who parked this vw beetle on the fire hydrant ?
I'm assuming you will be using the bike as a car replacement for groceries, commuting, etc and so will want to have a rack, lights, and other accessories installed on it. I would recommend looking for a couple of features: 1) Rack mounts - make sure the bike has threaded eyelets for mounting a rear rack that you can use for your bags while riding. A backpack is ok, but having the bags on the bike makes the ride a lot more enjoyable. 2) Disc brakes - while not a necessity, certainly helpful in wet conditions. 3) Internal gearing - no chance of losing your chain when you hit that pot hole plus lower maintenance in wet/dirty conditions. That being said, I'd check out both the Trek SOHO and the Specialized Globe lines (links below). If you're looking for something less for car replacement and more for just riding around, there are many good hybrid bikes around like the Trek 7000/FX series, the Felt Speed series, and the Specialized Vita/Crosstrail series. HTH!
