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Commuting

Kyle Aaron

Kyle Aaron

Active member
I'll be doing a 23km each way commute on my bike soon.

I have to go from the southeastern suburbs of Melbourne to the CBD four days a week, get there about 0845. The car would be a mad drive and stupidly expensive parking. The train will be absolutely packed, is often late or cancelled, especially once the temperature gets over 35 degrees.

So I'll be going by bike. There's a bike path most of the way, along the Monash Freeway & Citylink. But it's not a distance I've cycled before, my trips so far have just been short ones - 6-8km.

I just have a cruddy old k-mart mountain bike, and with my course, wedding and honeymoon, can't afford a new one just yet. I'm going to get hybrids or slicks, which should make things easier.

Any other advice for these long commutes?
 
have never used a hybrid so not sure on how they perform , but i have put slicks on my old trek 3700 to be there was no real noticable difference between slicks and knobbies.

the thing to make sure is that your bike is in good condition , that the gears change correctly and the right psi in the tyres , and the chain is lubed up
 
From a physics point of view you would want a tyre/rim that is as light as possible if riding on the road. Mountain bike rims are heavy and strong to take the off road punishment and require more force to accelerate them.
 
Slicks will definitely help to a point and also help make the trip a little more enjoyable ride without it being constantly bumpy because of the knobs.

Rotational weight will be your biggest enemy though but if you get a tyre too light you will risk alot more puntures. so just try to get a tyre that a bit lighter and a little slimmer each time you get new ones untill you start having issues.

A new bike would be ideal for the future as even a stiffer frame has major benefits ensuring that the power you put down goes to the ground and not going through the bike flexing and not to mention better bearings with less friction so your enegy isnt wasted.

Also depending on what your seats like some padded bike knicks(shorts) might be an idea.
 
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Slicks make a massive difference IHOMO.Nobbies are heavier and slow down a lot quicker.Getting up to speed is much easier with slicks and then cruising is easier as well.With nobbies you have to constantly push to keep up to speed.
 
These are the tyres I got. I'm just fitting them on now.

A mate of mine who cycles lots reckons I'll get 10% more speed with the same effort. 6.5km was taking me 25-30 minutes, so the 23km to the city should take me 90 minutes - but I haven't tried the route yet, it could be quicker or slower, the route to Holmesglen had a lot of crossing roads and traffic, this is more bike trails. I'll do a trial run tomorrow.

My mate reckons three spare inner tubes are necessary, but he cycles 64km in one go so I'm not surprised. I'll only be doing 23km and most of that within 1km of a railway line, if I get more than one flat I'm giving up and taking the train! :p
 
when ever i go riding i always take 2 spare tubes with me , some tweezers and air canisters. The air canisters are great pump the tyre up in 30seconds
 
and shave your legs while your at it.......pfffffftttttttt

as if lycra or shaving your legs will make any difference. if it does it will be very little. i know a couple who wear lycra under there pants and they only wear it for comfort reasons.
 
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upg said:
aerodynamics helps alot too
grab a cycling jersey and bike shorts
Click to expand...
NEVER!

I will never ever be lycra-clad. You don't get into a flamesuit when you drive a car, do you? Cycling is for transport!

I'll take water, I don't know if there are drinking fountains along the way.
 
lycra has a practical reason behind it
stops chaffing , wicks away the sweat and cuts down on wind resistance , also helps keep you cooler allowing you skin to breath

padded bike shorts give you that bit more support in the right places
 
Dont under estimate the power of aerodynamics. it can make an incredible difference especially over a long distance.
Even if it only improves ride time by 1 minute on an hour long course thats then 1 minute you dont have to pedal as hard. I have on a few rides gone out in a full skin suit while riding my bmx bike just so I could get a long enough ride in at a certain cadence with a large gear. Could you imagine how much of a tool I looked like doing that. But then I won a National series mtb race a few days later so it was worth it.
The lycra can significantly improve your ride quality allowing you to put in less effort and concentrate on technique as riding a bike isnt just ablout pushing on the pedals.
 
kyle get one of those wipper snipper motors for the old girl. apparently you can buy the whole kit cheap enough!! none of this pedaling rubbish!!! :P jks. good luck with it matey. i used to ride to work and if you can last the first week or two then youll be fine!!! good stuff!!!
 
meh
your choice

all things equal - the guy with less coefficient of drag will be faster and more efficient
try riding with a baggy hoodie into a stiff breeze
you get no where fast

lastly get some proper pedals (clipless are awesome) or toe clips if you're on a budget
the proper way to pedal is to pull up on the returning stroke
also makes pedalling more fluid unlike mashing down on the pedals which people do when climbing hills..etc
 
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upg said:
the proper way to pedal is to pull up on the returning stroke
also makes pedalling more fluid unlike mashing down on the pedals which people do when climbing hills..etc
Click to expand...
Contrary to what other people may have told you, the fluid motion doesnt come from pulling on an upstroke but more the fact that you can unweight your rear leg. And the fluid motion comes from a better transition of power between each leg as you are able push forward closer to the top of each stroke and pull backwards past the bottom of each stroke.

The power your legs can pull upwards with is not even anywhere near how much you can push with but your legs are designed to push forward and pull backwards.

Also dont go over to the darkside with one of those motors. Im sure they will crack down on them soon as some of these guys are going to kill themselves and/or others as the kmart bikes they generally fit them into with rusted rims, aren't made to go that fast, and they generally ride very dangerously without consideration to anyone else.
 
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