Originally Posted by
brianogilvie
The main disadvantage of the Commuter is that it has a 1x7 drivetrain;
Oops, I missed that. The lowest gear is 35 inches which is not very low. Fine for small hills but if you're anyplace with challenging terrain, that'll be a problem. On the other hand, front and rear derailleurs are tricky for novices - the need to coordinate shifting two controls. It gets easy quickly enough, but if you don't need it then simpler is always nicer. It just depends where you ride.