Cfiber

I would like to know what kind of carbon fiber bicycle you guys would recommend for commuting on smooth roads for 14 miles round trip. My budget is $3000 and I would like to be able to attach a rack. Also, I would prefer a more relaxed geometry. Thanks

CommuteCommando

I think CF road bikes are cool too, but they are not the greatest thing for commuting. Most do not have hard points for mounting racks. The biggest advantage of CF is that it is really stiff with less weight then steel or aluminum. Most who get them would not kill that weight advantage by loading them with racks and bags.

Having said that, almost all are decent quality, and the prices will be comparable for a given groupset. Test ride and go for the one that feels best to you.

phillybill

Something like a steel Salsa or a Soma cross might be better. The point on the CF frames is valid. You can still get a light steel Reynolds 853 frame that will do the job nicely.

droy45

+1 These cannot be beat for commuting and won't eat up the whole budget.

Cfiber

I've just got to have a rack attached to the bike for my lunch, laptop, extra clothing, and groceries. I pass a grocery store about two miles from my home en route.

Alright then, what steel road bikes would you recommend in the $1500 - $3000 range?... Would I even have to spend that much?

phillybill

The salsa vaya 3 is about 1399 at bikeman

https://salsacycles.com/bikes/vaya_3
https://www.bikeman.com/BK8582.html?u...ign=GoogleBase
And the Casseroll
https://www.bikeman.com/BK8211.html

I generally build my frames from scratch... but I would consider this one if I were not willing to do that.
My commuter bike for this year is a Soms Saga frame set that I built up. I spent about 900 on it

phillybill

Now.. you can ride a road bike without a rack... I put one of these on the seatpost of my Cf road bike
https://www.velofred.com/klickfix-fre...aul-p-297.html

It's a very stable system and can fit what you need. I use the backpack often as just my normal backpack.

CommuteCommando

No.

Check out Surly Long Haul trucker, and Cross Check too. I commute on an aluminum road bike, and really miss my hybrid, and am looking for another. Years of using a back pack are taking their toll on my back.

Cfiber

Since Bikeman is out of stock on the Casseroll and Vaya, I've decided to go with either the Raleigh Clubman or the Fuji Grand Fondo 2.1 plus the Rixen & Kaul Klickfix Backpack that you've recommended.

Do these two choices seem to be alright?

Thank you

hubcap

How much weight do you normally carry with that setup? The link says max load is 5kg.

phillybill

They are both fine choices. I have a friend that rides Clubman and he likes it alot. And lots of people on this thread like Fuji's also, they have been around for years.

I was torn between my Soma saga and a Fuji touring for my commuter .... both would have been acceptable.

Cfiber

I didn't consider that, Hubcap. You're right!

phillybill

Normally about 5-8 lbs...
- change of clothes
- lunch
- tablet
- tools
- travel coffee mug
- keys, phone wallet

Cfiber

Looks like I'd have to be a bike mechanic for the Saga. I really do like the looks of the 2013 Clubman. Besides, I think it'll be better for carrying my groceries on a rack. I'm seriously thinking about the Clubman right now. I think I'm going to take a look at the Fuji Touring, the Raleigh Sojourn, and the Surly Long Haul Trucker too.

Thanks

phillybill

My only issue with the Long Haul Trucker and the Cross Check, is that they are heavy. I had a Cross Check five years ago... as my RT is 18 miles, it got a bit heavy at the end of the day for me. I can build a lighter bike, and the soma and fuji frames are very responsive when ridden.
Yes I built up the Fuji touring frame Nashbar was selling them for 120.00 a few months ago and I had all the spare parts hanging around. Sold it for a nice 800.00 cash and got rid of my extra parts.

Honestly, everything you are looking at are great bikes... Add the Jamis Aurora onto that list. Nice touring bike with a Reynolds 520 frame, a fast ride and luggage capacity.

Andy_K 

You've gotten a lot of good recommendations, but let me offer some suggestions that are more along the lines of what you were originally asking for.

I'm thinking that you want a sporty road bike that you could take the rack and fenders off of and join a fast group ride on weekends if you wanted to. Now it's true that you could do that with anything from a Salsa Vaya to a Surly Long Haul Trucker, but those bikes (the Trucker in particular) are more suited to mellow rides where you take in the scenery. If you're fit enough you'll be able to keep up with a group on any bike, but when it comes time to sprint for the city limit sign, something like the Trucker will be working against you. (I have one, so I'm not just speculating.)

It's true that most carbon fiber bikes aren't designed with the kind of riding you do on a daily commute in mind. The closest thing I could think of is the Volagi Liscio, but they specifically recommend against putting a rack on it (though they say you could do it if you keep the total rack + cargo weight under 10 pounds -- probably not reasonable with a laptop).

So what does that leave you? Aluminum. Enter the Specialized Secteur Expert Disc:



It's got the same geometry as the Specialized Roubaix (their relaxed geometry carbon fiber bike), but it's made of aluminum, has disc brakes and has mounts for rack and fenders (not to mention tire clearance to go with that).

If you're looking for a fast, but relaxed, road bike that's up to the task of commuting, this is your bike.

If you like the idea of a comfortable ride where you enjoy the scenery and don't mind going 17 mph instead of 20, then ignore this post and go with one of the excellent options previously mentioned.

Andy_K 

BTW, let me say that the weight aspect of the Long Haul Trucker and Cross Check is often misunderstood. The frames weigh around 5 pounds. The lightest frames you'd want to commute on weigh 3 pounds. So your total weight with a similar build might jump from 20 pounds to 22. The thing is, most people wouldn't build one of these bikes the way they'd build a 20-pound bike. They use more bombproof components and add things like racks and fenders and so the end product ends up weighing closer to 30 pounds.

old's'cool

Andy_K, I agree with your sentiments, but, by way of clarification, according to the Surly catalog, the LHT frame alone weighs about 5 lb; the fork is an additional 2 lb or so. That's pretty respectable in my book, considering the bike's intent. I do not know the apportioning of weight between frame & fork of CF bikes, as they don't interest me much.
My payload for commuting has been north of 20lb sometimes, so for me the weight savings of a high end frame is fairly pointless; I could get more benefit by just paring down my payload, if I wanted to. But, since a large part of the reason I bike commute is exercise, there's little incentive to go all weight-weenie on my commuter bikes. Of course speed is also a consideration, but +/- a few pounds on a gross weight in the vicinity of 200lb does not lend itself to a measurable difference in total elapsed time. Putting it another way, there's a lot more to be gained speedwise, at least in my case, by improving and/or lightening the "engine" than by incremental weight reduction of the bike + equipment.

Cfiber

Yeah, I hear ya! I could lose about 20-25 lbs. to achieve my ideal body weight.

Also, though speed is a concern in my book, comfort trumps speed every time. Therefore, I think I'm going to stick with the touring bike concept. I don't care if I arrive several seconds later than everyone else, as long as I enjoy the ride.

Thanks

Commodus

No no no. Do not buy a touring bike for comfort. Buy a normal road bike, with clearance for bigger tires and braze ons for a rack and fenders. A touring bike has to be built stiff to handle touring loads, this is not what you want.

Andy_K 

Yeah, I didn't put the fork into my numbers. A 3-pound frame will usually be paired with a fork that weighs around 1/2 to 3/4 of a pound, so that's another 1.5 pounds difference. You could put a 1/2 pound carbon fork on a Cross Check, but you probably wouldn't.

Someone posted a question on the road forum recently (might have been trolling) asking how he could cut the weight on his Cross Check with rack, fenders and stock components. Someone said (correctly) that he could reduce weight in literally every component of that bike. And that's the way it always is with bike weight. It's distributed all over the bike.

So is a Cross Check or Long Haul Trucker really that heavy compared to other commuting bikes? Not really, at least not if you have sensible commuting components on the other bikes.

On the other hand, I do take issue with the argument that 2-3 pounds of bike weight doesn't make a difference with a 200-pound rider+bike weight. You're right that it doesn't usually make a measurable speed difference (tires being the exception), but it does make a difference in how it feels to ride the bike. And while losing five pounds of body fat might give you as much or more climbing speed improvement as losing five pounds of bike weight, you can't lose five pounds of body weight this weekend by dumping a load of cash on the problem.

tarwheel 

Since your budget is rather generous, I would check out the Gunnar Sport and/or Crosshairs. Gunnars are high quality frames built with excellent, relatively light steel tubing. Both models have mounts and clearance for racks, fenders and larger tires. I have a Gunnar Sport and it is a great commuter bike, yet fine for group rides and light touring as well. The Soma ES, Smoothie and Doublecross are similar frames for a smaller budget. Not as high quality as Gunnar or available in a range of colors, but excellent values for the money.

Commodus

Yes. This.

phillybill

Here a long shot.... an old Lemond Propad ... makes a nice comutter, True Temper OX steel, plenty of tire clearance. Can be found on eBay in good condition for a song and a dance.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Lemond-Popra...item35c633638f

Cfiber

OMG! I'm so glad that I checked back! I'm really not sure now.

I want a steel road bike that's a comfortable commuter, that can handle up to 40 lbs in groceries, can endure century rides, and perhaps occasional weekend tours.