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bumble wrote:Cross-posting.I'm looking for an affordable commuter bike (meaning: not too fancy, but not slow) that I can put a removable kid seat and (ideally) panniers on.http://www.topeak.com/products/Child-Carrier/babyseat\_wdiscrack ?Ummm...how can you tell how fast a bike will be?http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/city\_bikes.htmJust a few questions first: What's your price range?What kind of terrain do you plan to bike in? (like light trail riding, paved paths, around the city, flat roads or hilly?)Speed can be affected by how much weight you're pulling around and how fit you are. Racers care about weight to the gram, but for normal people what usually matters are things like a heavy frame, wider tires, what's inside your panniers, the amount of flame decals you stick on the top tube, etc. Mountain bikes, bikes with shocks are going to be slower. Personally, I'd avoid ordering from bikesdirect. A lot of what goes into choosing the right bike is finding the one that fits you most comfortably. Take a weekend to test ride a few brands and models at your local bike shops (or even REI) to get a sense of how the frame fits your body, how it handles, even how the shifters are positioned. Doesn't really matter if it's a men's or women's frame.If you're adding a kid's seat and a pannier rack, look for bikes with eyelets/bolts for mounting. http://www.cannondale.com/nam\_en/2015/b ... -women-s-4I have a Quick CX4 I use as a commuter/light tourer with panniers. They're good bikes. Or something a little faster?http://www.cannondale.com/nam\_en/2015/b ... s-8-clarisI hope this helps some. Good luck with your search!

My 1960 Robin Hood Sports, named Margaret Thrasher since it's British and evil.

Belza wrote:My 1960 Robin Hood Sports, named Margaret Thrasher since it's British and evil. effin lovely.

bumble wrote:Ummm...how can you tell how fast a bike will be?http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/city\_bikes.htmBikes are obviously as fast as whoever is driving them, but generally speaking the more aerodynamic position you have, the faster you will ride and aerodynamic position means having handlebars really, really. Second (or third, including rider) would be the tires - the skinnier and slicker it gets the faster it is (edit: this is BS. Actually, a wider tire has lower rolling resistance than it's thinner version, assuming the pressure is the same), so a 23mm totally slick tire is really fast but I don't think it's the best choice for varying a kid ot the back as in my experience heavier load makes mike the bike wobbly so a thicker tire is preferred. I'd look at hybrid/gravel bikes - 700c wheels with ~38mm wide tires, I think all of them are equipped with mountings for racks and mud guards. Adjustable stems are a good thing if you're not sure which riding position suits you the best too.

The reality of riding a bike during Scottish springtime. Rain, hail and shine today and a very dirty puncture repair.

More modern thinking actually suggests that very narrow tyres actually lead to more rolling resistance. It obviously depends on the road surface, but TDF riders are often riding 25mm tyres now. It's not something that I've tested myself, but I think Continental published a study not that long ago. I run 28mm Grand Prix tyres for commuting / fun now. This could easily go into a long (boring) technical discussion, but your contact patch will remain the same amount of area for a given tyre pressure. Your resistance is largely built from tyre deformation as it changes shape over the contact patch. Anyway, things that I have noticed make an immediate change to how fast a bike feels: Light and supple tyres. Light wheels. Total combined weight of rider plus bike and panniers, etc. Aerodynamics (so, riding position) become more important as you approach faster speeds as the total resistance against you becomes dominated by wind resistance.

Thank you for the advice to go to a bike shop. It is how I met my new best friend, Lucille.She is a Giant Alight 1. The iBert baby seat works on Lucille, when it didn't work on my old lame cruiser.Bike commute #1: ACCOMPLISHED.

I want a Surly ECR. Not sure how one would ride unloaded, but a 29+ rig with relaxed geometry is, on paper, extremely appealing to me.Also, some day I will definitely own a fork with a segmented crown.

I see that companies are now selling single chainring group sets for simplified commuter bikes or racers. Took them a while. I've always run a single ring on the front plus a Paul chain keeper. Just used larger range MTB cassettes rather than road ones.

Hit a pothole at speed the week before last and turned a crisis into an opportunity, much as I loved my old road bike it wasn't the best choice for year-round commuting and the routes on my way in are like a war zone. We've amicably parted company.Enter the new ride, a 2015 Genesis Croix De Fer, in the most boring colour scheme they've ever made. I like the white frame but it looked so much better with the original brown bar tape and seat, an easy cosmetic tweak I'll set about down the line, along with tyre geekery.I think it's a little under-specced for the outlay but it's still a major step-up for me. I'm not troubled by the increase in frame and wheel weight and the steel soaks up the jolts and vibrations a treat. Everything just seems to work, it's a joy to ride. Had a few spins around the park over the last few evenings and it's nice to be able to roar across the grass again.