- [Off Camera] Okay guys nice one. Do you want to get uh, yourselves back to the office?
- [Simon] Yeah.
- [Simon] After filming GCN's show in the city of Bristol, we need to get ourselves
back to our hometown of Bath 20 kilometers away. Commuting by bike is the natural
choice but it seems we don't necessarily agree on the best tool for the job.
What is the best commuting bike? Lasty's riding his cross bike,
Matt is on a relaxed road bike but with full mudguards, I've got an out-and-out
race bike. And Dan? Well, no one quite knows what Dan's riding.
- [Matt] So you...you're going on this?
- [Dan] Yeah.
- It's 20K mate.
- What's that?
- It's 20K.
- Yeah it's 20K away.
- So where...where's your cycling kit?
- It's at home.
♪ [music] ♪
- Oi Dan, where are you going Dan? Dan, Dan! That's the station!
Wha...what's he doing? It's supposed to be a commute.
Left here, Si.
Si, that´s the main road Si! That's the main road. Si!
- It also seems that we can't agree on the best route. Matt and Tom are taking the
quiet route. I want to get back as soon as possible, so I'm going the direct route.
And Dan? Well, no one quite knows what Dan's up to. It seems that we might have
a race on our hands.
♪ [music] ♪
- Where are you going Tom?
- [Lasty] Well I'm off to have a bit of fun in the woods Matt.
- We're supposed to be riding to work.
- Nah, see you later.
- Well, I'm on me own now. I might as well enjoy it.
♪ [music] ♪
- This is why the cross commute is the best.
♪ [music] ♪
- Dan's underway although he actually seems to have caught a slow train.
Lastly, as you see, has ventured into the mud, leaving Matt to cruise through
the back streets at his own leisure pace. And me, I'm starting to go into the red.
♪ [music] ♪
- Because of general life commitments, I don't get quite as much time for ride
as I might want, so cycling to work is actually really important to me.
When I first starting commuting by bike, I brought a proper commuter.
It had mudguards on it, had relaxed geometry.
It was textbook. But no matter how hard I tried,
I could never love that bike. It felt slow and it was slow. So I sold it,
and I've gone back to commuting on a proper, fast road bike. Sure it doesn't
have mud guards, so if it's wet, I just get a wet ass. But that's okay.
For me, that fact that it's fast, it can go fast when I want to
is super important. If I want I can stay in bed longer. I can get home quicker.
And most importantly, I can extend my commute so it's a proper bike ride.
♪ [music] ♪
- Cycling to work, to me, isn't a race. I certainly don't want to smash myself and
get all sweaty, put myself in the red when I'm just riding to work.
You know, you can still have an enjoyable experience just riding steady.
I'm commuting to work with all sorts of weathers, hence the full on mudguards with
mudflaps. I certainly don't want to get a wet backside. Who would want a wet
backside on the way to work anyway?
As well as a relaxed bike and full mudguards, I've gone for nice,
wide 25 millimeter tires, just for comfort and extra grip when the roads are wet,
like they are today. Now the type of roads I'm choosing to ride on,
aren't big main roads, it's the small twisty, narrow country lanes and I'm also
going to take some bike paths too. It's about enjoying the ride to work and
getting there dry, relaxed and ready for the job at hand.
Of course, occassionally, I might just give it a little bit of a nudge.
- My cross bike is my best option when I'm commuting to work.
Yes it's a bit of a pain when I arrive at the office a bit muddy and wet.
But, when it's dry or frozen, it's brilliant. I can thrown in a few off road
sections, have a bit of fun, and work on my skills on my way to work.
I've gone a four single, 42 chain ring on my cross bike, which would leave me
a little under gear if I want to go really fast on the road but it's just right going
steady on the road, including a bit of off road. I've also got some fat,
sleek tires which means I'm not too slow on the road.
Finally, the best option for this, will be commuting on a disc break bike,
you'll have a bit of a weight penalty when you're carrying a road sac anyway.
- Dan's taken the lead. And things are getting tight because I'm stuck in traffic
Matt isn't that far behind now that he's on the bike path away from all the traffic
And Lasty, well he's up to his ankles in mud.
♪ [music] ♪
- I guess this is probably the best commuter bike, probably.
Hi mate. - Hello.
- Matt's not far away now but poor old Lasty, he's still up in the hills.
- Look at him, clean as a whistle, sharp as a fistle.
- Humor. - Good job, Dan. Let's see the time
you make. - Well, third?
- There's actually not a spot on you, is there?
- We're onto our second coffee, and Lasty is still no where to be seen.
- My wheels have stopped turning around.
[inaudible]
- So Dan, seriously man, why didn't you actually ride?
- Well, I mean, first of all, I did ride. I rode at least a kilometer to get to the
train station and it was almost a kilometer to this meeting point afterwards
and second of all, I don't want to ride on the days that I go to work.
I've got five other days to go on decent rides, so I'll do it then.
- That is quite a relatively valid point, but in all seriousness,
what is the best bike to commute on it?
- It's got to be a cyclocross bike man. Cyclocross bike with maybe 28 more slick
tires gives you the option to throw a bit of gravel or off road if the goings dry
and if not it's really versatile you throw mud guards on it, great for all weathers.
- How about you, Si?
- Yeah truth actually, I've got to agree with Lasty. As much as I love and
would advocate having a fast road bike, if I had to have only one,
I would have a cross bike, just because you know you don't want to ride the same
route to and from work. Actually having the option to go off road is great and you
can also stick mudguards on it, which Lasty said and it's just like kind of your
bike but it could be a fast road bike too.
- Fair enough. I mean, I could see the point there but I'm a bit of a
traditionalist. I think a nice comfortable road bike, full mudguards set up,
end up at work dry, clean. And also I think when you do hop on to, you know,
your road bike at the start of the racing season, there's that lovely contrast so
you can enjoy the kind of relaxing times and your other steeds,
slightly heavy steed, more comfortable steed and then you feel that difference
when you jump onto the light road bike so I'm going to stick with mudguard road bike
- We've got some more great content to help you with your commute.
- Absolutely. If you click up there on that video, then it's all about lighting
and clothing choices.
- And if you click down here, it's all about locks.
- And to suscribe to GCN, click on us.
- What an appealing option, click on us!
- Have you actually ever clicked on us?
- No, I've already subsribed.
- Fair enough.