Two years ago I was searching for a ‘commuter’ specific bicycle. I was lucky to find the Kona Smoke in a shop close to my house. I also got it for a decent deal, $300 bucks out the door.
With gas prices being so high, recreational cyclists are turning to commuting by bike. The 2007 bicycle line up from most manufacturers feature more choices of commuter/utilitarian bikes than before.
KHS Bicycles has their Urban Line that feature 3 bikes, Urban X, Urban Xpress and Urban Xtreme. Although not part of their Urban Line, KHS also has a fixed gear bike, the Flite 100.
Diamond Back features 3 bikes in their ‘commuter’ line up. The Transporter, Century and Kalos.
Raleigh USA has their Rush Hour and One Way SS/Fixed gear bikes with commuters in mind.
Redline 925
Redline came out with the 925 last year, this year the well known BMX/Cyclocross company is beefing up their line up with road bikes and comfort bikes.
Some of the Big Companies like Trek and Giant tout their ‘modified’ road bikes and flat bar road bikes as commuter bikes. In my opinion, any bike can be a commuter/utilitarian bike, but in my book, a decent commuter/utility bike has to be durable, dependable and affordable.