letour singlespeed. I have a flip/flop hub just in case I want to ride fixed. I did a custom wrap on the bull horns. Which were just ram horns cut and turned around.

I've got a 6 mile each way commute that is 50/50 bike path and surface streets.

I decided to treat myself last year and bought a Specialized Sirrus Comp. It's a great Hybrid for urbanish riding. 2x10 cassette makes for a nice wide choice of gearing for the street. Occasionally I regret not getting something with drop bars, but most of my ride is heads up, so the flat bar is ideal.

Oh, tire liners. Can't say enough about them. Has given me my confidence back after many flats previously.

armybuck041 said:

I've got a 6 mile each way commute that is 50/50 bike path and surface streets.

I decided to treat myself last year and bought a Specialized Sirrus Comp. It's a great Hybrid for urbanish riding. 2x10 cassette makes for a nice wide choice of gearing for the street. Occasionally I regret not getting something with drop bars, but most of my ride is heads up, so the flat bar is ideal.

Oh, tire liners. Can't say enough about them. Has given me my confidence back after many flats previously.

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I love the Mr Tuffy line of tire liners, they are a life saver....some say that it reduces the speed factor, but i would rather lose speed than have the inconvenience of a flat.

Sadly I don't commute on the bike, might have to give it a shot, 18 miles each way.

+1 for tyre liners.

Well worth it, haven't seen a great reduction in speed since fitting the liners. But when you take into account the time to change a tube, they are more than make up for any speed loss.

Also check out the Show Us Your Bicycles thread in the G/O, more nice pictures in there

Andy said:

Sadly I don't commute on the bike, might have to give it a shot, 18 miles each way.

+1 for tyre liners.

Well worth it, haven't seen a great reduction in speed since fitting the liners. But when you take into account the time to change a tube, they are more than make up for any speed loss.

Also check out the Show Us Your Bicycles thread in the G/O, more nice pictures in there

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I will have to look into the tire liners. And yes I know there is the bike thread in the out door forum. But I wanted to know if there were more commuters. And what set up they are using and distance.

I try to ride as much as I can so long as I don't have to pick up the kids from school, wife not working days, weather permitting etc and put on about 1200 km's commuting to work last year. It's about 10k each way, bike paths, through a park and some road. It's a great start to my morning while getting in shape at the same time.

I splurged a few years ago and bought a new bike from MEC with internal gearing/hub, rigid fork and haven't regretted it for a second. It is similar to this one (a previous years model), but is black and only 8 gears instead of 11....MEC Hold Steady. Not having a derailleur is so convenient for commuting and the hydraulic disc breaks help me stop on a dime when the cars cut me off. The internal hub allows me to switch gears at a light and take off with no clunking or noise or movement, it's incredible reliable and has zero noise when pedaling forward or backward on the crank.

Clipless pedals and helmets are a MUST for a good, safe ride. You wouldn't think pedals would make that much of a difference, but they do. So does a comfortable pair of cycling shoes with firm soles.

I also splurged and go an entry level Garmin Edge 200 GPS Bike Computer for about $150. Another very nice addition that has a virtual partner, past times and shows if you are ahead or behind schedule so helps push you a bit.

Planning on starting this week as it's still been misserable here and about 3 weeks behind my start last year. When there is frost on the car and it's -4 at 7am or rainy and cold (like it has been lately), I jump in the car.

^^that is a good looking bike. I have never ridden on a internal hub. I don't ride clip less but I ride with straps. And a helmet. But yes pedals make a huge difference.

I do about five miles each way, all of it on roads. Hey, it beats the train.

i ride a GT 29'r single speed.

Woot! commute thread!

Yes ... I commute, 12 miles each way, try to do it three to four days a week. About half is on local trails, the other half on surface streets. I started commuting last year but stopped over the winter. Resumed last month and have 288 miles under my belt commuting this year.

As for what I ride, I picked up a Kona Jake last year ... it's a cyclocross bike and it works wonderfully as a commuter.

Pic is from last year, shortly after I got it.



Since then I swapped out the white bar tape for black and swapped the stock seat for a Specialized seat, added a couple of blinkie lights for dark or dusk commuting and I added a set of Crank Brothers eggbeaters. I wear Specialized MTB shoes so I can walk easier when I arrive at work. I also swapped out the knobbies for Kenda Kwick Tendrils ... they have a Kevlar belt on them to stave off flats and the sidewalls are reflective.

I've also got a Trek 1.2 that serves as my roadie ... I've commuted on it in the past, but prefer the Kona because it's a little more rugged.

I wish I could commute via bike. I'd love that.

jjking54 said:

Woot! commute thread!

Yes ... I commute, 12 miles each way, try to do it three to four days a week. About half is on local trails, the other half on surface streets. I started commuting last year but stopped over the winter. Resumed last month and have 288 miles under my belt commuting this year.

As for what I ride, I picked up a Kona Jake last year ... it's a cyclocross bike and it works wonderfully as a commuter.

Pic is from last year, shortly after I got it.

View attachment 450072

Since then I swapped out the white bar tape for black and swapped the stock seat for a Specialized seat, added a couple of blinkie lights for dark or dusk commuting and I added a set of Crank Brothers eggbeaters. I wear Specialized MTB shoes so I can walk easier when I arrive at work. I also swapped out the knobbies for Kenda Kwick Tendrils ... they have a Kevlar belt on them to stave off flats and the sidewalls are reflective.

I've also got a Trek 1.2 that serves as my roadie ... I've commuted on it in the past, but prefer the Kona because it's a little more rugged.

Click to expand...

That is a sweet looking bike. I had a Kona Cowan for a while when I was into riding urban and jumping things. I love Kona's. Great bikes.

Thanks! looking at the picture again, I really need to get an updated picture of it. I forgot how different it is now. I should have shot it yesterday, or this morning ... I washed it yesterday. LOL

I would if I lived a bit closer to my office - but 32 miles one way is a bit much for me (not to mention that my route would take me thru some real unsafe area's)
So, my old bike sits in an indoor trainer where I pedal my *** off going nowhere fast

Not doing it right now, but I've done it three times in the past. Two of the routes were only about one mile each way. The last route I took for about 1.5 miles and connected to a city bus. I'd do it again!

jmann8686 said:

Just like the title says. Anybody else commuting to work via pedal bike. If so what do you commute on and how far.

My commute is 12 miles each way. Luckily I have about 5 miles of bike path that I get to ride on. There are only two bad traffic areas I have to ride in. Luckily they are short and I can get through them quickly. Other then that is is wide shoulders or side roads.

I ride a 1980 Schwinn Letour singlespeed. I have a flip/flop hub just in case I want to ride fixed. I did a custom wrap on the bull horns. Which were just ram horns cut and turned around.

Click to expand...

Jesse, how long does the 12 miles take you? My commute is about 12.5 and have been trying to decide if biking would be worth it.

Not jmann, but I can knock out my "to work" commute (12 miles) in between 45-50 minutes. Going home it's usually between 48-55 because of traffic and the three hills that I encounter as I get close to home.

Tonight my ride home will take a little more time because the weather is finally nice and I'm going to extend my ride a little.

Thanks, Jase. Next step is to see if I can find a safe route.

MrSpeedy said:

Jesse, how long does the 12 miles take you? My commute is about 12.5 and have been trying to decide if biking would be worth it.

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jjking54 said:

Not jmann, but I can knock out my "to work" commute (12 miles) in between 45-50 minutes. Going home it's usually between 48-55 because of traffic and the three hills that I encounter as I get close to home.

Tonight my ride home will take a little more time because the weather is finally nice and I'm going to extend my ride a little.

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My route in takes me about the same as Jase. I usually do it between 40-45 min though. My route is downhill not much but just enough I can keep up a 18-19 mph pass into work. First 6 miles are back roads and side road with one traffic area. Then do about 5.5 miles or so of bike path. The last .5 of a mile has one bad traffic spot then it is a wide road and not alot of traffic in.

My route home takes about 50-55 min. Traffic is bad when I leave work for that .5 of a mile then back on the path. The 6 miles of road to my house is up hill for the most part. and there are two right in a row. They slow me down on the singlespeed.

I do go out of my way on a few of the roads to avoid traffic and to stay on wide roads. A safe path is very important to me. I try and avoid heavy traffic ares if I can even if it adds a mile or so on to my ride. I would rather ride an extra 5-6 min then deal with drivers that think that your a piece of crap that is just taking up space on the road.

MrSpeedy said:

Thanks, Jase. Next step is to see if I can find a safe route.

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I started out using Google navigation on my phone/Google maps on my computer, set to bicycing rather than directions by car. Made finding my way pretty easy (and I was fairly new to Milwaukee when I started commuting last year).

As for safety ... understandable. First half of my "to work" commute is all surface streets, and in the mornings it's not bad at all. Second half is mostly on a paved bike trail though I move back to surface streets when I get close to work but again, those aren't terribly busy in the mornings.

Afternoons, it's a bit of a different story. The surface streets closer to home are definitely busy. But I don't feel uncomfortable on them, and luckily, it's a highly traveled bike commuter route, so most drivers are used to seeing bikes there. Really it's only a stretch of about a mile or two that keep my head up. Basically you have to be a mix of assertive but respectful if that makes sense.

jjking54 said:

Basically you have to be a mix of assertive but respectful if that makes sense.

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Well said.