Aside from the usual mediocre suspended forks that entry level bikes usually come with at that pricepoint and below, I was also wondering about the reliability of the shimano nexus 3 speed IGH. The few reviews read, appear to be favorable. I was thinking about the extra expense, should your 3 speed nexus ever need replacing.

That's why I asked about the occurrence of any hills along your commute. If there were no hills or inclines present, we could go with a more dependable chromoly steel single speed. A bicycle that could very well last an entire lifetime, with relatively few mechanical issues. Single speeds like long, flat, and smooth land surfaces.

Do your gentle inclines or "subtle sloping" hills, go on for great distances? Like do the inclines go on and vary during the entire commute? ...Do you think that having a single speed would be difficult for you, provided you could easily get that leg over?

- Slim