I want to start pedaling to work

And riding around in general. I love moving under my own power and would probably walk everywhere if time permitted. Some years ago I even went 8 months without a car and all I had was a $15 good will schwinn 21 speed that got me around and to work.

Anyway. I've ridden mountain bikes, bmx, and a couple road bikes, and for my purposes I think a decent "starter" road bike is the ticket. Problem is I have no idea what to look for. I'd like more than 1 speed as there are a couple real hills between home and work, and the commute is about 5 miles each way. Are there good brands to look at? What about hardware? Pretty much diving into this with no real knowledge and a budget of probably $3-500. Thanks!

My advice to start out would be to buy a used, major name hardtail mountain bike with multiple speeds. You'll find older ones in good shape on CL for well under $200. Make sure it has mounting points on the rear for a rear rack, and buy a rack and a waterproof bag to go on it. Put some slick-ish tires on it and go get em.

I try to ride to work (about 15 mile round trip) a couple days a week when the weather's nice. It's awesome.

Speaking for your anonymous coworkers, please make sure you have a shower facility available at work, and USE IT.

I've been commuting to work by bike for just about 8 years now, so this is an area I know well!

For your budget you can get some pretty decent stuff on CL.  Obviously you will need to shop based on condition, but I would favor brands like Trek, Giant, Jamis, Cannondale, and Specialized. Schwinn and Diamondback should be avoided unless from the 90s or older, as the quality went downhill pretty considerably once those brands started appearing in the big box stores.

Remember to save room in your budget for a rack and a set of baskets or panniers.  Wearing a backpack while bike commuting is a recipe for huge amounts of back pain. 

I had toe clips installed on my pedals for a long time and recently switched to the pedals that you click into with cycling shoes - those are great for more efficient pedaling but kind of overkill for the distance you're riding. 

Consider your strategy to deal with sweat.  I bring a change of clothes with me and ride in weather-appropriate gear (thermal stuff in the winter, shorts in the summer).  I sweat a lot so I bring a towel and baby wipes with me as well to freshen up when I get to the office. If your workplace is more tolerant of showing up sweaty this may not be a problem.

I hadn't thought of putting street tires on a mountain bike. That really opens up some possibilities. And a rack or saddlebag things are a great idea.

As to sweating and stinking, I do have a shower at work, but I don't see it as being too big a problem since I come in well before it gets hot, and boy does it get hot here. But when I did this before on my junk bike I would just change socks and shirt/undershirt and reapply the good old spice and party on. And since I work in slacks and a polo (kill me) I fully plan to change when I get to work anyway.

Fenders are absolutely necessary the first day it rains before your ride. Nothing worse than getting soaked from road water when it's not even raining at the moment.

barefootskater said:

As to sweating and stinking, I do have a shower at work, but I don't see it as being too big a problem since I come in well before it gets hot, and boy does it get hot here. But when I did this before on my junk bike I would just change socks and shirt/undershirt and reapply the good old spice and party on. And since I work in slacks and a polo (kill me) I fully plan to change when I get to work anyway.

I will of course let you make your own decision on this, but speaking as an anonymous coworker who had the misfortune to share workspace with a guy who also biked to work in the morning before it got hot and then changed his clothes to business attire,  "reapply the Old Spice and party on" did not cut it for anyone within 10 feet of him.

YMMV

In reply to Duke :

Noted. If I have to pack a towel too I'm not opposed. I'm generally a fairly obnoxious shiny happy person, but I do try to be polite and courteous to people I work with.

There is a type of bike called a hybrid.  It is not a road/race bike and it is not a Mt Bike but sort of some of each or Hybrid.  

A quick CL search of the word Hyrbid in your area reveals this 

$350 Trek Hybrid 

barefootskater said:

In reply to Duke :

Noted. If I have to pack a towel too I'm not opposed. I'm generally a fairly obnoxious shiny happy person, but I do try to be polite and courteous to people I work with.

Your workmates won't know to thank you, but they should.  And best of luck with your endeavor - part of me wishes I lived close enough to bike in; part of my is glad I don't.  I hope it works out well for you!

I'd go used name brand hardtail and put street tires on it. If I'm going brand new at that price point it's something from nashbar.com

You are invisible. Not a driver on the road will see you. Dress as brightly as you can and ride accordingly. 

In reply to Appleseed :

I'm fairly used to that, having spent a lot of my driving life on two wheels. Always good to remember though. Especially as half of the distance is on 40mph roads without a bike lane, only a small shoulder. This being a retirement town, and a popular spot for outdoors enthusiasts, the drivers here are more ~accepting~ of bikes in the road than most places I've lived.

ultraclyde said:

My advice to start out would be to buy a used, major name hardtail mountain bike with multiple speeds. You'll find older ones in good shape on CL for well under $200. Make sure it has mounting points on the rear for a rear rack, and buy a rack and a waterproof bag to go on it. Put some slick-ish tires on it and go get em.

 

 

I would suggest some Continental "Race king" tyres for your bike. Very low rolling resistance, still good for trails, and great on the road if you should hit some sand. I personally wish I could ride to work, legally I could as none of the roads I would travel on are restricted to bikes, but the speeds people hit preclude me even attempting it. When you get people doing 90 in a 50 and there are daily accidents, it's not worth the attempt.

Some cities are VERY unfriendly to cyclists.  Houston for example.   

 But if you live in a bike friendly city  or one with trails near your commute zone its a great way to get some daily exercise, save on fuel and possibly parking expenses.

I ride the 2 miles too work in nice weather when I can. Tires and making sure everything's lubed well is the key points. If I was doing 5+ miles I'd look into a hybrid for sure. Luckily for me I live in town and on flat land. So I ride a 66 flightliner built as a klunker

My first question is how secure is your bike parking once you get to work?  A hard tail mountain bike, especially one with a visible brand name is much more of a target for theives than a comparable hybrid/roadbike.  

If you are likely to hop any curbs on the way to work, or just likely to grab the bike and bolt out the door without checking tire pressures, a mountain bike with a fat semislick is the most forgiving in the realm of pinch flats. 

If there are active groups in your area and you are even entertaining the idea of joining road group rides, a (in ypur price range, used)road bike is the only thing I would recommend for that purpose.  Not optimal for a heavily laden commute, but much more efficient if just carrying you and water bottles and a change of clothes.

If your fun toy budget is more than your commuter budget, combine the two and look at cyclo cross and "gravel" bikes.  Drop bars on a sturdier frame with road capable geometry and mud clearance to boot.  Unfortunately you will only see these starting new at about double your stated budget.

Euro commuters have a larger choice of purpose built commuter bikes, which are generally built like more upright hybrids, but with a fully covered drive train to save the embarrasment of greasy pants...

As for the shower-at-work issue....that varies a lot person to person. I'm in Georgia - so in the summer my morning commute is often already 80 degrees and 90% humidity.  I'm lucky because although I get sweaty I don't really smell as long as I change clothes. I think this is because I bike a lot and sweat a lot at other times, so my body has more opportunities to flush the chemicals that make you stink.  Now, after riding home in 100* heat, that's a different matter, but then I'm home and hop in the shower. Another good option if you can't get to a shower is a pack of baby wipes kept at your office.

I usually wear baggy cycling shorts and a t-shirt riding to work. I pack undies, khakis, a polo, and socks to wear for the work day, as well as lunch usually. I leave a pair of shoes and a belt in my office, which cuts down on bulk for the daily ride. I ride with clipless pedals and mountain bike shoes when it's cool but switch to flat pedals and sandals when it warms up.

 I ride a Trek 920, so it's a rigid mountain bike with road handlebars and racks. I've got custom bags for it because I use it bike camping too, but my main commuter bag is a trunk rack from Jandd.  It's mostly water proof , has several compartments, and is expandable in case I need to pick up something small on the way home. Make sure you carry a lock of some sort. I use a cheap metal security cable and padlock because bike theft is rare here, luckily. I don't run fenders because if it's raining in the morning I'm not riding. If I get rained on riding home, that's not that big a deal. I'm usually soaking wet from sweat anyway. Good lights, reflective accents, and hi vis colors are always a good idea, and of course a helmet is mandatory. Here's a shot of the bike in general commuter trim without the Jandd bag. I was out on a night ride with the local bike shop crew a couple years ago.

I went with a beefier mountain bike because I'm riding sidewalks, cutting through undeveloped lots, and cutting behind shopping centers on a daily basis.  (When the small knob off-road tires wear out I'll be putting un something like a Scwalbe Marathon. Even riding some dirt, there's no real need for knobs.)  This is a southern, suburban military town and has exactly 0 cycling friendly infrastructure. The key to commuting as safely as possible is to think about how traffic flows and where drivers are naturally looking or not looking in traffic, and then use that to stay out of their way. Most of my commute I ride like a punk 12 year old kid, but there are times it's safer to take the lane and ride like a legal cyclist. Knowing which to do to maximize your safety takes thought, experience, and patience. And you still will never be truly safe.

I've got a friend who cycles in SLC, but for sport, not commuting. Seems like there's a pretty strong cycling community out there so at least motorists are used to seeing cyclists occasionally. 

Oh, and someone mentioned Nashbar. They're having the annual bike sale righ now. If you want to buy new and have a rig that is already outfitted, check out their house brand Nashbar road touring bike. Perfect for commuting, already racked up, and a damn good deal. I kind of want one for no real reason besides it's cool and such a good price.

one thing about buying - bikes are like shoes. They come in sizes for a reason and if you get one that doesn't fit, it's really uncomfortable. Find a local shop, an online tutorial, or friend who rides for help figuring out what size you need.

Appleseed said:

You are invisible. Not a driver on the road will see you. Dress as brightly as you can and ride accordingly. 

Of the ones who *do* see you, 1 out of 10 wil be outwardly hostile to you.  They yell at you, lay on the horn for far too long to be a cautionary beep, sometimes swerve at you or at least in your direction after they have passed.

So:  Be visible.  Obey traffic signals.  Avoid riding on sidewalks.

ultraclyde said:

Oh, and someone mentioned Nashbar. They're having the annual bike sale righ now. If you want to buy new and have a rig that is already outfitted, check out their house brand Nashbar road touring bike. Perfect for commuting, already racked up, and a damn good deal. I kind of want one for no real reason besides it's cool and such a good price.

 

one thing about buying - bikes are like shoes. They come in sizes for a reason and if you get one that doesn't fit, it's really uncomfortable. Find a local shop, an online tutorial, or friend who rides for help figuring out what size you need.

I want one for literally the exact same reason lol. Saving for a new mountain bike instead

Y'all are the best. I'm going out of town this weekend but when I get back the shopping starts in earnest.

Way back in 2000-2002 timeframe, I lived about 8 miles from work and rode most of the time. I found that I ended up taking the long way home a lot of the time just for the pleasure of riding. I was across the sound from Seattle so good rain gear was essential for me. I mostly rode my old mountain bike with skinny slick tires and fenders. I just used a backpack and didn't go with panniers. I kept my work clothes at work and wore a uniform so, I didn't need to carry a full set of work clothes with  me everyday.

I ended up riding different bikes depending on the weather and what my plans were for the ride home.

One other idea is to maybe look for a used cyclocross bike. Sort of a road bike that can run wider tires. I have one that is fun to ride in all sorts of situations. Not sure if you will find a cross bike in your price range or not, but it is an option. I would also get down to the local bike shops and test ride some bikes to narrow down what you are looking for, even if you are planning on buying used.

I have a bike that'd be perfect for commuting on.  My commute is short (about 5 miles each way).

There is no berkeleying way I'd risk my hide on the roads between here and there!  Every year or two someone tries it for a day, once the guy lasted a week.  It's Russian Roulette to even attempt commuting that road.

Good luck to you, hope your path is easier.