I have my eye on a few commuter bikes - 3-10 mile round trips around town. $500-$700 dollars. Keep my work clothes dry and clean with fenders and maybe chain guard. Long term durability and reduced maintenance would be good.

Giant City Escape 2

www.giant-bicycles.com/us/escape-2-city-disc

Jamis Commuter 3 (or maybe 2 without disc brakes but with chain gaurd)

www.jamisbikes.com/usa/commuter3.html

I am open to other ideas. I like the looks of the Breezer Liberty R1.3 but at a grand its over my budget and not sure why its worth that.

Thanks.

https://mikesbikes.com/product/creme...xoCwVQQAvD_BwE

Have you considered an IGH bike? Nothing is easier to maintain then a sealed gear box.

Over your budget but a good example

Thanks ! Still learning - it appears last years Jamis commuter 3 had a nexus 7 internal hub. For some reason they dropped that but added disc brakes to this years model. A swap. Would be nice to have both.

I bought a framed x300, which for the $300 I payed is a great bike, but I have quickly realized that while 3 speeds is adequate, I want at least 8.

I plan on upgrading to a soma wolverine once I have the money. It's way over your budget, but definitely what I think is the best commuter setup.

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Priority cycles only sell internally geared bikes, and they are mostly focused on commuters.
https://www.prioritybicycles.com/products/continuumonyx

that is outside my price goal at $1000, but darn thats alot of features for $1000. I dont think I have seen a bike with that many pluses for that price. Minor assembly - but not much. Hmmmm....

That's why I figured I would give it a mention. It's not perfect, but it certainly seams to be a good bike for the money.

Reduced maintenance with a chain guard, if your route is flat consider a single speed or fixed gear with full chain cover. I got one, mainly because I wanted it and #2 commuter bike was the excuse, and it's nowhere near as arduous as I thought it would be. About 5,000 or 6000 miles guess, and I've just recently got around to changing the chain. Not other maintenance except one set of brake pads.

I've been using a Fuji Absolute 2.1 for 3+ years as my occasional commuter (22 miles round trip but flat - bike path, town, and city). Bike is under $500 so I could load it up with fenders, rack, lights. I love it. I've put well over a thousand miles on it with very little maintenance.

I bought a 9 speed Alfine fast commuter for exactly this reason and while it works mostly very well it does have a few drawbacks that I haven't quite figured out yet.

1. Adjusting an IGH so the gear shifts are correct is such a pain because you often exceed the adjuster limits of the shifter and so have to unbolt the cable (cam?) that goes into the IGH. Unbolt enough times and you have to get new cables (the act of screwing slightly damages the cable). It does get better. Youtube is your friend.

2. Getting a flat rear tire. Honestly, I'm at a loss when this happens, and just walk the bicycle home. The tools I have to unbolt the rear axle are on the larger end, and require delicate work and concentration.

Honestly, after the problems I've had with my 8 year old IGH bicycle, I'd just recommend some gravel bike with quick release wheels. While my problems on my IGH are extremely few, and only a few times per year (flats, really), they are a serious pain to fix compared to the easy innertube change of quick release wheels.

my 2 cents, getting something with fenders already installed ...

I like Jamis because it's a local-ish family-run company rather than an international giant. The quality seems to be on par with the best. And that Jamis you link to looks very nice.

What I see that makes me think the Breezer Liberty 1.3+ is a good value is:
* dynamo hub and lights
* Shimano hydraulic disk brakes
* rack, fenders, kickstand

Each of those bullets is arguably worth $100, or would cost $100+ if you had to buy it and add it on. If you are not interested in all those goodies, then Liberty 2.5 is MSRP $499.99

Looking at your original two options though, I see rack&fenders already (check), disk brakes, but not Shimano (half-check), and no dynamo. At the listed prices, those are also pretty dang good values. If you're not tempted by dynamo lighting, than probably better value than the Breezer.

Of those two I like the look of the Giant a little better, but like noglider, I prefer Jamis as a brand.

OP, are you fairly comfortable with basic bike maintenance? I ask since if so, then you could consider buying a used hybrid in your area and just add the rack and fenders as needed. You could also widen the search to regular or endurance road bikes if you like drop bars. Either case, you could possibly get an older bike but with better components for the same money by going used.

The Jamis Commuter 3 is top of my list - its just a bike the shops will have to order and take 2-3 weeks. The Giant is everywhere and mostly in stock. But that Priority Continuum Onyx keeps flirting with me - all that it can give me -for just $350 more


P.S.

Short story I had a Jamis commuter 2 for a short time. Loved and lost it, but while I had it I wished it had disc brakes.

That Priority One Onyx looks pretty awesome. I think if you spent the extra $$ you would not regret it. On the other hand, if you had a prior positive experience with Jamis, I'd say go with Jamis again.

If you want the least maintenance possible, priority


If you want something your more familiar with, jamis.

I have the Breezer Greenway and it is a great commuter.

I have the Priority and should warn you that the Nuvinci 330 hub doesn't have the widest gearing range. If you're commuting somewhere hilly (6%+ grades), climbing may be a bit of a challenge. Still a solid package and not needing much maintenance on the gear train is great.

If you do get the Priority, first thing I'd recommend doing is replacing the tires with ones that roll better. Taking the wheels off at home isn't that big of a deal, in fact the rear is easier to take off than a derailleured wheel.

I appreciate all the responses.

I think I mentioned I had a Jamis Commuter 2 for a few weeks. I was able to find a bike store with a Giant Escape 1 (not city 2- but similar ) and did a test ride. It was not the bike for me. As a newbie I had no idea a bike sold as a commuter could feel so different from another bike sold as commuter. In my own view the Escape felt more road bike than commuter - fast, over responsive turns/handle bars, and lots of gear choices. Also to my surprise on dry pavement disc brakes offered no noticeable difference to me over basic brakes. I also confirmed that while I am between a large and xtra large sized bike (21 vs 23)... the 21 felt more comfortable. The bike shop also sells Jamis and their computer said stock is limited or non existent at this time for the Commuter series. They are checking to see if this is because Janus is about to release 2019 models - like Giant just did.