Originally Posted by
tjspiel
Another thing to ponder is that the two people in our office that bought bikes specifically for commuting didn't get an ATB, a road bike, or even a cross bike.
One got sort of a half recumbant and the other got a "Trice" (trike). Of course both of them spent a lot more for their bikes than I did.
Neither of bikes I use for commuting were really purchased for that purpose, and I realize that my preference is geared not only to the type of commute I have, but to my other bicycling needs/hobbies.
My commute is not just how I get to work. It's also exercise and training for the couple of triathlons I do a year. That two mile stretch of uninterrupted trail in the middle of my commute is pure joy on the road bike and frustrating on the MTB because I can't maintain the pace I want. If my commute was mostly downtown, the speed advantage of the road bike would be almost irrelevant. Funny thing though is that most of the messengers downtown used Fixed Gear road bikes.
Parallel thinking/different end result! I'm the same: my bike 'passion' is riding relatively non-technical (in deference to my age/abilities) singletrack 'in the woods' -- that's why I have an 'atb' -- and use my commute to get to work and, like you, 'practice'! Here, though, my commute is either right smack on very bad roads/in heavy traffic, or on a very poorly surfaced, very heavily used MUP that runs along the river, and which has singletrack running parallel for long stretches right along the river. So, the slicked-up atb works perfectly in that composite environment: a lot of stop/go, on/off/on pavement, twists/turns, emergency avoidance etc. Roadies around here tend to avoid the MUP itself for good reason!! Riding road is, for me, base fitness/endurance prep, and I tend to ride out into the countryside and onto county roads asap!!