Originally Posted by
tjspiel
I've heard the term "city bike" too and I'm not sure how they differ.
I suppose it's good that they think there's a large enough market to target a specific type of bike at. Also if a non-cyclist were to decide that commuting by bike was something they wanted to do, this category gives them an idea of what they might want to look for in a bike (racks, etc).
On the other hand, I don't think that style of bike is the best choice for somebody with a longish commute, but that's probably not the group they're aiming at.
"Commuter bike" is a bit incongruous, because any bike can be used for commuting---and commuting is defined as riding to work. I know a guy who commutes on a Madone, another who does it on a 'mart MTB. My Gunnar is set up pretty functionally---lights, fenders, rack, panniers, but nobody would classify it as a "commuter bike". It's a road bike, and a fairly high end one, at that.
"City bike" makes it seem as if these bikes are only useful for short hops in an urban setting.
What would be a better term? "Utility bike"? "Practical bike"?