Samwise158

Hey Everyone,

I'm new to the forum, but my wife and I just bought a house in Minneapolis and I'll be only about two miles from school and I have almost a straight shot along the Mississippi River along bike trails. I'm really excited about becoming a bike commuter, but don't know all that much about bikes, Here is more or less what I'm looking for...

I'm looking for a good utility/commuting bike that will be useful for as long as possible into the cold season. For this reason I've been considering a mountain bike as it will be better on the icy trails and roads. But I'm also looking for something that will be good for hauling groceries with a trailer and be relatively smooth when riding long distances in the summertime. I'm not looking for anything fancy, but I would like a bike that is easy to maintain and that I can carry books and supplies with very easily. I'm currently living in Des Moines, but will be moving soon.

Hopefully some of you can help me find the right bike. Please let me know what my best options are.

Thanks!

nelson249

For a good all-around bike, you might consider the Surly Cross-Check (or even the Long Haul Trucker). Advantages of the Surly include

1) Full eyelets for racks and fenders
2) It has the clearance for really wide tires including studded ones for ice
3) Has a nice comfortable ride
4) Is quite fast and handles well
5) Uncomplicated and easy to maintain machinery including the indexed bar-end shifters
6) Nice brakes that can stop you and a trailer in a big hurry
7) All steel frameset

The nice thing about the Surly is that it is good for just about everything from commuting, hitting community trails, light touring and even road riding all in one package. You can check them out at www.surlybikes.com.

Caspar_s

You might want to get a cheap beater mountain bike for the winter. No need to mess up a good bike for only 2 miles. I ride 3 and have gone all through winter the last 4? 5? years. Then you can have that as a backup bike (in case you have a problem with your main one) and have a better long distance one for summer, groceries etc.

martianone

+1 on the cross check,
i ride mine year around, winter included.
put studded tires on in nov, take them off in april.
marathons on the balance of the year.
been thinking about getting a second set of wheels,
one for summer and one for winter tires.
the advantages noted above, are well stated;
why not enjoy them all year around ?

modernjess

+2 for the Surly Cross check.

I live in Minneapolis (SLP actually) and ride year round on mine. 15m RT commute and it's my errand runner do everything bike. It's set up as a single speed, for two reasons. It's mostly flat here, so one gear is sufficient for me, and low maintenance and reliability are a priority, especially for winter.

Speaking of winter (December - April) I have a second set of wheels with studded tires (Nokian 106) a little bigger cog and I wear a lot more clothing. It's the perfect all around bike. If it was stolen, I'd buy the exact same one again, I swear!

ItsJustMe

No reason you can't ride 365 days a year, with the proper tires. If your ride is relatively flat and on paths, it's possible knobbies are just fine. If you'll be riding on ice or up and down hills, I'd recommend a set of studded tires.
For a 2 mile commute I'd probably buy whatever bike was going to be most useful in general and equip that to commute. You can commute on anything, and for 2 miles any decent bike of any type will be acceptable; get one that's going to be usable for a wide variety of jobs.

newbojeff

1+ on getting anything for a 2 mile commute. It may seem daunting now to consider such a commute -- especially in a MN winter -- but after you do it for 2 months, you are going to wonder what the big deal was.

Buy used until you figure out what you really like/want. Save your money for a nice MTB or road bike after you find that the commuting is not far enough.

Commuting is a gateway drug.

ax0n

I did my 3 mile commute on an older steel mountain bike through the worst that KS could throw at me, including -3 Degree Fahrenheit temperatures, snow up to 8 inches deep, and ice. Even a cross bike wouldn't have sufficed for my winter commute. My mountain bike was used at my bike shop, and they sold it to me for about $125. New chain, cables, inner tubes, brakes and taxes included.

My vote goes for getting a nice bike now, and picking up a used but rugged MTB when you need it. I agree with others, a touring bike, cross bike or some other road bike with plenty of braze-ons is a good idea. My Trek 1200 has mounting points for fenders and racks, but the 1500 doesn't. Almost all touring and cross bikes should have braze-ons tho.

thdave

I do the kinds of things you're considering on my Breezer, which I love. It rides like a mountain bike but has internal gearing and is fully outfitted for commuting. It's nice to have the rack, fenders, lights, kickstand, and chainguard if you do the kinds of things you are talking about. It has slick tires.

Another good option is the REI Novara Fusion or Transfer. Similar to the Breezer but they are more readily available.

Enjoy shopping! It is wonderful to get a good utility bike, like the kind you are after. They are a lot of fun.

CBBaron

Whats your budget? Most people like myself will end up suggesting a bike some where around $1000 if you don't put any limits on it.
A MTB or 26" comfort bike is a decent selection for a short commute and around town riding as long as is it can be properly outfitted. A good commuter should have full fenders, a rack and clearance for good tires and a rigid fork. Breezers or other commuting bikes may have these accessories installed from the dealer. Many MTBs do not have the proper mounts which makes adding these accessories difficult.
A bike like the Cross Check is good for longer rides and can take a studded tire for winter commuting. This was my ultimate choice as my commute is 8.5 miles each way, so I wanted a faster bike that was more comfortable for longer rides.

Good luck
Craig

vtjim

You ought to be able to walk 2 miles in half an hour. Just an option. If they don't plow your bike path, you'll find you can't ride on it no matter what bike you get. Eventually it just becomes impassable. (Been there, done that, bugging the city to plow the path every winter. )