In spring, some people choose bicycles as a new way to commute to work or school.

At such times, the question that always comes up is whether to choose a "road bike" or a "cross bike."

This time, I would like to specifically focus on commuting to school.

(Of course, this information is also useful for commuting to work.)

I'd like to consider what the differences are and how they might affect a school commute.

Weight of the bicycle itself

Comparing road bikes and cross bikes, road bikes are generally lighter.

Generally, when comparing "light" models, a road bike weighs about 8 kg, and a cross bike weighs about 10 kg.

For a cross bike, we recommend one that is 12 kg or less.

Around 11 kg would be considered somewhat lightweight, around 10 kg is lightweight, and under 10 kg would be super lightweight, I suppose.

There are no strict rules here, so it depends on the rider's perception.

It's safe to say that the difference in weight lies in the difference in materials.

Steel material is the cheapest.

Aluminum material is relatively inexpensive.

Carbon material is lighter, but the price becomes higher.

It's safe to say that the difference in materials corresponds to the difference in price.

And the lighter the bike, the easier it is to ride.

You can think of it as moving a greater distance with less effort.

That's why those who participate in races strive to reduce the weight of their bicycles, and also diet themselves to become lighter.

Now, let's consider the weight of luggage.

According to a 2020 survey by Cross Kumamoto, they asked 277 elementary, junior high, and high school students, mainly in Kumamoto Prefecture, about the weight of their bags when commuting to school.

The average weight was 5.6 kg for lower elementary grades, 5.3 kg for upper elementary grades, 10.9 kg for junior high school students, and 10.1 kg for high school students.

By the way, the most common number of bags was two for all age groups.

Although there may be some error, the weight should not differ much nationwide.

If you consider junior high and high school students choosing a sports bike for their bicycle commute, they would be carrying over 10 kg of luggage to school.

There is no data on the weight of a salaryman's luggage, but it is generally thought to be less than 3 kg.

For those with light loads, it might be around 1 kg.

By the way, the author's bag + contents weighed 1.4 kg.

This difference is significant.

The lighter you make it, the easier it is to pedal, but even if you choose the cheapest option, the luggage you carry is overwhelmingly heavier.

Rather than trying to buy a lighter bicycle, it seems more effective to try to reduce the amount of luggage you carry.

If you cannot reduce your luggage due to school regulations, choose a bicycle with a lighter frame weight.

Handlebars

Comparing road bikes and cross bikes, a very distinctive feature is the shape of the handlebars.

While road bikes have handlebars that curve downwards at both ends, cross bikes have almost straight handlebars.

This difference is partly about grip, but primarily it allows for different hand positions.

These different hand positions are useful for long distances.

For commuting to school, there likely won't be such long distances, so there's no need to choose one over the other for that purpose.

Saddle Position

I'm not sure how common this is, but on a road bike, the saddle is positioned higher compared to the handlebars.

Conversely, on a cross bike, the handlebars and saddle are at roughly the same height.

As a result, road bikes are often ridden in a more forward-leaning posture.

Cross bikes allow for a relatively more relaxed riding posture.

Tire Width

Road bike tires are often thinner.

23C, 25C, and 28C are common sizes.

You can think of these as tire widths of 23mm, 25mm, and 28mm, respectively.

You might think there's only a 5mm difference in total, but this significantly changes the riding comfort.

To conclude, wider tires are easier to ride.

While 23C tires were developed for weight reduction in races, there's a recent opinion that 25C tires might be more comfortable to ride.

The reason for this is bumps.

When riding on roads, there are always some bumps.

There will also be cracks.

The wider the tire, the more resistant it is to bumps and cracks, resulting in a more stable ride.

Cross bikes often have 25C or 28C tires, so it might be that cross bikes are easier to ride.

Note that 25C road bike tires and 25C cross bike tires are essentially the same, so you can simply choose based on preference for this aspect.

Price Differences

When choosing a bicycle, there are some cross bikes that cost around 20,000 yen.

On the other hand, some cross bikes cost over 400,000 yen.

What accounts for this 20-fold difference? I will share the results of my own investigation after actually purchasing and continuously riding a 20,000-yen cross bike.

They tend to rust easily, and many of the parts used are inexpensive.

And the quality of the initial maintenance is not very good.

Furthermore, critical parts like brakes are of a lower rank, which can be scary in an emergency.

Few articles clearly explain these differences, so I'd like to provide more detailed information separately. Please be sure to check that out as well.

External Writer: Koichi Okuno