I can start by saying that I already have a road bike, and it doesn't work well for commuting. The skinny tires, in particular don't do well on anything other than decent quality pavement that happens to be dry, and while the trail to the office is paved, the condition is pretty rough and the ride isn't very enjoyable. Because of this, I am thinking of some sort of hybrid (mainly to get fatter tires), but I haven't narrowed it down to any brand or model.

I was also hoping that I could also use the bike for longer multi-day rides on trails that have crushed stone or gravel. Things that I prefer to avoid when on the road bike. But I don't ever see myself doing true mountain biking.

The bike stores that I have been to have steered me towards bikes in roughly the $450 range, which gets you a pretty basic bike, but without a lot of the options that one might get if one spent a bit more money. No disc brakes, no suspension fork (whether or not that's a good idea or not is entirely another question). I can afford more, but I don't want to overspend on stuff that turns out to not be needed or turn out to be a maintenance hassle.

I have to admit that disc brakes sound like they might be nice, but then I started reading about brake fluid issues, and that got me to reconsider whether that's a good idea or not. Or maybe stick to mechanical disc brakes? The thing that makes them sound nice is that they would work better in wet weather, but I don't know how real that is.

At the moment I am just trying to come up with specs for what I just "gotta have", and for what I want to steer clear of - once I have that list, I can start to narrow down to brands and models. I figure that I will end up putting new seat/pedals on the thing anyways, so I am not too concerned about what a bike might come with in that department. The main gotta-have is obviously going to be a place to mount a rack to hold panniers.

Thoughts?

You would probably be better off with a rigid fork than a cheap suspension fork, especially on the trails that you mention.

Look at cross bikes. One might just suit you well. You can find them with flat bars if you don't want drops for your commute/easier weekend rides.

a. If it was just rain, I'd suggest just getting better skinny tires. (Though fatter tires will also help with rain traction).
b. Fatter tires will definitely make a rough trail more enjoyable.
c. A good road bike can handle crushed stone or gravel trails, but it depends if you mean "stone crushed for bike trails" or "stone crushed for roads". For the second, a fatter tire is definitely better.
d. A suspension fork is pointless unless you're mountain biking. Suspension forks help with big bumps - logs, really big potholes. But fatter tires help a lot with that to. And cheap suspension forks are fairly worthless, imo. Better to put your money into nicer fat tires, like Schwalbe Marathon Supremes.
e. For multiday trips, keep in mind that a fatter tired hybrid bike will be somewhat slower.
f. Disc brakes main advantage is being better than rim brakes in rain. But if you ever take your front wheel on and off they can rub and create a very slightly annoying sound that's difficult to get rid of, and they also have a tendency to squeal like a banshee when they get wet - sometimes they stop squealing when they dry out, sometimes not.
g. Brake fluid issues are only an issue if you get hydarulic disc brakes, which are more expensive and probably out of your price range. I don't think they're any bigger of an issue than cable stretch, though.
h. Around $400 is good for a decently reliable bike, but the more expensive bikes might be lighter and less maintenance in the long run. I'm not talking about frills like a front suspension fork, I'm talking about a solid front fork and rim brakes, but just better components.

I would also mention that it's definitely possible to get bigger tires on a "road" bike. The style of bike that specifically does that is called "cyclocross", though other "endurance" road bikes like the Specialized Secteur also have a lot of room for much fatter tires (and rack mounts).

If you were just talking about, say, a 6 mile commute to the office, I'd say save your money and stick with the hybrid. But if you want to do multi-day trips, I'm very on the fence about whether to suggest a road bike with clearance for fatter tires or not.

Previous posters have great ideas. I'd look at "previously enjoyed" bikes too - good bang for the buck once you know what you want.

I would try a cross or gavel grinder if you like, or at least don't mind, drop bars. I would skip the disc unless you plan on riding in the rain/mud a lot.

Asides from 'cross bikes, a touring bike should hit all of your bullet points.

[MENTION=56157]ericy[/MENTION], what road bike is it? As [MENTION=131376]PaulRivers[/MENTION] says, a change of tires might be all you need.

A slightly wackier idea is to try a trailer for carrying your stuff. I sometimes use one, and sometimes I tow it with a racing bike. The trailer puts no weight on the bike, so the bike handles exactly as it does when unladen. The differences are: 1. Climbing requires downshifting, 2. Wind can be a female dog, and 3. you have to plan your turns, since you are driving an articulated vehicle. Still, I find it very rewarding. Maybe you can borrow one to try it.

Giant OCR2. I hadn't given much thought to different tires on that bike - clearly there are limits to what the frame and the rims will take, but I am not sure what they are.

Edit: The trailer idea I am not wild about - part of the commute is to get on a subway train, and I don't think that's even allowed.

I would suggest a hybrid and if you can get a "previously enjoyed bike" all the better. I would suggest something along the lines of a Trek fx, Giant Escape style. Cannodale and Specialized have bikes in this category as well. Nashbar sells a very good flatbar road bike for $300. Something that's between 25-30 pounds. I would have a 28mm or 32 mm tires. I would have a rack for the back with a spring clamp. I might put on some fenders to keep myself clean on wet days. For safety, get front and back lights. Do NOT get a suspension fork. Disc brakes may be nice, but not needed, spend your money on other things. I think you'll enjoy it.

The Giant probably has severe limits on tire size. It's a shame that bikes like this are so stylish. It's possible to make a very similar bike with the only difference being tire clearance, but these are rare. The market hasn't shown a willingness to buy or build many of these.

The subway leg of your trip does knock out the trailer idea, so scratch that.

In new and newish bikes, a performance-oriented hybrid or a flat-bar road bike could be nice, and I'm not even sure there's a difference. In the old bikes arena, you have vintage road bikes that already have tire clearance. One of my most versatile bikes (among my too-many bikes) is my 1971 Raleigh Super Course. I've equipped it with various different handlebars, and that changes the character of the bike. Right now, it has flat-ish bars with bar-ends. I've had North Road (swept back) bars and also drop racing bars. The bike can take at least 32mm tires along with fenders.

With used bikes (and everything else) there is a time/money tradeoff. If you lie in waiting like an alligator, you can get something great for cheap or free. My Raleigh came from the curbside trash. When I built it up, I expected it to ride OK. I was wrong. It rides fabulously. I got really lucky.

Does this give you ideas?

Here it is 2013:



Here it is in about 2011:



Here it is in 2009:

Unless you're riding through mud and snow, disk brakes are absolutely unnecessary.

I personally prefer drop bars, so I would go for a touring bike that can take larger tires and fenders, but still use drop bars and perhaps canti brakes.

My preference is upright bars for city and short distances, drop bars for road and long distances. The line between short and long distances is somewhere between three and ten miles.

My exception is my Bianchi Volpe, because it fits me so well that I'm not going to mess with it. I've made it my SUV.

Unless you really want a flat bar bike, I would consider a gravel grinder, adventure tourer, touring bike, or even a cyclocross bike. Some "endurance" or comfort road bikes as mentioned by [MENTION=131376]PaulRivers[/MENTION] may also meet your needs.

Depending on what of those you get, you could run wider tires, some as wide as many hybrids. You could also get a more relaxed geometry than most road bikes.

Tons of options you can consider. I had similar requirements when looking at bikes instead of my road bike for commuting, but opened my budget and decided I wanted disc brakes and good components. I also decided I wanted steel after trying a number of bikes over the rough roads and paths I frequent.

I narrowed down to more of a gravel grinder/adventure tourer, which would also let you ride crushed rock trails, dirt roads, etc. Salsa Vaya, Specialized AWOL are both examples, but there are others.

A lot of it comes down to what your budget is, and then what priorities you have.

I'll throw my hat in the commuter bike ring, I used to ride my old stove pipe Schwinn with drop bars and while that worked, it wasn't very comfortable. I changed and old steelie MTB into a drop bar and that worked really well, but it was a bit on the small side. I liked it because I was a bit more upright even with drop bars.

Fast forward, I have a roadie and a MTB with discs. The roadie is my fair-weather, fun, I-wanna-go-fast bike that I commute on from time to time. The MTB is a base model Trek 3500 with mech discs, it handles well for what I need, I threw some fenders on it and my lights. I like the upright position since I ride with a backpack (hated a rack and bag when I tried it), plus the discs work flawless in the rain, and stop better IME.

The only things I don't like about the MTB is the fork, it is the base model spring tension fork. It will suit my purposes and I already had some studded winter tires for a 26" wheel, which is why I got it. Plus it is last years model and was on sale for a really great price, and since my old drop-bar converted MTB was too small, this fits perfect.

But if you don't want tires THAT big, a hybrid or cyclocross bike would be your best bet. My coworker got a Specialized cross bike at the highest option level last year and loves it. He tours on it, rides gravel and RTT paths and commutes almost every day on it. He sings it's praises anytime he can.

if you have an moderately large budget, check out Soma saga.