Over the years I logged thousands of miles on a 1999 Schwinn Passage ($800, see photo). A conservative estimate of my use of this bike would put it at 8,000 miles now. I ride it whenever the streets are dry and it is daylight outside. It has helped me keep my weight down over the years without a doubt. Road biking is ideal for year-round urban commuting, and on any day the streets are dry and it is light outside. A good road bike is going to run $1-$2 grand. There are a lot of quality brands out there, the basic design has not changed in many decades. Trek, Cannondale, and Bianchi will probably be your best bets. Schwinn was very good ten years ago but it has changed hands since then, so I would be suspicious about the quality of the new ones.

Here is a conclusion I came to over the years: the typical 28-size tires on these bikes are simply too thin for regular commuting. The 120 psi pressure comes down at least a bit within a matter of hours and the puncture rate is just way too high. Long ago out of frustration with these problems I put on an old set of 32's and darned if the things didn't last for months, no punctures whatsoever. The extra rolling resistance is minor. They do not puncture because the tire patch is big and the pressure is only 90 psi to begin with, which seems counterintuitive but what happens is the tire bends around sharp objects rather than puncturing as with the harder 28 size tires. I originally had to grind away some metal to get them onto my Schwinn, but you can buy bikes made for 32 tires although there are not as many around. Most dealers will try to sell you a road bike with 28's because that is the standard sport tire. I really recommend you resist this and get either a hybrid road bike with 32's or try and find a regular sport style road bike with 32's and there are a few out there. You will have to search but I think Trek makes a few.

I recommend having a very good red flashing rear LED light, as it will save your life by helping idiots to see you and the same for the front end. There are some good LED lights on the market now. In the last few years some high power LED lights have cropped up and they are absolutely the thing to have on a commuter bike. An LED headlight for winter time is really desirable, so spend some money- I spent $250 for a Dinotte setup for my bike (see picture) and I highly recommend it although Cateye has some good ones also. I have a Planet Bike tail light that is very good and only cost $30.

For clothing, in college I just wore jeans but at work they expect us to wear nice clothes so I quit commuting but I see some of my colleagues still doing it. I used regular tennis shoes for commuting and wore jeans on the bike, but you will want a set of clipless pedals and shoes, and someof those spandex type padded rider pants for your sport rides. Girls love you to wear them too

One odd thing about me is I never wore a helmet. I go back and forth about this in my mind, but my philosophy is one should ride so they don't get hit rather than ride so they will survive a crash, mostly because you probably won't survive one. I guess I am wrong about this but I refuse to wear a helmet because they are uncomfortable, cause you to stop looking behind you, and also make you think you are safe which you are not. I am sure of this but I know it is a politically incorrect argument. I still say don't wear a helmet if you don't want to, be smart about how you ride rather than armor-up for an accident. I also rode motorcycles seriously for years and I do not make the same argument for that. It is a totally different set of conditions and I see people dieing all the time from not wearing a motorcyle helmet so it is crazy not to wear one. Not the same for bicycles IMHO but you make the decision.

(PS I tried to post the following image using the direct photo-link icon, but it seems they took it off the toolbar in the Flight Training forum for some reason; wut gives?)
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