Commuting - New to this. Need help.

Hello.

I have been reading these forums for a while now and have developed an interest for "commuting". I like the feeling of doing something useful with my bike, such as picking up groceries, or riding to places to eat. I have been mountain biking for about a year now with a specialized and really love just biking in general. I have decided to pick up commuting myself and I'm devising a plan to put together a low budget commuting bike with mostly used parts from online sites as well as the LBS. The bike i have in mind is more of a road bike with a little bit thicker tires and with a rear rack, fenders and so forth, but i have a few questions. Please for give me if these answers are somewhere obvious in the forum, as i have looked and didn't find exactly what i needed.

Also, I am leaning toward this frame- http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEBTOX:IT&item=200215556995&_trksid=p3984.cTODAY.m238.lVI

-Is it possible to put fenders on this frame?

-I want a little thicker tires than a road bikes so i was thinking maybe 30mm? I may be way off but i'm not sure, i'm very new to this.

-Is there specific rims i should be looking at for such tires? or will any rims work?

If this helps, I will just be riding on the road but the roads around here aren't exactly go-kart tracks. No trails for this bike.

Thanks in advance.

I don't think you can fit fenders on that frame. That frame ~might~ fit 28c tires. 99% sure 32s will not fit. Definitely will fit 25c. You might be able to squeeze those clip-on fenders on with tires 25c or less. But the coverage is slight and the BB will not be shielded.

Personally I commute on a 'converted' or urbanized mountain bike. For many reasons it's a great choice, and you mentioned you might already have one. I never ride trails but it's indestructible here in NYC.

A hard-tailed mountain bike can take a rack on the back, which is really, really useful. Especially if you want to go grocery shopping, you can bungee stuff to it, or use pannier bags.

Also, you can find great already-built Mountain and road bikes that have been cluttering someones garage for years. I saw a nice one today on Craigs for $130. Put a rack on it, slick tires, bar-ends or a trekking bar, toe-clips, blinky-lights and you're all set. I ride about 15 miles or more a day on it.

I've ridden a number of 50-80 mile rides on this 1994 Specialized Rockhopper. I have a pair of Crank Brother Candy pedals for longer rides on it. It's comfortable and reliable.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v467/BumbleFish/94Rockhopper2008a.jpg

Theft is always a problem. That's why I don't usually bother with a lock. But when I do I use a U-lock and a 9mm cable for the front rim. Remove the seat and bags.

Not to knock your wind out about building from scratch, but, it's a lot more complicated and problematic than you might think! Find a beater for cheap and take your time building up a fixie. Enjoy and welcome!

First off, thanks for the response.

I pretty much thought that would be the case. This is why i have a back up plan. The other bike i was looking at is this- http://cgi.ebay.com/Specialized-Hardrock-Frame-Parts-Single-Speed-Townie_W0QQitemZ110242045496QQihZ001QQcategoryZ98083QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotoh osting

I like this one a lot except for the fact that it does not include a fork and i am completely lost in buying a fork to fit the bike. Is there any certain type of forks for this bike? I'm geussing this frame can use fenders, correct me if i'm wrong. Also, about the tires, the 32mm sounds nice and is there a specific type of wheelset I have to have for 32mm tires?

Nice commuter btw. Like the specialized.

I'm sure it would be a bit more of a hassle to build it from scratch but i think the idea is funner and will give me more experience. I'm probably stupid for doing this but the idea of making it myself has more appeal to me.

Well the second one (specialized) has more potential as a commuter, but doing it from scratch like this will be harder, probably more expensive, and take longer. Could be more fun, if you are mechanically inclined and can figure out the cycling specific stuff.

Example, the seller says he's including a 1 1/8 threadless stem, and you can convert the frame to take a threadless headset. It's not specified, but I assume this means that the original fork was 1 1/8 threaded. That being so, you can take his advice and convert it, then use his bar and stem, or find a threaded fork of the same size, and use his bar only, plus a quill type stem.

Here's a good link to get you started, the Late, Great, Sheldon Brown.
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=253025

First of all, what's your budget, what kind of roads/conditions are you riding in, terrain (hilly?), how much load are you carrying, distance, your riding style (are you careful, careless, ram into stuff constantly, jump curbs?)