Originally Posted by
Blu3b3ar
I love that I feel like I can do pretty much anything on my bike. Because it was cheap to buy ($50 for bike, rack, lights, and lock) I've been pretty confident working on it and riding. However it is HEAVY and when I do back to back commuting days it is more noticeable. I also need to make some fixes to my bike (not sure what exactly trying to go to bike classes to learn) and I dont know what is a reasonable amount of time/money to put into it
My commute is just a little bit longer than yours. I understand wanting a bike that isn't slowing you down much - just realize that far more of the difference is the engine, probably followed by the tires.
I'd honestly start with new quality tires, and possibly new wheels on your existing bike - you don't give many details about your existing bike, but better tires and a tuneup / refresh (ie. replacing parts where necessary or there's a cheap upgrade) can completely change a bike. My main winter/snow/ice/rain commuter is a Giant Innova hybrid from '93 that would be a similar frame to your Bianchi Osprey. It was a little heavier than my Bianchi Strada before I put the Sturmey Archer hub on the Bianchi, but it rides quite nicely, has space for nice wide tires and fenders. I'm slightly slower on that bike, but it rides fine - I put drop bars and bar-end shifters on it, it had cantilever brakes which meant it was easy to find drop bar brake levers, but v-brake levers are easy to come by (amazon, chain reaction)
Bottom line is that your existing bike is a quality frame (either main triangle cro-mo or full cro-mo depending on year) and is worth keeping going and/or upgrading a little.
Post some pictures and/or details about your existing bike, and what it is you want most to change about it!