The bikes I am looking to buy for the purpose of commuting over mixed terrain is in the $800-$1,400 price range (as of last year before tariff stuff). I don’t currently own a bike but I have owned and ridden a number of bikes in the past. The couple of hundred dollar bikes from like Walmart are just trash that don’t hold up. They fall apart pretty quickly under heavy riding.
All of this assumes one is buying new. If we are talking used then all of the above is somewhat a moot point.
Even within new the kind of riding matters a lot. If I know for a fact that I would only ever be riding on smooth paved roads then an old fixed frame street bike with skinny tires and very basic brakes and gears would make a lot of sense. There is zero chance that bike is going to be switching between road, grass, gravel, mud, and some of the other terrain I would be commuting across though.
The bikes I am looking to buy for the purpose of commuting over mixed terrain is in the $800-$1,400 price range (as of last year before tariff stuff). I don’t currently own a bike but I have owned and ridden a number of bikes in the past. The couple of hundred dollar bikes from like Walmart are just trash that don’t hold up. They fall apart pretty quickly under heavy riding.
All of this assumes one is buying new. If we are talking used then all of the above is somewhat a moot point.
Even within new the kind of riding matters a lot. If I know for a fact that I would only ever be riding on smooth paved roads then an old fixed frame street bike with skinny tires and very basic brakes and gears would make a lot of sense. There is zero chance that bike is going to be switching between road, grass, gravel, mud, and some of the other terrain I would be commuting across though.