On Wed, 13 Aug 2008 22:17:03 -0500, Tom Sherman
wrote:

....

Here is one of the best one's, made by my Cheesehead neighbors:
http://www.gunnarbikes.com/crosshairs.php. A cycle-cross bike differs
from a standard road bike by having cantilever brakes that allow for
wider tires for off-road use and sometimes a slightly higher bottom
bracket. A cycle-cross bike will be almost as fast as a racing bike on
the road and much faster than a true mountain bike, but will be much
better than the road racing bike to ride on gravel, limestone screenings
(common on unpaved bike trails), hiking paths, etc.


If just the frame is $800, that is a bit over his budget.

I've been using a Trek 7100 hybrid for around six years as a commuter
bike. It was around $350 new. That is really about the lowest that can
be paid for a real bike. The only change I made was spending around
$120 or so for a rear tire with double-butted spokes that won't break.
It is very annoying to break spokes and cheaper bikes will do that no
matter how much you stress relieve them.

I put on fenders, a mirror, and a rear rack.

My commute is 15 miles each way. It would be nice to have drop bars
sometimes (mostly for really windy days) but otherwise it's been fine.