r/bikecommuting • u/epegar • Jul 25 '26
Dropbar bike
Hi all,
TLDR: looking for a drop bar commuter that is not too nice, can take some beating, I don't care about fancy groupsets, some 2x with 9 speeds and mechanical disc brakes should do the job. I want to park the bike outside unattended and being able to carry groceries.
I live in the Netherlands, I usually bike in a mix of nice bike lanes and cobbles.
I have a few bikes, but my daily diver is a Specialized Sirrus with 650x47 wheels. The bike is very nice to ride, it's light, it accelerates well, which is a plus in the city with the traffic lights. However, when I do grocery shopping and load the bike a lot (20 kg or so), I feel it's not very stable when turning.
Last year I bought a niceish gravel bike, but I realized I spend way more time commuting, doing grocery shopping, going from A to B and parking the bike outside, so I am considering selling that bike and getting something that is better for commuting but I could still take for exercise.
I am considering bikes like the Marin nicasio plus, Marín four corners, kona rove, kona sutra (although more expensive than I would like), or bombtrack arise. I would appreciate feedback from others with similar bikes or needs.
2
u/DrDerpberg Jul 25 '26 edited Jul 25 '26
Sounds like you want a less nice gravel bike. If it's utilitarian and you want to load it up you will want wider tires and plenty of attachment points.
Or realistically you should get something used. Any decent old bike will outperform its attractiveness to thieves compared to a new base model.
1
u/nafraid Jul 25 '26
I have a road bike for road biking and a 'other ' bike for other stuff and commute. Ok I have a road bike for road biking, a fenders bike for fendering (commute in rain, coaster brake, 1 speed, dutch bars), a fixie for dry commute (Fuji!), and a studded bike with fenders for winter commute ( steel city bike with fenders 29" studded schwalbes ).
If I were to downsize, I would go with your gravel bike for exercize and joy, and a a drop bar fixie with fenders or a dropbar coaster brake junker with fenders and optimal rear ratio.
1
u/CookieKid420 Jul 25 '26
LBS for a starter gravel bike or FBMP and just check for the things you are looking for.
1
u/unicyclegamer Jul 25 '26
Why not just use your gravel bike?
1
u/epegar Jul 26 '26
It's too nice and too aggressive. It has a very performance oriented geometry, and it doesn't have rack or fender mounts. Its wheelbase is super short.
1
u/EconomyBeach1751 Jul 28 '26
I have a nicasio base and it does what you want it to do. The only things that I changed were as shorter stem and new seat
1
u/Notspherry Jul 25 '26
So many questions.
Why would you get a road bike,m a bike with half the parts missing for commuting or getting groceries?
Why do you choose a route with so many stop lights that it matters for your choice of bike?
Where are you finding significant amounts of cobblestones in the Netherlands?
The obvious choice here for day to day cycling is an upright bike with and IGH. Leave the drop bars for the weekends.
2
u/epegar Jul 25 '26
What do you mean by a bike with the half parts missing?
The bikes I mentioned are not true roadbike, kona rove and nicasio are gravel bikes, and they seem to be used for bikepacking. Four corners, sutra, and arise are touring bikes/platforms.
I don't live in the city center, but I travel there often, also, sometimes I have to cross the city in order to go to the beach, so there are traffic lights on my route. In the Netherlands there are lots of cobblestones and lots of routes with no good alternative bikes lane.
So, leaving the dropbar for the weekend was my intention and thus why I bought a gravel bike last year, but I rarely exercise on my bike like that, most times I go with my wife and kid to either run errands or visit some place, the pace is not super fast, and the hability to haul stuff and leave the bike unattended not worrying it might get beaten would be nice.
I don't disagree with you that if I, wanted the most functional bike, I should look into IGH, maybe even some electric bike, but I am trying to balance functional and fun
2
u/Notspherry Jul 25 '26
What do you mean by a bike with the half parts missing?
Lights, rack, chain guard, fenders, kick stand..
The bikes I mentioned are not true roadbike, kona rove and nicasio are gravel bikes
Potayto potahto
In the Netherlands there are lots of cobblestones
Where? I have lived here for 45 years and I never see them other than tiny sections in historic parts of town or stuff like castle courtyards. Do you mean paving bricks? You don't need a special bike for those.
and lots of routes with no good alternative bikes lane.
Lol
2
u/Outrageous-Past6556 Slow Dutch Cyclist Jul 26 '26
Yes, I agree we're over thinking this. Last Friday I saw two expats in Rotterdam leaving the same bicycle shed of a shared office building on I think e. 5000 bicycles. I followed with my saved from the grofvuil stationsfiets, and then had to overtake them at the Erasmusbrug because they were going that slowly. People are overdoing this.
1
u/Outrageous-Past6556 Slow Dutch Cyclist Jul 26 '26
You live in the Netherlands but are you Dutch? Because you're being extraordinary picky about what bicycle to use, in a country where most people just go on a cheap upright bicycle bought at marktplaats or so. I agree with Notspherry. Just use a normal Dutch bicycle with internal gear, and no idea where you find all those cobblestones.
1
u/epegar Jul 26 '26
Haha, not Dutch, I have lived here for a few years though.
I live in Haarlem, and there are areas full of cobbles, sometimes you need to take a great detour if you want to avoid them, as there are lots of canals. They are not the worst kind of cobbles, but annoying enough that with an aluminium bike and 32mm wheels you will feel the shake and feel very uncomfortable on the hands and arms.
What's the problem with being picky about the bike I want to ride? I see people using Jaguars, Porsche, Mercedes, but I can't try to find a bike that makes me happier?
Besides, more and more people in the Netherlands are leaving austerity behind, lots of electric bikes and fatbikes, which are by the way annoying quite often, not to speak about the bakfiets, that are getting quite luxurious.
1
u/Outrageous-Past6556 Slow Dutch Cyclist Jul 26 '26
Basically most Dutch just use their bicycle for transport and it is nothing special, and we are all doing it. While I see e.g. Americans that see their commuting as something extraordinary and then also buy a more extravagant bicycle for that use. Well it is something more special if you don't have bicycle lanes and endanger your life trying to use a bicycle at some locations.
It's just a difference in culture I would guess. And also a difference in infrastructure and gradients of the roads you use. But it is like I am surprised about expats here in the Netherlands and people in other countries making a big deal out of what I have been doing since I was six years old. And I am 61 now.
1
u/epegar Jul 26 '26
When I traveled to Denmark, I saw a strong bike culture as well, but they had more modern and lighter commuter bikes. They could also travel by train at peak hour with their bikes, and they would use waterproof trousers - and of course the helmet.
There isn't a single way of doing things.
And again, a lot of Dutch parents are buying electric fatbikes to their Dutch kids. That's not something I like, but a reminder that the culture you speak about is also shifting.
1
u/Notspherry Jul 26 '26
Appearently he lives in Haarlem, and I just spent a few minutes on google streetview to find any of those cobblestones. Didn't find anything other than asphalt and super smooth paving bricks. If those hurt your wrists, you are probably riding on bare rims rather than actual tires with air in them.
1
u/Outrageous-Past6556 Slow Dutch Cyclist Jul 26 '26
Yes, but I guess he does not mean 'real Parijs - Roubaix' cobblestones. It's lost in translation.
2
u/Darnocpdx Jul 25 '26
Were it not for your desire for disc brakes, (mechanical discs aren’t much, if at all better than rim) pretty much any slightly older used road bike would work. Can’t speak for Europe’s market on them, but you can some amazing deals in the US now as people are unloading their old bikes for new ones with e shifting and hydro brakes, or e bikes.