What Kind Of Bike Will You Need For Commuting
Ultimate personalization: reflective yarn sweater for your urban bike!
Almost any bike can be used for commuting. However, some bikes are better suited to it than others. Before going any further, let me just take a moment to say that whatever bike you decide to use should be in sound mechanical condition. That is far more important than the particular bike category, make or model.
When we evaluate our vendors' offerings each year, we look for a minimum of features before we decide if the bike is appropriate to carry in our store:
A corrosion-resistant, durable and lightweight frame, either chromoly steel or aluminum, with quality construction (for a thorough discussion of frame materials, click here).
Wheels that can take a beating. Decent urban wheels should have double-walled alloy rims, with sealed hubs and stainless steel spokes. Such wheels resist corrosion, and can handle rough roads and occasional potholes.
A drivetrain that allows for a reasonable cadence on urban streets. Anywhere from 7 to 27 speeds is common. Although in Chicago, you're not likely to use all those gears, these bikes are distributed throughout the country, and that's just how they are are equipped for nationwide distribution. (Increasingly, we're seeing "one-by" drivetrains -- the familiar triple front chainring is replaced with a single one, and combined with a wide-range 10, 11 or 12-speed cassette on the back. This adventure-bike set-up is starting to trickle down to some hybrid bikes as well, and usually offers a gear range that is suitable for urban travel).
Dependable brakes, including alloy hand levers (some very inexpensive bikes use resin levers which can flex with use and compromise braking power). Brake levers should allow for adjustment for smaller hand sizes. The brake mechanism itself should be sufficiently adjustable and solid to allow for squeak-free, confident braking, without shuddering. On the majority of new bikes today rim brakes (which grip the rim of the wheel) are being replaced with disc brakes (the brake mechanism squeezes a rotor attached near the center of the wheel). Once considered an expensive upgrade, disc brakes have become much more affordable, and offer superior braking under load and in all weather conditions. Unless you’re buying a cargo or electric bike, you should not be discouraged from rim-brake equipped bike. Properly set up rim brakes are super dependable. We’ve been using them for many decades with great success before someone stumbled on the idea of disc brakes.
Characteristics appropriate for street riding. We like bikes that don't go over the top with whistles and bells, but focus on well-thought-out features, such as smooth, puncture-resistant tires, comfortable saddle, and perhaps an upright stem.
Strategically placed, pre-threaded eyelets or braze-ons for mounting fenders and racks. This is a small but crucially important feature of any bike that will make it easy for you to carry loads and use the bike in less than perfect weather.
Out-of-the-box rideability. Though virtually any bike can be improved through customization, a good basic hybrid can be ridden as-is, once it has been properly assembled.
It turns out that almost any decent hybrid bike on the market meets these criteria, and for the majority of urban cyclists, a hybrid is still a great choice, because it adapts well to a variety of uses. One of our favorite basic hybrids with an impressively long track record is the Kona Dew (and its more premium sibling Dew Plus). These bikes retail in the range of $600-$1000, lend themselves to a variety of uses outside of urban travel, and are sure to give you years of service and enjoyment. Here are a few of our favorites in stock right now.
Other types of bikes can be successfully adapted for urban use as well, sometimes with little or no modifications. Ultimately, what defines a commuting bike is not what it is, but how it is used. Transportation bikes rarely look pristine. They have a well-worn look and are sometimes wrapped in tape, covered with stickers, scratched and nicked. We even have a customer who has knitted a reflective yarn “sweater” for her bike. Commuter bikes have fenders, racks and carriers: panniers, milk crates, even plastic wastepaper bins, are a sure sign that the owner carries stuff on the bike. It is rare that someone who rides more than occasionally is perfectly happy with the bike exactly as it came out of the factory. Commuting cyclists frequently change tires, saddles, handlebars, stems, pedals, you name it, on their bikes.
If you commute in Chicago, you have character. Let your bike reflect that.