carless

Poll: Best Commuting Bike/ Under 5 Miles
-Includes suburbs
-1 year of riding
-All ages
-All weights
-All genders

shakeNbake

A flat bar hybrid would be best for a a short ride. Upright, flat wide handle bar should give you better control on low speed (traffic)


BUUUUUUTTTTT!

When you want to take it for a longer ride, drops are your friend.

Nightshade

A "Mixte" framed city bike with at least 6 speed would do it for most.
Next choice would be the older Raleigh & Schwinn 3 speed of the past.

Phantoj

I'd pick a Euro-style internal hub bike in the old Raleigh three-speed tradition. Full fenders and racks, too.

But for under five miles, pretty much anything will work, right?

hubs

It's not the number of miles that is the biggest factor. Do crime and parking conditions require a beater? Is it a rugged 5-mile path, and a mountain bike would be best? Are the 5 miles before or after public transit and a folding bike would facilitate that (or indoor parking)?

If these are your choices I'd eliminate the dept store option (rarely a good ride) and get something that you LOVE to ride ... then you'll be much more drawn to the bike!

Good luck!

Owltooth

surly cross check. awesome commuter no matter how many miles. with fenders.

rajman

My commute for May and June this year was 5 mi through a fairly industrial part of town (Keele/Rogers road from Bloor/Christie if you know Toronto). The ride was partly on a bike lane, part on residential streets, part on narrow arterials with lots of trucks. The ride was always up or down, never flat. The surface conditions varied from smooth asphalt, broken asphalt with lots of potholes and debris, paths through parks with sticks (and suicidal squirrels), tunnels with lots of broken glass, several construction sites with raised manhole covers, and a few curbs to jump.

I found my marin muirwoods (a mutt with 1/2 mtb : 1/2 hybrid genes) to be totally up to the task (it's basically a cromoly frame mtb with no suspension front or back and slick 1.5 in tires). I did find that I needed to get a kevlar tire in the rear (1.3 in), and I went through a pair of brake pads front and back due to the stop and go. Frequent cleaning is required and if you are not into that the internal geared bikes might be better for you.

rajman

BTW from my unsicientific investigations into what people are riding, I would say the majority of bike commuters in Toronto (and there are a lot!) are riding mtb/beaters. Of course I see all types of bikes while riding around in T.O. but when you ride at rush hour the beaters seem to be in the majority. During the recent wildcat transit strike I saw Mayor Miller riding what appeared to be a hybrid or comfort bike.

godspiral

It depends on your comfort and experience level. A cheap old road bike with steel wheels and bad brakes, and sketchy handling, can get you there pretty relaxed at 20kph, and comfortably with the right seat, clothes, and experience riding a road bike. On the other hand, if you're a beginner you're more likely to find a flatbar more safe, easier to handle, and comfortable, even if you end up pedaling harder. -- and also are more likely to value comfort over speed.

Old gas pipe road bikes can be good for sweat free slow commuting with outside lockup.

geog_dash

Configuration is not much of an issue for 5 miles. I put fixie because they are least demanding from the maintenance stand point - just oil the chain and replace the brake pads from time to time. Also, they don't make surprise gear shifts, or throw or suck the chain in traffic. (Just remember to tuck your pants and laces!) Control is good a low speeds, and the bike won't try to run away on hills. Finally, riding one takes a bit of learning, so your typical hop-on-and-run type bicycle thief will more likely make a quick face plant than a quick getaway.

thdave

I have a 6 mile commute and my utility/Dutch style internal gear hub is nice--has fenders/lights/bell--all the dorky stuff ;o).

It may sound stupid--but get a heavy bike. You will get a better work out for such a short ride! Fenders are a must--you will ride it more often. Upright handlebars are helpful--you see/react better for city rides. breezerbike.com is a good spot to look. There are others like that, too. I have the 7 speed.

Enjoy!

jyossarian

Any old thing will be fine for a 5 mile commute. Since that wasn't a choice, I voted fixie.

Cosmoline

Why is the single most popular bike style on the planet left off the list?

UTILITY!

For short commutes nothing beats a heavy frame utility bike with baskets and racks. You can combine shopping with commuting and are troubled much less by changes in the weather.

Emerson

+1 for the Cross-check. If you have a short commute, you might as well have a bike that can do pretty much anything for the rest of the time. That said, for the distance, any bike will do and a used hybrid will be a lot cheaper than a Surly.

I-Like-To-Bike

Yossarian had it right, ANY bike would do.
A utility bike would be the most practical; my guess for the omission is that utility/city bikes are not hip/real enough for the smart guys who provide the conventional wisdom about bicycling.

-=(8)=-

Fixed +
Best for 14 miles too

georgiaboy

5 miles or less can be quick and boring...time to spice it up...try this:

jimmuter

I have my good old hybrid beater bike. I love it because it's cruddy enough to not worry too much about in the rain (like today), but it's nice enough to get some longer rides in at lunch (which I'm about to do) or after work.

Artkansas 

This is it, an old low'mileage mountain bike converted for street use with slicks, fenders, lights and a rack. Tough, dependable and able to take on any hill or pothole.

caloso

My choice is the Stealth Beater. Just like the Millenium Falcon: she may not look like much but she's got it where it counts.

Like Artkansas, I have an older Hard Rock and it runs like a dream but it's an ugly grey and aqua (think Miami Vice) and it's covered in grime and surface rust. I'm never washing it, but the drive train is pristine. (Bike thieves are looking for bling, not perfectly tensioned cables and clean cogs.)

Lucky07

If I had the cash, I'd get the Burley Runabout. Steel frame, Shimano Nexus hub, bulletproof.

donnamb 

+1 Don't forget an internal hub gear. Unless your 5 mile or less commute is up the absolute steepest hills there are, a hub gear is so easy to manage on a short ride.

krazygluon

I said touring because as far as I'm concerned touring/commuting have the mutual requirements of:

all weather riding ability
gearing capable of handling hills and going reasonably fast
mounts for fenders/panniers/etc
wider slick tires
not a diehard roadbike body position (but it doesn't hurt to be a little aero)
frames characterized by strength and shock absorbtion w/o energy sapping suspensions.

that said for 5 miles you could ride a unicycle...well maybe not a unicycle, but the point is that 5 miles is a short enough ride that just about any bike can do it.

ken cummings

Oh yes. My unscientific observations of several hundred cyclists during my different commutes also say MTB/junkers. In large part the many day laborers and field workers I see can't afford much better. A $60.00 Walmart bike is an expensive treat for some of them. Maybe one in 3 or 4 bikes is a high end one like mine.

Given that If I had to start over and was going less than 5 miles a $300 to $400 bike is what I could afford now.

2manybikes

Exactly. For five miles anything will do.