Originally Posted by
jade408
1. you are less visible to cars as you might be below their sight lines
2. you need to have pretty good handling skills to be able to control the bike and look behind you
I don't really think either of these are a concern.
1. This doesn't really make any sense, even on the raciest of racy road bikes you are higher up than in a car.
2. I have never found this to be the case at all, but no matter what bike you ride, having a mirror in city traffic is a good idea. I have a Take-A-Look, which is a small mirror you can attach to your helmet or glasses.
It's also important to note that "road bike" does not automatically mean a carbon fiber racing bike. It is a category that spans from that, to touring bikes with very stable handling and wide tires. I would not typically recommend a racing bike for commuting because it's hard to fit fenders, racks, etc, and the geometry is aggressive. But there are lots of road bikes I would recommend.