roadbike vs. 29"er

[sockmonkeypete]

My commute is about 18 mi one way. Approximately 2/3 on neighborhood streets and the rest on paved trail. What would be the pros and cons of a roadbike or a 29"er as a commuter?

[Raymo853]

I say get the 29" and build it up in a roadie like way, except maybe flat bars. It kind of depends where you live, but if you ever have to deal with snow/ice it is real good to be able to run knobbies and fenders, something beyond road bikes and even most cross/touring bikes.

[kennbenny667]

Well, if you want to use the 29'er as a mountainbike in addition to commuting, it would be the obvious choice. But to play devil's advocate, I just started riding my cyclocross bike to work and school (my first "road" type bike) and have really been enjoying it more than I thought I would. Have even taken it out on a few of the paved trails west of Chicago and really enjoyed myself! Road riding on an actual road bike is a nice change of pace to riding the limited legal singletrack here in Crook County.

[TheIntern]

i'd like to throw in another yay for cyclocross bikes as commuters. I was riding one this summer, using it as a commuter, hitting trail, gravel, pavement all in the same ride to or from work. light, burly, capable and almost as fast as a road bike when you throw slicks on there.

I've been riding a Jake the Snake for the last 2 months and I'm incredibly happy with it. right now I have a pair of 25mm's on there and am riding 20-45 mile road rides with great success. Plus i can take it out on the trail again if i ever feel like tossing the CX tires back on...

[sockmonkeypete]

Thanks all for the input. I think I'm leaning towards a cross/road bike. Something like the Surly Cross Check or Pacer. Thanks again!

[riderx]

When I was looking to replace my beater fixed gear road bike, I was trying to decide between the Surly Crosscheck and the Surly Karate Monkey. Since it was going to be my only road bike, I went with the Crosscheck based on the sizing. If I went w/ the Monkey and got a more "road sized" frame (seat tube wise), the top tube was going to be really long. I can fit fenders and 44c Knobbies on the C-check. It was the right choice, fun bike to ride.

I still want a 29er for the dirt though, but there's no room in the stable right now.

[Car Bomb]

Why not build a Karate Monkey up with 700c wheels? You could even put drop bars on it if you wanted to get completly crazy. I have a few friends that ride the monkey and have seen it done in so many different ways. The options are endless