Commuting - Lightweight Mountain bike for commuting

Hello all,
I commute a few miles to and from school each day. My commute is mostly through rolling suburban streets, but also includes a few passages through wooded areas with bumps and dips. The commute is very tough on the old road bike that I usually ride.

I am looking for an lightweight, light-duty (preferably aluminum) mountain bike that is good for commuting on paved streets but can also handle some rougher terrain. I'd like something with a small amount of front suspension travel so that I can hop around a bit on the wooded paths without breaking anything.

The bike doesn't have to be anything fancy, expensive, or new. Can anyone suggest a bike that might work for me? Thanks!

I feel like Specialized (Globe/Crosstrail), Marin (Street series), and Kona (the Dew range) all make bikes that kind of slot b/w a traditional mtn bike and a hybrid/commuter bike...all have models that start under $500.

I'd decide what the bike will be used for more, and lean that way. Front suspension will eat a good amount of your energy if it can't be locked out, so I'd avoid it if you'll be doing more than say 50-60% of your riding on the roads.

Tough call. As knuckles mentioned, anything you get would be a compromise between on-road performance and off-road comfort and stability. If you do get a suspension fork, lockout or adjustability would be good, and I'd adjust it pretty stiff - enough to eat most of the offroad bumps while making the thing somewhat responsive on road.

I might also think about an old-school rigid steel fork with a pretty good amount of rake - that would have enough flex in it to eat the bumps on and off-road without competely compromising the bike's performance. That's how all of the old-school no-suspension mountain bikes were made.

Working lockout isn't cheap. I'd get a crosscheck, though what is your price range? Dew is a good suggestion. Basically a flat bar cyclocross bike.

hardt tail mtb. It's going into it's third winter on original parts (save consumables and cranks). Affordable? $1k, you decide.

A hardtail mtb w/a stiff fork and 1.75-2.00 street tires may be enough cushion for the off-road part of your commute depending on the % of total. Unless your going through soft dirt, gravel, etc 1.75 will be plenty wide enough and wont slow you down too much on the street portion. I used knobbies on a 20 mi rt urban commute for a few years, but would get 1.5 slicks if I had it to do over again.

Lightweight mountain bike? Good luck with that one.

What's wrong with the road bike? I've been commuting on one of my two road bikes for the past 2 years. It really is the best tool for riding on the road IMO.

I ride to work on a Giant Boulder SE. It is a good cheap starter bike. Cost me under $250 and is good for short distances and bumpy streets.

I ride it a round Manhattan's pot holed and coblestone streets and I also ride it out to Randles Island and take it over some of the dirt and grass there. The bike rides pretty good and is a fairly good deal for the money. Might want to look into it. Might be the kind of bike you are looking for for your ride.

Lightweight mountain bike? Good luck with that one.

What's wrong with the road bike? I've been commuting on one of my two road bikes for the past 2 years. It really is the best tool for riding on the road IMO.

Not so hard to do. Look for a Stumpjumper (hardtail) made after 2000. The ones before then had some frame issues. Pretty easy to get one down to 25 lbs.

It sounds like cyclo-max wants to do some trail riding on the way to work, too, so a mountain bike would be a good choice.

Off-road tires on pavement will slow the bike far more than even a softy-sprung suspension fork.

My reservation with suspension forks is that old and/or low-cost models tend to perform poorly enough, both on and off-road, to garner the kind of disdain this thread has given them. If you can put a decent modern suspension fork on your bike, I don't think it will slow you down whether you are on the road or not.

But in response to the OP, I'd consider looking at cross bikes as well as MTBs.

I really like the 1990s steel mtn bikes, rigid-rigid or low-travel front susp, w/ 2" slick-esque tires like big apples. Not light, though.

I have a 98 Cannondale F1000 that is my commuter. It has 60mm of travel in the headshock which can be locked out. However, I never lock it out because it then turns into a super stiff and bouncy ride. I have put touring tires on it and I do pretty well speed wise. A couple of weeks ago I caught up to a road biker complete with nice bike and outfit and slowed down to draft him in the headwind for a couple of miles (I actually felt sorry for the guy because I was on my mountain bike with a loaded pannier and I platform pedals and going faster- the shame). If I were in your position, though, I would take a close look at some of the cross bikes. Some of them seem to have great frame/fork combos that will make your ride a little smoother and not weigh so much.

Off-road tires on pavement will slow the bike far more than even a softy-sprung suspension fork.

My reservation with suspension forks is that old and/or low-cost models tend to perform poorly enough, both on and off-road, to garner the kind of disdain this thread has given them. If you can put a decent modern suspension fork on your bike, I don't think it will slow you down whether you are on the road or not.

But in response to the OP, I'd consider looking at cross bikes as well as MTBs.

Depends on what you want to do. I ride through situations like what cyclo-max is describing. I'd rather have the knobs. Speed? He's going to school...what's the rush:D

I just sold one: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=320162163346

I recommend a used rigid Cannondale. Mine was around 25-lbs with low-end components. You don't need front suspension for mild off-roading. And it had all the eyelets for commuting.

If you have a few more $$$ to spend, a lot of the Cannondales with the Headshok had lockout right on top of the stem.