Originally Posted by
emilleejoyce
I'm a 5' 6.5" female who weighs 130 lbs. I commute in Pittsburgh, PA - the roads are horrible here. My commute is mostly on the road but partly on paved trail too.
I think my sprint is from 1988 or 1989. I'd originally planned to refurb my sprint because I honestly do really like the bike, but from the little research I did, the general consensus seemed to be that sprint's are the bottom of the bottom and not worth the money.
I've been checking Craigslist but haven't found much that meets my criteria. I don't have a car so I'm limited in my searchable range.
There's currently a fairly durable 15in Specialized Stumpjumper commuter listed on eBay that might well suit you:
click, listed as $599/OBO, and it's with free shipping (from Wisconsin). The Stumpjumpers of the 1990's are well-known for being stoutly built. Steel frames. Fairly light, for how strong they are, for the era. Shimano XT components. This one's decked out with drop bars, full-length fenders. Something of that sort ought to handle rougher roads well.