Originally Posted by
genec
It really all depends on your commute. 29% of the American population works within 5 miles of their home... if you commute during daylight only hours, it doesn't take much to cover 5 miles on any comfortable bike.
But as soon as you start riding at night, you need lighting... Anything beyond that... racks, clothing, fenders, better bike... is just to improve your comfort.
Consider this... while you consider $800 a steep price for a simple commute, bear in mind that people pay 10s of thousands for a 4 wheel moving "couch" to go that same 5 mile distance. Go figure.
There are also people that come here who very happy to drop significant coin on a new bike. The last thing they want to hear is that their current bike is just fine or that they should save some money by getting a 20 year old bike from craigslist.