Originally Posted by
GamblerGORD53
Carbon and derailleurs for really fast and really useless toys for rich folks.
Steel and IGH Rohloff14 for round the world touring. Front hub is a SA XL-FDD dyno drum brake.
Steel and SA 3 speed for commuter bike. Also comes with drum brakes, chaincase, fenders, lights and racks.
Aluminum OK for just riding around. Could have either IGH or defaileurs.
Walmart for the totally cheap and uninformed, who can't or won't go far.
Lol! But it depends on the commute. Steel is fine - I commuted on a steel bike for years - but for my 18 mile commute with a 600 ft climb going home there's no way I'd manage it regularly on a SA 3 speed. I do have a Brompton, which is steel and SA 3 speed, but that's just for a short commute when I do most of it by train, which is very rare these days, or the odd local trip where a folder is handy. So my commuting bike now is carbon and derailleurs.