Commuting - The Perfect Bike?

What features would you like to see in a commuter specific bicycle?
My thought would be one with a stainless steel frame, both rust free and fixable.
Room for fenders and a rack, built in lighting system,and a lower bottom bracket.
Built in theft prevention would be good too, lo-jack for bikes?

Titanium or aluminum frame, Rohloff internal gears, front and rear disks, fenders, rack, Schmidt hub generator, at least a partial chain enclosure.

I'd like tires that would be comparable to car tires in terms of flat resistance.

Not sure how a bike "lo-jack" would work, as any bike can be simply tossed in the back of a pickup and driven off. Dunno how to prevent this, except with a good U-lock.

Paul

Perfection is a myth, however internal gears are a good idea if your area isn't too hilly. I always recommend used over new if you have any bike fixing skills. Used is cheaper therby allowing for the purchase of necessary paraphanalia(sp?)

Hi RR,
you just described a touring bike. Last fall I bought a 20 year old Fuji Light Touring 4. It's slow, comfy, and when I get done fixing it up, it'll be my commuter.
Been thinking about having a wheel made up with one of those Shimano generator hubs. Eventually it will get a new ergo handlebar, clipless pedals, Conti Top Touring tires. I'm looking forward to riding it. I don;t know what Iowa is like, never been there. But I rode a titanium bike last year, and I was worried like crazy somebody would steal it. Nobody did. After several months I put my 5 pound lock away and pulled out an old one pound wire lock. I know in big cities it's different, and I am careful, but so far so good.

The stainless steel would be way too heavy and impractical to mass produce.

I think you may find your dream bike on treks website.

www.trekbikes.com

City and Bike path bikes, commuters.

Touring bike or "light-touring" bike. In fact, the gearing of most presently sold touring bikes is perfect for commuting and fast rides... or for touring in flat lands.

You can get stainless steel frames. They are rare, and not really cost effective, compared to titanium.
Rohloff hubs are excellent in hilly terrian. They have 14 well spaced gears.
The best use of Rohloff's must be the Thorn Raven, a purpose-built high performance commuter bike.

For commuting:

Durable rigid frame, not to heavy. Comfortable, upright riding position. Lights, rack, fenders. Mountain bike gearing.

i think a road geormenty frame that will allow me to use my 1.95 city slickers.got my lighting figured out with my yard light housings,discs or some light drum brakes,i am getting tired of riding in the rain and ruining my rims and pads.lower bottom bracket.I have even thought about the shaft drive,but not sure if i will take my 200lbs and big ringing over the hills here,fenders/mudflaps/maybe even skirts around the tire,and chain gaurd,and my latest thought is enclosing the space between the main tubes to allow storage, all of this i am slowly working on getting

p.s the stainless tubed bike will work i retubed a road frame in the 80s with stainless tubes and it wound up weighting the same

For a commuter bike???

All you need is some cheap beater that still rolls!! You don't need anything fancy with built in lighting and all that! You don't need a rack ... or gears ... or anything particularly rust-free because if it all falls apart on you, you'll just head out and pick up some other cheap beater that still rolls.

I currently use a fairly inexpensive Wal-mart mtn bike which I've been riding for 4.5 years now through all kinds of conditions. Only the front brake works, I've got two gears I can still shift into, it makes all kinds of strange noises, there's no rack (I just throw on a cheap Walmart backpack), I've attached a $7 clip-on fender to help cut down the road spray a bit, and I've got an inexpensive red blinkie on the back. On the front I borrow a headlight from my Randonneuring bicycle if I need it.

My one regret is that I didn't go with an even cheaper Wal-mart bicycle. This one, to the untrained eye, looks like it could be a more expensive bicycle. When this one falls apart, I'll know better for next time.

For a commuter bike???

All you need is some cheap beater that still rolls!! You don't need anything fancy with built in lighting and all that! You don't need a rack ... or gears ... or anything particularly rust-free because if it all falls apart on you, you'll just head out and pick up some other cheap beater that still rolls.

I currently use a fairly inexpensive Wal-mart mtn bike which I've been riding for 4.5 years now through all kinds of conditions. Only the front brake works, I've got two gears I can still shift into, it makes all kinds of strange noises, there's no rack (I just throw on a cheap Walmart backpack), I've attached a $7 clip-on fender to help cut down the road spray a bit, and I've got an inexpensive red blinkie on the back. On the front I borrow a headlight from my Randonneuring bicycle if I need it.

My one regret is that I didn't go with an even cheaper Wal-mart bicycle. This one, to the untrained eye, looks like it could be a more expensive bicycle. When this one falls apart, I'll know better for next time.

AMEN..... My cheap ToysRUs bike has been living on the mean streets of Manhattan of almost 1 year! I barely rode it during the winter and used the subway yet no one stole it! If that bilke should ever break in two, I will go out and get a new one as those junkers last forever. My next Toy Store bike of my dreams will either be a hardtail Huffy or Schwinn. I would not get the model with plastic brakes.

The only regret is that no one makes inexpensive 3 speed anymore. If you only commute less than 3 miles on flat lands, a cheep three speed is perfect.

The commuter bike of my dreams would be the following.

A cheap three speed (Sturmey Archer) with front and back fenders and a chain guard that didn't weight a ton and cost less than $99.00 dollars. I'm probably asking for the impossible as that same bike today sells for $900.00 dollars!

I can dream right!

A cheap three speed (Sturmey Archer) with front and back fenders and a chain guard that didn't weight a ton and cost less than $99.00 dollars. I'm probably asking for the impossible as that same bike today sells for $900.00 dollars!

Don't give up your dreams. I found exactly what you described in Chicago for $75. Obviously it was used, but then again, the price was right!

a several year old trek 800 or something similar with 2inch wide (or wider) kevlar reinforced mountain bike slicks and a lightman xenon strobe with a cateye blinking led for back up. a cygolite rover nicad 6hr with two batteries (long charge times) and a cygolite cobra as a back up for it.

oh! and a trailer.

Given the choice between a new low-grade beater from Walmart, and a good, used sports bike, at the same price, guess which I prefer.
In the UK, a typical commuter hack bike is based around an old steel frame, preferably Reynolds 531, with rack+fenders. Why make life difficult by using a badly geared, overweight piece of junk that can't carry any shopping?

The Dawes Diploma is a good 3 speed bike for short-range city commuting, and I believe Fuji still make this type of bike.

I guess i am spoiled but if i am going to leave my nice warm dry car at home and ride i will have a nice bike,i have nice MTBS and nice road bikes and ride a lot of miles,i wear stuff out! A Walmart bike would last me two weeks plus i need fenders/lights,i ride rain/cold /hot and the ride in is in the dark, i just gave my old MTB frame a good paint job and really set it up to handle my everyday ride,even has a center stand,heavy but i use it for training,have enough lights so i can be seen,asap will be upgrading it even more

I guess i am spoiled but if i am going to leave my nice warm dry car at home and ride i will have a nice bike,i have nice MTBS and nice road bikes and ride a lot of miles,i wear stuff out! A Walmart bike would last me two weeks plus i need fenders/lights,i ride rain/cold /hot and the ride in is in the dark, i just gave my old MTB frame a good paint job and really set it up to handle my everyday ride,even has a center stand,heavy but i use it for training,have enough lights so i can be seen,asap will be upgrading it even more

I don't own a motorized vehicle so therefore I ride everywhere (or walk or take the bus).
I also ride lots of miles: 7200 miles last year in fact, with about 2000 of those miles on my cheap mtn bike.
I also ride in the rain/snow/cold/hot/day/night and have a cheap clip-on rear fender, and enough lights to get by on my mtn bike.
I've even done several winter centuries on that mtn bike through all kinds of nasty weather/road conditions.

Despite all that my mtn bike has lasted 4 years and is still going strong. Here it is after one of my winter rides:
http://groups.msn.com/BicyclingForumPicPost/winter.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=5858

My bike is the perfect commuter. If it only lost some weight it would be even better. The Kona Dr. Dew has strong wheels/rims, strong aluminium frame, 27 geared (Shimano Deore - XTR would be better, of course), hydralic disc brakes and great sterring. Add to this slicks. It is indeed one of the best commuters. Bad Boy Ultra is nice, too, but I do not know how strong its wheels are.

the perfect commuter that I had was the Brodie Infinity, the 2004 version comes with disk brake great for rainy weather, and aluminum frame

And I found the Hercules English racer. It is a 3 spd., full Sturmy Archer, rack, and a nice old wire basket for groceries, store purchases, etc.--and I got it for $15. After I got all of the rust off, it has been a dream. I use it for grocery and movie runs, and hauling my daughters around in their trailer. I do have other bikes for more serious endevours, but still, this seems to be my favorite.

Urbanmonk

As we all agree, perfection is relative to the task and what the rider deems most important. I have a flat 12.5 mile ride and I can store my bike in my office. Therefore, my specialized S-Works 20 lb cyclocross with a single 42 front and 9 speed rear is exactly what I wanted. Cantiliver brakes, 30c tires, and a carbon fork to smooth out the potholes... And still enough like a road bike to cruise at 30 mph with a nice oklahoma tailwind :) And I can see where no one is going to agree with the fact that I paid $700 for a commuter, but it is EXACTLY what I wanted and it makes me exited about every ride in to the office!

Zaphod,
I couldn't have said it better. You have to love what you ride to the point that it literally makes you want to pedal away for miles; otherwise, it could become a chore. What does your machine look like? Can it be seen on the Specialized website?

Urbanmonk

Wanna know what I think? Just check out my sig.

What does your machine look like?

They have discontinued the CX... Too much of a niche market to make it profitable for them? Anyway, here are some pics of my ride.

just converted my mountain bike into a commuter. Threw on some 1.75 semi slick and boy am i going faster. Accelerations are definetly faster and I think I am going almost 10 miles faster then previously. i might even end up mounatin biking with semi slicks!!!

Soma makes Reynolds steel frames suited for street use.
If you take care of them (rust prevention) they'll last longer than aluminum
Their graphics and paint are more subdued so they don't look flashy to attract attention. A Double Cross would make a fast fun commuter bike.
Perfection is objective. A frame gives you options to tailor made the bike to your needs.

Columbus used to make Metax, a high performance stainless steel tubeset. They stopped though.

www.somafab.com

The perfect commuter bike is whatever bike motivates you to get on it and commute, whether it's a Muffy, 40 y.o. Hercules, cleaned up vintage Raleigh road bike, or new '04 mid-level road bike that costs more than reason dictates ;). If it does the job and more importantly makes you want to get on it and ride, then it's perfect.