Sweet. Nothing beats homebrew.

Nothing beats a road bike for speed and efficiency. I commute 26 mi. RT 5 days per week on a hilly ride both ways. My main ride is a titanium Mongoose branded (decals removed ;-) Sandvik frame, Ultegra drivetrain, Cane Creek wheels. On nice days I ride my '85 Paramount (it's heavier, but even faster...maybe that's psychological). I carry my clothes and lunch in a backpack.

Scott

it seems I am the only one that prefers to commute on a mountain bike with slicks.... I dont know why, but i find myself on the MTB much more often than the roadie.

One of my mountain bikes has (semi) slick tires and I commute on it... it's also fully rigid and fixed.

I'm finding that the Surly Cross Check is a great urban commuter. Tougher than most straight-ahead road bikes, so I don't worry about potholes or, for that matter, curbs; the drop bars are comfortable and let me get out of the wind when I need to; and the relatively short wheelbase makes it extremely agile in traffic. Steel frame feels supple without sacrificing much in efficiency.

I'd think about a cross bike if you're bombing around urban areas, though these vintage touring/road bikes are sounding pretty great...

Well for $600, I figure your 'new' bike isn't gonna be a 2008. My touring bike is my primary commuter, but I use my 80's Bianchi road bike in the summer when the weather is nice and the sun comes up nice and early. For that kind of money, I'd prolly be looking for an older bike with touring geometry and then putting the money I save on the bike itself into upgrades and accessories.

If your budget is only $600, you might try looking for a NOS frame on eBay. I found a 90's era schwinn steel road bike frame and won the bidding at $50. With $20 for shipping, it came out, all told, to a $70 frame; I thought it was a steal, considering my other options were in the $200 range. If you shop selectively, or have parts lying around at home, you can make a pretty good quality bike out of $530.

But $600 is pretty restrictive for the road bike category. Most decent stuff will put you in the $1000-2000 range. You might want to have a look at the Raleigh catalogue. Raleigh is weighing in on the commuting market and has some cheap offerings. I got my Rush Hour fixed gear/single speed bike for $550 back a couple years ago. Besides all the "spiritual" benefits of fixed gear bikes, one practical benefit is that they are cheap! If you don't have a lot of hills in your area, seriously consider the fg/ss option.

To me, it is just an uneccesary piece of equipment. I haven't had a kickstand for over 20 years and have not once thought to myself "I wish I had a kickstand". There is always something to lean it against. In the rare cases when there is not, I have no problem laying it down carefully on the non-drive side.

+1 on the Raleigh catalog. Their singlespeed One Way looks fantastic---it comes with a steel frame, a Brooks B17, leather Brooks bar tape and fenders, for $700 or so. The Raleigh Sojourn is an even better deal---steel frame, Brooks saddle and tape, fenders, a Tubus Cargo-looking rack, discs, and a mix of Tiagra and Deore for $1100. If I wasn't already set for commuter bikes, I'd seriously look at the Sojourn.

https://www.raleighusa.com/items.asp?deptid=5&itemid=427

I ride a 1987 Univega road bike on most dry days. This has little to do with distance (my commute is about a mile) and a lot more to do with balancing fun with carrying capacity and need for practicality. It's a dramatic contrast with my Long Haul Trucker, which is also fun, but rather tank-like. It works out because in my current school and living situation, I seldom need to carry anything on the bike itself, even though I don't personally own a car. The lack of rack and fender eyelets make it a bit less than practical, but this is also my recreational/training road bike, and hopefully soon to be my racing road bike. I'll be looking to use p-clips to put fenders on it this winter, which might extend my commuting use. Road bikes are addictive!

The real upshot with an older bike is the cost. I spent $150 on Craigslist for this bike, and I reckon I did well. Between tinkering and various upgrades, my current total investment is probably about $400; the new wheels I'm building plus some shifting upgrades will top things off at around $600 altogether. You can definitely purchase a newer vintage, good quality road bike in that range if you look around (the local used bike shop is selling a gorgeous late 90's Cannondale, in my size, natch, with full 105 for $600 - I covet it!), so you can do even better than I have. Besides, I figure that, in the hazy future, when I can afford a modern road bike of middling price, that my Univega will continue to be useful as a lightweight, light load go-fast commuting and traveling bike. And it will still be cheap!

Currently I commute on a Trek 1000. I use a Novara Commuter Pannier. My commute is just short of 15 miles each way.

I have a short, flat 7 mi. rt commute, so I have greater options than most. Dodging potholes and heavy traffic are my challenges. Mainly, it's the dense stop and start traffic that Chicago has to offer.

Currently, I use two bikes for my commute (5 days per wk.):

1) 1985 Merckx Corsa Extra, set up with Campy Ergo shifters. This is my sunny day commuter, and I love that the Ergo lets me keep both hands on the bars as I navigate traffic. This is my ride-fast back that I especially love to ride on the windy days here, as I feel like I can just slice through the wind.

2) 1986 Cilo set up with downtube friction shifters. I keep my SKS race blade fenders on this bike and ride it whenever there's a chance of rain or if I know that I'm running errands after work and will need to lock it up for more than a few minutes (the parking lot at work is fenced and guarded, so I don't worry about theft from work). I figure that Cilo is less known than Merckx, and it would just cost less to replace the Cilo if it were stolen. FWIW, I have about $400 in the CIlo and about $850 in the Merckx.

I'm currently overhauling a 1980 Windsor touring bike that will get outfitted with full fenders. I'll end up with about $400 in that as well.

No matter the bike, I carry my velcro attach Sigma flashing lights. My large messenger bag holds whatever I need to carry for the day and has enough room for a few groceries on the way home.

I used to have a Jamis Coda Sport flat bar road bike but sold it. Drop bars really do make a huge difference when it comes to riding in wind and putting you in a better position for really cranking.

So, you can see that my recommendation is to go for a good used road bike and use the leftover money to upgrade and buy accessories, such as good clothes. I'm already finding the benefits of good cycling jackets and gloves. Also, though I much prefer vintage steel in all other respects, I will say that modern brakes offer a huge improvement.

Best of luck to you. Commuting's really fantastic. It wakes me up on the way there and gets me home feeling relaxed and feeling like I've earned that after-work beer.

If your budget is $600, then I would start searching for used bikes/frames on eBay, Craigslist and other on-line sources. Make sure you know what size you need. If you want eyelets for racks and fenders, I would search eBay for touring bikes, as well as various Japanese and American brands that made touring/sport touring frames back in the 1980s. Some good brands to follow include Miyata, Nishiki, Panasonic, Fugi, Shogun, Centurion, as well as some of the older Trek and Specialized steel frames.

If you can increase your budget a little, or have some parts that could be fitted to a decent frame, I would look at some new frames such as Surly Long Haul Trucker, Soma Smoothie and ES, Salsa Casseroll, Kona touring model (don't remember the name), Rivendell Bleriot. All of these frames are reasonably priced and have eyelets for racks and fenders.

With my $600, I opted for the Trek 7.3 FX flat bar road bike ($529.) Rode it home yesterday (about 15 miles.) I felt the riding position was more comfortable than my old out-of-commission Trek 1200 road bike, but more aggressive and responsive than I would have expected from a flat bar bike. Except for catching too much air, I was very happy with the performance, considering I was carrying a load on the rack and the bike is heavier than most road bikes.

The flat bars were a compromise for value, but they were actually quite nice for my commute home. Shifts very nicely (Shimano rapid fire,) 48/38/28 triple and 11-32 cassette. Plenty of gear range, probably more than necessary except for heavy loads/extreme fatigue. Tires 700x32c. Glossy black.

This is a great utility bike for me. Thanks for everyone's input, I love reading about other's bikes and experience. (Of course, you all know there will always be more bikes! )

Here's a question. I rode my Wilier Thor commuting yesterday. Had too much stuff in my messenger bag on the way home. Bike really didn't like it. More sensitive than I expected. I've also got too much drop to really use a messenger bag. So I think that one's out.

But I have Fuji Pro AL/Carbon Veloce 10 spd compact cranks that I rode in this morning. I tried a rear seatpost rack on it. Doesn't like weight in the rear. But I load the handlebar bag and it doesn't mind. Anyone try a lowrider front rack on something about like this? I'd have to fudge the mounting, but I think I could do that. Has a Kinesis carbon fork. I don't see any problem if I run the weight to the dropout & brake mounting. I'm mainly dealing with winter clothes bulk. Cold in the morning, warmer in the PM, so I have my morning clothes to take home. The laptop does well in the messenger bag, but not bulk stuff.

Make sense, or am I likely to find a modern racy road bike just a bit difficult. I'm commuting on vacant hilly country roads. At least for now.

Re kickstands...they rattle, which is another annoyance.

Unfortunately, both at home and work, the only walls available to lean the bike against are brick or stone, so the sides of my old leather covered seat are a bit scuffed from that.

I ride my 2007 Trek 1000 18 miles round trip on a hilly country road. I don't carry what I can't fit in my shirt or jacket pockets and under seat bag. I keep a drawer full of clothes in an empty desk at work and trade them in and out on rainy days. It's not very hot in Northern Maine that often so I can just change in the bathroom.

Dang, I rode home for the second time on my new Trek.

Accelerates great, swift, clean shifing, even with a load. Balance and feel, superb. Straight as an arrow, beautiful to ride.

I feel guilty riding a bike that is so easy to ride!

I had a mtb that I equipped with slicks but it was so much heavier and slower than my road bike that I stopped riding it altogether (I stopped commuting on it about 8 years ago in favor of an old early 90s road bike I had after trying to make the mtb work as a commuter).

I actually sold my mtb last summer and don't miss it at all. Who has time to pack your bike up on the car, drive an hour to someplace where you can ride it off road, then spend a couple hours riding, only to drive an hour back home. Not me...By by worthless hunk of metal. Hello road bikes!!!

That adds character. I love an old worn looking saddle quite frankly. Both of my Arione saddles are starting to get that look and I love it. I've got a couple thousand miles on them.

You might as well love a scuffed saddle. It's going to happen sooner or later.
My arione has a decent amount of character and my toupe is excelling in the amount of character it now has.

Clean shiny saddle = unridden bike = poseur

Matte-finished saddle that's now shiny because it's ridden so much + no scuffs from falling = well-balanced rider



(I think I just jinxed myself!)

I ride a 1978 Shogun touring bike.Bought it new and commute to work everyday since.No fenders,front and rear racks,down tube water bottles(stops the water when wet)diy halogen lights.Used to ride 36 miles rt,5 days a week.Sold my business a few years back and now I only ride about 10 miles rt.Iv'e only had a computer on it the last couple years so I don't know the real mileage but it must have close to 200,000 miles on it.I ride about 5-8000 miles a year the last couple years and I rode ALOT more than then that before I got the computer(and got old).

Lugged,triple butted CroMo frame and fork,27x1 tires.21 speed,SR triple crank(46-36-26),the rest is all Shimano w/Araya rims,with double butted spokes.Still the same way I bought it except for a different seat and Shimano aero brake levers and the normal stuff.Been a great bike,if they still made them I would buy another.Cost was $650 in 1978,alot for a bike in those days,and worth every penny.

Ride the same bike to San Fran and back every year for the last 20 years.Been to Denver and back(live in L.A.)and all over Hell and Creation and has never let me down.I like CroMo frames myself,strong,forgiving,last forever and soaks up bumps well.

You, sir or madam, are a veritable cyclo-commuting demi-god. My hat, if I was wearing one, would be off to you.