Originally Posted by
Classtime
That State All Road looks fine. Go with drop bars, 700c wheels and slick tires for versatility. As the only bike in your garage it would be a good choice for a new and ready to ride bike. I’m a Craigslist cyclist myself with a 40 mile RT commute but I can build and rebuild a bike myself.
For a 5mi commute I think drop bars are a bit much. Flat bars are much more compatible with street clothes AND TRAFFIC. Even if the entire journey was on MUP or Greenway the ergonomics of flatbars suit the use case. And, slick tires? Why? O.p. for a commute tire you want reliability. You can see how the OEM tires work with your roads. I always try the OEM tire for a couple of weeks. If I get more than 1 flat/2wk I'm pulling them off. Or you can cut to the chase and put Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires (see if the shop will do it) from go.