Commuter products that aren’t available
10-15-18, 12:40 AM
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Commuter products that aren’t available
Is there any feature not presently found on average commuter bikes, that you wish there were? Average being something that a bike salesman would guide a buyer to in the shop if they came in wanting to start commuting. Be it a gravel bike or a hybrid or a townie.
Example just for reference, though I’m sure someone will want ignore the thesis to refute it all: My new commuter is a mid grade MTB and has many MTB features. One thing that works really well is the shifting. It’s an NX 1x11 system. Gear ratio arguments aside, it has sufficient range, fits in the most worldwide standard interfaces of Shimano style freehub, Campagnolo style derailleur hanger, and BSA threaded bottom bracket. All the sprockets including the front are steel and should last a long time. The front is a NW, the RD has a clutch, it doesn’t flop around. I’m never going to drop the chain shifting again, never going to bend a chain sucked into the FD because the little ring is worn out. I am so pleased with this that I feel frustrated with all the years I spent without it. I’m never buying another bike that doesn’t have this or something like it. Why then are natural commuter bikes like hybrids still coming with low-level triples which have always been awful? My wife hurt or at least shocked herself today somehow shifting the front of her bike suddenly. It’s a Shimano unit with the riveted chain rings, and a nameless FD. To turn it into a 1x I’m even going to have to change the crankset. But it’s worth it to me, I’ll remove all the obstacles I can to her riding.
Example just for reference, though I’m sure someone will want ignore the thesis to refute it all: My new commuter is a mid grade MTB and has many MTB features. One thing that works really well is the shifting. It’s an NX 1x11 system. Gear ratio arguments aside, it has sufficient range, fits in the most worldwide standard interfaces of Shimano style freehub, Campagnolo style derailleur hanger, and BSA threaded bottom bracket. All the sprockets including the front are steel and should last a long time. The front is a NW, the RD has a clutch, it doesn’t flop around. I’m never going to drop the chain shifting again, never going to bend a chain sucked into the FD because the little ring is worn out. I am so pleased with this that I feel frustrated with all the years I spent without it. I’m never buying another bike that doesn’t have this or something like it. Why then are natural commuter bikes like hybrids still coming with low-level triples which have always been awful? My wife hurt or at least shocked herself today somehow shifting the front of her bike suddenly. It’s a Shimano unit with the riveted chain rings, and a nameless FD. To turn it into a 1x I’m even going to have to change the crankset. But it’s worth it to me, I’ll remove all the obstacles I can to her riding.
10-15-18, 01:01 AM
#2
Senior Member
Nice features cost money. Bike shops need to cater to their local demographic, and not many people are willing to spend over $1,000 on a commuter bike (or any bicycle) with high end drivetrain components. Convince people with money that a bicycle is a viable and serious mode of transportation, and more of them will be willing to spend the dough on good ones such that they will be more common in local bike shops.
In the mean time, for those of us discerning cyclists who know what they want, the Internet is a wonderful thing that gives us the opportunity to find and order a bicycle with any and every feature desired (if you have the $$$).
In the mean time, for those of us discerning cyclists who know what they want, the Internet is a wonderful thing that gives us the opportunity to find and order a bicycle with any and every feature desired (if you have the $$$).
10-15-18, 01:11 AM
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I don’t buy that. NX 11 speed is not premium. The RD weighs ounces more than the GX, the cassette is still just a stack of stamped rings like any, the trigger shifter does nothing clever, on a commuter you could skip the NW front and have a chain ring simple as a single speed. Shimano likes to claim their technology trickles down but nothing has trickled down to Altus in about twenty years.
10-15-18, 01:12 AM
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What is the gear range % on that 1x setup you have?
10-15-18, 01:27 AM
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For a lot of use, large amounts of money spent on commuters isn't money well spent. Crashes, theft ... There is another approach that has most of the advantages of the above approach, is cheaper, has possible advantages from an exercise standpoint and does far better on salted winter roads with low maintenance - fix gears.
But in line with the OP's topic, yes there are lots of things I want and expect on my commuters that don't come on modern stock bikes. (Fix gear and a frame set up with horizontal dropouts, fender eyes, a good fork for LowRiders and a reflective paint job. I also want a specific pedal that hasn't been made for years. Likewise a combination of two brake calipers from a different era. Rear brake cable run along the top of the TT in a full housing. Good thing is that many of these frames were made 30 years ago, so that is what I ride. (Crash a frame? Buy another for ~$75 and put the parts of the crashed bike on it. $150 if is a full bike. HS and BB will probably stay on. LIkewise the seatpin and maybe the post. The rest either goes into spare parts or back to a coop.)
Ben
But in line with the OP's topic, yes there are lots of things I want and expect on my commuters that don't come on modern stock bikes. (Fix gear and a frame set up with horizontal dropouts, fender eyes, a good fork for LowRiders and a reflective paint job. I also want a specific pedal that hasn't been made for years. Likewise a combination of two brake calipers from a different era. Rear brake cable run along the top of the TT in a full housing. Good thing is that many of these frames were made 30 years ago, so that is what I ride. (Crash a frame? Buy another for ~$75 and put the parts of the crashed bike on it. $150 if is a full bike. HS and BB will probably stay on. LIkewise the seatpin and maybe the post. The rest either goes into spare parts or back to a coop.)
Ben
10-15-18, 05:25 AM
#6
Senior Member
A commuter bike should be an older bike repurposed to your needs, not something you buy new IMHO. They are going to take a lot of abuse, be left on the street frequently, caught in the rain. And as you say, they are going to need something that a stock bike just doesn't have. My bike is a 3x10 and I have no trouble at all with shifting, but I also built the thing up myself and tweaked it so it all works flawlessly. And no cheap parts on my bike, all XT. XT/Dynasys 10sp works really well and has a clutch. The middle/small don't get used because there aren't any hills in NYC big enough to need them, at least not on my routes, so maybe they are superfluous, but I can still shift between them without chain suck or anything else. I've added dynamo lighting, fenders, rack, bags, etc... Nobody else has a bike like mine because I built it for me. It looks like hell but rides like brand new even though my rebuild is already 5 years old. The frame is a 1990 Trek 7000 with some replacement fork that was on it when I bought it.
If you start with quality parts and do it yourself, you'll get something that works for you.
If you start with quality parts and do it yourself, you'll get something that works for you.
10-15-18, 06:16 AM
#7
Banned
One of the more sport urban bikes that I seem reasonable priced are here:
https://whyte.bike/collections/fast-...ts/whitechapel
1x9 with fenders and discs (£599)
belt drive, fenders, disc brakes, SRAM Automatic hub, integrated rack
https://www.ghost-bikes.com/en/bikes...e-urban-38-al/
£500 as well
https://whyte.bike/collections/fast-...ts/whitechapel
1x9 with fenders and discs (£599)
belt drive, fenders, disc brakes, SRAM Automatic hub, integrated rack
https://www.ghost-bikes.com/en/bikes...e-urban-38-al/
£500 as well
10-15-18, 07:27 AM
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Is there any feature not presently found on average commuter bikes, that you wish there were? Average being something that a bike salesman would guide a buyer to in the shop if they came in wanting to start commuting. Be it a gravel bike or a hybrid or a townie.
Example just for reference, though I’m sure someone will want ignore the thesis to refute it all: My new commuter is a mid grade MTB and has many MTB features. One thing that works really well is the shifting. It’s an NX 1x11 system. Gear ratio arguments aside, it has sufficient range, fits in the most worldwide standard interfaces of Shimano style freehub, Campagnolo style derailleur hanger, and BSA threaded bottom bracket. All the sprockets including the front are steel and should last a long time. The front is a NW, the RD has a clutch, it doesn’t flop around. I’m never going to drop the chain shifting again, never going to bend a chain sucked into the FD because the little ring is worn out. I am so pleased with this that I feel frustrated with all the years I spent without it. I’m never buying another bike that doesn’t have this or something like it. Why then are natural commuter bikes like hybrids still coming with low-level triples which have always been awful? My wife hurt or at least shocked herself today somehow shifting the front of her bike suddenly. It’s a Shimano unit with the riveted chain rings, and a nameless FD. To turn it into a 1x I’m even going to have to change the crankset. But it’s worth it to me, I’ll remove all the obstacles I can to her riding.
Example just for reference, though I’m sure someone will want ignore the thesis to refute it all: My new commuter is a mid grade MTB and has many MTB features. One thing that works really well is the shifting. It’s an NX 1x11 system. Gear ratio arguments aside, it has sufficient range, fits in the most worldwide standard interfaces of Shimano style freehub, Campagnolo style derailleur hanger, and BSA threaded bottom bracket. All the sprockets including the front are steel and should last a long time. The front is a NW, the RD has a clutch, it doesn’t flop around. I’m never going to drop the chain shifting again, never going to bend a chain sucked into the FD because the little ring is worn out. I am so pleased with this that I feel frustrated with all the years I spent without it. I’m never buying another bike that doesn’t have this or something like it. Why then are natural commuter bikes like hybrids still coming with low-level triples which have always been awful? My wife hurt or at least shocked herself today somehow shifting the front of her bike suddenly. It’s a Shimano unit with the riveted chain rings, and a nameless FD. To turn it into a 1x I’m even going to have to change the crankset. But it’s worth it to me, I’ll remove all the obstacles I can to her riding.
Aqua Blue Sport owner publicly criticises team's 3T Strada bike for 'costing results' | Cyclist
10-15-18, 07:43 AM
#9
Non omnino gravis
Interesting that the pics from the Cyclist.co.uk review of the 1X Strada show versions of the bike with both Shimano and SRAM groups. I've got 10,000+ miles on 1X and have never dropped a chain, even on washboard descents.
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10-15-18, 10:39 AM
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A new road frame with rack and fender mounts. There are a few out there, but I can see why so many people advocate building up an old steel frame from the last century.
10-15-18, 03:32 PM
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They are going to take a lot of abuse, be left on the street frequently, caught in the rain. And as you say, they are going to need something that a stock bike just doesn't have. My bike is a 3x10 and I have no trouble at all with shifting, but I also built the thing up myself and tweaked it so it all works flawlessly. And no cheap parts on my bike, all XT. XT/Dynasys 10sp works really well and has a clutch. The middle/small don't get used because there aren't any hills in NYC big enough to need them, at least not on my routes, so maybe they are superfluous, but I can still shift between them without chain suck or anything else. I've added dynamo lighting, fenders, rack, bags, etc... Nobody else has a bike like mine because I built it for me. It looks like hell but rides like brand new even though my rebuild is already 5 years old. The frame is a 1990 Trek 7000 with some replacement fork that was on it when I bought it.
If you start with quality parts and do it yourself, you'll get something that works for you.
If you start with quality parts and do it yourself, you'll get something that works for you.
Because of the security, I ride bikes that many would not look upon as a "commuter" bike but they do fit the definition given above. My 3 main ones are a Dean hardtail
DSCN0934 by Stuart Black, on Flickr
Yes that is a "commuter" picture. I ride along a stream on the way to work so I get to play around in the dirt too.
DSCN0301 by Stuart Black, on Flickr
This is a winter commuter picture of the Dean (a bit older version).
A Moots YBB
IMG_3144 by Stuart Black, on Flickr
Again, a "commuter" picture.
And a Salsa Las Cruces
DSCN0164 by Stuart Black, on Flickr
All of the bikes are a bit above the "XT" level when it comes to components as they are dripping with boutique parts. Lots of Paul, Phil Wood, Chris King, etc stuff hanging on them. The Dean and Moots are my winter work horses. The Moots gets studs for those icy days while the Dean stays with knobs all year long. I would say that titanium makes a wonderful frame material for winter. I've also gone to great lengths to have all the bearings seal cartridge units so that there is zero maintenance no matter what I throw at them.
I will say that without the security at my work, I would have a very different set of parameters for a commuter bike but the seal bearings would still be a must.
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Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
10-15-18, 03:57 PM
#14
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Adequate. More than Alfine. Comparable to compact double or road triple if you swap for 46t cassette. Less than MTB or hybrid/trekking triple. There’s an Eagle version this year but reviews seem mixed to me about Eagle and that lowest shift, and it’s a LOT more expensive.
Bikes like that are available here but seem a lot more expensive since in dollars they’re into four figures.
I feel like your needs are being met.
I feel like your needs are being met.
10-15-18, 04:21 PM
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It isn't easy to get dynamo lights here in the US (or Canada I guess). But they're awfully nice to have. Even though bike theft and cannibalization is terribly common here in NYC, people don't steal things that are bolted on, such as lights, so dynamo lights are convenient. You don't have to put them, take them off, or adjust their angles.
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10-15-18, 04:39 PM
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I keep working on it, but my main wish continues to be a better engine. Everything else has been updated at least once and still serves my needs pretty well.
10-15-18, 05:08 PM
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10-15-18, 05:21 PM
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Bar mounted electromagnetic pulse generator. [evergreen post]
10-15-18, 06:37 PM
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10-15-18, 08:30 PM
#20
Senior Member
Looking at those bikes I wouldn't exactly call them commuter bikes. I could ride my Kuota CF road bike to work too, but I wouldn't call it a commuter. Would you leave one of those bikes locked up to a lamppost in NYC? I wouldn't, and you'd never see it again if you did. Nobody pays any attention to mine, even though it has some expensive parts on it. You have to look closely though to realize it. That's not to say they wouldn't be nice to ride as a commuter, just not that practical here in NYC. For that matter, almost all higher end bikes you see here are road bikes. There isn't much use for a MTB here.
10-15-18, 08:46 PM
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10-15-18, 08:53 PM
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I rode my TT bike to work today. I’d call it a commuter because I commuted on it. (I realize that I’m very fortunate to have secure bike parking, and that lets me ride whatever bike I want without worry.)
10-15-18, 08:54 PM
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10-15-18, 08:55 PM
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Non omnino gravis
10-15-18, 09:01 PM
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Each person's riding and needs are different. I do commute some on my Colnago C40.
It is an eyecatcher, but the truth is that it is hardly worth more than running down to REI and picking up just about any bike they have on the rack.
Single speed would be at the bottom of my list of "must-have" features. Although most of my riding is pretty flat, I do hit hills that would preclude the use of those, especially as I load myself down with cargo, or am finishing up a long day or ride.
As far as missing features... Hmm...
I would like to see a high quality lightweight bike (with skinny tires), but a good sturdy functional bike rack.
And, eventually I'll get @noglider's lights installed on my bike...
It is an eyecatcher, but the truth is that it is hardly worth more than running down to REI and picking up just about any bike they have on the rack.
Single speed would be at the bottom of my list of "must-have" features. Although most of my riding is pretty flat, I do hit hills that would preclude the use of those, especially as I load myself down with cargo, or am finishing up a long day or ride.
As far as missing features... Hmm...
I would like to see a high quality lightweight bike (with skinny tires), but a good sturdy functional bike rack.
And, eventually I'll get @noglider's lights installed on my bike...