Originally Posted by
StanSeven
True. Some commuters may like this. It's simple but weight savings is minimal. The problem is only a small portion of commuters ride/want a bike with a new group. In cities the chief worries for commuters are theft and damage to bikes. So how many will spend money for this?
Where I live, bike commuters ride a mix.
1. I would say half ride beaters of all varieties (mostly 40 year old road bikes or dept store mountain bikes). Those are usually people that are riding short distance and generally on the side walk.
2. Another 1/4 who ride real road bikes. These are generally people (like me) who are roadies and have a road bike (or 2 or 3 etc) and incorporate commuting into their regular riding/training.
3. Another 1/4 who are "serious commuters". People that are riding 5-10+ miles each way every day and carrying a lot of stuff. These people may have started on beater but tend to buy a commuter specific bike once they become committed to bike commuting. They usually get a new bike dedicated to commuting that has rack mounts, wide tire clearance, mounts for fenders, maybe discs. Some are hybrids like a Giant Escape or Cannondale Quick/Bad Boy and some are drop bar touring, cross, gravel bike etc. This is the segment that I can see going for this option