commuting bike advice

[GTanny]

I'll try keep it short, last year my dad treat the whole family to bikes, 2 daughters (4 & 8), my wife and myself, as something to do as a family, short of a few trips around a local field we haven't done much as the youngest still struggles to ride for any distance as she's a very small 4 year old.

As my car decided to die 2 days ago and after walking yesterday for the first time today I have cycled to work, its only about 4 miles each way but on arrival after about 17/18 mins of riding I was knackered, I know a big part of this is me being an unfit fat git who doesn't exercise and a bit of a headwind but how much will be related to the bike? its a Trax double suspension mountain bike (I think it was about £90 from Halfords) with Schwalbe City Jet tyres on it (I changed them on advice as soon as I got the bike) and an upgraded saddle.

I will say I enjoyed the ride and felt better for doing something but I'm not sure I would when I start or finish my shifts in winter at 02:30am.

Given the short distance and winter coming up is it worth looking into a new bike to help or would I be best sticking with this for now until I improve my fitness?

Finally I don't know if its me or the bike but I never seemed to have the right gear, it was either hard or easy nothing felt right... in this situation what gear would be best?

Edit: I should add if it makes a difference one of the cycle routes to work is an old railway track that is now a mud path, I plan to use it during the nicer weather and daytime but wont be using it in rain or at night. the route I took today that's slightly shorter is 50% road that is in bad need of repair with multiple potholes and very rough tarmac and 50% newly laid road/path with a dedicated cycle lane.

 

[Craig321]

Have you thought about whether you're going to be happy cycling in the freezing cold, potentially dark mornings/evenings? I do 4 miles (one way) a day on a motorbike to work and even that becomes... trying in the winter!

I guess you also have somewhere you can change at work if you get sweaty on hot days or completely soaked/freezing during the winter?

4 miles doesn't seem much, but when you're tired from work, or when it's freezing cold and wet, it's going to seem like a lot longer doing it day in day out!

Having something with decent gearing, which the £90 bike probably isn't going to have, will make a huge difference in ease and feeling like you have the right gear. You will also have a MUCH easier time with a road bike (no suspension) and slick tyres compared to a full suspension mount bike.

 

[Schizo]

I use my orbea 29" mountain bike as a commuting ride (also got a road bike).

I have slicks on my bike also and i always make sure there rock solid with air.

I only have front suspension and its always turned off as i never go off road on my bike

Make sure the saddle height is correct as that can make a difference.

Gears,my bike has 27 of them,im always in 3 on the left and only use 23 on wards,i love my mountain bike over my road bike due to the comfort and the "go anywhere feel"

I am a aggressive rider and can average 15mph easy on my mountain bike,your strength will get a better as you go on,4.5 miles can take me roughly 15 mins on my mountain bike and i have done it in 12 mins on my road bike,keep at it and it will become easier and more enjoyable.

 

[GTanny]

cheers for the quick reply's,

I can get changed/showered at work thankfully but I am slightly concerned getting up earlier so I can get a shower at work before the shift might not be very appealing in the winter months.

I pumped the tyres up to max before leaving today but didn't check saddle height, I'll have a look tomorrow for making sure its set right for me, unfortunately I cant lock the suspension that I am aware of but I did tighten up the rear suspension as much as I could to minimise movement.

ill have a play with gears on the ride home tonight as I pretty much stuck to 3 on the left and switched between a few on the right side but the highest and one down seemed to have a lot of difference... ill double check as with it being cheap it could be skipping a gear.

after sorting the car situation I might have some left over cash to pick up a better bike but I'm very tempted to wait until I'm tested with bad weather before buying anything else.

 

[mattyfez]

If it's got 3 chain rings on the pedals, you're probably best off leaving it on the middle cog, (number 2 on the left)and just shift using the rear shifter (right hand side)until you get fitter or wanting to give it some beans down hill.

If it's shifting gear ok, it just sounds like bad gear choice/getting used to it, try not to shift to a stiffer gear until your pedalling pretty quickly and you should have an easier time of it.

If its on the biggest ring on the front, the jump between each rear shift is bigger, so yeh I'd say leave it on the middle ring for now.

 

[Roady]

I started 4+ years ago cycling my 4.4 mile inner city commute. Rode on a Hybrid with fairly universal tyres. I was 100kg+ and the first few months I rode it twice a week, sometimes 3 when the weather was nice. My first rides took me 30-40 minutes and I remember having to stop a number of times, even though the route was mostly flat.

Within 6 months I had built up enough stamina and power to ride it 4 days a week with my times down to 20-25 minutes. Shortly afterwards I switched to a road bike (started using Strava slightly before) and instantly my times dropped by a few minutes (also with the switch to clipless pedals). I got the bug and could ride 5 days a week, even with a couple of leisure rides.

2013 Hybrid: 10.3mph; 25mins
2014 switch to Road: 15.1mph; 17mins
2015 new bike & after winter training: 16.5mph; 15 mins 39s
(Didn't really get it much quicker than that as I swapped to a different route & have now moved house)

I'm now ~75kg and cycling is my main hobby, I still ride my commute (now shorter, but 4 times a day) 5 days a week. I'm considered one of the most active of my friends, where before I couldn't walk the dog 0.5 miles without being out of breath! It's changed my life!

TLDR; Keep it up!