I'm three days into an 23 mile r/t commute on my hardtail MTB. Mostly suburban roads, two stoplights, been averaging around 14mph on 26x1.4" semi-slicks. I paid $100 for this bike. Added rear rack, trunk, blinkie.

I'd like a more road-biased ride, but IMO a thousand-dollar bike isn't needed for what I'm doing..