Originally Posted by
BarracksSi
I thought I'd never see a phrase like that.. lol
I've said earlier that people will commute on anything, and that it also doesn't exactly mean that every bike is a commuter bike. Similarly, drivers might commute in cars like Hondas, Porsches, and Hummers, but only the Honda gets labeled as a "commuter car".
Even after that, it kinda depends on the type of commute -- is it over 15-20 miles of back roads, or across 15-20 blocks downtown, or multi-modal (going by bus or rail partway)? I can think of an ideally-equipped bike for each of those three versions of commuting. Unfortunately, that's a limiting view, too.
Yes but it's only a few Hondas that are considered commuting cars. In the automobile world, "commuter" is pretty much synonymous with "small". Generally, something that's reliable and efficient is a good "commuter" regardless of how it gets labeled.
Most people when buying a car don't think "I'm going to use this car primarily for commuting therefore it should have x features". They buy a car based on what appeals to them and what features they want regardless of whether they're commuting or taking a road trip to visit Grandma.
So what's kind of limiting in this discussion is the idea of purchasing a bike with just commuting in mind instead of thinking "I'll commute with this bike therefore it should have x features, but what else might I want to do with it?"
We end up talking about a category or style of bikes labeled as commuters instead of just listing what types of components/equipment a bike used for commuting should have. Further, while a bike with a very upright riding position might make a fine commuter under certain circumstances I don't understand what it is about that riding position that makes it better for commuting than any other style of bike intended for road use. I
do understand that some people prefer that riding position.