In search of my new bike, please help!
 

Hi, I'm getting rid of my car and need a bike for commuting (it's only 2 miles) / general weekend riding. My budget is just over $1,000. Some bikes I've been liking are the Jamis Coda Elite, Masi CX Comp, Marin four corners and of course some All-City bikes that are out of my price range. I prefer drop bars for their versatility in hand positions but then I rode the coda, and I really liked the way it felt. I also would prefer disc brakes.

Any suggestions for a newbie would be helpful!

Bike shop , pick your favorite shop first, , then get a bike there.. they will help your bike stay working.

commuting means wear and tear and all the brands sold in bike shops are adequate..

what brands does that shop sell?

For that budget you can get a pretty decent commuter. And if you don't know much about bikes I suggest you visit your LBS as well. They will help you find what you need, and you can hopefully depend on them for future support.

For a 2-mile commute, you can pretty much ride anything. In fact, if that my primary use for the bike I'd be inclined to get something more upright and more relaxed.

You might also want something with rack and fender mounts if you are doing it full time. It rains sometimes.

Marin Four Corners is a touring/commuting rig.

Right on spec if you need only one bike. If you need a cheaper alternative, the Raleigh Clubman Disc is worth a look.

I had a first look last weekend at a bike a friend just bought, a Priority Continuum (https://www.prioritybicycles.com/products/thecontinuum).

The Continuum not a drop bar bike, but looks similar to the geometry of the Jamis, which you liked. It has an Internal Gear Hub, which means the gearing is inside the hub of the rear wheel, so there's no derailleur. That makes it pretty impervious to road grime. And the Internal Gear Hub (IGH) is "continuously variable", meaning you don't shift in "steps" from one gear to the next. So for those who maybe aren't really used to gears it's smoother. Lastly, it has a carbon belt drive instead of a chain, so it's very quiet and you don't need to lube or maintain a chain. It has hydraulic disc brakes, and at $899 it's in your price range.

Riding it around a bit I liked it more than I thought I might. The gearing is not low, so if you live in an area with significant hills it might not work for you. Certainly worth looking at as a commuting and weekend bike.

+1

This is a go to when someone ask for suggestions. It is aluminum, internally geared, belt drive, hydraulic disc brakes, rack, fenders and $899 price point and you have a little left over for panniers or a different bar. Hard to beat all of that for the price, I also have a Surly Cross Check by far one of my favorite (most versatile) bikes I own.

https://www.prioritybicycles.com/products/thecontinuum

For what you're describing I'd recommend a Dutch bike (or one of the Scandinavian near equivalents).

More here: City Bikes | LocalMile

There's a reason that these are the most ubiquitous bikes in the world and are the ones that nearly every person in The Netherlands, Denmark, and Scandinavian countries ride.

If you have a local Marin dealer, I'm a big fan of the Four Corners. That will be my next bike. I did buy a Marin Muirwoods this past fall, added trekking bars. You stated that your preference is drop bars, Four corners gets my vote.

Hope this helps.

-Snuts-

Budget $100 for a backup bike. I had friends who had no car and just a bike and getting it repaired often took several days. Almost any bike would be OK for a 2 mile commute.

Congrats on going car free!

I have a Marin Muirwoods. Basically an urban 29er, still versatile enough to ride off road if you want. There are similar offerings from Raleigh in the Redux and Giant in the ToughRoads.

+1

So helpful! I do have a cheap old back up bike, it's what I'm using to commute now, but it's a single speed and really rough ride.

I have gone to lots of local bike shops, but they each carry a different brand of bike, so it's hard for me to know which one is better being that I'm going from shop to shop. I do have a local Marin dealer, but they didn't have anything in my size to ride, but are getting some in soonish. I have tested the Masi and the Jamis as well as a surly and all-city.

The priority looks awesome, but thus far, I haven't been a fan of aluminum bikes. However, I love the internal gears.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

Absolutely. And they will help you pick the best bike for you from those they have. They will most likely have something that suits you very well and fits your budget. The bike shop is more important than the bike.

I love shopping with other people's money. Someone will be along soon to pitch you a Dutchi. Just watch out for baloney like this from codaelite...

So why aren't they selling an ash wooden bike? :D

I have a steel bike (touring/commuting/singletrack), an aluminum bike (fatbike for snow and singletrack) and a carbon bike (road). Each material is fine. Aluminum can be harsh, but in real world use you won't feel its "laboratory specs" if you have 35-40mm tires at 40psi. I think that's a mistake that's too often made, extrapolating specs into real world feel.

Maybe that's baloney, but that looks like an awfully nice bike. Jamis is a good company, and the bike looks a lot like the Trek FX and the Specialized Sirrus and the Giant Escape. The nice thing about the Jamis is that you're not buying from the "Big Three."