Hi everyone,

I'm graduating college soon, and will be working in the northeast (capital region of NY, to be exact). Was planning on buying myself a good, reliable commuter bike to get to around. My commute to work would be ~10 mi one way.

What I'm looking for is a bike I can use year-round, that'll go decently fast, and can fit panniers and whatnot. From what I've read, cyclocross bikes seem to be a very good choice for this, but anything else you guys could recommend would be nice. I'm leaning towards an internal gear hub, if only to simply cleaning up and issues with slosh getting stuck in the cogs. I'm also leaning more towards drop bars, since I've been naturally leaning more into that position when going on rides longer then 6-7 mi.

My price range is ~$1000, though I can go up to $1500 if it'll make a huge difference. I haven't really been able to find cyclocross or cyclocross style bikes with IGH's (I assume because of the weight inhibiting speed). Any advice you guys can give?

Thanks,
nsulmol

You say year-round...does this mean that the bike will be your only way to get to work? Or can you drive/get a ride/take public transit when the weather is nasty? If the bike is your only option, I would highly recommend multiple bikes over one nice one. Set one up for bad weather - fenders, studded tires in the winter, cheap drivetrain components (since you'll destroy them in no time) etc. Set the other one up as a fast fair-weather machine. Consider buying used, especially for the bad-weather bike.

I'm in a Capital region. A cyclocross bike would be a very good choice on a commute that long.

There are lots of hills in the Capital region (foothills of the Catskill Mountain Range) that pretty much necessitate a full range of gears. I personally wouldn't limit myself to an IGH. I want as many gears as possible.

Year round will be very tough. You're talking days as hot as 95, with extremely high humidity in the summer time, and days as low as wind chills of -30, with a foot of snow in the winter. The summer is doable for the dedicated, but winter is nearly impossible for a ten mile commute. I know people who have done a 3 mile commute in winter, but never 10.

The roads are very rough in spots, especially in Albany. If snow is masking the potholes, you can be riding a death trap. The CDTA transit system is the much better option during the winter.

Thanks for the input thus far. That's kind of disheartening about biking year-round being so tough. As for using the CDTA, I could very easily shorten the ride to 5 mi without an issue. Otherwise, I could also probably use the northway express service if need be.

As for having more then one bike, I currently have a Dahon folder (a 2-3 year old Vitesse I got used) that I've managed fine with over the winter in Boston. If I needed to use the CDTA, I imagine that'd be a good option.

So, assuming I used some combination public transit/folder over the winter, could you guys give some advice on a good commuter for the rest of the year. Keep in mind, I'd still want to be able to use this guy when it's raining out and whatnot.

What I've found that seem like good fits are:
- Bianchi Volpe
- Jamis Aurora
- Surly Crosscheck
- Civia Kingfield

Any additional advice? I'd definitely be interested in getting a good used bike, if I can.

I'll defer to AGG based on local knowledge.

Here on the lake, we get A LOT more snow than Albany. I've never had a major issue getting to work or home. The last commute I missed was in July 2006. That said, my commute is half your distance by my most direct route. It's right about at my personal limit. FWIW, in a major snow storm, my commute time increases by about 50%.

For your winter bike look into studded snow tires. I run Nokian Hakkapeliitta W106 in 700x35 on my bike, which is a mix of cyclocross bike and touring bike. Stay away from plain steel studs. They don't last. Stick with carbide. They'll outlast your bike.

You should be able to use pretty much any normal bike to commute part way. I believe that the CDTA now has bike racks on the front of all of their buses.

https://www.cdta.org/rider_guide_bikeable_bus.php

Nokian and Schwalbe make good studded tires, 700 35. so the frame needs clearance for running those .

An Alfine dynamo disc hub up front, for winter lights, and one of their 8 speed disc ready IG hubs in back
will offer better braking in the slush and snow, and if the rim gets beat on a hole,
the stopping parts are un affected.

An older touring frame would work well too. In snow, I would not ride anything but fixed gear myself.

I ride year round in Boston. If I were to own only one bike I would definitely go with a cyclo-cross bike. The bikes on your list are all in the right category so far as I can see. For snow and ice studded tires are, in my opinion, a must. Fortunately, I have room to store a dedicated winter commuter- a used $200 beater mountain bike with studded tires, which I now prefer instead of killing my regular commuter with salt and water through a season.

I lived in the capital region for a few years and had a 9 mi. commute. I rode most of the year but didn't fight the roads when it was snowing much. I don't think the bike itself will matter much - go with your preferences so long as the bike can handle fenders and any racks you may want to mount. Studded snow tires aren't a bad idea but they are SLOW.

I now live in Vermont and do quite well commuting with an internal 8 speed hub (we actually have hills here unlike the Capital region ) but I don't bike through the winters as they are more extreme (actual temps of -35F, 4ft. of snow, etc.). I do know people who commute all year here using the Alfine 8-speed hubs - they are very nice and seem to require little maintenance.

Any of the bikes you listed should be fine. Actually the weather in the Albany area would be similar to that of Boston with probably less snow. Another choice is the Mid 80's to early 90's rigid mountain bikes. Maybe swap the handlebars for Trekking ones, or you might also consider converting it to drops (you would probably need a size smaller than what you normally would ride).