If it was a $2,000 commuter/utility bike, would your answer be the same? A Surly Big Dummy's cost is going to be in the same ballpark.

I highly doubt that. While I've not sat nor driven an Indy Car, I had the pleasure (maybe not) of sitting in old Damon Hill's Williams F1 car. I used to do photo ops for a auto mag years ago. It is tight, hard, uncomfortable and loud! Did I mention hard? My poor butt! It is not something one would want to drive around the block let alone commute on our real world street. Pass me my leather covered 8 way powered seats, climate control, 10-speaker Mark Levinson Lexus please. Or any other car for that matter.

I'd get it I commute on a road bike occasionally and run armadillo tyres for their flat protection. I much prefer drop bars for commuting and also find they fit between cars better. Get a bike you will enjoy riding otherwise you will hate your commute - go for it

I currently commute on all aluminum Allez road bike and the roads are pretty rough here in S Florida. The one thing I would think about is tire clearance. If you want to run a more durable tire, they often start around 28-32mm. You may be limiting yourself.

If you are looking for alternatives my interest was piqued by Gary Fisher road bikes but I haven't seen one in the "flesh" my self.

That was my point... People don't always know what they want, but something High Performance has got to be better in some peoples mind. I have known people in my day to day life that would think an Indy Car was great, until they had to drive it everyday everywhere... I always wanted a car with a 5 speed transmission, until I had one for a couple of years. I wouldn't commute in an Indy Car myself, but then again I wouldn't get a Carbon Fiber Racing type bike to commute on either. But, if that is what makes the O.P. happy and it works for them; who am I to judge. I truly wish them well...

It's probably worth stating at this point that the Orbea the OP is talking about isn't a racing bike. Orbea calls it "Sport/Leisure" bike. I'm guessing the geometry is more relaxed than what you'll find on a typical racing bike. From a car comparison standpoint I'd say it's somewhere between a Mazda Miata and a BMW roadster as opposed to an Indy Car. Strictly speaking not as practical as a minivan or even a Toyota Camry, but for the right people, a whole lot more fun.

Then again, I drive a car with a 5 speed so take what I say with a grain of salt

It takes much discipline to keep from pulling the trigger on a pretty, new bike. I recently tuned my flat bar road bike, re-wrapped the bars, upgraded the shift/brake levers, cables and brake calipers/pads and bottle cages. All for less than $100. It's like riding a new bike, I kid you not.

Orbea's Ordu is probably as close as they get to an Indy car. (or maybe Group C like a Porsche 962 )
https://www.orbea.com/en/bicis/modelo.../presentacion/

I say get it. Sounds like you know what to expect from it. With that long of a commute, you should enjoy your ride, and try to cover that distance with a resonable measure of efficiency. If you 'down-graded' to a heavier more clunky commuter bike, you would always wonder what you were missing had you went with what you wanted in the first place.

Get the Orbea for now, and if you find yourself wanting something more utilitarian, you can always go that route in the future for less $. I would replace the front wheel quick release with something more secure, so you can make do with carrying one U-lock on days you want to stop somewhere after work, and carry that in a small/medium daypack with a good suspension system to keep back-swamp to a minimum.

I didn't say anything earlier because the OP said he/she didn't need to carry anything, but I've tried nearly all the options and I disagree with the backpack idea entirely. I have a deuter backpack specifically for cycling (a mesh support + curved back that keeps my back 90% the same as not wearing a backpack) and I gotta tell you - *any* sort of backpack on your back for a long ride feels super annoying to me. It's not so bad on my mountain bike, and not a big deal on my winter (upright) bike, but on any of my bikes where I lean forward I've never been able to get used to it - I just cannot believe how annoying it is to try to ride in my normal position with a backpack on, even one that is good for keeping my back from sweating.

If you actually want to carry something, I would strongly suggest that depending on size you invest your money in either a very large seat bag (Carradice Super C, Jandd Mountain Wedge III) or a rack (the Axiom Streamliner is the cheapest and easiest to find, but there are solutions for Tubus racks sold by Tubus that make the rack fairly easily to take on and off the bike in about a minute if you're self-concious about the look of a rack on the weekends).

It's just my opinion, but that's my experienced opinion.

I have a Specialized Tarmac and a Hardrock but I use the Tarmac about 90% of the time to commute around 18 miles round trip. I have a NiteRider headlight and two Planet Blinky taillights on my Tarmac. I use a Baileyworks messenger bag to carry my change of cloths and anything else I may need to carry to and from work. If I decide to travel light, I just leave the cloths at work and bring them home on the days I don't ride. Atlanta can be very hilly so I love having a nice light fast bike to attack those hills on the way home after a hard days work; my Specialized Hardrock just doesn’t cut it on those hills so I take it out on family rides.

If you don't mind carrying your cloths in a backpack or messenger I'd say get the Orbea and enjoy the ride; that's about the only downside I can see, unless you have to carry a ton of stuff back and forth to work.

Also, I hardly ever get flats but I always buy good tires and now buy tubes with slim linings.

I'll vote with the "no" team. The thing I love about my commuter is that I can drag it around town, load a few things on it, and still have some fun with it. I'm a bit of a trek fanboy and if I had your budget I'd go with something like this
https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes...land/portland/

But to agree w/everyone else, the bike you mentioned would go above and beyond your expectations. However, I'd be wary of mounting any type of luggage system on it (if you were to change your mind)

If I commuted to work on a $2000 bike here in NYC, I would need to count on about $2000 / week to replace the bike every time it got stolen.

When I commute into the city, it's on a bike that I bought for $160, and maintain well and love... but it's cheap if it does get stolen. It also has a twenty kryptonite chain on it (except at the gym, where their bike rack has a surveillance camera on it and is right by the front door.)

Perhaps I should add that I'd commute on it, but I have a company car park which has good security or a public car park that has security guards. Wouldn't commute on that and lock it on the street!

I'd buy this bike, and then another bike. Commute on something cheaper/crappier, and then get into road riding on that great Orbea!

it is just you. I have no problem riding with my messenger bag, with plenty of stuff in it, for several hours on my road bike.

Do they sit in their rocking chair while commuting on their porch?

I think for the money, OP might want to consider touring/cx bikes. With $2000, OP can get a nice Kona Jake the Snake or even a Kona ***** Tonk. OK I admit, I have a soft spot for Kona.

If you don't anticipate the bike being stolen on a periodic basis, the correct dollar value of a "suitable commuting biker" depends strictly on the finances of the commuter.

Personally, I'm never going to ride a junker all week to "save" my nice bike for my non-existent weekend rides.

He's a fun fact: The bike that I ride to work is worth at least three times as much as the bike I race with.

Strange, but true.

I'm not sure how the OP arrived at the Orbea. I agree it would be a good idea to take some other more versatile bikes for a test ride to see if he might like them as much or more.

But if he really likes the Orbea, and I can see why he would, he should just get it. CX bikes are often recommended on this forum but I can remember at least guy who was used to commuting on his low end road bike being disappointed in the feel and the performance of the CX bike he bought.

Don't let this slip to the CX forum I warn ya! Or they'll be blood....

commuters take a beating no matter what the commute. $2K is a lot but if you have that much discretionary cash - then have at it! :-) just do some substantial test riding of a few bikes first.

No,
1. We were talking about a backpack not a messenger bag
2. A lot of other people have expressed the same feelings I have on this forum - anything on their back is uncomfortable

For the OP I'm not saying it's impossible the right kind of bag would be comfortable for him/her, but it's worth saying there's a very large chance it won't be. Plenty of people have also complained that they were never able to get comfortable with a messenger bag, either.

Ahahaha - you're awesome. :-)

If this is the bike you will dream about riding every day, then get it. I have 3 completely different bikes I ride to work on, and my biggest problem is which one will I ride today. You can always try a backpack(works fine for me on all of my bikes, and some days I haul 20 - 30# or more), a messenger bag or bring in necessaries by car occasionally. As has been stated - make sure you have a secure area to store it if you do get it. You'll have no problem mounting lights, and you should have a fast, fun commute. The most important thing is that you enjoy your ride.