Oldhoss

My Kona Smoke every day commuter was recently stolen as discussed here:

https://www.bikeforums.net/commuting/574296-ugh-another-bike-stolen.html

I can assure you, I will be taking greater precautions with my next bike. The problem is I don't know what I want for my next commuter.

Here's the Kona Smoke I was riding:

https://bikes.konaworld.com/09/09_smoke_en.cfm

Mine was the 22" version with mustache bars and bar-end friction shifts added. Also had a rear rack with panniers added.

It was a smooth ride and built like a tank. Curbs and potholes (a huge problem where I live) were not a problem for this bike.

However, it was awfully heavy and, consequently, a little slow. I also would have preffered a slightly more aggressive geometry -- but not as agressive as a road bike. On my commute, I never needed to come off the Smoke's 48 chainring even with a couple decent sized hills on my route. Do I need all those gears? Or would a 7 or 8 speed internal hub or a 1x9 be a better option for me?

Here's what my new bike MUST have:
-Steel frame.
-Fender Compatibility.
-Rear rack and pannier compatibility.
-Ability to handle rough city roads, i.e., potholes.
-Size must be appropriate for me -- I'm 6'4" with a 35" inseam.

Other considerations:
-Bicycle would be used for commuting (20 miles round trip) and errands.
-Would prefer a geometry that is more relaxedthan a road bike, but more aggressive than the Smoke.
-Didn't need all the gears on the Smoke.
- Kona Smoke was a little too heavy for my ideal bike.
-Plan on riding the bike throughout the winter months (in Wisconsin that means snow and salt).
-Although there is no actual money limitation (thanks to the Mrs.), it's a very big consideration. I'll follow the rule of diminishing returns and KISS (keep it simple, stupid) -- in other words, I don't need all the bells and at a certain point, the high end components will be wasted on me. The Smoke at $425 + Extras suited my needs fine.
-My last two bikes were stolen.
- I'm no mechanic, in fact when I try to fix things, I usually end up making them worse. I let my local LBS do all the work. It may not be as convenient, but at least it gets done right.


So, help me out here -- what do I want? Fixed gear? 1x9? 7 or 8 speed Internal geared hub? Fully geared?

Any particular frames that you can think of that meet my needs? Any specific models you can think of?

Or maybe we need to take a different approach -- are there any questions I'm not asking myself?

At some point I'll be making the rounds to my LBS's. But I want to get a handle on what it is I want before I go, lest I end up with some weird impulse buy (which I'm prone to do) that doesn't really suit my needs.

Thanks in advance for all the help and sorry for the long and convoluted post.

OldHoss