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Fitness bikes/flat bar road bikes, cyclocross bikes, touring bikes... they all have room for reasonably fat tires to help you transition. My commuter has 1.5" (37mm) wide tires vs my mountain bike having 2.25" and aside from the fact that I roll faster, I rarely notice a difference. I wouldn't run tires thinner than 28mm. Just make sure that you pick a frame that can accommodate the 28mm to 35mm range with fenders and you'll be happy. You might be limited with free ride wheel choices? (I have no idea as I've never participated) but you can always upgrade your wheels later.

Around, or bunny hop the trenches. I'm 200 lbs and I ride 23/25. I would go wider if I had more clearance, though. I'd like to ride 25-28 with fenders. I've got 28s or 32s on the tandem, and I like it. But then, the tandem doesn't go around very well.

I haven't seen any 'cross or touring frames in FreeRide. First, they're relatively rare in the wild, and second, they're in high demand among the cognoscenti and third, the people who spend lots of time at Freeride (the volunteers, natch) get first crack at what comes through.

Clearance isn't so much an attribute of the frame as it is an attribute of the brakes (which is, admittedly, dictated by what kind of brake mounts the frame has). So if you're looking for a frame with lots of tire clearance, you want one with either disk brake mounts or braze-on canti or V-brake mounts.

Come to the Try-A-Bike Jamboree July 2 at the Bicycling Oval on Washington Blvd. There will be some various commuter set-ups there, among other things. No potholes to dodge, but you can get a basic feel for a few different bike types that will be on loan.

Not sure you saw this thread, but there might be an idea or two you can use from it, too.

In general, it's good to have a reliable backup bike, in case Bike #1 needs repairs or a friend visits. That can be your winter beater, too.

To that end, I suggest not dropping a pile of money at first into a fancy new bike, but get something fixable fixed and rideable. In the meantime, you can swap out parts (if you so desire) to see what works for you for when you drop some more serious money later.

Mountain bikes make excellent city bikes with a few simple adaptations. It's not the weight that's holding you back, any decent city bike will weigh 30+ lbs. It's the tires. If you want to try transitioning without investing in a bike yet, switch the fat tires for some 26" x 1.25/1.5 (32 to 38 mm) road tires, I have some of these and they are great, but there are lots similar: http://www.amazon.com/WTB-Slickasaurus-City-Hybrid-Bike/dp/B00275QQL8

I got this 15 year old mtn bike for $20, set it up for the broadest possible use, put on tires, rack, fenders, like 100 bucks total, it's awesome for the city:

I agree with edmonds59 that tires are key.

In my experience the biggest difference is knobbies vs slicks. Absolutely get slicks: they offer much less rolling resistance and they feel more secure in terms of road grip. Knobbies are ok as "winter" tires (depending how keen you are on getting out in the snow and slush).

I would strongly recommend wide tires (I use 40mm). A wide tire absorbs shocks and makes uneven pavement (and smaller potholes) way easier to deal with. I consider 28mm's at the edge of too narrow; skinny tires cut down your options when the going gets iffy (bang through the pothole or swerve into that car?)

I don't know what my current touring/ road bike weighs but with pannier and tools, but I suspect easily around 30, even with 700 x 25 tires. If you have only been riding this spring, just remember that the more you ride the better your cardiovascular output and the easier it gets. Think of it as your workout as well as your transportation and you are multi-tasking.

@dderks

I've got around 20k miles on my frame going all over Allegheny County from mid 2007 until now.

It's essentially a hard-tail mountain bike with slick tires. It's got 1.5 inch tires, so that shouldn't be too much thinner than what you're using now. I use Panaracer Ribmo's

Touring bikescommutter bikes don't really use thin tires like road bikes do.

You don't have to give up what you're comfortable with if you don't want to, but as previously mentioned by others, slick/high PSI tires make a world of difference

As Helen said, too, my bike is pretty heavy all the time. The more you ride with a load, the more you'll get used to it

I love my RIBMOs. Very good investment. They are very tough tires. I think they come in different widths. They are nearly puncture proof. I have been in situations where I have had to ride over glass and other road crap and no flats since I got them a few months ago. Also make sure you have enough air in your tires to avoid pinch flats. You will get better in time with avoiding potholes, etc.

I was nervous the first time i got a road bike with skinny tires. I got used to it quickly. Though every time I am on a mtb with big, thick, knobby tires, I feel so great since I can run over anything in the woods. Then I remind myself that I cannot do that when I get back on the skinny tires.

I also got clipless pedals, which help you bunny hop over crap in the road. Keen makes shoes that look like regular shoes, but they allow you to clip in. There are other brands as well.

You guys (and gals) are seriously the best ever. Just being opened up to the slicks/RiBMos option really helped me wrap my head around this whole thing. I've got an older mountain bike coming to me from home in July that I'm just gonna start tinkering with, swapping out the tires and worrying much less about overall weight.

Thanks everybody, you all proved once again how fantastic a resource Bike PGH is!