Hello community,
I am looking for a commuter/recreational/all-around bike in NYC. My budget is around $800. I plan on commuting to work once a week and mainly riding the bike on paved roads, parks, and streets on the weekends. I do not plan on taking the bike on trails or off road. I'm 6'0 and 165lbs.
After much searching and checking out the bikes in person, I have narrowed down my choices to two bikes. The 2013 Cannondale Quick 4 and the Bad Boy 9.
I would very much appreciate your opinions, pro's/con's, etc... to help me decide on a bike.
The obvious differences between the two bikes for me are (Quick 4 vs BB9) - brakes (disk vs pads), fork (carbon vs alum), and stock wheels/tires.
As I do not plan on riding in wet conditions, the brakes seem like a non issue.
The Quick 4 comes with fatter tires and fewer spoke count. Weaker rim due to lower spoke count? The BB9 has a slim tire. How does that fare for street riding? I don't plan on hitting large pot holes, but I will cross some bumps here and there.
The highly debated fork. There seem to be many people debating the following. A carbon fork is better for shock absorption but is weaker. Aluminum forks have worse shock absorption but can take more of a beating. My concern here is that I am not sure on the durability I want/need for NYC street riding.
Lastly, the BB9 has a wider fork which I assume can accommodate many different tire sizes. The Quick 4's fork is narrow, and the stock tire seems like the biggest tire it can handle. Should I consider the fork width for future proofing the bike? Am I over thinking this?
Thank you all in advance, and I apologize for the long post full of what might seem as reiterations of facts
Zx