Hello, I usually post mainly in the road cycling forum, so I'm not sure this question belongs here, but I will ask anyway. I am looking to pick up a relatively inexpensive "commuting" bike for those occasions when I need to run quick errands around town, or simple want to get out for a quick ride and don't feel like putting on all the gear to ride my road bike. I am looking at the C'ndale Bad Boy 9 and am curious if anyone can give me some feedback on this bike. I also looked at the Surly Ogre, but would prefer to give my business to the LBS where I usually buy my road bikes. BTW, I will not be using this bike off-road or on trails, it is meant as something I can use around town and not worry about getting stolen, etc. Thank in advance for all the help!

Cannondale make a nice bike but they are also a bit of a thief magnet.
The Bad Boy series sometimes suffer from issues of rack/fender eyelet position.
The Bad Boy eccentric bottom bracket is known for creakiness.
The one-piece bar/stem lacks the adjustability of normal units

I ride a hub-geared Alfine bike with dynamo front hub as a grab and go bike. I prefer this to derailleur and battery light systems. I would fit a clean belt drive if I could.

If you don't want a bike that will get stolen, you'd better stay away from namebrand bikes, like, Trek, Giant, Raleigh, and in particular the Cannondale Bad Boy! The Bad Boy is a hot item in the Bay Area!

If I were you, I'd search for an old used chromoly steel bike. Otherwise, I'd just go to my local Schwinn dealership and get some kinda town bike within my price range.

Also, you might wanna consider a nice single speed road bike in chromoly, from wherever....

Good Luck!

PS.

These are really nice bikes that would fly low on the thieves radar screen:

1) The Schwinn Sporterra Comp ~ $660
www.schwinnbikes.com/bikes/hybrid/2012-sporterra-comp-mens-14564

2) The Jamis Coda Sport ~ $560
www.jamisbikes.com/usa/thebikes/street/coda/12_codasport_bk.html

3) The Schwinn Sporterra ~ $410
www.schwinnbikes.com/bikes/hybrid/2012-sporterra-mens-14553

Many shops can order from QBP, which makes the Ogre. However, this may not be the case in Canada.

Thanks for all the info SlimRider !! I checked out your recommendations and liked the Jamis Coda Sport in particular. The other bike on the Jamis website that seemed like it might fit the bill is the Allegro Sport. Do you have any knowledge about this model that you could share? Thanks again for your help!

Hi there Peiper1,

Jamis offers both the Coda and the Allegro as their street performance hybrids. If you'd prefer the sleek curvaceous futuristic lines of the Allegro, that's just fine! It comes in at a full pound and a half lighter than its Coda counterpart.

Of course, the Coda is an award winning bicycle. As it won the editor's choice award from Bicycling's Magazine, for being the best performance hybrid of 2011. The Coda is a very agile and versatile bicycle. It can accelerate or turn on a dime. It can be equipped with tire widths up to 38mm. It comes complete with both rack and fender mounts. I have personally ridden the Coda Comp and I found it to be one of the smoothest rides, I've ever ridden. It's a very smooth and cool bike. It's a spectacular commuter!

The Allegro and the Coda are both perfect for commuting!

Which shop do you go to?

Hi linus, Duke's Cycle in Toronto .... very professional and their prices are more than competitive, in fact, they were able to offer me a slightly lower price on my Madone 5.2 than the Trek store was willing to do. Highly recommended!