Originally Posted by
CrankyOne
Just giving some options. If OP wants to ride to work in normal clothes then a mountain bike, or any bike with an external derailleur and exposed chain, could be a bit more difficult
This is true but I would really emphasize "could be" and "a bit". It's a pretty easy problem to solve but could involve some added inconvenience depending on what solution you choose.
Originally Posted by
CrankyOne
Just look at the thread on getting ready in the morning — it's complicated for people with recreational bikes and much simpler for people with city bikes.
I guess I really don't buy that one. There are number of things that can contribute to a complicated morning routine, but bike choice is a minor factor at best, at least between city bikes and mountain bikes. Most convenience features of a city bike can be retrofitted to a mountain bike if somebody really wants them.
Originally Posted by
CrankyOne
It's quite difficult to keep grease off your pants even with straps or clips to hold your pants in, completely a non-issue with a full chaincase.
There are several valid solutions but this one looks pretty fool-proof:
Rolling up my pants leg works for me.
As bike enthusiasts, a lot of people in this group fall in to the N+1 camp, and I'm a little guilty of that as well. However, I think for most people having a single bike that can meet their needs is a less complicated solution than owning and maintaining two, three, or more.
Since the OP is interested in off road riding and his commuting needs are about as basic as you can get, a mountain bike is by far the best choice (in my opinion).