My first love is moutain biking. I've started commuting lately because it's fun and I wanted to continue to get stronger and lose more weight. I have a full-suspension rig for the trails that's just not appropriate for the commute. So, I took my old rigid mountain bike, a Trek 830 circa 1994 and put semi-slicks on it, installed some fenders and a rack and have been riding my bike to work for the last 8 weeks. I ride through some mean streets, both literally and figuratively. The streets are strewn with glass, metal, and potholes. Also, some of the areas are not exactly safe. I feel that my greatest ally is speed. My Trek gets me 25 mph downhill (30 if it's really steep and I'm really pushing) and closer to 13-15mph going uphill. I want to go faster. So, now I'm in the market for a new bike.

I want something that will also be fun to ride with my friends on the weekends. I want something I can do a century on, if I want. I'm not going to be road racing, but I want to be able to hold my own in a 25mph paceline.

Two bikes I'm looking at very closely are the Surly Cross-Check and the Specialized TriCross. I need to be able to put fenders and a rack on the bike. I want to be able to put nice and wide tires on it for puncture resistance and ride comfort (remember, potholes!). Any other suggestions?

Only other option might be to put skinnier tires on the Trek. I have Continental Town and Country's 26x1.9 on there. I don't know how much faster that would make me. Then, I could buy a Specialized Allez or something for the weekends.

Thoughts?

I'm loving my Surly Cross Check for commuting--it has mad clearance for big tires and fenders and the quality is excellent (I built up the frame with nice parts). Also check out the Bianchi Volpe.

For commuting I have a Cross Check that I love. I also have an old rigid mountain bike that I have since converted to a fixed gear. I've actually been riding the fixed gear more since I built it up.

If you're handy you could do what I did (minus the fixed gear bit) and have a pretty nice bike. If the frame is comfortable to you, it's an option that might be worth pursuing. Throw some nice 700c wheels on there with two long reach caliper brakes, re-gear as needed (if it's really even needed- you could use the same cassette that's on your bike now since it's set for that now) and you're set. Just a little time and effort, much cheaper too. Then you can pick out a really nice road bike to tool around with on the weekends.

Here's mine before:

http://forums.roadbikereview.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=39240&d=1135045307

and after:

http://forums.roadbikereview.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=65199&d=1158349877

Forgot to add: If you do consider this, make sure that frame will allow you to put 700c wheels on it first. Mine had plenty of clearance, and the even with the front brake I was able to squeeze in some SKS fenders I had at the house. YMMV, but I think it rides much better now and the frame is completely bulletproof. Heck the fork is probably heavier than most fancy road frames. It soaks up the bumps quite nicely and fears no potholes.

Thanks for the idea. I thought of that. It doesn't look like the 700cc wheels will fit, unfortunately.

I'm looking at the Trek Pilot 1.2, also. That seems like a pretty good bike and it has eyelets for racks and I imagine it can take fenders, too.

From what I have seen, the Kona bikes pack alot of value. The Specialized cross bikes are good as well and will take a rack and fenders. One point to make, a bike won't do everything. If you want a bike that you can ride in a paceline at speed, you will give something up as a commuter and vice versa. If your intention is to commute, pick a bike based on that. I can hold a decent speed on my commuter, but acceleration is a little sluggish since my loaded bike is around thirty pounds leaving the garage. I could shed some weight on the bike, but at the expense of durability and reliability. After all that, a commuter will make an excellent century and charity ride bike.

You should also look at Surly's Long Haul Trucker. You can get racks front and rear on there, plus you have a longer headtube so you can have a more upright ride with less spacers.

My only problem with the Surly bikes is that a) they're on the high end of my budget right now and b) my LBS doesn't carry them and wants a committment on my part to buy if they're going to order one in. So I can't just "take a look" at them. I pretty much have to want it.

Only problem with that is that if he gets one smaller than 56 cm he'll be using 26 inch wheels. Which is why he's here in the first place. My Cross Check is a 56cm bike, but if I was to buy a long haul trucker it would be with the 54cm frame due to their sizing.

Another thought for you (trying to save you money so you can get a nice roadbike in addition to your commuter), have you considered 650B wheels if the 700c wheels won't fit. I wasn't sure if the 700c's would fit on my bike until I actually tried them. As I stated before, not only did they fit, but I was able to get fenders on there as well without cutting them.

Another thought, have you checked Craigslist for an older roadbike? That would probably fit your needs perfectly if you shop around a bit. When I was doing my fixie project I found a nice older steel roadbike that I should have bought for only $75.00.

I did try craigslist. It's hit and miss with the emphasis on miss. Most of the time it's just junk up there. At least in my area.

I'll think about the wheels thing. I haven't tried but I'm almost positive that larger wheels won't fit. Right now, I'm going to try putting skinnier tires on the current commuter. I'm looking at Shwalbe Marathons at 1.75 or maybe something in a 1.5 size. (26" wheels, of course) That might improve my speed and make me happy enough to buy a fun weekend bike instead. The LBS has a smoking deal on a Spec'd Allez Triple. It's at $700, so... We'll see.

I don't think you will find that big of a speed improvement going to a 700c wheeled bike. Maybe 1 or 2 mph. I commuted on my touring bike with 28c tires for a while this summer and it was only a bit faster then my clunky old mtb commuter. I chock most of the speed gain up to a more aero position, clipless pedals, and the fact that my regular commuter is fully loaded and thus a couple pounds heavier.

If I were you I'd look to modify your current bike, skinnier tires, clipless pedals and drop bars.

Well, I did, in fact, buy the Allez elite and order skinnier tires for the commuter. They're 1.5's. So, that should help some. I already have clipless pedals. One of these days I will look into changing the bars. I have grip shifts on there right now. They came with the bike. I don't think you can put them on a drop bar. So, I'd need to buy new shifters, at least. I think I should wear out the cassette first and then change the whole thing. We'll see. I'll try to search ebay and whatnot for some discounted parts, and watch the sales.

But, in other news. Took a 30 mile ride on the new road bike. Whee! It's fast and fun. Such acceleration! Nothing like riding a 20lb bike after commuting all week on a 60lb rig!

With the right shim (or the right amount of duct tape) you can install those grip ships on the very end of drop bars. A bit akward but workable (as are many commuter bikes).

That sounds way awkward. I'd have to put my hands in the drops every time I wanted to shift. I'd rather have a trekking bar or something. We'll see. I'm a ways off from making such a decision. I need to pay down the credit card first.

That sounds way awkward. I'd have to put my hands in the drops every time I wanted to shift. I'd rather have a trekking bar or something. We'll see. I'm a ways off from making such a decision. I need to pay down the credit card first.

Until not long ago you had to reach down to your down tube in order to shift, gasp! Many touring and cyclocross bikes still run bar end shifters (due to their greater durability and longevity) in prettymuch the same spot those grip shifts would be. Not that big a deal once you're used to it.

That being said, I had a real "DUH!" moment on my way to work yesterday. I realized that on my own commuter bike that I have a solution for you. I have taken some old "L" bend bar-ends and I am running them inside of my grips (between the grip and the brake lever, you could probably run them inside the brake levers too). Positioned there, I use them as aerobars. So I guess you don't have to get drop bars to go aero.