How much more money do you want to spend on replacing broken parts before you decide to up the ante on a bike that cost more? You probably already spent $50 on worn out parts.

I'm not trying to bust your bubble, but a $50 Chinese bike won't last long, and using a bike like that for commuting is asking to arrive to work late due to breakdowns, and how long will a boss tolerate that?

More expensive? You can get a really nice bike from Bikes Direct.com without being expensive, see: http://www.bikesdirect.com/ Look at the sale priced bikes then click on the road tab if none of those are to your liking. Touring bikes are great for commuting on as are Cyclocross and Hybrids so look at those too, but any road bike will work. But you don't need an outrageously expensive bike to commute on, but at Bikes Direct a bike in the range of $450 to $600 will get you a nice commuter bike.

There's a neat low maintenance Windsor Kensington 8 on sale for $450. Low maintenance because it uses a 8 speed internal gear hub instead of an external derailleur and gears. It also has a steel frame which will last a very long time, comes with a rear and a small front rack which would be great for commuting and even weekend touring trips. See: http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...ensington8.htm