bubblegum said:
Hi folks,
I will soon be moving to the city from the outer suburbs and have decided to begin to put together a commuter bike (<1000 AUD) to use for everyday transport. I have a few options and ideas and wondering if anyone had any advice/suggestions basically im looking for an inexpensive looking bike that will be comfortable and wont get stolen but doesnt make me feel like a complete loser.
Doesn't matter how inexpensive a bike looks, if you leave it where it could be stolen, it could be stolen (or vandalised). Only a small fraction of bike theft has anything to do with perceived resale value, in most cases it's just some bogan that wants to get home or take a joyride, or just spoil somebody elses day. If riding the wrong bike could make you feel like a complete loser, the bike is probably not the problem
bubblegum said:
1-generally do i need to worry about matching the geometry/position of my no1 bike and would it be worth it to get the same saddle?
2-there is an old steel colnago in the shed im thinking of getting a 105 groupset, bomb proof wheels, panniers and fenders put on would it be worth it?
3-ive had a quick look around and most lbs cheep bikes are either city cruisers with baskets and loopy top tubes or entry level road bikes with a crappy drive train
4-any responses about what you ride, what works and what doesnt would be greatly appreciated
1 - Depends on the commute distance and your riding style, but generally NO. If you're commuting as a form of serious training, doing real distance and intensity, trying to match your position to some extent is a reasonable thing, but it's by no means necessary. Plenty of euros commute in suit & tie, but that wouldn't work on a racing bike for instance. The 'correct' position depends on the bike, and for a dedicated commuter a more upright position is a good thing (so you can see and be seen). Horses for courses as they say, both bike geometry and my position is quite different between my racing bike, commuter, hard-tail XC bike and FS AM bike. The same saddle may or may not be best depending on how upright you are sitting - I just use whatever comes with the bike until numb nuts tell me otherwise. Which city you are in is relevant too as other posters have mentioned; singlespeed is a good option for Melbourne, but could be marginal for Sydney and comedy gold in some parts of Hobart.
2 - Define "worth it". An old steel colnago built up with a new groupset, new wheels, panniers & fenders would make a very nice commuter indeed. But do you even need to put new kit on or can you ride it as-is? Most old stuff works just fine. Give things like the bars and stem (particularly if they're aluminium as they almost certainly are) a careful inspection for corrosion before you ride it, and tyres and tubes are worth replacing with new rubber (see the tyre thread, GP4000s rules). A rear rack and panniers are also worthwhile IMO. As for upgrading other stuff, if the frame is really old the rear dropout spacing may not fit a new hub (though you can get it cold set, or just wedge it in), which will also complicate upgrading to a 10s groupset.
3 - Cheap new bikes have a nasty habit of being cheap. You could look on eBay for something second hand, though you tend to get better 'value' higher up the food chain there too (e.g. wannabes selling the $4000 bike they bought right after the TDF last year, but only rode a couple of times, and will be happy to get $1500 for so their girlfriend stops complaining about it blocking the hallway)
4 - I've had 2 different dedicated commuter bikes.
In the UK, I used an old beater that I cobbled together out of about 4 derelict bikes left behind in the communal bike shed of the units I lived in. Think heavy steel, 6-speed friction shift thumbies, solid axle bolt-on hubs, mismatched brakes - and those were the parts I saved... It was the best bike I ever owned for locking up outside the pub on a Friday night
My day-to-day commuter is my original 1991 Raleigh Technium Chill MTB. I still run the original square taper Deore DX cranks and loose bearing BB, and the rear canti brake, but it has been through a few changes over the years:
-the addition of drop bars and aero bars while I used it for touring through the mid '90s
- new flat bars and suspension forks when I got back into some MTB in the late 1990s
- aero bars back on when I got a 'real' MTB and it went back to commuter duty
- tonight it's going back to rigid forks ($40 "Mosso" eBay specials which are lighter than $400 carbon forks although likely a harsher ride) and getting a front disc brake (the cantis needed new cables and a cable hanger anyway, the disc brakes were cheap from a friend, and the extra stopping power will be a good thing as I'll soon be regularly towing a kiddie trailer)
With all the mismatched colours, flat bars with aero bars and a home-made handlebar bag, 26" wheels with skinny slicks, 180mm disc and a rear rack with ortlieb pannier it would be almost guaranteed to make you feel like a complete loser, but "it works"
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