Whynot1999

I might be moving to East TN, in the Smokey Mountains. I would be riding about 20-30 miles round trip, daily, using both the roads and informal trails as much as possible. I'm ready to spend about $1,500, more if it's that good of a bicycle. I ride in all weather, do my grocery shopping, and go to school/work on a bicycle- does anyone know of something that would work for me? I'm thinking along the lines of the Surly Straggler 650b(Straggler 650b | Bikes | Surly Bikes), but with different handlebars so I'm not looking at the ground all the time.

Life-long durability, comfort, and repairability are more important than speed to me.

restlessswind

Any Surly. I'm eyeballing the Cross-Check Flat bar.
It's a 1x9, but Surly is made to be easily interchangeable.

mcours2006

Not sure what you mean by different handlebar. You don't have to look at the ground all the time with those handlebars. It's got a nice sloping top tube. You should be able to ride relatively upright from the hoods on that bike.

If you are interested in a hybrid type bike, then buy a hybrid bike instead.

plumberroy

you won't regret it I love mine

Darth Lefty 

I think perhaps some old Japanese Schwinn

Darth Lefty 

Here's my hot take.

If you are riding on anything that can reasonably be called a road, something that was once graded and tamped, there's a road bike for that. The marketing segment presently called "gravel bikes" do great at it, taking tire sizes up into the thirties with fenders. The fenders really help keep the drivetrain from getting dusty so fast. Hybrids do about the same thing but sit like a mountain bike instead of a road bike.

You need a mountain bike if you are going on something that looks like an ungraded foot path with rocks and roots. Then you need the suspension fork and the sub 1:1 gears. If you do get a mountain bike, you can get by with some pretty cheap components if you take advantage of SR Suntour's fork upgrade program, to get one that really works. Keep your bike clean.

rickyk76

That Straggler looks pretty cool. Another option that could save you some money would be the Co-op ADV 3.1 from REI.

gregjones

If you want different bars get a bike that the manufacturer (frame order person/brand) designed with "different" bars in their mind. Your money do what you want. My money---I buy what is a bike that I like as is. Most things generally play better together that way.

If you're moving to East TN and get a 650B bike----remember you will be the sole source of "on demand, for tomorrow's ride to work" of replacement parts (tires/toobs).

sunvalleylaw

Surly sounds good. Also Jones. Or a Jones bar on your surly since you mentioned swapping out bars. I use my '89 Fisher Paragon converted to 700c, with 35c Clement USH tires for both pavement commuting and some dirt road grinding. Works great!

Darth Lefty 

Soma is pushing their Wolverine pretty hard

cyccommute 

Here's my alternative, hotter take on it

Anything a "gravel bike" can do, a full on mountain bike can do as well. Plus the mountain bike can do a lot more if things get gnarly. You might sacrifice a little bit of speed but it's not that much and the ability to go bombing off on some trail on a lark more than makes up for the speed difference.

There are a few hardtail out there that make worthy commuters. Look for ones with rack mounts. The Specialized Rockhopper and Hardrock would be good places to start. The Jamis Trail X and Dragon series are worth a look as well. the Dragon series is more expensive but they have better components...especially the shock.

The Trek X-caliber and Marlin also have rack mounts. The X-caliber, like the Jamis Dragon series, has better components at a higher price.

On the plus side, you'll end up with an "adventure" bike that can do wilder adventures. Personally, I'd be more interested in the "adventure" bikes if they were more mountain bikey and less road bikey. If I'm thinking of something adventurous, I reach for this



or this



What's the fun in that!?

Happy mountain bike



Unhappy mountain bike



There is nothing sadder than a clean pig

Mine's the happy pig. And it made the commute to work and played on the way home

no motor?

There are a lot of us that have been using older MTBs for the uses you stated for years. They make great commuters and parts are pretty easy to come by.

Bike Gremlin

If all weather riding includes snow, I'd choose a bike without suspension. A (fully rigid, i.e. no front, nor rear suspension) MTB being more universal than most other bikes.

Here's a comparison of MTB, to road bike for commuting, from my experience. Gravel bike being somewhere between the two in terms of pros and cons:

Speed:
On pavement, with slicks, MTB will be decently fast, but not as fast as the road bike. On off road, or in the snow, it's the other way round.

Bars:
Drop bars of road bike are better for longer rides - more aero, more hand positions. They are also better for fast descending - allowing you do both go more aero and to better weigh the front wheel in tight corners when going fast.
However, drop bars are less practical for city stop and go riding. Also, filtering between cars - easier with straight bars (if cut to be just a few cm wider than road bars, not left to the standard MTB flat bar width).

Groceries, spare clothes etc:
Road bike, including some gravel bikes, don't have mounts for rear rack. To me, rear rack is invaluable. Back pack sits on it when I commute, panniers as well for rainy days, or grocery shopping. Wider tyres of MTBs (even with slicks) provide a bit more cushioning for what it's worth and of importance to you and your luggage.

Mudguards:
The last, but not the least important. In spite of them being a risk for real off road (mud, branches getting stuck etc), for paved and dirt road commuting they are invaluable to me. Often make a difference between needing a shower with a full change of clothes and coming to work clean and dry. Most fully rigid MTBs and some gravel bikes have mudguard mounting eyelets, while most road bikes don't.

GamblerGORD53

Durable, efficient and trouble free = Rohloff14 and Sturmey Archer dyno drum brake front hub.

Darth Lefty 

I guess you better hope so, because if it breaks, the average bike store won't have any parts or expertise

cyccommute 

Given my experiences over years of commuting in snow, I would disagree. Suspension on a bike on snow does what suspension on dirt does...it lets you maintain better control by allowing the wheels to ride up and over obstacles rather than plow through them. For example...and I've done this when I've forgotten to unlock my fork...a rigid fork will dig into soft patches in packed snow and unpredictable deflect the wheel away from the line of travel. It will continue to plow through the snow until it hits something hard enough to climb up but it make take counter-steering to climb up onto the harder surface. A rigid fork resists counter-steering if it happens to be locked in a rut, which is exactly what the wheel is stuck in.

A suspension fork, on the other hand, climbs out of ruts much more easily because the side of the tire can catch the edge and the fork will give enough to act as counter-steering and the wheel climbs over the soft snow rather than deflect and plow into it.

Rear suspension isn't as effective but it does help. With rear suspension, the bike "squats" as the suspension is compressed during the pedal stroke. This pushes the rear wheel into the ground and improves traction. And, like the front wheel, a suspended wheel will climb out of a rut more easily rather than plow into it and become mired.

In ice and snow I usually ride a hard tail mountain bike with front suspension or a soft tail mountain bike with front suspension and a rudimentary rear suspension. The soft tail is the one that has studs during the winter.

Bike Gremlin

My thinking behind avoiding suspension was maintenance wise. Do you have problems with heavily salted roads and corrosion of suspension forks shiny sliding metal part (don't know the proper English term, sorry )?

For all else I agree - good working suspension is beneficial. Even though, with a bit of caution and common sense, I've had no problems in the past 10 winters with just fully rigid MTB with studded tyres. Having said that, my commuting routes are flat, so no mountains in the winter. If that makes a difference.

fietsbob

20-30 miles round trip, daily, ie 3+ hours a day just getting to work & back?

cyccommute 

I've never had a problem with the stanchions. (That's the "American" term the legs. The "sliders are the sliding bit.) But I use high end forks on all my mountain bikes which have a hard coating on the stanchions that resists damage.

I have ridden rigid mountain bikes in the past during the winter as well. I just find that the addition of suspension reduces the problems of getting thrown off line in snow pack and ruts. It leads to less crashing.

Whynot1999

My Schwinn frame actually cracked right beneath the point where the rack attaches to the frame. I think I was too rough on it. 41 years feels like a pretty decent life for a bicycle though, and I've been salvaging parts off of it for a few other bikes I have (the brakes and derailleurs on that bike are really great), so it will live on.

I think I'll leave the handlebars that come with it at first (although I like the square style touring handlebars that are on a lot of European touring bikes, and the ones that were on cyccomute's pictures up above). Considering the landscape, I think something that's rigid and easier to maneuver would be valuable. Ideally it'd be nice to have something like the handlebars on Gazelle bicycles that can adjust quickly so that you could ride it like a mountain bike in the mountains and a townie bike in the town. And when I tour I definitely want upright handlebars. I hate missing out on the landscape or straining my neck to see out in front of me. Definitely will keep asking around to see what people prefer.

It snows maybe once or twice a year in TN, so I think I'll just get a car ride for those days. I won't be living alone, so getting a ride won't be a problem should I need one. And I'll probably need a ride or two while I figure it out the first couple weeks. North Texas is rather flat- I've actually only ridden on mountain bike trails once with a friends 29er- and east TN is supperrr hilly, especially where the house is.

I'm a little concerned about the time I'll need- but not too concerned. I feel like with the right gearing I can make decent time, and if I don't, then I just got to have a nice nature walk before school/work. It's really pretty there.

I think I'm gonna go with the Surly Straggler 650b- things seem to keep pointing back that direction. And I watched series of videos and Pablo's bike is a surly...seems very well built. The LBS also gave good word, and they're a dealer a just one bus ride away from me.

FrontRanger

I've ridden the same 25-mile commute (round trip) for six years on a variety of bikes--road, gravel, and mountain. Looking at the data, I'm fastest when I'm the most comfortable, and that's on a rigid MTB with Jones Loop bars (which is the same bike I use for riding Colorado singletrack).

corrado33

If I were riding 10-15 miles one way, I'd certainly want to do it on a road bike (or similar style bikes... gravel... cross... whatever). I find that too long to be upright on a mountain bike. Plus if it's windy, you'll want something that allows you to hide from the wind.

I have a surly cross check (similar to the straggler but without disk brakes) and it's my favorite commuting bike. If I were you, I'd heavily consider getting an IGH for commuting purposes. You could use an alfine with the straggler and still have a disk brake.

However, sometimes I commute on an old schwinn woodlands with nice smooth 26" tires on it. Sometimes I commute on my rainy day road bike. Depends on the day and how windy it is.

Also, budget in nice fenders right NOW. Do not even try to commute on that thing without fenders. I don't know how much it rains out there in TN, but fenders are a necessity for commuting. I very heartily recommend the velo orange hammered aluminum ones. Mine are black.



However, 650b is going to make finding accessories... difficult.

sunvalleylaw

Here is mine, soon to have a Jones loop bar with new stem. Converted to 700c cross wheels with Clement USH tires that work well for commuting and dirt road use.

It has been a good commuter mule. You can find old steel bikes like this all the time for cheap and even just put slick tires on the 26 inch rims.

noglider 

Nearly any bike will do the job. With your budget, you will definitely get something that works well and is durable and reliable.

As to which style bike is best, it's hard to say, and the answer may change as you gain more experience. I say definitely give a "gravel" or "allroad" bike a try.

If you ride mostly on paved surfaces, you won't want a knobby tread on your tires. That's a huge energy suck.

I agree about fenders. You'll be impressed with how much water they keep off you and your bike. But aluminum fenders can be tricky. Take a look at the plastic fenders available. You don't have to spend a lot on fenders. I happen to like SKS Chromoplastic fenders which seem to have the advantages of both aluminum and plastic, but really, and fenders will do.

Whynot1999

I've been riding without fenders for a year now. I'm really looking forward to having some...some sort of lightweight chain guard would be nice too so I don't have to roll up or tuck my pants in my socks when I ride with jeans or layers on.

I think for now I'm going to stick with the knobby tires and discs since I wrecked on a cheap pepsi promotional bike with knobbs and rims going down the gravel driveway...it's a 30-40 degree gravel slope just getting out of the property and onto the road, so the more traction the better. I don't mind going slower on the road...maybe it'll motivate me to find trails instead. It'll be a learning experience.