C'mon no question GMC Denali! Didn't we have a huge thread on how versitile that GMC Denali was for riding, not for crashing or getting hit by a car so much if I remember correctly. Edit Denali Review Thread (locked)
From the walmart site "This sweet bike will take you from A to B very fast (I can go at around 25 to 30 mph on flat roads)" :( I can't even do that downhill anymore argh what is wrong with my dang legs. I can't say whether or not walmart censors the reviews but overall they seem pretty positive. Much more positive then many of the mid range bicycle reviews I have seen online.

I am of the opinion that most do not post reviews unless they hate the product.
For instance MBR and RBR.

What worries me is those reviews that mention the lack of mention means it is great
http://www.bentrideronline.com/revie...o26/giro26.htm
"In the recumbent world, it seems like the best thing you can ever here about a seat is nothing at all. Our message boards are virtually devoid of comments about the Re-Curve so people must like it quite a bit."

Personally I didn't get the recurve seat because it seems to be built to stab in right under the shoulders.

For winter commuting, I use a converted SS mtn bike. It's got a steel frame, rigid fork, 1.5" city slicks, fenders & is utterly basic. But I've got a very short commute. I save the road bike for faster/distance riding.

I ride the road bike on all but the worst weather days. Had the MTB out every day this week due to snow and ice, and I've realized I quite like it! It's better feeling on my neck, shoulders, arms and back, but is heavier and not as fast/efficient. That said, I can do the legs on my 30mi RT trip at least a couple of minutes faster on my road bike.

My road bike is light and alu, so I feel EVERY crack on the road of which there are many. I'm seriously contemplating putting together a rigid MTB commuter with some narrow commuter tires (Marathon Plus, for instance) and a rack and fenders.

Love my roadie, love to spin and go fast, but the winter is bad enough it's impassible on a roadie.

Maybe I would appreciate my MTB more if I got rid of the knobbies. Then I wouldn't look at MTB commuters and wonder to myself: "How do you put up with that bike everyday."
Thanks, it's good to hear other perspectives...

Why do I use a MTB for my commute?
The three things you won't find on road bike: Disk brakes which are better for the wet weather, a cargo rack for panniers, and fenders. So really a MTB is more versitile than a road bike.
The wider tires also help. I run 26x1.75 that aren't knobbies but do have good thread pattern as the stream in the park frequently leaves a nice slick coating of mud on the path.
With that being said, my hardtail is my commuter/errand bike, I have a dualie with big knobbies for real mountain biking.
I do notice a large difference in commute time when I use my road bike. I average 12.6 to 13.1 mph on the MTB and 14.4 to 16.5 mph on the road bike. Typical commute time on the MTB is 1 hr 55 min (13 miles each way). Using the road bike takes about 10 minutes off that time.
In really bad weather my commute shortens to 6 miles each way as I use light rail for part of the commute.

just my $0.02

i started commuting on a proflex mtb a year ago because that's what i had. and i felt stable on it, for the most part, because of the bigger tires, upright positioning, etc. knoxville roads can be really crappy, and like most places, lots of road debris. when we have wrecks around here, most wrecker services pick up the big pieces of cars, but don't always bother to sweep up the smaller stuff. that doesn't count all of the beer bottles and other junk i find. i switched to a road bike because my commute route changed to slightly better roads and i wanted something a little more streamlined and faster. i've kept my proflex for trails and the super crappy roads.

my old giant is out in full force today with snow and all! bring on my 1998 rainbow kooka cranks! and yellow frame to match !

There are plenty of road bikes capable of accepting racks and panniers, just not many new road bikes. :D But of course many new mountain bikes still do, and into the '90s many mountain bikes had most of the braze-ons that a touring bike would. I have an '88 Mongoose Alta that has mounting points for just about anything you can imagine!

Easier to get away from cops on...
And the cool factor.

Disc brakes.

Plus, road bikes look fancier and more attractive to steal?

In the busy urban streets of Singapore, where you start and stop a lot, at least on my commute, speed is not that big an advantage anyway.

If you go into a 'Mart or a sporting goods store 90% of what you see is MTB's. MTB's are to the cycling public today what "10 speeds" used to be in the 70's and early 80's. That's why so many people commute with them, they're just plain more common.

Personally, I ride a road bike most of the year and an MTB in the winter. Ideally, I'd have a cx bike. A couple of differences of opinion I have from other posters:

1. I prefer the road bike riding position. IMHO it puts less strain on your spine for longer rides because some of your weight is carried by your flexed arms. Your arms and legs absorb more of the road shock in that position as opposed having all your weight, from head to waist, carried on your spine. There's also nothing particularly comfortable about sitting upright and struggling against a headwind.

The lower center of gravity helps me feel more at one with the bike. I feel less stable on an MTB after a summer of riding on road bike.

Drop handle bars let you vary your hand position, which = more comfort

2. Not all road bikes are "racing bikes". There are road bikes designed specifically with touring in mind and they have room for wider tires and fenders, mounts for racks, etc.

I used to worry about potholes, glass and just plain bad roads but it's really not been a problem. I've hit a few potholes pretty hard without any consequences. There are tons of choices for tires in the 700c size. Some are very puncture resistant. Bad roads have been around a lot longer than MTBs. MTBs were developed for offroad use. The fragility of road bikes for their intended purpose, - riding on roads, is often exaggerated.

Here's what I do agree with: Good road bikes are way more expensive than good MTBs. Road bikes are a niche market. Quality entry level road bikes tend to be geared more to the beginning racer or racer wannabe than they do commuters. A good commuting road bike may cost you even more unless you go the very common route of getting a 70's or 80's road bike (with steel frame, room for fenders, mounts for racks, etc.).

The young people who really live on their bikes around here (in the city) tend to use old road bikes or Surlys.

If I could have only one bike it would probably be a CX bike. I don't ride offroad much but I do ride in winter so the ability to amount a wider studded tire is important.

My wife works in the evening and we have kids so I need to get home pronto. The MTB takes an extra 10 to 15 minutes each way over my road bike. That's an extra 20 to 30 minutes a day I can really use sometimes. I realize that not everyone is in that big a hurry and I wouldn't necessarily disagree with someone who says I should figure out a way to lead a less hectic life, but that's the way things are currently.

Pretty much sums it up. I use both, an mtb and a roadie. The mtb is more comfortable, more relaxed steering, and more durable. The roadie is more "fun" when it's not loaded down with panniers full of college text books etc. However, when fully loaded, the time difference between the two on my admittedly short 16.5 mile RT commute is pretty negligible. I've got disk brakes on the road bike, and I LOVE them. I think it's important to mention that riding into a headwind on a mtb is significantly more of a hassle than on the road bike. Overall, I prefer the road bike, but not by a huge margin.

I do, too. :) Especially on hot days. The woods are cooler.

I do of course.

And if the bike cannot perform off-road any better than a road bike, what exactly makes it a mountain bike?

The fact that an offshore marketing team decided to make it sort-of resemble a MTB to sell better? Does that really qualify?

I do all year 'round. Have since I bought my first (or roughly 20) mountain bike in 1983. One of my commute routes includes about 7 miles of single track along Clear Creek. And, if I want a 'real' mountain bike ride, there's a huge mountain right behind my work.

http://www.nrel.gov/data/pix/Jpegs/01770.jpg

I own a cross bike and a dual suspension mtb. When the crank broke on my cross bike I decided to throw slicks on my mtb and use that for commuting.

-It Sucked-

It's not a cheesy mtb either. Full lockouts on the fork and rear shock and about 26lbs(which is considered pretty light for a full squish). Going uphill into the wind for 5 miles is no fun. Even going downhill isn't as fun...feels pretty slow.

I've never felt that my cross bike failed me commuting. I have actually taken it on some mild fireroads and it does fine. For anything a commute can throw at it, I think it's pretty bombproof. Even in the winter, knobby tires and a mtb have nothing on a cross bike with snow studs. Hell when the trails all freeze over and are covered in snow, people around here put away their mtbs and pull out their cross bikes. That should tell you something! (Granted we aren't riding the same trails)

You were using a dual suspension mtb.
Perhaps a rigid frame would work better.
Around here I rarely notice cross bikes in winter. They seem to mostly be MTB with or without studs when the weather gets bad.
I have a CF racing bike and an aluminum roadie fixie. I just do not see the need for a crossbike at the moment. A MTB seems a bit more versatile in winter.
Something like a Surly 1X1 frame with a lower gear and no shocks.

!!!

Denver is vastly different from NH. In New Hampshire and the rest of the Northeast cyclocross is a much bigger sport than it is here. Folks there are more likely to have 'cross bikes. In Denver the typical stable includes a road bike and mountain bike, so it would make sense to use the MTB for winter commuting and not buy an extra bike!

I think the question begs nit-picking. For most commutes the difference between a 'cross bike and a mountain bike in the winter is small. There are plenty of people, however, the virtually live on their bikes. It's an interesting selection of bikes they ride: commonly Surly LHTs and CCs, Kogswells, Trek 520s, Xtracycles, etc...

But, the rest of us, while we commute MOST days, still own a car (even if it's a beater that barely gets used) and we pedal what we've got, which tends to be either a roadie or an MTB.

Lot of commuters feel MTN bikes are more versatile, are like the bikes they grew up with, more maneuverable, can jump curbs when needed, easier to mount and balance or lay down and bail, and basically feel they are more rugged and can take more abuse than a road bike. Parts and consumable items (tires, schrader tubes, chains, brake pads, etc) can be bought/found almost anywhere (drug stores, "x"-marts, corner hardware store, etc) and don't cost an arm or a leg or need an adapter to fill up your tires at a service station. A few prefer disc brakes on their bikes without having to pay $1500.00+ to get a Trek Portland, Cannondale Cyclocross Disc, LeMond Poprad, etc.

The classic 3-speed is making a comeback of sorts...updated with 700C wheels and marketed as an urban/town/commuter bike. Schwinn's Coffee and Cream is the latest in this category and comes with fenders and a rack. I expect to see a few of these on the road as a faster alternative to a MTN bike, esp if the commute is relatively flat. Would have been better if 7-8 speed hubs were used.

But people/commuters make decisions that best fit their needs and requirements. There's no real right or wrong in commuting bike choices. MTN bikes just sell better and there are more choices at prices people are willing or can afford to pay and a lot feel offer more value for the money.

What a gorgeous ride! Enjoy!

I went to Academy. No road bikes there. The only "cruiser" style bikes they had were too small. That left mountain bikes. it's not always that hard of a decision.