suggest a commuter for me.

Pearl

Pearl

THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING
since ive felt much better from being sick, i want to seriously look into commuting once or twice a week via bicecleta. im looking to spend around 400-500 max on a comfy road/hybrid bike.

my commute is 5.5 miles, slight rolling hills, nothing tooooo strenuous. im thinking i can do the commute to work in under 45-50 minutes.

the two bikes that stood out were:
trek 7.2 fx (i was watching a guy at the shop play with the one he just bought, he seemed happy)

Specialized Sirrus, which looks more "roadie" than the mountain bike inspired trek.

i also am curious to see what everyone else is using for commuting and such.

thanks.
 
I think this Redline would fit the bill nicely:

925-800.jpg


http://www.redlinebicycles.com/adultbikes/925.html

I'm not sure how much it retails for but I really like the singlespeed, fenders and bars.

FWIW, I rode a Kona Paddy Wagon for my commute a bunch of times last year and it worked great. Door to door was about 3.5 miles. The Paddy Wagon was $600 so a little more than you want to spend but I think it's a good value for the bike.
 
I commute with my mountain bike by having another wheelset with slicks. I lockout my fork and I get to go pretty fast and save room in the garage.
 
i would do another wheelset for my mountain bike, but the SS gearing on the road would keep my pace pretty slow :(

im also worried about the SS not being ideal (even though im a huge SS fan) but id be willing to give it a shot.
 
Buy a Road Bike cost a couple of years old (Can be had very, very cheap) then add Gator Skin Tires and your good to go.
 
pearl said:
i would do another wheelset for my mountain bike, but the SS gearing on the road would keep my pace pretty slow :(

im also worried about the SS not being ideal (even though im a huge SS fan) but id be willing to give it a shot.
Click to expand...

I agree, I think the MTB SS gearing would be too low for the road. But, with the right gearing, a SS is almost perfect for a commuter especially if you dig and are used to SS already. My Paddy Wagon has 42/16 gearing and was great for the rolling hills I could hit on one route for my commute (Navesink River Road for anyone who has ridden Hart or Huber).

I also did a 50 mile ride in VT this summer with it and it was fine some of the mid size hills we hit too.

A 2nd wheelset w/ tires is certainly a good option but it's kinda nice just to grab a bike to hit the store for an errand or 2 especially if you have it fitted with a storage rack never mind having it ready to go for commuting.
 
id have to try the gearing on my commute, i have a couple of tricky little bridges i may get too lazy on the single speed :p

any other people have suggestions for bikes?
 
I use an old hardtail mtb with skinny slicks, a rear rack and good lights. It is 24 speed. I also use it for around town and errands.
 
look for an old steel, rigid trek or something on craigs or fleabay. buy a pair of mtb "slicks" and roll that way. you'll probaby be out the door $300 tops. i rode my trek 970 equipped with slicks on the road for a long, long time. the gearing is fine you just really never get out of the big ring.
 
If I don't take the motorcycle I commute on an old track bicycle. I'd say stick to 700c wheels, and pick something with enough clearance for fenders. A properly geared SS or fixed gear would be fine on the short distance you have to commute. You can pick up old road bikes super cheap at yard sales, fle-markets etc. Then use the rest of your budget to modify the bike into your perfect commuter.
 
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