gerv 

My current goto commuter/ grocery-getter/pleasure bike is an old steel 80s road bike.

However, by the time I get it outfitted for transportation and hauling, it starts looking like a cross/touring bike:
- 32 cm tires, heavy duty brand
- 36 spoke wheels
- racks
- dyno hub and lights
- air horn
- utility bag for tube/ levers under the seat
- trailer hitch permanently on the rear wheel
- cable lock permanently around the seatpost and rack

But guessing that this all changes depending on location and weather. If the road surfaces were rougher, I might go for a hardtail mountain bike.

What type do you recommend?

jimmyhughes

The one you'll actually get on, and use. The one that just feels right?

MadCityCyclist

If you haul groceries, laundry, or the like you'll want a touring bike with front & back racks, a cargo bike, or a trailer. I did the touring route with full racks & panniers for a while, and then I converted a kid's trailer to a cargo trailer, which allows me to use other bikes to haul gear with. It's really nice to have that type of hauling capacity.

Artkansas 

What works for me is an old 80's mountain bike, no suspension. It's been streetified with slicks, fenders, lights, a rack, SunLite Grocery Getter panniers and a trailer hitch for a Bikes at Work trailer. The gears get it up and down the hills of west Little Rock, and the wheels take the potholes.

gerv 

What size tires? Slicks?

A lot of those non-suspension MTBs from the 80s seem like the prototype for today's cross/touring bikes.

Artkansas 

It's running 26x1.6 Continental SportContacts.

Before streetifying, the bike was a freebie. Looks like someone bought it, used it a bit and then it spent 15 years in a garage. They gave it to my then wife, and I got it.

It also keeps me confident if I need to ride off of the street. The tires may not be optimal, but I know the bike was built to handle it.

ro-monster

My main transportation is a 20-inch-wheel (451) travel bike, a Pacific Reach. It has an integrated rack, and I keep full-size waterproof panniers attached. It's also got suspension, which makes for a nice smooth ride. It is a folding bike, but not the sort you'd fold on a frequent basis. It works great for commuting and multi-modal travel, being smaller and easier to carry onto the train than most bikes. In rainy weather I use my mountain bike instead; it has disc brakes and fenders but lacks cargo carrying capacity.

Mobile 155

The perfect bike would be the same as anyone"s......N+1

wahoonc

^^^ Yup

However if I had to have just one bike it would probably be an old Raleigh 3 speed, possibly with a hub upgrade. I have one that was my only form of transportation for several years, then it got supplemented with an old 10 speed for weekend fun. I just spent the weekend in Savannah, GA where there is a huge range of bikes, the most common seem to have been a variety Huffy cruisers with medium sized front baskets. Savannah has the advantage of being fairly flat, for here that would be the perfect bike. If I lived somewhere with hills I would have to have something with gears.

Aaron

xtrajack

For car free living, I would think that a cargo bike would deserve some consideration.

I personally went with an e-assist Xtracycle w/a Burly flatbed trailer. We have a lot of hills around here.

gerv 

You must be lugging some serious cargo. I have a $50 kiddy trailer. I seldom take more than 50 pounds in it. We do have a hill or two around here, but there's some serious flat stretches too.

CarFreeFam4

I love my Kona Ute. Our cargo needs are a bit more substantial than a lot of car-free people, due to having two kids that are generally treated as cargo at this point. I ride it without the kids, too, though. Nice to have the space whenever I need it, such as when I need to take a pile of packages to the post office while at work.

ubringliten

I would go with a folding bike and a trailer when needed. A folder is probably the most versatile bike around.

wahoonc

Nothing wrong with that either. I looked into that combination when it looked like I might end up in Boston a while back. I was going to go with a Carryme trailer and a Brompton . I suspect that the perfect bike is going to be a bit different for each person based on needs and locale. I was thinking about it a bit more on my drive back from GA to NC. My Raleigh Twenty with a trailer and a few upgrades would do an excellent job in a place like Savannah. Where I live now a Kona Ute wouldn't be a bad idea.

Aaron

Smallwheels

If money were no object I would get a Cruzbike 20'' recumbent with a trailer. I would put a Nuvinci hub on it for infinite gear range.

The reasons I would get a Cruzbike recumbent are the high winds here in Montana. That aerodynamic shape would be very beneficial. The Cruzbike is also front wheel drive which works great on gravel and probably on ice too. The 20" Cruzebike has the rider centered between the wheels which would make it safer for riding on the snow and ice covered roads. The Nuvinci hub would be a godsend for riding into the constantly varying headwinds. I had a nine speed cassette on a different bike and rarely found an ideal gear when riding into headwinds. Being able to always pedal at my ideal cadence would make up for any inefficiencies of the Nuvinci hub.

That bike would get a light weight rear rack for panniers and a trailer for big loads.

Riding into headwinds on my conventional comfort bicycle is just tiring. Headwinds and hills combined make bicyclists walk up them.

The downside to riding a recumbent is that one's back will get sweaty from leaning against the rear of the seat in warm weather.

nubcake

If I had just one bike it would be my Xtra, although my official answer to the question would be anything comfortable and reliable.

ubringliten

Yeah, I have ordered a Brompton and it will be here by in 3 weeks. I can't wait! This will be my ultimate car-free/lite bike. What I like about folding bike is that you can bring it anywhere and no one will be bothered by it. Have you heard about this couple from Portland that sold all their stuffs and home, and decided to ride around the country in their Bromptons. It's amazing that they did this on folding bikes. Here's their website. https://pathlesspedaled.com/

bragi

For urban riding, a touring bike is pretty much ideal, I think. It's very maneuverable, not too heavy, hauls quite a bit, and amenable to frequent re-configuration.

Lamplight

My utility bike is an early 90s mtb I bought new (when I was in 8th grade!). Straight gauge chromoly frame, no suspension, a 26" Surly LHT fork, Surly nice racks front and rear, and a Burley Flatbed trailer when needed. I mainly bought the trailer in order to haul my cat back and forth to the vet, but since she died I almost never use it. I normally carry two Arkel bags on the rear, and I generally use the front rack for oversize items, but I also have some cheap SunLite panniers I can use on the front if I need to. 36 spoke wheels with Sun RhynoLite rims, Deore LX hubs, and two inch Schwalbe Big Apple tires. It probably weighs over 50 pounds and it's completely overkill 75% of the time, but if I could own only one bike, I'd choose this one.

wahoonc

Very familiar with Russ and Laura. I have been following them for long time. Russ and I were swapping equipment reviews before they did their first tour on regular bikes.

Folders have a lot going for them. I keep a Dahon Classic III in the trunk of my company car, but I would be hard pressed to make a beer run on it like I do my old Raleigh.

Aaron

krobinson103

Old cheap/mid range Aluminium mtb with a heavy duty rack and a kid seat/shopping basket works for me. It started life as my exercise mtb and now its been shifted to kid carrier. 36 spoke wheels, and 48 tooth large front cog give plenty of cargo capability and a nice top speed if I want it. It does have the disadvantage that the wheels don't have QR bolts so its really annoying if you get a flat.

Torrilin

My car free bike is a Breezer Villager with a U frame. Basically it's a touring bike in terms of load capacity, and I can get on and off without my hips or knees screaming, which means I ride it lots and far. It's that ride it lots thing that's the clincher for me. My sister is car free but she prefers to walk. No bike makes her really happy.

chasm54

I'm fortunate enough to have more than one bike. If I had to keep just one of them, it would be the touring bike with the internal hub gear. It's pleasant to ride unloaded, has the gearing to climb virtually anything while requiring very little maintenance, and can easily cope with 50 or 60lbs of groceries, or whatever.

It was an expensive bike, though... . On second thoughts, if i were relying on just one bike for transportation, recreation and so on, I'd keep the old steel road bike. It can take a rack, so has modest grocery-carrying potential, it's a beautiful ride, and it cost about $150 used, so were it stolen despite my locks it would be less of a financial disaster.

gerv 

I've never ridden a folder.

Must be a different ride... how do the smaller tires affect the ride? Is the seatpost flexy?

wahoonc

Seat post isn't flexy but the handle bars on this one are. Biggest issue with the small tires is watching for ruts and potholes. The bike is a bit twitchy until you get used to it. I have test ridden a Brompton which costs a whole lot more than this one did, but was rock solid. I have a challenge finding bikes to fit, my seat post to pedal measurement is nearly 39" On the Dahon I have to cheat a bit and pull the seat posts a bit past the insertion marks. Brompton and Bike Friday apparently are the only two manufacturers that make a 16" wheel folding bike that will fit me. If you want smallest fold 16" wheels (or even smaller) are the way to go.

I got a pair of these bikes at the local thrift shop for $100 and then did about $75 in repairs and upgrades per bike. So for ~$125 I was able to get a small folder to play with. It has convinced me that I need to save up the money for a Brompton or two.

Aaron