I perfer a light-touring road bike (2002 Bianchi San Remo) with campy triple chainring and rear 12-26 9-spd cassette. 700-28 armadillo nimbus tires with a rear-rack and a grocery sack to throw my backpack in. SPD pedals and 36-spoke MAVIC touring rims. Brakes are Avid-Shorty-6, and I have a kickstand! I got tired of having to lean my bike against things or trying to find somplace to lay it down without hurting it. Kickstands are COOL!

I would put fenders on my bike, but I'm not sure I have enough clearence between the top of my fork and the front wheel. In the rear, the bottom of the rack works to keep the road-grime off my back.

My commuting environment is mostly open/windy (hence the road-geometry) on rural flat roads, but sometimes I like to take the long-way home that has some nasty hills (hence the triple).

If I had different conditions I think my choice would change significantly, but for what I do, this is my choice in bikes.

(Forgot to mention that storage at my workplace is VERY secure, otherwise I'd ride something cheaper)