What’s your philosophy on a commuter? Cheap beater? Superbike? Steel? Flat bar or drop? Fixie/SS or Geared? Panniers or backpack?
Obviously, a lot of this depends on situation: length of commute, weather, safety of bike parking, etc
For me, I used to have a longer (7 km) commute with a pretty steep climb (on the way home, topped out at 20% grade for a short stretch) so I got used to drop bar, Frankenbike drive train with road shifters, 1x up front, and MTB derailleur (which was much more frankenbike when I put it together, now you can get drivetrains that are designed for this). Then I moved, sold that bike and on my new commute got a Surly Straggler for what is now a 4km commute with only a little elevation change. It’s honestly way too nice for its use case, but now I’m spoiled.
What I really wanted was a Cross Check with bar-end friction shifters, but one thing led to another
After getting an electric cargo bike to haul the kids around, I cannot imagine not having the motor for any hill. Sometimes I ride the electric with no assist, and sometimes I don’t want to get sweaty and leave it on full assist mode (Bosch Turbo).
I still have a road bike for individual exercise, but the electric is amazing for transportation.
Previously I used a cheap steel MTB for commuting. It was slow but I miss all the low gears for climbing hills… also didn’t need to worry about leaving it anywhere because it looked like a donkey’s bottom. The disc brakes had the nice sound effect of announcing my presence to nearby car drivers lol.
After a couple of years I ended up switching to a dutch-style commuter bike: Aluminium frame, High swept handlebar, 7 speed internal gears, roller brakes and a chain case. Maintenance is now generally something I don’t have to worry too much about 😁
My next commuter would likely be a cheap steel beater though, albeit with the same low maintenance creature comforts. I’m careful where I leave my current bike because it looks expensive IMO, and someone’s already tried to to steal it 😅
