Realistic commuting distances

[jnb]

OK, I'm thinking of getting back into cycling which I haven't done seriously since I was at university. Ultimately I would like to be able to cycle to my office rather than drive.

The question is, what is a realistic distance to cycle as a commute. Work is a jeans and T shirt kind of place so that's not a problem , but the office is 14 miles away, which is . Now obviously I don;t expect to be able to go out tomorrow, buy a bike and immediately do that but is it a realistically commutable distance?

(or putting it another way can I persuade the Mrs that it's a good idea for me to spend £300 on what she will regard as a toy)

 

[John the Monkey]

Yep.

I do 13 ish miles each way (although I started by doing 8 miles each way, which was the distance for 3 months until we moved house).

Take it easy to start with. Get the bike, and a cycle computer, and do a couple of weekend rides at an easy pace to get a feel for the distances. Figure out your route to work and try doing that at a quieter time (Sunday, f'rexample?) and see what you think. Once you do take the plunge, remember you don't have to start by doing *every* day. You could start with Fridays only, or every other day, and work your way up from there.

Personally, I found that 10 miles was the point at which little niggles with my bike became more painful, so make sure that whatever bike you do get fits and is set up properly for you. On a related point, 5 miles is about my limit in "normal" clothes (cotton especially gets kind of uncomfortable when you sweat into it, jeans especially) so do think about getting some bike specific clothing to wear.

 

[John the Monkey]

I found Paul Dorn's website useful when I started;

http://www.runmuki.com/commute/

 

[ianrauk]

Hi jnb and welcome to the site.
Well first off you have picked up a good time of year to start commuting. The weather more often then not at the moment is pretty good.

As regards to the distance a 28 mile trip is a pretty good trip, for someone that is used to a daily commute I would have thought it would take an hour tops. Obviously it's all depending on fitness and the route, wether flat, hilly, lot's of traffic etc. You will find many people on this forum, myself included (32-38 miles) commute that distance and more every day.

What may be a good idea is to build up the commute. A couple of days a week, building up as your fitness and knowledge of the route gets better... but hey, you may be fit enough already to do 5 days straight off.

Whatever you decide good luck. And get on that bike and do it.... you wont regret it.

No doubt more people will be along with further advice

 

[jnb]

OK, so it looks like I could do it. Now what should I be looking at in bikes. Last time I cycled was at university where I had a no name chinese road bike. Window shopping around the town where I work there are a couple of outlets; halfords who I wouldn't trust to be an expert in these things but seem to have lots of bikes (apollo any good?), or an independent round the corner who suggested python or schwinn hybrids.

So £200 from halfords or £300 from the independent? Apollo, Python or Schwinn (or something else?). My gut feel is that I'd rather buy from the independent just because they seem to know what they're on about whereas halfords only seem interested in the sale.

 

[John the Monkey]

If you're going for Halfords, Carerra or Boardman are the brands to look at - good bikes for the money, but you may need to look them over to check that the setup is right (Halfords branches seem a bit variable in terms of the skill of the mechanics).

IME Apollo are not terrific bikes - overly heavy with too much that is "style" rather than function.

I'm afraid I don't know much about Schwinn or Python, they're not brands I've seen around here.

 

[ianrauk]

Halfords have a couple of good ranges of bikes.
The Carrera's and the Boardman's. Do not buy an Apollo!!!!
Go to your lbs and have a chat with them see what they recommend. If they are worth their salt they will give you some great advice as to what you would need both bike and accessories. What is the name of the lbs as no doubt someone on here would know them

 

[jnb]

Halfords have a couple of good ranges of bikes.
The Carrera's and the Boardman's. Do not buy an Apollo!!!!

OK I won't buy an apollo even though they might be on offer and I can't afford the boardmans.

What is the name of the lbs as no doubt someone on here would know them

Haywards Heath cycle centre - anyone know it? any good?

 

[jimboalee]

OK I won't buy an apollo even though they might be on offer and I can't afford the boardmans.



Haywards Heath cycle centre - anyone know it? any good?

Ooh... That's a lovely part of the country. Are you sure you won't have a 'light tourer' or sports bike. Or even an 'entry level' road bike.

14 miles to work gets shorter and shorter as the weeks go by.

 

[Lazy-Commuter]

I can't help too much with the models of bikes you've listed, but would recommend you give the money to the LBS rather than Halfords as you've already worked out .. you're not just buying the bike with the LBS you're (if they're any good!!) buying into a relationship with them which should keep you running for years.

As regards the distance, how secure is work? Could you, for example, drive in one day with the bike in / on the car, leave the car there overnight and ride home .. ride back the next day and collect the car, taking bike home or leaving it at work as appropriate / safe? Over time, you can gradually increase the ride / drive ratio ...

Wotcha, by the way.

 

[jnb]

Are you sure you won't have a 'light tourer' or sports bike. Or even an 'entry level' road bike.

Right now I've very little idea what I would get. Hybrids seem to be recommended but I have no real idea why. Road bikes seem to get into more expensive territory. Tourers or hybrids would seem the sensible choices to me right now but I'll freely admit I'm no expert.

 

[jnb]

As regards the distance, how secure is work? Could you, for example, drive in one day with the bike in / on the car, leave the car there overnight and ride home .. ride back the next day and collect the car, taking bike home or leaving it at work as appropriate / safe?

Which would still leave me with a return journey albiet one with an overnight rest. Current plan is that I'll get the bike and use it for return trips to the allotment (3 miles return), then the shops (8 mile return), then the squash club (10 mile return) and then try the commutes. That way I can build up the distances and I'll not be left with car or bike in the wrong (ie less secure) place at the end of the day.

 

[Lazy-Commuter]

Which would still leave me with a return journey albiet one with an overnight rest. Current plan is that I'll get the bike and use it for return trips to the allotment (3 miles return), then the shops (8 mile return), then the squash club (10 mile return) and then try the commutes. That way I can build up the distances and I'll not be left with car or bike in the wrong (ie less secure) place at the end of the day.

Aha. Sorry, I didn't really make that clear: I wasn't meaning to do that right from now .. more meaning that you'd do it once you'd built up to the distance. Saves having to do the journey in and then home all in one day is all.

But if work's not secure, it's a non-starter anyway ..

 

[jnb]

On second thoughts I might not bother. I've just been reading a few of the threads on this site and it seems that every second post is about inconsiderate or even deliberately violent and threatening behaviour from other road users.

 

[Woz!]

I've recently started commuting by bike again. My previous was a 10 mile each-way trip, this one is 13 miles each way.
The distance is fine to be honest - I have a couple of nasty hills, but after doing it for over 2 months now they don't bother me at all.
As far as car drivers - I've had a couple of idiots beeping me and one dumb woman drove me off the road at a roundabout, so yeah, it's quite bad. In the three years I've been driving the same route I've not had one incident while in the car, so it does look like bikes are at least partially targetted by idiots and ignored by morons.
Thing is, the more bikes there are on the road, the better it will get!

As far as bikes go - have you looked at second hand? I road a ratty racer for a few weeks and decided that I really liked the drop bars for commuting, so I bought a touring bike (Ridgeback Voyage). At your price range you might be better off with second hand, because that distance will add up the miles over the year so you want a good quality bike!

Oh, and the MOST important thing: Get puncture resistant tyres! Seriously.