Sy Reene

People read the word commuting, and immediate assumption is it includes cities and traffic. It doesn't have to though.

Trakhak

I understand the bias in favor of drop bars for U.S. riders of a certain age (including myself) who grew up with them. But if the topic is what style of bars most commuters (i.e., those who aren't prejudiced in favor of drops) are likely to prefer, look at Europe and Asia, where commuting by bike was, and in many places still is, a way of life. Drop bars are conspicuously absent.

mstateglfr 

if you are asking me to help you understand why I didn't include carbon in my initial post, it's because the matetial typically increases cost by a good bit.
I just don't see a lot of carbon bikes used as someone's commuter...and I think it's durtoba mix of cost and durability(perceived or real, doesn't matter).
I also don't see many bikes that I can identify as 'conmuter' bikes, that cost $10,000.

Maybe that's due to where I live, and $10k commuter bikes are common elsewhere?

Maelochs

Well, this is again the sort of detail that helps answer the question.

I wouldn't commute on a very expensive bike (which I know means different things to different people) because ... well, first, wear and tear---and security---both fo which are amplified concerns when the dollar value is high.

If it is a commute where nothing ever goes wrong---little traffic, good pavement, and so forth---then it would not be like most of my commutes. Also, commuter bikes (in my experience) tend to get banged around, what with loading panniers, taking everything apart for roadside maintenance, and all that. Further, if I could not park my bike indoors in a locked enclosure which had limited access I wouldn't want an expensive commuter ..... most of the time I ended up locking my bike somewhere outside the job site where I hoped it would still be when I clocked out .... but if it was a $10K bike ... no way.

Jim_from_Boston used to ride a really sweet carbon Trek (I think) which cost about $7K back when that was more than $10K, but the bike was never in an insecure location (I guess up in Mass people actually accommodate cycle-commuters.) Even when I commuted with nice bikes, they were never That nice just because it is the nature of things that they cannot be kept secure, and are going to do work.

Another issue with CF is how much gear you need .... not a lot of CF bikes are designed for panniers, and some gear won't fit in frame bags.

When I picked my work bike, I went Al frame just for the added freedom ... if someone bumps it and knocks it over (even locked, it might be able to slide or swing and grind on something) or whatever ... and I wouldn't commute on it anyway, because I wouldn't want to leave it for eight hours in some obscure but not secure location ..... I am actually building a new cheap bike just to go to the gym in case I do long workouts. (I know the bike can be stolen just as easily in a five-minute trip through the grocery tore or hardware store, as in any longer amount of time ... but as I have said elsewhere, all security is mental security anyway ... I do what I need to to have peace of mind. It has nothing to do with whether the bike is there when I get back.)

if you can afford it, and all your security and load-bearing needs/desires are met by a CF bike .... why not?

In any case the real answer is---the bike you want is out there and you will probably find it.

ScottCommutes

One hundred years of history, and I don't recall any gas powered motorcycles or mopeds with drop bars.

Camilo

Get a mid-drive conversion kit. Or even cheaper and simpler, a front wheel hub drive conversion kit.

znomit

Oh many motorcycles have drops alright. They just don't have tops or hoods.

mstateglfr 

good point?**

Iride01 

Maybe not the typical drops we use on a road bike.

https://www.google.com/search?sca_es...M&vssid=mosaic