Originally Posted by
sumorez
Anyway, I know nothing about bikes. My last bike was probably when I was ten years old. I'm 5'6, about 180 pounds, and I figure a bike will (a) save wear-and-tear on my car, and (b) will be a better workout than hitting a gas pedal. There's only one major intersection I'll need to cross and in VA it's legal to ride (slowly) on sidewalks and walk the bike across the intersection, so I'm pretty confident I'll have no problems since there's sidewalks all the way from my front door to my job.
My GT Tachyon was $450, because it's the 2010 3.0 and the 2011 4.0 is out. Good brand new deals. You can find other, cheaper things that may be adequate, around $250, maybe even less, new or used. I have a 7+ mile ride each way, so I bought myself a very nice bike.
In my case I got a commuter. If that's all you want it for, no mountaining, go for a road-style hybrid commuter. They're a little more upright because most people are more comfortable on a leisure commute that way than in a suppline position; but if you want to go full road bike, go for it.
Besides that, test ride your bikes. Go to a shop, check some out, listen to the salesmen, don't buy anything! Ride the bicycle around the parking lot, one after another, for 15 minutes, then go home. Come back and buy the one you want.
Also, read through Sheldon Brown's site.
Finally, what's a realistic budget here? I don't want to buy something that will make me angry, but I will also only really be using it about three months out of the year, twice a week tops; in the summer it's just too hot (I have no way to shower or anything when I get to work and I have to maintain a professional image), and I'm only on site twice a week.
Actually you can probably do the ride-of-fire thing, but you're going to spend a lot more than just your initial $100-$400 on a bike. I'm going to go through the blazing heat in the summer, with some Under Armour compression shirts and light t-shirts to ward the heat. Part of this commuting thing is me learning to deal with the ungodly weather effectively: wind, rain, heat, cold, everything.
I think the summer will be $30 Under Armour compression shirts to wick the sweat away and prevent odor, and I'll probably top that with an extra light Under Armour t-shirt with the same function (what? Yes, dress in layers in the heat). I might wind up with base layers under my pants, i.e. compression shorts.
Spring and fall, extra-light wind/rain jacket that costs me $100. Under Armour under that, light t-shirt or work shirt. The wind break is great, breathable (eliminates sweat) and not insulating (doesn't cause overheating).
Winter... I don't know, I'm trying to figure that out. I'll switch the base layer for something meant for colder climates, with a warmer insulating t-shirt over top that (again, a wicking one, double wicking layers) and a winter shell jacket over that (looking at some rather expensive ultra-light insulating jackets, $200-$350 range). Maybe a couple more mid layers. Cold weather mountain bike gloves. Base layer long underwear pants. Better socks.
As you can see, I'm going to spend as much on clothing as I did on all the bike stuff most likely. Plus, I get to work, hit the bathroom, swap out my shirt and base layer into an overflow in the Camelbak, and throw on my work clothes. Wash my hair in the sink real quick (I never use shampoo, ever).
The idea is to eliminate the sweating problem by improving sweat wicking (carries away and spreads out the water so it evaporates quickly) and air flow (breathable garments, ventilation), as well as using base layers that kill bacteria so there's no actual odor.
Then it's safe to swap out to work clothes, of which your base layer should include a very nice cotton t-shirt (like a Lands' End V-neck undershirt, very soft) to pick up any remaining sweat and dry out. In the summer I wear (as work clothes) these very thin Lands' End shirts that I got for $25, they're smooth and extremely light (not as light as the $50 ones I was given by an employer). These are adequate for me to change into after a ride.
A professional image is all about you. If you show up at work on a bicycle, in bike gear, sign in, hit the bathroom immediately, swap out your clothes and wash/dry/comb your hair in five minutes, toss the CamelBak reservoir into the fridge and slide the backpack under your desk, you look professional. Yeah, you show up in bicycle clothes each day, your hair's wet in the morning (shorter hair helps here), etc, but you handle it extremely well. Make it work for you, because that's what separates the leaders from the followers.
EDIT: Hmm, you said you're only on site 2 days a week? Spend the extra $30 for an Under Armour base layer shirt (
compression,
fitted (non-compression), take your pick). Slip it on under when you ride, see how it feels.
If you wind up riding a lot, you might wind up buying a lot of clothing. I've been thinking on getting one of these because my whites wash is so freaking small and will let me wash 2-3 garments I want to use for 5-8 days:
http://www.laundry-alternative.com/washing.htm
So, if you wind up eating through base layers and don't want to wash a full load every 2 days or spend $200 on a week's worth of UA, there you go.
Just things to experiment with.