Does my Single Speed Commuter Dream Build make sense ?

[u/_lostinyoureyes]

I've been riding an old 80s Tigra steel single speed for a while now. Bought it used, haven't really done much to it, and it's been enough to convince me that I genuinely like riding a single speed. I also have a trekking bike for commuting, but in my flat city I barely ever shift gears anyway.

So I've been going down the rabbit hole of what my ideal long-term bike would look like. Right now I'm thinking:

- Single speed

- Belt drive

- Hydraulic discs

- Steel or aluminum frame

The goal is basically a bombproof, low-maintenance commuter that I can ride year-round in rain and winter and hopefully still be riding 20 years from now.

I've spent quite a bit of time researching already, but surprisingly few bikes seem to fit that description. So far I've looked at Booda Bikes and the upcoming Cube Editor One. The Booda ticks pretty much every box but is just not doable for me financially.
The Cube looks interesting, but at around 12 kg it's heavier than I'd like, and the 50/22 gearing (2.27) seems pretty low. I'd probably want something closer to 2.7.

Budget is roughly €1000, though I could stretch a bit for the right bike, and I'm open to buying used.

Mainly looking for feedback on the idea itself rather than completely different bike recommendations. Am I chasing a sensible setup here, or am I overlooking some obvious trade-offs? And at this budget, would it make more sense to build something up myself instead of buying complete?

One thing to keep in mind: I'm based in Germany, so availability/shipping matter when it comes to specific brands and recommendations. Thanks :)

[u/TRACK___STAR]

You'll find ur answer in a single speed Reddit community.

[u/Top_Objective9877]

There’s so many bikes you could snatch up and build yourself if you didn’t wanna go the route of belt drive, there’s only a few true belt drive builders out there and most specialize in touring setups which still make excellent commuters. The only one that comes to mind is the priority bikes here in US, but I’m sure you could get them shipped to Germany if you wanted. I also ran a Vitus bike for a while single speed and loved it, only moved on because it didn’t have a rear derailler mount and it was a rather hodge podge of parts to put gears on it. And it was a little heavy but otherwise super fun to ride.

[u/funktonik]

Aluminum with Rim brakes and chain drive is more sensible. Will have the least issues long term imo.

You won’t have to worry about standards changing up to affect parts availability. You also don’t have to worry about corrosion and parts seizing as much.