So, the Mongoose is still in pieces.  I did buy a replacement bike- the sales guy at the bike shop says it is a great commuter bike.   I was pretty explicit that I commute to work on it, and the bike had to handle potholes, debris, sand, and mild off-roading as part of the daily task.  I don’t think he believed that I rode it as hard as I do.

So, the bike doesn’t handle sand at all well, which lead to a spectacular crash as I was turning a corner.  Crash perhaps isn’t the correct word, but as I lost control I started to slow down which lead to me toppling into a canal.  Since I had a giant backpack, I ended up flailing around like an upside-down turtle.  Mortifyingly, the bus I sometimes ride passed by at that moment, and some passengers jumped out to drag me out.

Anyway, so this bike might an okay choice for a not financially strapped beach town that cannot afford to run the street sweepers frequently enough to keep the bike lanes clear of sand.  Additionally, I’ve already gotten a flat from all the broken glass in the street, which is less an issue with the bike (though the tires and tubes are both thinner than on the Mongoose), and more another complaint about lack of street sweepers.

Potholes are another task that the bike doesn’t handle particularly well.  I didn’t realize how much the shocks on my mountain bike were smoothing out my ride, but they do make a huge difference when dealing with potholes.

I generally have to ride much less aggressively with my new bike, which is sad, since lighter framer and larger tires should mean that I can go super fast compared to the Mongoose.

Anyway, I’m now even more firmly in the ‘mountain bike for commuting/daily use’ category than I was before.