Wow, thanks for all the feedback!
My commute is mainly roads or paved trail, depending on how fast I want to get to work. I have a space to park the bike in a parking garage that is relatively safe for the most part. I don’t want to spend more than $500 or $600 dollars. I will need to carry a lot of things with me: change of clothes, shoes, make-up, etc so I would be interested in panniers or something so I won’t have to rely on my backpack. Right now my bike is HEAVY, so I will definitely need to look for a lighter bike. Does the style of wheel make the bike heavier? Currently I have knobby mountain bike tires, thinking I would like something a little smoother but not the thin road tires.
