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Old 09-24-15, 10:54 AM
  #11  
Leisesturm
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Unless I way miss my guess the o.p. is female. I also do not think I would be insulting her by observing that she has little to no bike mechanic experience. So why endless repeats of the tired "90's MTB's make excellent commuters" sage wisdom? Personally I can't think of anything uglier, and, more importantly, I don't think they make all that wonderful a commute bike for the stated conditions the o.p. mentioned, without heaps of work which, unless done by the rider themselves will add up to some pretty nice coin.

O.p., if you make it this far in the thread. Your budget allows for a new bike, but, if you choose used, there are other sources, safer sources, of used bicycles than Craigslist! Many LBS's refurbish and sell used bikes and, I have to think, Boulder, CO must be home to numerous bike co-op's which are usually run as non-profits and although their selections may be smaller, you get a more hands on sales experience.

Portland, OR is another cycling mecca, and AS many women as men commute here. I see what kinds of bikes they are riding everyday and I don't see any 90's MTB's with pink Ergon Grips. I see tons of 90's Peugot Mixtes I see plenty of Trek road (touring) rides. I see plenty of FX series and there are more women than I thought possible riding fixed and SS and plenty on carbon road racers. Just because it has drop bars doesn't mean the bars can't be higher than the seat. Adjustable and/or angled stems can put those bars anywhere you want them, and drop handlebars give a rider a minimum of three different positions to deal with different muscles needing rest or fighting through headwinds. etc.

Ideally you would have a flat-bar AND a drop bar, but if only one, my choice would be the drop bar. And if one is going to go flat-bar, then IMO the flatbars on MTB type bikes don't cut it. The North Road type bars on women's road mixtes are much more suitable for a flat-bar bike that will be a persons only bike. FWIW.
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