Originally Posted by
BengeBoy
You haven't given us a lot to go on. So here are some facts you might provide:
- Is your commute flat or hilly?
(if it's hilly, you might want to avoid a single speed if you're not in great shapre)
- Do you plan to ride in bad weather (e.g., rain and snow)?
(make sure your bike has braze-ons that allow you to mount fenders easily)
- How much stuff do you plan to carry to work with you -- are you biking in your work clothes?
(braze-ons make it easier to mount a rack to carry your stuff)
- Do you want to use this bike for anything else?
You can commute on lots of different things, but some of this info might help folks steer you in the right direction.
Also - to reinforce what's said above - check out Craigslist. There are great commuter candidates for sale on Craigslist every day where I live; in smaller towns you might have to wait a bit. eBay bikes tend to be a bit more expensive.
On Craigslist, you'll find a lot of 3 to 5 year old mountain bikes, hybrids or road bikes that folks just haven't ridden very much...or you can find some older vintage steel road bikes that were ridden for awhile when new but haven't been used in many years.
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Good reply. Thank you, this does give me a better idea of what I want. I hadn't thought about it prior, but I do want to carry a bag about the size of a suit case. I would like mirrors (I think). I definitely want multi speed (for hills). I am experienced in many bike repairs, however, I don't know about maintenances, listed by savethekudzu, like drivetrain cleaning and wheel truing. I am very confused about how many speeds I should have... 10, 12, 18, 21,26... Oiye...
Anyways, I am commuting to school/work, I work on campus. I will be wearing school/work clothes. Bad weather... check! I can't afford a car, so I will be in the rain sometimes. Does this help at all? I have been checking craigs list, and I'm going to check out a LBS, today I hope, so I will hopefully know more after that.