New commuter
 

Hey fellas,

I decided that is time to start riding a bike again after 2 year break. I want to start commuting to work, which is 20mile round trip, only streets. Also, i would like to take my bike to trails on my days off, because i love it. So i was wondering what kind of bike i should buy? Budget would be no more that $1K.

How much do you need to carry, and are you going to ride in the rain (possibly snow)?

What is the condition of the roads you intend to ride on?

Will you be doing it year round and if so what kind of winters do you have?
What time of day will your ride be during?

...and have you read any of the half-dozen other threads asking the same question, plus the "advice to new commuters" sticky? Many of the answers you're looking for can be found in there. :D

For what you describe, I would recommend a cyclocross bike. Look at the Kona Jake or Surly Cross Check. Or, if you feel like you can figure out size from a geometry chart and don't mind doing a little wrench work, check out the Bikes Direct 'cross bikes. The Fantom Cross Outlaw would make a pretty sweet commuter.

i live in florida. So i am planning to ride all year round.
yeah, i might need to ride in rain time to time.
And i have to carry a backpack which weights about 10lbs.

You can find a ton of decent road bikes out there from all the respected brands for less than $1k. Must make sure they have fender mounts. Check out your local bike shop and ride as many in your price range that they have. Ride them for a few miles to get an idea if it's the right bike and size. Make sure they give you at least a basic fitting.

If you get turned on by bike riding and start adding distance you'll want to lose that backpack, especially in the summer when it'll become the sweatiest part of your body.

Make sure you get something you can put a rack on and move that load to the rack.

I'll concur that you might want to center your search around cyclocross bikes.

Good luck. There are a million choices. Hit the local bike shops and look around.

John

My guess is you're describing a cx bike. Cyclocross bikes allow you to ride both asphalt and mud/gravel. It gives you the best of road bikes and mountainbikes on a single bike.

Touring bikes can run the larger tires for unpaved trails as well as fenders for the frequent rains you deal with in FL. Something like this http://www.rei.com/product/776887

Back pack+Bike+FL=miserable sweaty back.

I'd look at Panniers and you can get panniers that double as a back pack. Other idea is if you have small pack is to get a basket for the rack that you can throw the pack in when riding.

I found out yesterday that i can get a locker at work, so i could avoid carrying a backpack with.

Second thing, i would like something more sportier than touring bike :) I think i will stick with cyclecross type bike.

And do you think i should buy clip type shoes, or whatever they are called?

"More sportier"? Huh?

Just get a bike and ride it. Don't worry about how it looks. Don't worry about the type of pedals. Just get any old bike with platform pedals and ride it. If you have a friend with a bike that he/she isn't using, borrow it if you can't. Don't fuss about the type of bike, just about anything will do for a 10 mile commute. Once you've been commuting for a while, you'll have a sense about what -- if anything -- you might want to change.