Last Updated on January 21, 2022 by Afsar
Today we are reviewing the best commuter bikes for urban and city life..
I have been a big fan of the commuter bikes for a while. My elder brother taught me how to ride a bike, and I still ride a bike for commuting in the city. If you are planning to get a commuting bike, then our review of the best commuter bikes will help you a lot.
Most people are now concerned about their fitness and want to ride bikes rather than a car for commuting purposes. That’s a good sign in many ways. It’s fun, helps maintain fitness and good for nature. There’re so many positive things about it that we thought our in-depth knowledge on biking would help you to land the perfect commuting bike for you.
10 Best Commuter Bikes 2022 – Review & Buying Guide
Diamondback Bicycles Complete Alternative
Best Commuter Bike: Diamondback Haanjo complete alternative is my favorite bike for commuting. Though the bike comes at a hefty price, once you start using it, you will understand why I love this. This bike uses 6061-T6 aluminum alloy frame with endurance geometry which offers excellent durability for a long time. Haanjo complete alternative can be used on almost all types of terrain.
The Shimano 105 11-speed drivetrain offer an excellent range of gears with TRP disc brakes. As I have mentioned earlier, the semi-knobby tires allow you to use this on almost any terrain. Be it paved or unpaved; you don’t have to worry. It’ relatively easy to assemble the Diamondback Haanjo complete alternative bike. All the features and powerful gears make this the best bike for commuting.
Pros:
- Aluminum alloy frame with endurance geometry
- Easy assembling
- Shimano 10 11-speed drivetrain for wide range of gears
- FSA Gossamer cross crandset and gravel-eating front end
- Tire is compatible with almost all terrain
- Can be comfortably used on unpaved road
- Use on rough streets or gravel
- DB Gavel disc carbon fork
- Powerful TRP disc breaks used
Cons:
- Expensive (but worth every penny)
Gama Bikes Speed Cat 700c Urban Commuter Road Bicycles
Vintage urban commuting bicycle: Gama Bikes Speed Cat 700c is an excellent commuter road bicycles prepared for the city life. The bike itself has a vintage look but without the drawbacks. You don’t have to compromise features to get a vintage commuter bike, but this one will suffice your need.
Speed Cat is made with a lightweight alloy frame to be lightweight and provide better speed. Though the price is low, it manages to offer durable parts.
Speed Cat is a unisex bike with three-speed internal gearing to keep it clean and classic. The Nexus 3-speed internal gearing makes sure that you don’t have to be hassled for maintenance. The 700c wheels are good to have faster and smoother ride on uneven surfaces. Speed Cat is one my most favorite bike for commuting, and you will also love if you own one.
Pros:
- Lightweight but strong alloy used
- Nexus 3-speed internal gearing house
- Vintage sporty look
- Perfect for using on city
- Faster and smooth riding provided by the wheels
- Best for rider from 5’5″ to 6″
- Easy and quick installation
- very low price
Cons:
- some may not prefer a vintage look
Critical Cycles Harper Coaster Fixie Style Commuter Bike (Single Speed)
Best cheap commuter bike: Do you love to commute with bikes? Don’t want to break the bank but want a commuting bike? Critical Cycles coaster is one of the best cheap commuter bikes available on the market. You get a sleek style of a fixie but as ease of a cruiser.
A commuter bike needs to be durable for long use, and critical cycles Harper Coaster managed to provide a good durability. The premium hand-built, high tensile strength steel frame can absorb a good amount of shock and bumps for a comfortable ride. This commuter bike is simple, cheap, durable and offers a great smooth riding for city life.
Pros
- Built-in coaster brake
- Pedal backward to stop
- Hand-built, tig-welded frame for high durability
- Very low price
- Extra wide tires used for city street riding
- Offers a good shock and bump absorption
- Good posture sitting position
Cons:
- Single speed
Vilano R2 Commuter Aluminum Road Bike Shimano 21 Speed 700c
Best Starter bike for commuters: Vilano R2 is a lightweight, cheap commuter bike made of aluminum. It uses 6061 double-butted aluminum frame to make it lightweight. This bike is focused on offering a better ride on the city roads.
Vilano R2 features A050 thumb shifter for the rider’s convenience. While most commuter bikes are expensive, this one managed to offer great features at a low price. The bike is pretty stable and looks good to be used on city life. The installation of the bicycle is pretty simple and easy to do. Besides the poor innertubes, every other thing is decent for such price.
Pros:
- Lightweight aluminum frame
- A050 thumb shifters for convenience
- Shimano 21 speed drivetrain
- 700c Doubled walled CNC machined wheelset
- Low price
- Great for commuting purpose
Cons:
- Poor inner tubes
Schwinn Discover Men Hybrid Bike 700C Wheels
Best Hybrid Commuter Bike for men: This one is an excellent bike from the Schwinn. The bike is designed to provide comfort to the commuters. This bike comes with aluminum city frame, and Schwinn fork to absorb the shock with a padded saddle. You can use this bike for commuting or cruise around the roads. It’s totally up to you.
It features 21-speed SRAM grip shifter for quick and easy gear change. There are lots of other features like the Shimano TX-31 rear derailleur, Schwinn alloy crank, Promax alloy linear pull brakes and more. It even comes with a rear carrier to carry small gear or goods. A lot of commuter trusts this hybrid bike for their daily commuting purposes. If you don’t feel like to go to work, you can take it for some cruising time.
Pro:
- Hybrid bike for commuting purpose
- Rear carrier to carry gear and goods
- lightweight aluminum city frame used
- Schwinn suspension fork
- 21-speed SRAM grip shifters
- Shimano rear derailleur
- Padded saddle
- Promax alloy linear pull brakes
Cons:
- short people might find this bike big
Xspec Folding Mountain Bike Bicycle Trail Commuter
Best Trail Commuter Bike: Do you have to commute via trails? Then we have a fantastic trail commuting bike for you. Xspec Folding Mountain Bicycle is great to be used on mountain trails. Unlike most mountain bikes, this one comes at a very cheap price range and offers good performance. It uses 26” wheels which are quite wide for better trail commuting. The bike uses Shimano 21-speed shifter and derailleur. There are shock absorbers on both front and rear for more comfort to the users. When, not in use, you can fold the bike to save storage. It’s good for rider height of 5’3” to 6”. Make mountain commuting great again.
Pros:
- Front and rear absorbers
- Highly reasonable price
- Suspension fork
- 21-speed Shimano
- Folding ability to save space
Cons:
- Assembling requires time
Merax Folding Bike 6-Speed Shimano Shifter Commuter Bike
Do you carry good or foods while commuting back to home? Love to have a basket to put those goods? Check this folding bike which has a basket on the front. Merax folding bike comes with 6-speed Shimano shifter. The Shimano thumb shifter and derailleur makes it super easy to roam around the city. You can even change the seat height from 26 inches to 33-inch. There are other features like the rear suspension or Presta valves. The bike comes in several colors, so choosing the color is easy for you. Merax is one of the best urban commuter bikes for the compact and sturdy design.
Pros:
- 6-speed Shimano thumb shifter and derailleur
- Basket to carry goods
- Seat height can be adjusted from 26 to 33 inch
- Available in different colors
- Toolset and cable lock included (at the time of writing)
- Can be folded
- Easy folding process
- Kickstand is durable
Cons:
- Assembling is tricky
Pure City Dutch Style Step-Thru City Bicycle For Women
Best Commuter Bike For Women: Pure City Dutch Style step-Thru is one of the best commuter bikes for the women. This stylish commuter bike comes in several colors to match it easy to choose. You can use this bike for both cruisings or commute purpose. It comes with matching fenders, silver bell, reflectors and more features.
You can choose between 1 speed, 3-speed Shimano Nexus Twist Shifter or 8-speed Shimano Twist Shifter. The chain guard protector will protect your clothes from oil. There are front and rear alloy caliper brakes for easy controlling. Pure Step Thru Bicycle uses Kenda 700x35C tires.
In a nutshell, this bike meets almost all the criteria’s to be a commuter bike for women. Pure city bikes are designed for the city life ride. SoCheck the colors, and you might fall in love with Pure City Bicycle.
Pros:
- choose different speed gears
- chain guard protector
- Front and rear alloy caliper brakes
- Matching fenders, silver bell
- Rear rack to carry goods
- 30mm deep dish double-walled alloy rims
- Stylish vintage look
- Available in different colors
Cons:
- slightly expensive
Gama Bikes Women Metropole Commuter Road Bicycle- 8-speed Shimano
Another excellent commuter road bicycle for women. Gama bikes women’s Metropole is a commuter bike to be used in cities. It uses lightweight aluminum alloy to maintain and carry on stairs easily. It uses Shimano Altus 8-speed drivetrain. It uses larger than 26” wheels for faster and smooth riding. The 700c wheels make sure you get faster and smoother performance on uneven surfaces. You may get fooled by the classic look of this bike, but the performance of it makes it one of the finest commuter bike for women.
Pros:
- Lightweight aluminum alloy allows easy operating and carrying on stairs
- Faster and smoother performance on uneven surfaces via 700c wheels
- Available in different colors
- Features both Athletic riding position and casual city commuting
- Shimano Altus 8 speed
- Best for 5’3″ to 6″
Cons:
- Seat could be better
Vilano Women’s Classic Urban Commuter Road Bicycle
Best Cheap Commuter Bike for women: If you love to commute with a bit of style, you would definitely love the design of this bike. Vilano Women’s Classic urban commuter bicycle is designed for urban riding. It uses 700c wheels for faster speed. This bike uses a single speed to reduce the maintenance pain. You can choose the bike in several sizes to fit for different sized women. The classic steel frame with relaxed geometry allows the riders to have a comfortable riding.
Pros:
- Perfect for urban riding
- Designed for better comfort
- Coaster brake offers easy braking
- Stylish color
Cons:
- No fenders or chainguard provided
How To Choose The Best Commuting Bike of 2017
Let’s get one thing straight. Commuting bikes are designed to help you commute easily, quickly and in a healthy way. So that’s why it is very important that you get to understand which commuting bike is perfect for your cause. If you follow the factors below, you will be able to land the best commuter bicycles for your daily life. Let’s get this started.
Distance
If you are looking for a three-mile ride, any bike would be helpful for that. If you are commuting for a longer distance, you need a special commuting bike for such reasons. Our suggestion is to get a standard casual bike for shorter distances. You can even fix the old bicycling your elder brother used for such distances. Even if the bike stops working, you can walk a mile. If that’s not an option, you need to have a commuter bike.
For a 5 to 6 miles commuting distance, you definitely need a good bike. Assume your workplace is six miles away from your home. So you have to cover the distance twice in a day. That’s why you need a comfortable commuter bike to help you paddle for a long time. A casual bike won’t be good for you.
For 10 and above miles, you need to be serious about getting an excellent commuter bike. Don’t go for cheap, but for quality. Diamondbikes is a good for such long distance commuting.
Gears
There are lots of bikes which come with several numbers of gears. A casual commuter might need a single speed gear or three to seven gears. If you are commuting on high terrain, a bike with five to nine gears will suffice.
Wheel Size
There are two common wheel sizes for most commuter bikes. They are either 26inch or 700c. 26” wheels are derived from the mountain bikes. You can find them in larger in sizes, while the 28” wheels are skinnier in sizes. 26” wheels are comfortable but the 28” is faster. You do the math now.
Material
Since you are commuting every day, you need a bike which is durable. If you are living in a remote place, you may need to check whether the commuter bike is made of durable material to withstand harsh environments. Nowadays most of the bikes have aluminum alloy to make it lightweight. Try to grab one which has no to minimum corrosion.
Fenders
Fenders are very important to protect your cloth from getting dirty. If you live or cross a muddy street, a fender is a must thing to have on your commuter bike. Try to choose one which fully covers your tire.
Minimum Stand-Over Height
It is important to have a good stand-over height to prevent injuries. It’s important to have a gap between underneath you and the top bar of the bike. There is no standard but having a 25mm-30mm distance is preferred. Once you do the test by yourself, you will understand if it suits you or not.
Saddle Height
Try to sit on the saddle and try pedaling. After few minutes of pedaling, try to stop the bike and see if you can do that without any trouble. If you can easily reach the ground, then the saddle height is good for you. If it’s low or higher, you need to adjust it respectively.
Final Verdict
I hope you enjoyed the review of best commuter bikes. We are constantly looking and testing new bikes, and if we find any bike amazing, we will continue to add them to this list. I have personally liked the Gama Bikes Speed Cat for its reasonable price and retro look. But for most people, critical cycles harper coaster should be a great match. For women, you can rely on the Pure City Dutch Style Step-Thru. Happy commuting.
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