I'm looking to buy a durable and light/fast bike. My old bike is falling apart and the cost of replacement parts is adding up.

Price: I'd be really hesitant to spend more than $2000; if I do, it better last me a few decades and be extremely durable and light.

I'm also a short woman (5'2"), so I'm not sure if getting a used bike would get me the best fit, since it's rarer to find bikes that will fit me (although I wouldn't mind using a child's bike).

Terrain: I commute by bike daily on a mixture of roads and hilly trails. I commute regardless of the weather, even if it's windy, snowing, and there's a few inches of slush on the ground (North East coast has unpredictable snowstorms). The trail I go on has decently sized sharp rocks, which I go over slowly, but the tires should still be fairly durable. I'm not planning on doing tricks or doing competitive off trail. I just want something tough and reliable. It also should be able to carry groceries on my bike rack.

It would also be nice to get something that I can bike long distance with; I'm interested in getting into touring. But that isn't a priority.

Maintenance: I'm fairly competent at repairing my bike, and I would feel comfortable building a bike from scratch if you just recommended parts. However, I am lazy, and there's no way I'm going to oil my bike chains more than once a month.

I think I want a cyclocross. I'm not sure if it's just reckless infatuation though. Do you think that is a good idea? If so (or if not), do you have recommendations?

Thanks in advance!

EDIT: I just wanted to add a few pictures of the kind of trail I'm going on, because apparently my description is a bit misleading. I take the path to the right in the first photo; you can see a really sharp rock there (the second photo is a cropped version of that). Parts of the trail I go on are covered with those kinds of rocks. Would a cyclocross be tough enough to handle this? Should I just stick to my mountain bike and deal with the slow road commutes?

Pick a Bike shop and go do some test rides.

If you Let go of needing the Big wheels the fit can be made Better for smaller people .
Terry went to 24" front wheels 20 years ago, now the gearing lets the rear be the same size..

Bike Fridays Pocket rocket is a nice race type Bike .. 451-20"
https://www.bikefriday.com/folding-b...pocket-rocket/

Other models , use a wider tire .. so more Unpaved road usable.. 406-20"

Lazy ? an Internal gear Hub drivetrain will need very little maintenance.

Shimano 8 speed ? Belt drive , https://www.bikefriday.com/folding-b...world-tourist/


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Thanks for the advice!

How well supported are internal gears? I want something that I would still be able to repair fairly cheaply in a few decades.

I've already been using My Rohloff Hub for 10 years ,

I Only do an Occasional Oil exchange, and Put a New Cog on the hub .

I flipped it over to double the wear life.. And a new Chain ..

My Other IGH is a Sturmey Archer 3 speed..

/

Surly makes the Cross-Check in smaller sizes. They bill that bike as a light tourer/road bike. Their LHT also comes in smaller sizes. It's for full-on touring. I commute and tour on mine. Their Straggler is like a cc bike. Don't know about the sizes. Don't eliminate a bike you otherwise like because of the tires. They are easily replaceable. That would be like eliminating a bike you otherwise like because you don't like the stock saddle.


It takes 5 min. to lube a chain. Why spend the $$ on something new and then not do the most basic of maintenance on it, only to have to put more money into it, especially if you commute in crappy weather.

Since you're smaller then average height, consider a women's specific bike like a Terry Symmetry. I've seen some on CL like this one in my neighborhood:

(womens) Terry Symmetry

Although they are more difficult to find than standard smaller road or touring bikes. It appears to have eyelets for a rack in the back so maybe it might work. You will need to know what size frame would be appropriate for you, though. As always, testride everything before you buy it. If you are unsure about your size, then I'd recommend to work closely with a local bike shop (LBS). They could also do a basic fit and assist with accessories if you bought the bike from them. Happy hunting!

You're going to have to compromise a lot. The trail you've shown is generally best suited to wider knobby tires, which are inherently slower on the road. Also, light weight and hauling grociers is again a bit of a contradiction.

You might consider the class of "gravel" bikes. A true CX bike has a bit more aggressive geometry than you probably want. Gravel bikes are typically more like a drop-bar mountain bike.

It sounds like you really two bikes. A fast road bike setup for light touring, and a beater mountain bike that you can use for trails and winter.

You are looking for whats called "Hybrid Adventure Bike"it's MBT Lite with 2" specialized Hemisphere armadillo tires and 36 spoke 26"MTB replacement wheels and tweeks will cost around $750. It can handle up to softball size rocks. Oil chain @300mi

That trail looks relatively knarly. I wouldn't ride my cross bike on it consistently. Remember, a cross bike is a glorified road bike.

I second the IGH for low maintence, but not for mountain biking. Even though people have reported good things, the shimano IGHs say "do not put excess pressure on the pedals, do not stand on the pedals...." etc. They probably say that for good reason. I've had my shimano nexus 8 for a while now and it's still fine even though I've stood on it and pushed hard.

I'd definitely ride my hardtail MTN bike on it. That'd make a nice off-road tourer as well. If you're going to do touring on the road then well, you're best off buying two different bikes because no road bike will handle this trail well.