After seven years of cavalierly leaving my bike locked up on street corners overnight, some thief finally got wise and took my wheels. Sadly, my ride is an early WSD Trek 2000 equipped with 650c's (which means the thief is either a very saavy triathlete or kicking himself right now.) I've had no luck finding used wheels anywhere, and my local shop says a replacement set costs about $350.

So now I'm thinking about just starting over with a brand new bike, perhaps one that could actually handle 15-20 daily commute miles in my Applachian mountain town. I spotted a Jamis Coda Sport marked down to $500, and was pretty much smitten until the salesman assured me it was a great "mom" bike that could be easily adapted for baby carriers.

I am not a mom. I have no plans to be a mom. When I ride, I like to look tough, not maternal. Do I have a shot aboard this bike? Or should I turn my attentions elsewhere? What's the perfect commuter bike for a 4'10" girl who doesn't have a car, neglects to lube her chain as much as she should, carries about 10-20 lbs. of equipment in her messenger bag and can't hide from hills?

Thanks so much.

It's a great little bike. Steel, decent components, 700c. Rock it!

If you like it and it fits then buy it and don`t think twice. That`s a good deal on a damn good bike. I`m not sure what a "Mom`s" bike is, but the Coda`s not one of `em.

Check out chucksbikes.com. They have some reasonably nice sets of 650's for reasonably cheap.

They have Open Pro's on 105 hubs for $165. It might be worth a shot...

I saw a set of 650c Mavic Open pro wheelset at www.chucksbikes.com for USD$165.00. I didn't think that was to bad. Maybe as an alternate choice for you.

Don't let a salesman disuade you from buying the bike you like, have you heard some of the crap that they tell people who aren't as informed as "us" to sell bikes? He was just making broad assumptions about you.

As far as looking badass, it's the rider not the bike.

But on a side not why were your wheels not locked up? Were you just using a cable/u-lock through the frame? New wheels with U-lock through the back wheel/seattube and cable through both front and rear wheels is a pretty simple solution and probably the cheappest option unless you are really jonesin' for a new bike.

I have a set of 650's off of my wifes trek I was going to put on eBay. PM if interested.