What’s your philosophy on a commuter? Cheap beater? Superbike? Steel? Flat bar or drop? Fixie/SS or Geared? Panniers or backpack?
Obviously, a lot of this depends on situation: length of commute, weather, safety of bike parking, etc

For me, I used to have a longer (7 km) commute with a pretty steep climb (on the way home, topped out at 20% grade for a short stretch) so I got used to drop bar, Frankenbike drive train with road shifters, 1x up front, and MTB derailleur (which was much more frankenbike when I put it together, now you can get drivetrains that are designed for this). Then I moved, sold that bike and on my new commute got a Surly Straggler for what is now a 4km commute with only a little elevation change. It’s honestly way too nice for its use case, but now I’m spoiled.
What I really wanted was a Cross Check with bar-end friction shifters, but one thing led to another

  • @richie510
    7•1 year ago

    After getting an electric cargo bike to haul the kids around, I cannot imagine not having the motor for any hill. Sometimes I ride the electric with no assist, and sometimes I don’t want to get sweaty and leave it on full assist mode (Bosch Turbo).

    I still have a road bike for individual exercise, but the electric is amazing for transportation.

  • 𝒍𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒏M
    3•1 year ago

    Previously I used a cheap steel MTB for commuting. It was slow but I miss all the low gears for climbing hills… also didn’t need to worry about leaving it anywhere because it looked like a donkey’s bottom. The disc brakes had the nice sound effect of announcing my presence to nearby car drivers lol.

    After a couple of years I ended up switching to a dutch-style commuter bike: Aluminium frame, High swept handlebar, 7 speed internal gears, roller brakes and a chain case. Maintenance is now generally something I don’t have to worry too much about 😁

    My next commuter would likely be a cheap steel beater though, albeit with the same low maintenance creature comforts. I’m careful where I leave my current bike because it looks expensive IMO, and someone’s already tried to to steal it 😅

  • @derelict
    2•1 year ago

    I wfh now so I don’t have a commute, but I commuted by Brompton for years and I love it as a commuter bike. The front luggage mount is nice and stiff and not off-balanced like a single pannier, I can take it into the office instead of worrying about it being unattended for 8 hours, and I have the flexibility to change plans during the day because it can be easily taken on transit or put in a friend/coworker’s trunk