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Designing the Ultimate Commuter

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  1. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    As chance would have it, chained up at Cameron Toll last night was a lovely commuter of a type I'd never seen before.

    German manufacturer Diamant. Hub gears, dynamo lights, sensible geometry, subdued colours and fancy-pants hydraulic rim brakes. Can't find the exact model on their website (men's Saphir) but looky here for example;

    http://www.diamantrad.com/ch-fr/velo/show/detail/247.html

    That's an elegant ride in any language, no? Twist grip gears are an obvious fault, but I like the company's style.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  2. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    Looks like Diamant is the Teutonic imprint of Trek/Bontrager. Still...

    http://www.diamantrad.com/ch-fr/velo/show/detail/elan-elite.html

    Put on a Kevlar belt and we're getting somewhere, no?

    Posted 9 years ago #

  3. Greenroofer
    Member

    @IWRATS - that looks almost identical to the bike I actually use for daily commuting.

    All that is now left from the Raleigh Pioneer Elite 2 I started with is the frame, forks, rims, Alfine hub and shifter and suspension seat post, but the result looks just like your example from Diamant.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  4. geordiefatbloke
    Member

    I was itching for one of these a couple of years ago but couldn't justify the expenditure at the time:

    http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/bikes/urban/product/review-trek-soho-deluxe-12-45827/

    Combination of rear drum brake (for general slowing) and front disc (for emergencies!) appealed. plus carbon belt-drive. Wish I'd got one ... :(

    Posted 9 years ago #

  5. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    €1,400 for the Diamant, plus the price of new pedals, sprocket, carbon belt, chainwheel and seatpost. Still only £100 per year of cycling.

    @Greenroofer - No coincidence I don't think. Your bike got me thinking about what a utility bike should be.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  6. 559
    Member

    Van Moof

    Posted 9 years ago #

  7. algo
    Member

    I wonder if any those from VSF Fahrradmanufaktur would also appeal...

    Posted 9 years ago #

  8. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    @559

    That's an aesthetic fail for me...

    @algo

    Nice....these are the brakes I saw yesterday;

    http://www.fahrradmanufaktur.de/katalog/trekking?product_id=669

    Top kit...but would want a short-travel fork.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  9. algo
    Member

    @IWRATS - yeah they don't seem to go in for suspension... have you seen this?

    http://www.decathlon.co.uk/riverside-7-hybrid-bike-black-id_8070411.html

    cheap place to start with a fair few boxes crossed..

    Posted 9 years ago #

  10. Greenroofer
    Member

    @algo the brakes are erm ...unusual.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  11. algo
    Member

    @Greenroofer - I confess to knowing nothing about hydraulic rim brakes but are they not the same as those IWRATS pointed to? (Magura HS 11 apparently)

    Posted 9 years ago #

  12. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    Hydraulic rim brakes...yes...took some thinking about, but I can see the point of them. Hydraulic power plus the torque of a 600mm 'rotor' minus the weight of an actual rotor.

    I tried them on the bike at Cameron Toll. Lovely action, great engineering. But I'd still go for discs.

    And on that bike the rims are impregnated with tungsten carbide, presumably to keep wear down under the hydraulic assault.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  13. wingpig
    Member

    Don't know about hydraulic brakes. Would an Ultimate Commuter have something that couldn't be fixed at lunchtime with the contents of a small bag of spare hardware/consumables, a pair of pliers and a multi-tool?

    A bottom bracket and hubs able to withstand the water pressure of a pressure-washer without having their grease usurped would be useful.

    Cassette sprockets (or equivalent) made of progressively harder material as they increase in size, to prevent uneven wear of the smaller sprockets, used more frequently for high-torque getting-going.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  14. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    @wingpig

    See upthread...@Roibeard backs hydraulics, I backed cables. Hydraulics do feel good, no argument there.

    Cables on a trail bike though. No spare fluid to be had on the Lairig Ghallabhaich other than rain water and blood.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  15. Greenroofer
    Member

    @winpig - but surely the justification for the ultimate commuter bike is that it doesn't need to be fixed at lunchtime: it just 'works'.

    My experience of hydraulic brakes has been mixed. My front brake has had no attention whatsoever (except a monthly visual inspection) for the past 12 months. According to Strava the current pads have done 2,200 miles since January 2014. The previous set did the same mileage in 2013. That fits into the 'just works' category for me. Changing the pads annually isn't too much to ask.

    The back brake has been a disaster: a piston on the previous set was leaking, and took a long time to diagnose so the back brake went through expensive pads like they were going out of fashion. I like to think that the front brake is more representative of the hydraulic brake experience.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  16. wingpig
    Member

    @reenroofer Even hydraulic disks have pads. All tyres eventually expire. Consumability cannot be escaped.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  17. Greenroofer
    Member

    @winpig agree. I suppose my definition of ultimate commuter would align with the point upthread that it comes with a mechanic.

    For the ultimate commuter, maintenance should be limited to a monthly pumping of tyres and visual inspection and everything else would be covered by its annual service when it goes to the bike shop to have its pad/chains/cables/bearings/tyres replaced or maintained.

    ...bit like a car, really. You don't have to tinker with those any more. They just work. When they don't, you don't expect to fix them, you get an expert in.

    We might choose to tinker with bikes in the same way that some people choose to tinker with cars. We shouldn't have to.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  18. wingpig
    Member

    I wonder how much an Ultimate Commuter would cost/weigh if all potentially-weakening weight-savings were replaced with rustproof/hard-wearing/dent-resisting materials...

    Posted 9 years ago #

  19. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    Mmmm-hm. I actively enjoy working on bicycles, so in a way my commuter will come with a free mechanic.

    But cleaning claggy cassettes? Yuk. Trying to keep a steel chain working through a Scottish winter? Keeping lights charged? Done enough of that.

    Quite enjoy overhauling hydraulics on the other hand.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  20. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    "dent-resisting materials..."

    One of the bikes upthread comes with a rubber cover for the top tube. Stainless screws and bolts don't cost that much. Titanium's come down in price since the Ruskies stopped building fancy-pants submarines...

    Posted 9 years ago #

  21. amir
    Member

    I'd put fun over ultra low maintenance. Otherwise I'd commute by bus.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  22. Darkerside
    Member

    I've used hydraulic rim brakes on one of the ambulance bikes I used to pilot. Brilliant; as good at stopping as disks, as the pressure you can put through them instantly removes water from the braking surface (or so it felt).

    You still have the problem with wearing away the rim surface though.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  23. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    @amir

    It is the ultimate commuter. It must not only be both fun and low maintenance, but also draw admiring glances from men and women and cause aesthetes to swoon.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  24. amir
    Member

    But this is why I ended up selling the hub geared commuter and getting a lightish derailleur bike (without Marathon plus). In fact I used the same bike for a 200km ride last weekend. But I have a reasonable length commute on good surfaces. If I were commuting along muddy paths I might have a different set up but still fun.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  25. Uberuce
    Member

    I am, financials depending, thinking of a device with the essentials:
    Not rim brakes.
    Racks.
    Full mudguards.
    Not derailleur gears.
    Dynamo lighting.

    Now, I have an example of this checklist in the shape of wee blue floofy, which is probably the cheapest way of doing it, but it lacks the ability to fold into a car boot or to a smallness that makes it likely to be allowed onto trains.

    So my device is probably going to be built up from an Airnimal Joey frame.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  26. Arellcat
    Moderator

    It must not only be both fun and low maintenance, but also draw admiring glances from men and women and cause aesthetes to swoon.

    Does 'men and women laughing hysterically when amongst company' count as well?

    The torpedo has some attributes of an ultimate commuter. The drivetrain is, literally, all on the inside, and the wheels are on the outside. It doesn't use rim brakes. It has a roof. The frame, or rather the monocoque, will never rust (although it will break under duress). On the other hand, it doesn't fit on trains or between Sheffield stands or Scottish canal towpaths, you can't lift it over a fence or a snowdrift, it's useless for filtering in traffic, and you can't fit a dynamo to run the headlights.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  27. Instography
    Member

    The ultimate commuter is one that doesn't listen to music (or at least has decent non-leaky headphones), doesn't YAK AT FULL VOLUME ON THEIR PHONE, doesn't think their bag deserves a seat of its own and (if a bloke) sits more or less upright, with their legs closed.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  28. Wilmington's Cow
    Member

    I'm afraid I'm forced on most buses into akimbo seating simply because I'm too damned tall for the paltry space afforded for posterior to knee...

    Was on a bus last week and an American tourist laden with TK Maxx bags whacked one into my knee, then issued a comedy laughing tut clearly aimed at me having my knee out in the aisle, a position which was impossible for me not to adopt.

    Buses should have tall person seating, like they have for disabled people or old folk, that has more leg room, allowing one to sit without the danger of blood clots gathering somewhere around Meadowbank.

    Rise up, people of stature (taking care not to bash your head on the low roof) and claim your rightful place!

    Posted 9 years ago #

  29. Nelly
    Member

    Single speed, steel frame, mudguards, Brooks, Carradice.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  30. Instography
    Member

    The ultimate commuter is 5'6" or smaller.

    Posted 9 years ago #

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