Originally Posted by bigdo13

Commuting in Buffalo? Like what? year round? I think that if you're gonna be riding in the cold, wet and snowy conditions you're gonna wanna be investing in good strong winter wheels and tyres as well as good riding apparel moreso than a bike... at your price point there's a myriad of options... I'd say that you wanna go with an aluminum frame with a carbon fork, and a 10 or 11 speed groupset... Buffalo isn't too hilly right? So that should do you, you might be able to get away with running an 11-28 rear cassette and a double, compact crank on the front....

I'd run as wide a tyre mm I could in the winter... up to 28mm if you can... but overall 700x25mm tyres will likely suit you just fine...

another huge point to remember b4 the brand or material or groupset is making sure you get the right size frame and that your bike is fitted to you... if you buy your bike from a brick and mortar LBS than they usually throw the bike fit in for free, if not, I'd seriously ask them to or pay the $30 to $50 bucks to get it done...

here's some really good video's that bike radar did that highlights some great commuter and entry level road bikes in your price range that I think u should look at:

https://youtu.be/LTcHA1TQiAA https://youtu.be/U_pRXBp1H7M hint: my personal reco just thinking about Buffalo's winter's would be either that Marin 4 Corner's or that Eastway Emitter highlighted in the first video, but that's just me...