Bicycle Commute - Distance/Time, Seasons?

[Tinker]

d

[Dave1442397]

For me, 10 miles is going to be 30 minutes.

As for winter, I've done 50-mile rides in temps down to 10F, but the main issue in winter is road conditions. If you live in an area where the roads get icy, it's dangerous to ride in those conditions. You can go down in a split second, and, like one of my riding buddies, spend the next few days in hospital with a broken pelvis.

If you really want to commute in snow and ice, you can get a fat bike with winter tires, but you won't be doing 10 miles in 30 minutes on one of those.

[frugaliknowit]

I commute 8 miles in a densely populated city.  Even though I can use a bike path for a large part of the ride, there's a cross town section of my ride which is full of traffic lights that I need to go through. 

The ride itself is about 38 minutes, sometimes longer when there's a big headwind.  Plus there's several minutes to getting my bike into the high rise office building and locking it up.  It's more like 40-45 minutes.  When you're considering the time involved, consider that you're getting your cardio exercise in while you commute.  In my case, the ride takes about the same amount of time as taking transit, so it's a wash:)

Riding in cold weather is not a problem.  Peddling a bike is like having a hot water radiator inside your body.  Ice and snow is a problem.  After a typical snow, I stop biking for a few days to allow a good amount of melting, then resume.  If the roads are wet and it's close to freezing, I skip it. 

[aetheldrea]

For a moderate commuting speed with some cross traffic, I would figure on 5 minutes a mile.
Without knowing what the road conditions are, and your personal badassitty, it’s hard to say how difficult winter commuting will be for you.

[dogboyslim]

I'm on track to complete my studies and about to relocate and start my first non-bottomrung fulltime job. It's not the greatest pay i was offered, but LCOL, a fun field, providing technical experience and i know a few people in the area.
Goal's basically to get my hands dirty, put some XP up to call myself senior and knock on some other, higher-paying but less interesting doors (eventually).

The move is still about 5 months out, but I've already started looking for places to stay. Keeping in mind that i'd like to save as much as possible, I'd like to get myself into reasonable biking distance.
Problem with that is that i'm not entirely sure how much time i need to factor in for commuting by bike - time is money, especially personal time i could use to develop skills.

Largely travelling on bicycle lanes or roads that won't see a stop sign or traffic light for kilometers at a time, how much time would you more experienced mustachians expect to spend on a 5 or 10 mile long commute?
Last but certainly not least, the region is... rather frosty, clocking in 90 sub-zero days last year. Is commuting by bike even going to be viable in a proper frosty and snowy winter? If at all possible i'd like to get away without a car entirely. Taxes and mandatory checkups are a pretty large drain on what i could potentially set aside.

I have commuted year-round in the upper midwest.  In summer, figure 10-13 mph average (including stop time for lights).  This speed slows in the winter to 7-10 mph.  My 6 mile commute in below zero weather usually takes me 40-45 minutes.  In the summer, it takes 25-30 minutes.  This is for "just riding."  For context, when I'm out for recreational rides in the summer I typically average 16-18 mph on my road-bike.

For cold weather cycling, get bar-mits or some other handlebar attached mitts.  Also, if you will be in any kind of freeze/thaw cycle get studded tires. 

Clothing does not have to be cycling specific.  For me, >70 = jersey & bike shorts.  50-70 full finger gloves, LS jersey and bike shorts.  40-50 I add a jacket, 30-40 I use full length tights, <30 I put the bar-mitts on and use thicker gloves and a skull cap that covers my ears and shoe covers.  <20 I put an outer layer over my tights and add a base layer up top.  <0 I switch to regular winter boots, a ski helmet with ski googles and a balaclava.  Coldest commute I've had has been -17F.  At that temp the grease in my free-hub solidified and I had to balance a second before the prawls(sp) would engage.  If you will be at that temp and colder much, consider using a lighter grease or oil in the freehub.

Also, lights will be needed in winter.

There are several websites that discuss winter cycling with people who ride in places like Winnipeg, Minneapolis and other frosty places.  It is certainly doable, but it is NOT always fun.

[GuitarStv]

12 miles each way / about 40 minutes, all seasons (rain, shine, wind, snow) . . .  50% busy city - 50% not so busy suburban.  I've got about 200 ft of bike lanes along my route, the rest is just on the road.

It can take me as long as 50 minutes in the winter when winds are much more severe, and the snow/ice slows me down.  The issue with cycling in the winter is mostly balancing sweating too much when you're pedaling hard, and freezing because you've sweated into all your clothing when you stop at lights.    Also be aware that if the place you live salts the roads a lot in the winter, your bike and components will disintegrate unless you keep a very regular cleaning/maintenance schedule.

Anything below -30 C (-22 F) gets too uncomfortable for me to ride in (also, my glasses tend to get covered in steam when I work too hard, then the steam freezes and I can't see a damned thing - kinda scary).  Up to those temperatures is OK with a balaclava, glasses/goggles, gloves, heavy tights, waterproof hiking boots, wool socks, and a couple layers of sweaters with a windbreaker.

[BlueMR2]

If you really want to commute in snow and ice, you can get a fat bike with winter tires, but you won't be doing 10 miles in 30 minutes on one of those.

For sure.  On those really icy days here I'm lucky to do much more than 5 mph on some sections, so it's hard to even get a 10 mph average!

[GuitarStv]

I use fat tires for winter commuting too - 28mm.

:P

[GuitarStv]

I use fat tires for winter commuting too - 28mm.

:P

I've browsed a few biking communities and many recommend just getting tires with spikes like the Schwalbe Marathon Winter.
Definitely giving that a shot before i commit myself to throwing thousands per year at maintenance of a car i never wanted.

It's worthwhile getting to know how your city responds to snow and ice before committing too much money.  Here in Toronto, they city will brine the roads with salty water when it looks like things might get icy . . . then dumps tons and tons of salt on the road at the slightest amount of precipitation.  The upshot of all of that is that it's very rare to actually have ice on the roads, so studded bike tires are unnecessary in the winter.  (Bike maintenance however, must be kept up religiously due to the ridiculous amount of salt.  Not to speak of the environmental consequences when after every snowfall means that your rivers become saltier than ocean water - https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/road-salt-gta-water-1.4515132).

[grandep]

I ride a hybrid (Trek FX 2) which is a little heavier and slower than a road bike, but you can ride it more upright which I find more comfortable than the drop bars on my roadie. It also has 3 chainrings instead of 2 - all that is to say I sweat a lot less on my hybrid than on my roadie. I also have fenders and a rack and carry a loaded pannier (with my lunch and change of clothes) and I usually knock out my 7 mile commute in about 30 minutes (longer if it's windy, which happens a lot).

[grandep]

I ride a hybrid (Trek FX 2) which is a little heavier and slower than a road bike, but you can ride it more upright which I find more comfortable than the drop bars on my roadie. It also has 3 chainrings instead of 2 - all that is to say I sweat a lot less on my hybrid than on my roadie. I also have fenders and a rack and carry a loaded pannier (with my lunch and change of clothes) and I usually knock out my 7 mile commute in about 30 minutes (longer if it's windy, which happens a lot).

hah, oddly enough that's right on the mark for the shape of bike I'm looking for, and right on the money too.
I'm going to wait it out for a few months, hoping to snipe something similar with a discount, though.

Depending on where you live make sure you check Craigslist, that's where I got mine.

[GuitarStv]

I ride a hybrid (Trek FX 2) which is a little heavier and slower than a road bike, but you can ride it more upright which I find more comfortable than the drop bars on my roadie. It also has 3 chainrings instead of 2 - all that is to say I sweat a lot less on my hybrid than on my roadie. I also have fenders and a rack and carry a loaded pannier (with my lunch and change of clothes) and I usually knock out my 7 mile commute in about 30 minutes (longer if it's windy, which happens a lot).

hah, oddly enough that's right on the mark for the shape of bike I'm looking for, and right on the money too.
I'm going to wait it out for a few months, hoping to snipe something similar with a discount, though.

Depending on where you live make sure you check Craigslist, that's where I got mine.

If you're looking for a Trek FX, also check Craigslist for:  Giant Escape, Marin Fairfax, Fuji Absolute, Jamis Coda Sport, etc.  Very similar types of bikes.