On this forum, I keep hearing a lot of folks say that an old, rigid forked steel MTB is close to an ideal commuter. Just saw this in Performance Bike - https://www.schwinnbikes.com/bikes/mo...ns#/highlights

Thought folks here might be interested - note that this is from their Signature series, not the BSO series. Pity the drivetrain is bottom of the line ..

Heres a really nice Schwinn that is sort of the same but with upgraded drive

https://www.schwinnbikes.com/bikes/urban/4-one-one-1

The rigid MTB are nice for commuting because you can mix it up with a little off road if you wish and they are great in traffic situations because the gearing generally lends itself well to very quick acceleration sprinting from light to light. They just do not have the top speed, but commuting isn't a race anyway. Those schwinns look fine but you may want to upgrade some of the components over time.

On my mtn bike commuter I am running a Specialized touring triple crank up front. 28, 38, 48. 11-30 9spd rear. Gives me great range and quite a bit of top end as well, running on Schwalbe Big Apples, lighter, higher end version. Plenty of speed for city work. I can surprise many dedicated roadies on the bike routes around town.

Lots of good gearing there. I only have a 39 on the crank and 11-34 cassette. Still plenty of speed for me. It does about 25mph tops and more going downhill of course. BTW AusTexMurf, I really love that Surly Troll rigid fork you recommend to me. Does my ride alot of justice.

its what is done to satisfy those who shop for lowest price..

if the frame is adequate, help your self to whatever upgrades and personalizations you prefer..

like fietsbob said as long as the frame is strong the sky is the limit on upgrades i converted my mtn bike to a tourer this winter and with my next pay check im up grading my bars to either aero bars or trek bars then im working on getting a rack for the front for front panniers my bike is the white next the blue one was my old tour bike it has over 5000 miles on it and on that white bike i already replaced the seat

I got a Schwinn Frontier in 1990 (stolen '94) It was then, and appears to be now, a decent budget commuter.

The alternative is to shop for an old frame and rebuild it. I got a ’86 Schwinn High Sierra. Nice steel frame. Had junk components. I tossed all that crap and rebuilt the thing from the ground up. Now it is a great bike. Would be super for commuting. Speed on a mountain bike, to me at least, is a matter of tires. Good road tires and they are plenty fast.

Good to know, glad it worked out for you. Switching my old mtn bike back to surly rigid forks sure livelied up the riding experience (combined w/ nice fast, smooth rolling tires). Nice to hear that yours worked well with suspension correction.
Ride lots. Have fun. Be safe.