About the Raleigh Rush Hour...

I just bought one a week or two ago. I bought it since it was reasonably priced, came with two brakes, a seemingly decent wheelset (dimension hubs and random double-wall rims) and track geometry. Whether or not I really needed it to be so twitchy is still debatable, but its fun and handles considerably faster than my road bike, which makes me feel a bit more like a ninja. I like that. Yes I'm lame.

Anyways, it's pretty nice. The tubing seems really thin, but I've babied it for the short time I've had it, so no dents yet. The paint is real fragile as well. My lock brushed past it while locking it up and put a bit of a scratch in it. Two things I didn't expect were the Wellgo M-21 mountain bike pedals and 18 tooth cog. I'm far from disappointed though, the Wellgos are actually not that bad and I was looking into MTB pedals, and the 18t cog is nice for cruising around town. All in all, a satisfactory bike for darting around the city. My wet weather needs are handled by an SKS clip on fender and a tolerance for grime, and everything I need to carry goes in my Chrome bag.

If you're looking for a commuter, I'd stay away. Completely impractical for everything but the track and looking cool. And I'm really bad at both of those. In fact, I'd look into a conversion. The problem with having a new bike is that you will baby it too much. It truly is a curse. But that really depends on what kind of person you are.