What bike would you get?
The Trek Portland seems to tick all the boxes at moment but is a little over budget.
Panners.
Mudguards or mounts.
Good range of gears.
Strong enough for towpaths/gentile bridleway if the mood takes in the summer.
Cheers
BigEars
Marin Toscana (£999) or Lombard (£750) if you want some change over to buy rack and panniers etc - even some faster tyres.
Boardman Hybrid Team, £799'ish leaves left overs for pannier - topeak sportdisc tourer, some panniers a good lock etc.
Cracking bike and very comfortable over distance,
I take it you mean 45mile total, if each way then a road bike is the only way
I looked at the Toscana but those curvy bits at the head tube make it look so ugly. In the end I paid a bit more and went for an [url= http://www.orbea.com/en/bicis/modelos/igorre/presentacion/ ]Orbea igorre[/url], I'm glad I did. (No rack or mudguard mounts though).
Why all the panniers etc? I'd be buying a proper road bike and leaving clean kit at the office for that distance. I only do 34 miles return and wouldn't use anything but a road bike!
for 45 miles? Road bike. Or maybe Genesis Croix de Fer with slicks. Until you realise you enjoy road riding and a 25lb cross bike isn't the best choice 😉
Cheers, the commute is 22ish miles each way, I have a very small locker so can leave shoes and perhaps a couple of carefully folded shirts but no more. I probably wouldn't use panniers all the time but nice to have the option.
If I forget about the panniers a CX bike like the Orbea is very tempting as I already have a proper road bike.
Boardman hybrid limied edition
I'm in a similar position with a 24 mile round commute on road all the way with just a couple of junctions, and no desire to take off road onto tracks. Same recomendations apply? Or would I be better with a pure road bike? Any suggestions?