3Spd IGH is pretty cool, but for 20-25 miles? I wouldn't do it. I'd go for something like a road bike, or a cyclocross bike. Drop bar would be pretty appreciable as well, as it gives you a few extra hand positions and makes riding in headwinds easier. Except for that, more gears are pretty much 'needed' as well. I have 27 at the moment and am thinking about going down to either 18 or 20. It gives you a wider range in your gears making it easier to ride easier in very different scenarios (variable wind speeds, hills/flats, you name it).

Buying used without at least a mediocre knowledge of what is out there, the history of some companies, components etc. is a crap shoot. If you know someone that can explain what your getting into with a used bike, its a good deal.

Case in point: I've heard of people here paying well over $200 for a used Schwinn, but then I've seen a Bridgestone RB-1 and a Lemond of unidentified origin both sell at pawn shops for less than $50 each. Do you know what the various brands of components are, and what (say 1993) offered in top end, mid-range etc? Do you know the difference between the mountain bike and road bike offerings?

I think you sound like you want to do the commute, and that's the first step. The problem you seem to have is that you're limited in having someone explain to you what you need to make this happen.

My honest recommendation. Find a LBS, go in and chat with them. Explain your intentions and see what they recommend. They probably will be the safest guides.

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/..._cross_cx2.htm. At your height/weight I'd recommend a 52cm frame. This is an excellent commuter for the money. I got it because it has a great gear range and wasn't a triple chainring crankset. They can be a bit of a pain, sometimes. I wanted a double. Add a rack/bags/lights/fenders/frame pump/wb cage/tool kit for around 2-400.00 depending on what you get. You'll be swapping out the tires very shortly as the stock tires are too soft for road use. Get a set of Schwalbe Marathon Plus 700x28mm and you'll be set for the next 10-15,000 miles. I bought my bike in May of 2008 and have well over 15,000 miles on it. Have only had to do minor deraileur adjustment, brake adjustments and a minor re-truing of the rear wheel once. I've said this before in other posts, but this bike is a hoss. Best 500.00 I've spent in over 20 years of commuting/touring/recreational and utilitarian cycling. Here's a list of my gear w/prices and some webstores:

Jandd Saddlebags(had them, but they're avilable online...do a googlesearch) 75.00
Delta Universal Mega Rack 30.00 ( www.nashbar.com )
Topeak Road Morph w/gauge 35.00( http://www.bikeisland.com no shipping)
WB cage from my LBS 2.00 on closeout
Niterider Trailrat 2.0 w/Universal Taillight 150.00 for both( http://www.brandscycle.com free shipping on orders over 75.00)
Jandd toolbag 24.00 from my LBS...you can find them much cheaper online.
Park MTB-3 Multi Tool 20.00 from bike island w/no shipping
Tubes 2 for 8.00 @ bikeisland (closeout deal)
Metal tire levers by Pyramid from bikepartsusa.com 3.00(Get 2 sets)
Fenders are SKS Raceblades from http://www.bikepartsusa.com 45.00. You probably will want full coverage so bikeisland is your best bet. The Raceblades are pricey, but versatile as I've got 3 bikes I use for commuting.
Tires: Schwalbe Marathon Plus Order them from your LBS. Bite the bullet on the price and have them mount them. Pay the freight for mounting because you'll NEVER get them mounted by yourself. 70-90.00 mounted.

If you don't want to bother w/all the above the Novara Fusion is alotta bike for the money, too.

BTW, my rt commute is the same as yours when I'm working, 40 mi rt. However, I'm laid-off at the moment. Good luck w/whatever you finally choose. :thumb:

so I went to the LBS today and tried on a couple bikes, tried the trek 7.2(?) and the giant rapid, I like both bikes, the seat needs a little getting used to. I told him that I would be commuting 40 miles 3x a week and he recommended those two, and also the Giant Seek but he said if I were to go with the Seek he recommended the seek 1 which has 27 gears.

Although I really like the seek 0, but it has 8 gears only. Would you guys still recommend the Seek with 8 gears? considering that within the next year or two I will be living in San Francisco? or should I go with the one that has more geering?

SF hills might require a real "granny" gear, which is not what you get with the Nexus/Alfine setup. (I hear the Sturmey-ARcher 8 has a really low hill-climbing gear, but that's not offered on Giant bikes.) So yes I would proably go with the Giant Rapid (or FCR, as it was called last year--might be cheaper).

the main reason to get the internal gears (8) is if you have a lot of stops on your commute. in that case, take it from me it's Really Nice not to have to downshift and keep pedaling while you're trying to come to a quick stop. Instead, you can just shift at the light and start up easily again.

good luck

i do have a lot of stops, here in southern cal and most likely in san francisco too but im not too worried about san fran right now as i can always buy another bike if the one i choose here can't hack it out there. and i also like the disc brakes

so for an internal hub do i have to shift down before i get to the light? or i can just keep it in gear and then at the light start shifting up again?

oh then I would go with an internal hub. the brilliance of it is that you don't have to shift until you stop! and even if you forget to shift until you start riding again, just punch the gears down and they'll adjust almost immediately - no more "rough starts" where you're stuck in a high gear.

i like the giant you posted, also schwinn makes an nx8 with an internal 8 speed for only 650!

20miles is good enough on the 8 speed seek 0 right

i mean the other way around

bump

I'm going to join the chorus recommending a touring or cross bike. A 3-speed coaster is cool for bombing around town but on a 20-miler you're going to want more and positions and real brakes. Plus with a cross bike you can always put skinny tires and nice wheels on it and, bang, it's a road bike. Don't forget lights and fenders!

The seek0 is pretty cool (a bit blingy for my taste), with http://www.swobo.com/catalog/product...cPath=201_1473 being an equivalent choice (swap for a drop bar +brifter/bar-end or flat bar for longer distances).
The 8 speed IGH is not an issue for any distance, even in somewhat hilly terrain. The tradeoff is that you will not have the fine-tuning of gear choices that you would have with, say, a cross bike.
Stock alfine gearing should get you up most hills in 1st or 2nd without much of a problem. I rarely use 1st on my 8sp nexus, and I encounter brief (100 yds or less) segments of 18% grade in my area (ymmv depending on legs and gearing setup).
I think a CX (cyclocross) bike is also a prudent choice, as others have mentioned. Surly Crosscheck or one of the BD Fantom Cross bikes would fit the bill there.

My current fave for all around utillity and flexibility is: http://www.civiacycles.com/civiacomplete_bryant.php with the alfine build and belt drive. For my needs (not too different than yours, generally) this bike hits the sweet spot.
. http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=134004
Plus, you could always -later- add a schlumpf up front (and tweak the cog setup) to have and incredibly wide gear range in a nearly zero-maintenance bike. http://www.schlumpf.ch/md_engl.htm

so i just road my buddies one speed raod bike with drop bars and boy did it kick my ass, it felt as if i had to pedal harder to get into a decent speed. this lets me know that i need more than one gear correct? the commute form his house to my house was probably 1.5 to 2 miles and i already felt my knees hurting a little.

is it possible to convert a 1 speed to an 8 + speed? how much would it cost?

I saw this one here on craigslist what do you guys think of it?

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac...586422908.html

The CL bike is big. 62cm is a huge frame. How tall are you?

This is the best advice you have received so far on this thread. I know there are several good bike shops in West LA that will help you out. Go to several shops and explain what you want a bike for and see what they have to offer. Take as many out for a test ride as you can.

If you go the used route check out the Bike Kitchen near LACC http://www.bicyclekitchen.com/

Good luck and have fun. Buying a bike is half the fun IMHO.

You can't just start off riding 40 miles a day. How much cycling experience do you have? As commutes go, that is enormously long. I found that just the shear time it took for me to do a 15 mile one way commute (about 50 minutes one way) wore on me. I was doing it every day, but I am also a pretty avid cyclist and ride a lot anyways. I don't want to be Debbie Downer here but it sounds like you really don't have the necessary fitness or experience to be doing this. If you are committed to eventually being able to do this distance, I would get some sort of road, cyclocross or touring bike, with a good gear range and drop bars. Then start by riding for recreation and shorter errands. Also, once you do decide to commute by bike, do a trial run or two on the weekends to get an idea of how long it will take you.

I'm sure some people will disagree.

Somewhere either in this thread or another the OP mentioned something about 3 days/week. That's a lot different than trying to do the ride 5 consecutive days.

i'm 5.8-5.9 i didnt even think about the frame size :(

Go to an LBS. Seriously.

u cannot go wrong with the older(1982-1990) ridgid mountain bikes(GT/SPECIALIZED/NISHIKI/TREK)they offer a bigger wheel ,which will accept up to a 2.75 tire for more tread to make contact with the roads & curbs you will have to deal with(plus will not flatted as easy), these old bikes can be found cheap on CL and have good "older coponents" ,which in terms gives some extra $$$ to spend on panniers ,lights,fenders & rain gear, i have been commuting on my Nishiki for the last year or so ,this bike was a C/L find for $50 then put another $200 on the stuff(Topeak bag with built in panniers also a battery op Cyclo LED light,and trekk touring bars)) i had mentioned earlier,and saved a ton of money!,plus you will not be out $500 or more ,if you decide the commuting thing is not for you,it can be brutal out there. have fun and keep us updated :D

You might also check out the REI Novara Express. I am eyeballing one myself.

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t...araExpress.jpg

Now I don't work for REI (although I have been a member for almost 35 years) but here is some food for thought:

REI Novara bikes are included in their annual spring sale in March--20 percent off any single full priced item. And if you are an REI member and purchase the bike with an REI visa card, you can get another 15 percent back at the end of the year as your member dividend. Plus, if you don't already have an REI visa card, they will give you a gift card for $20 for getting one. All these things can add up to a sizeable discount.

I got the REI visa earlier this winter when they were doing a special promotion and got a $50 gift card. The Novara Express retails for $800. During the spring sale the discount will bring it down to $640. Using the REI visa for purchase brings a 15 percent year end divident of $96 and using my $50 gift card will take the price down to below $500. I don't know of another bike of this quality that I can buy new for that kind of money. Like I said, food for thought.

Good luck to you.

Lobo

http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-...84041_6603.jpg
This is my commuter. It currently has Conti Gatorskins and a pair of Planet Bike fenders on it. I do about 40 daily, 4 times a week. The bag has built in panniers that fold down. The whole thing, with rack, bag, fenders and lights set me back about $650. This years model of that bike is here. I love it, 2 years of basically trouble free riding.

after three months of riding with a basket, am eyeing that same trunk bag...