Bicycle People... What's the best commuter style bicycle?

More speeds isn't always better. Front derailleurs add another maintenance point and can be a PITA. Outside of road race bikes, there just really isn't much of a point to a double chainring. Will your commute give you any opportunity to push a larger front chainring and get 30+ MPH stretches? Do you really want to in work clothes?
A single with good range - either flavor of 12 speed and some 10 and 11 speed setups - will give you all the gears you actually need.
Disc brakes over cantis all day, every day. Even mechanical disc, there are some out there work very well, but hydraulic are better for certain.
Many hybrid/commuter bikes have front suspension and will have much more comfortable geometry than any road or gravel bike. And they will ride anything a gravel bike will just fine. They won't do it as quickly, but will do it just fine. Remember that mountain bikes of even 20 years ago were riding trails just fine, and they would be a POS next to a good hybrid.
The absolute most important thing isn't whatever category the bike is shoehorned into, it is how comfortable it is for you to ride. If it isn't comfortable, you won't want to ride it.
If your budget allows, yes an e-assist bike would be great for the commute, but 14 miles on pavement is nothing. Even my shortest gravel/path loop isn't that short.

Last point - the bike market overall is not good right now. There are hundreds of thousands of used bikes out there for sale, many from people that bought during the COVID craze a couple years ago and rode 2-3 times and now want to dump the bike. Of course people list them high, but that's the game.
And because of that, there are lots of sales on new bikes, and dealers doing specials to move bikes. If you aren't keen on working on your own bike, it might be worth your while to buy new if you're within a couple hundred dollars. You can get the fit, ride a handful of bikes to get a feel for what geometry will work for you, etc.

 

F350 dually of course

 

I'd buy something like a mid 2000's specialized epic, then install gravel type tires. It won't be a squishy ride, but will tame the big bumps, and still peddle nicely.

I have won mtb championships while using mechanical disc brakes. Maintained BB7's with 180 mm discs = golden.

 

Some further context. I have a car and a motorcycle I commute with now. Car is about 40-70min one way due to traffic. Motorcycle is about 25-30min due to lane splitting said traffic. I'm mostly interested in getting more exercise in the day and a bike ride maps estimates is 80min. I'm also assuming I'll ride slightly quicker than the maps estimate so it's roughly like taking the car. In the event of bad weather, I'll definitely just take a car. I'm not trying to be a die-hard bike-life guy.

I'm working at a motorcycle shop and there's no dress code or anything, so no worries about suit and tie work attire. I usually keep a few extra tees here to swap out when I ride the motorcycle on a hot day or if I end up moving motorcycles around a lot, so not too worried about sweating a bit on the way (no shower here).

Solid info about the gears, not having a front derailleur, weight savings, etc.

Here's an example of something I'd consider: https://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/bik/d/santa-clarita-2017-specialized/7773397816.html

*maybe swap the tires out for something smoother since I don't plan to take it off the pavement?

 

Don’t even waste your time with an old fashioned manual bike, get one of these and thank me later.

https://www.specialized.com/us/en/turbo-tero-50/p/199864?color=320934-199864

 

lol... $4500 and it's a mtb? I'm sitting here looking at a new MV Agusta Amo RR I could buy for less.

https://emvagusta.com/products/amo-rr

 

I meant to post this one…
https://www.specialized.com/us/en/turbo-vado-50/p/206151?color=348386-206151

MV bike is a novelty item for rich dicks. That e bike will take you everywhere you need to go and twice as fast as an old school bike.

 

A $5000 commuter bike isn't meant for rich dicks? Sheeeeesh. I'm must be extra poor. I'm def not spending over $1000 and realistically I'd like to spend $500 or less on something used.

 

That used Special Ed bike will do what you are talking about just fine. I think the price is ~$100-150 high, but that is expected in the Craigslist world. Those tires would be fine for commuting, but there are many others out there that would roll better.
But overall, it doesn't look beat up and is in decent shape.
I still say go check out something at a local shop, get a feel for what will be comfortable. Then you can decide to buy from them or look through the used listings.

Edit - if I am going to pick nits:
Through axles are much better, especially with disc brakes. While not common, disc brakes can create enough torque to lever an old-school QR axle out of dropouts.
I would look for at minimum 40mm wide tires. Even with tubes you can run them at lower pressures with better ride characteristics.

 

Fair point

 

At your $1000 budget, the bikes with a front fork will have a fork that is pure garbage. You'd be better off with an entry level bike with a solid carbon fork versus having front suspension as these cheap forks blow through their travel with aplomb and so the end result is the same as if you had a solid fork if you hit a pot hole. Additionally, lower end suspension forks are heavy and bob quite a bit because the damping control is non existent. Meaning, that every time you get out of the saddle to go up a rise or incline, the fork will bob up and down like a pogo stick. So, in summary, with a low-end suspension fork, you're not improving ride quality, adding complexity, and adding weight.

If by "old school" you mean caliper rim brakes then these can be way more than enough against an aluminum brake surface. Mechanical and hydro disc brakes can perform well if maintained - the hydro systems will tend to be a bit stronger and have a little more feel, but that's very subjective. I've ridden all types and to this day I don't need more braking power than what a set of Dura Ace calipers offer against a decent carbon / alloy braking surface.

Same rules apply as motorcycle disc brake systems. Change fluid, keep pads free from contamination, replace rotors when necessary.

Again, my suggestion for a fast-ish commuter would be this base Sirrus. It's essentially a flat bar version of Specialized's Roubaix from a couple generations ago before the nutty suspension headsets and the like. And it's within your budget. The only thing that would make this a better setup is belt drive since that's virtually maintenance free.

 

Thoughts on this? I don't know the brand, but I noticed it has a belt drive and seems like it could be legit. I'm thinking of checking it out in-person on Monday when I have time.

LINK: https://www.wheelworld.com/product/momentum-iride-ux-3s-407277-1.htm

 

Belt drives are quiet and better maintenance, but it wouldn't be anywhere on my list of things to look for.

 

MTBs with rack attachments make the best commuter bikes. Don't sweat the small stuff. Just make sure you can put fenders and a rear rack on it for now.

My favorite addition to my "Dad Bike" (the steel framed hard tail I ride around the neighborhood) is a front fork and rack from a Trek 1120. The fork is Boost spacing with clearance for 3" tires. The rack floats above the front wheel and can hold a 12-pack.

-Tom

 

You haven’t mentioned the other half of this equation— riding whatever bike you choose on LA rush hour surface streets and deep breathing LA rush hour air. Seriously, the route you ride nearly 30 miles every day in LA rush hour traffic is maybe by far the most important thing to get right. Where’s the shop you work at? Down in the Marina area along Lincoln near Washington? Can you work it to ride most of the way on the Ballona Creek trail? That completely avoids cars clear over to Fairfax area and it’s a relatively short connection to Korea town on surface streets. Just sayin’.

 

I'd love to ride somewhere dedicated as a bike trail, but it's part of LA life to have to deal with cars and traffic. Thankfully the air quality has been steadily improving here. That said, I'm not looking forward to inhaling car fumes all day, but it doesn't seem like it'll be bad enough to stop me. If you're familiar with LA, I live in Koreatown/Larchmont area near Beverly/Wilton and the shop is on on Lincoln just a few blocks south of the 10 fwy.

 

This looks more like of an enlarged BMX bike and not a commuter. 27.5" tires and some unique geometry make me think it wouldn't be as good as a true commuter bike like the ones linked previously.

 

You don’t need 2x necessarily unless you’re planning to do actual climbs or mixed terrain.

You also don’t need suspension. Modern wide tires will be much more comfortable than you expect. Front suspension as you’re likely to find on a bicycle also generally won’t be designed for absorbing those small continuous bumps.

A gravel bike with slightly flared bars, wide tires, and a decent gear range are what you need. Then you can do light f’ng around and what not on the weekends. You want drop bars for road riding, more hand positions and it’s faster. Efficiency on a gravel bike is about 5% less than a road bike at the same power, not really a big loss for what you gain.

Poseidon makes very good value bikes and they’re selling leftover stock right now, maybe they’ll have something your size. Not sure I’d bother with used at the $500ish price point, as you’ll be able to get something new with a warranty.

https://www.poseidonbike.com/products/last-call

That route you described sounds like hell for riding, but I’m sure you’ll figure out a nicer route. Would it be possible to ride a bit longer one way for a more pleasant route and take the metro back? I used to do that in the Valley.

 

Your gears entirely depend on what riding you want to do. On my new MTB having 1x is a godsend for exactly the reasons you mention. I had a triple MTB before and 1x is night and day better. I would never ride a MTB now that weren’t 1x.

On my road bike and gravel bike I ride 2x and would never bother with 1x because I may ride a very wide variety of terrain in a single ride. Though 1x is fine for road if your terrain is consistent and you don’t care much about managing cadence etc. For a commuter bike I’d go 1x if possible.

 

My recent buy was a trek supercal with 2 sets of wheels.

I can lock out the shocks and crank on the asphalt paths, go right to gravel road, and do mtb on the weekend.

I'm a minimalist now, so only want 1 bike, not 3 like the old days.

I have 1 front ring, 10 rear, but I've changed it twice since I got the bike and started riding faster.

I like it. Having that many gears is plenty.