If you have read any of my other entries, you know that I entered the commuting world via recreational cycling. I have no special “commuter” bike. I have a mountain bike and I have a road bike.

Neither is perfectly ideal for commuting and I switch between them frequently.

My road bike is a Masi Gran Corsa. I guess you’d call it a race bike although I have never raced it. I bought it used and built it up with a decent set of components. It is nice and light and fast (at least for this engine).

When I ride my Masi, it compels me to ride fast. It is so light and quick that before I know it, I’m hammering up the hills, chasing down other commuters/riders, and doing intervals between stoplights. It’s just the type of bike that is meant to be ridden hard so that is what I do.

There are some downsides to riding a racing style road bike for my everyday commute. First, it does not stand up particularly well to road debris. At first, I had A LOT of flats. Then, I wised up. I bought some kevlar tire strips and some more durable tires. Now, I don’t get flats very frequently (of course, I just jinxed myself by saying that).

Second, the Masi can be a bit harsh. In the name of safety, I take a several back roads to get to work. Some of these are not paved particularly well and my hands sure feel it by the time I hit the smooth roads.

It is not suitable for all conditions. I don’t ride it at all if it is wet out. I’m nervous (probably overly nervous) about the tires slipping out. It also is not very well suited for any non-paved surface.

Lastly, it is not entirely comfortable constantly being in an aggressive race position. It is not a bike that you just “cruise” on.

My mountain bike is a Ventana El Rey full suspension 29er. I love this bike. I’ve gone through my fair share of mountain bikes and I tend to be pretty hard on them. I have broken just about every frame (and more parts than I can remember) I’ve had over the past 7 years and several of them twice so I have gravitated towards a high end bike. I also have come to appreciate the quality of a nice frame outfitted with nice components. Alright…enough justification, I’ll just come out and say it…when it comes to mountain bike, I’m a bike snob. Not that I judge other people by what they ride, but when choosing my bike, I’m willing to lay down some coin.

When it comes to commuting, the mountain bike is definitely not the ideal vehicle. The big knobby tires make it like riding through peanut butter compared to the road bike. It is also considerably heftier than the road bike. The suspension is not 100% efficient so there is some power lost. That being said, if I had to choose only one bike, this is it.

The best thing about it is the versatility. I can ride it any where, any time.

When I ride my road bike, I have to stick to pavement which means that I have to go about 5 miles out of my way to stay on safe roads. On my mountain bike, I can just ride off road. In one of my routes, I will cut through the subdivision across the road before taking a hike-and-bike trail through the park. The problem is that the entrance to the subdivision is about a quarter mile away down a very busy road that has a small shoulder and a 65 mph speed limit. Needless to say, I don’t feel very comfortable riding on this road. I don’t even attempt this route on my road bike. On my mountain bike, it is no problem. I either ride behind a guard rail or I ride about 20 feet off the road in the dirt.

Debris, wet roads, glass are all no problems on my mountain bike. Having a tubeless tire set-up almost avoids all flats and the big knobbies prevent traction issues.

One other thought merits discussion. My mountain bike is expensive. Silly expensive. Embarrassingly expensive. This makes me just a little bit protective of it. I do not leave it unattended without a heavy duty lock. Even then, I will only do it in trusted areas or for short periods of time. When I arrive at work, it comes up to my office with me (so does the road bike).

Basically, I ride my mountain bike on my commute if:
1. I plan to hit trail after work
2. The pavement is wet
3. I just feel like cruising
4. I have no stops to make that require locking it up.

I ride the road bike to work otherwise.

The bottom line is that you can make any bike work for your commute. You don’t need anything special.

As they say…”Run what you brung”.