The sales of commuters bikes in the U.S. have grown quickly in the last couple years. Commuter bikes are those that include features useful for commuting to work or around town — like fenders, chain guards, storage racks, comfortable seats, lights and puncture-resistant tires.
Let’s take a look at some the best commuter bikes of 2009:
Raleigh Detour Deluxe 2009 Commuter Bike
The Detour Deluxe is designed specifically for commuters. This bike come standard with a rack, fenders, a headlight and comfortable seat. The aluminum frame is lightweight but strong enough to carry cargo around town.
The Basta Pilot light system is a great addition. Both the headlight and taillight is powered by the generator in the hub of the bike. The lights can be set to automatic. When you hit a dark patch the lights will automatically flip on and when you come out into the light again they’ll turn back off.
The Raleigh Detour Deluxe Commuter Bike is available from REI for around $740.
Biria Lite 3 Speed Trekking and Commuter Bike
Biria bikes are designed in Germany. The Biria Trekking Lite is a quality commuter bike for under $500.
This three-speed bike has Shimano Nexus internal gear hub. This means there is no external derailleur for shifting — it’s all internal for low maintenance and ease-of-use. The Trekking Lite includes a chainguard, kickstand, rack and fenders.
It’s available from BikeMania for $490.
Electra Townie Euro 24D Commuter Bike
The Electra Townie Euro is a comfortable bike with many practical features for commuters.
It includes dynamo-powered halogen headlight, a battery-powered LED rear light, kickstand and an alloy rear rack with strap.
The bike’s geometry places pedals well ahead of the seatpost, resulting in leg movement that many people find more stable than other designs.
The tires have a Kevlar puncture-resistant casing and reflective sidewalls. Nice!
It’s available from REI for $700.
Schwinn World Avenue One Commuter Bike
The Schwinn World Avenue is an affordable commuter bike that is built for comfortable urban riding. It has a large saddle, and a seat post with built-in suspension. The World Avenue also comes with Planet Bike fenders and rear carrier, a full chain guard, a kickstand and a bell.
The World Avenue is priced around $500 from Amazon.
Huffy Commuter Bike
If you’re looking for an inexpensive commuter bike, Huffy sell this commuter bike under $150. The bike comes standard with fenders and a rear rack. However, at this price level, bike components tend to be cheaply made, so owners may find that they need to pay for repairs and replacements quite soon. But if you are on a budget, and need an entry-level commuter bike, you might consider this one.
The Huffy Commuter bike is available from Amazon for $149.99.
The Kona Ute Cargo Bike
The Kona Ute is a good choice if you’ll be carrying cargo around town.
The Ute features a huge rack which is capable of carrying four panniers. This bike’s geometry is designed to make carrying groceries on your bike a breeze. It has an extended utility frame made out of butted 7005 aluminum for heavy load-carrying ability. It also comes with some nice additions like fenders and quality handlebar grips.
The Ute sells for about $899 from REI.
Giant Suede Commuter Bike
The new Suede commuter bike from Giant features “Shimano coasting gruppo” (see a discussion of this feature at Bike Portland). The price is around $800.
Felt Cafe 8 Deluxe Commuter Bike
The Felt Cafe 8 Deluxe is a lightweight commuter bike, that Felt describes as “a real-world answer to bicycle commuting and any local store runs.” It’s priced around $600.
Other good site for commuter bike reviews are Bikes For The Rest Of Us and Velocommuter.
Read more! Related stories:
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- OHM Electric Bikes From Canada
- Hyperefficient Transportation: Utility Bikes and Bike Trailers
- New Commuter Bike By Kona
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Too expensive, cheapest bike listed is $500.
re:John Shea
$500 too expensive? If you spend less than $500 on a new bike you are pissing your money away.
Sveden, sorry I can’t agree with you! I have been commuting for many years and you don’t need to spend over $500! I spent $80 on a good used 1982 Norco Pinnacle did abit of maintenance (new handle bars, bottom bracket and chain, new tires, added fenders, lights, rack and bags, total cost around $300. I have owned this old bike for over 5 years.
Inexpensive commuting is possible. Please remember, many people bicyle commute not because it is the “in thing” but because they have no other affordable means of transportation. Also, many like myself supporting a family on a single income can’t justify spending more than $500.
Not too expensive. This is actually where it starts for “fully equipped” commuter bikes.
These bikes are not toys or sporting equipment, they are designed to be transportation.
I don’t know where you live, but an all-year/all-zone bus pass for me would be $946 (although, I would only need the 2-zone, so I’d only have to pay $825 a year).
When I was 17 I made the mistake of buying a car. It was $1600. I paid $160/mo in insurance (I was a teenage boy), about $80-$100/mo in gas and about $1500 in repairs/maintenance in the 2 years I owned it before it gave-up-the-ghost.
So, do the math, its over $8000 I spent on that car in two years.
Sure, I could’ve bought a car for more money that was hopefully more fuel efficient and less likely to need repairs, but then the insurance could’ve been higher or the initial cost could’ve been higher. What is the cheapest I could’ve purchased/owned an operated a car for two years? $4000?
For $4000 I could’ve had a custom made bicycle made with all the proper equipment such as mudguards, luggage carriers, lighting equipment, etc… (what Americans call “accessories”) and still have money left over. Then the best part is, I would still have that bike 2 years later, or 6, or 12, or 20, etc…
Only the rich can afford cheap shoes.
If I could “afford” that car as a teenager in the ’90s making $4.25 an hour at Subway most anybody that uses the car or bus to commute can afford it now.
Sure, cars can come in handy. I’m a member of a pay-by-the-hour car sharing service, but since I’ve built up my Xtracycle I haven’t had to use it.
I tend to agree somewhat with John’s “too expensive” comment, actually. While style is, and should be, always a consideration in choosing a bicycle, that should not necessarily translate to spending a big wad of cash. Bikes are simple gadgets in the big scheme of things and so should be cheap.
I think that the fact that material and shipping costs have gone up is making the $500 mark harder and harder to reach these days.
My wife picked up a beautiful commuter bike last summer, complete with painted fenders, quality gearing and brakes, and an nice rack on the back for $550.
I like to think of investment in a quality bicycle as an investment in my, and my (future) grandkid’s health and prosperity.
…an investment of $500-600, mind you ; )
cool
I could buy a functional car for around the city for the price of some of these bikes.
Yes, you could purchase a dodgy used car in this price range but:
How much would gasoline cost?
How much would registration and plates cost?
How much would insurance cost?
How much would parking cost?
How much would maintenance cost?
(what about the hidden costs? Such as environmental impact costs, sedentary transportation physical/emotional costs, the very real tax-drain that is subsidized personal automobile ownership on the whole etc…)
I had a car for 2 years back in the mid 90’s and in total the thing cost me (directly) about 8 grand (only $1600 was spent on the physical car itself).
A good bike needs minimal maintenance and very little subsidization from the state. The SMARTEST transportation investment anyone (well, okay, 90%+ of the population) can make is to buy a GOOD bike and use it daily.
Anonymous:
Yes, but then you would be driving a *clunker* instead of looking fabulous! There IS a big difference there!
I just bought the Felt Cafe 24 and LOVE IT!! It is super light weight, comfortable, and stylin’!
At first I too suffered from some sticker shock over the price. I havent owned a bike since middle school. I shopped around and compared several bikes that are actually listed here, checked out a local bike swap, slept on it and finally decided that it would be money well spent and invested. It is was a lot of money on my budget but well worth it. I am saving money on gas and wear and tear on my car too. This bike will last me for years!
I for one don’t think any of the bikes displayed on this web page are unnecessarily expensive. They are well made products to serve a purpose, but I don’t agree with those who heckle anyone who chooses to ride a low cost, department store bike because of finances, or just because they want to. I see students, and people who work, commute everyday on their Huffys, Pacifics, or Next bikes, and seem to be happy, and grateful that they have a means of transportation.
While it is an investment, there are people who are just looking to try out bikes as an alternative to their cars. Yes, it is possible that they will love it and have to spend money to upgrade in a year, but there are probably going to be a greater number who ride the bike for a couple of months and give it up. Having a lower end model to entice those individuals to try it out is a good thing.
It’s odd to me that people who wouldn’t dream of looking down on someone for the type of car they drive are so quick to point out cheaper bikes and scoff. Not everyone is in the same situation or has the same needs as you do.
I just re-read all the comments, I don’t see anyone scoffing at anyone for riding a low-price bike.
Low (initial) price bikes are great, they get people on two wheels and hopefully fall in love with it. Low cost bikes can be heartbreakers though. You ride that bike, fall in love with biking, put some wear and tear on it, take it to a bike shop to get serviced and then you find out that servicing it will be more expensive than the initial purchase or that the low-cost-bike manufacturer used some strange proprietary or no-longer-available-in-the-US market components.
This isn’t scoffing, this is a reality, I’ve worked in bike shops for nearly 10 years now.
I would much rather have someone spend $150 on a used-on-Craigslist ’80’s/’90’s Japanese or Taiwanese (Diamond Back, Trek, Specialized, Giant, GT, etc…) mountain bike than $300 on any type of new bike.
Those over-built Japanese and Taiwanese bikes are easily upgraded/maintained, easily mount mudguards and luggage carriers and can easily be modified with more comfortable handlebar/stem situations.
A trend I’ve noticed for new low-(initial)-cost bikes is throwing all sorts of weirdo gadgetry on them (suspension forks/frames/seatposts, disc brakes, odd shifting systems, plastic parts that should be metal, etc…). Generally, flash, flash that breaks down, malfunctions and is often very difficult or impossible to repair or replace.
If you don’t want to spend a lot on a bike its a much better bet to get a 10-30 year old Bike shop brand bike on Craigslist and get it serviced/upgraded.
Oh, and for the record I *DO* look down on people for the type of car they drive. If they drive a new car that gets less than 30mpg I say they are crazy, disrespectful, rude and foolish.
So, you think that $150.00 is too expensive? Where do you shop for bikes?
See the Huffy Commuter Bike @ $150.00 listed above.
Jamis Commuter 2 at $600 is a great bike. Silver. Swept back handlebars. 8 speeds. No front derailer. Double rims. Puncture-resistant tires.
Definitely get the Wahl fold-up wire basket. One is okay. And the most expensive affortable rack. Bell and mirror are great too. Hand-size Cateye front light. Flush mount rear light.
Also highly recommend the Planet Bike Protege 9.0 wireless cyclometer. Because it tells the temperature. Which helps to avoid overheating.
Also like the idea of State drivers license number under the crank. Use black automotive touch-up paint which has a ballpoint pen mode. Get it right the first time! Practice first on something else. Sand first too. Then seal the paint in with automotive clear-coat. To make it difficult to sand off.
Smooth tires are best. But still wondering about knobbies for winter? Perhaps even with a second set of rims. To use just in case? But don’t really know how winter riding works in Chicago.
My Dad split the cost of my first real bike. My first week’s pay at my first job, plus Dad’s help got me a $150.00 Viscount 32 years ago; when I was 15. Today I can buy a Huffy for $150 or I can pay $500 for pretty good quality bike.
I don’t think anyone can complain about that. When I went away to school in New Orleans (land of the stolen bike) my roommate bought a used ten speed with a rear rack for $35 that he kept for 3 years. He put a piece of cardboard in the rear rack to act as a fender. My Viscount was stolen. I hope the fork broke on the SOB.
I just picked up 1974 Raliegh Sports for my commuter. I got it off Craigslist for 230 bucks. It was my Fathers day gift. This thing is as solid as it gets. If 500 is too much definatly check Craigslist, ebay, or even go to a garage sale.
Santos chromo 26 Rholoff or the alu version is probably best bike ever made. Cycle 2 continents and only deal with a flat tire here and there…
Yeah, a lot of money. But a decent quality bike makes riding a pleasure. My wife was a tried and true Huffy fan. In need of a new bike I purchased a Giant hybrid for her. Her fear of shifting was gone in one mile of riding, no grinding just click to the next gear, if that doesn’t feel right just click back. Easy and quick shifts, good braking, comfortable position and handling – the light finally came on for her. Now she can ride a bike solely for pleasure and actually enjoy every aspect of the ride.
In terms of price– I’ve been wanting a bicycle for commuting purposes for over three years. While a lot of people don’t think $500 is a lot of money, for me it’s more than I’d earn (after taxes) in two weeks of work. With rent, utilities, food, prescriptions, I just don’t have the money to make it happen.
So instead of arguing about the appropriate price range for commuter bikes, let’s just keep in mind that everyone is in a different place financially, and that the best commuter bike is one that gets you there.
Colette, it sounds like just about in the same boat. Depending on the time of year I take home somewhere between $450-$650 every-two-weeks. $500 IS a chunk of change. But I have to ask, how are you commuting now? If its by car or bus you are spending more than you would be if you invested in a sturdy bike.
A $500-$1500 bike is the most cost effective way to travel average urban/semi urban commuting distances (besides walking of course).
When I want to buy something that costs more than $200 or so, I get a personal loan. Thats how I got my computer I’m typing on right now. Some credit unions are issuing “Bike Loans” now. One in town gives an 8% (a lot better than the 13% I’m paying for this computer loan) for up to $1500/3 years when you have direct deposit and a checking account. Ask your bank if they could offer something similar. $1000 is hard for me, is hard for you, but $35 a month isn’t so bad.
If you all knew how to fix cars then you wouldn’t be talking shit about clunkers. There are some clunkers out there which their owners didn’t take proper care of. The price of these bikes are expensive but if you know how to take care of it then it will take care of you.
No folders on the list? Folding bikes are the ultimate commuter bike, especially if any part of your trip involves public transportation or locking your bike in dodgy areas. My single speed 20″ Dahon boardwalk is a great commuter. It weighs 25lbs and folds in seconds and I got it used on craigslist for $130. You can get the fancy version with more speeds new for less than $350.
you always are paying to the name of the brand and the wheel set. The kona dew is a perfect commuter bike. Invest in good lights and an expensive lock!