I'm new to this site but I've been intrigued by the thought of picking up cycling as a means of my new way of transport as well as for recreational purposes.
As a little background, I live in London and as a recent graduate, I do not have the widest of budgets but I would not mind spending at most £1000 for a bike (thank you cycle to work scheme.) I weigh around 63kg and I am a bit of a tiny man sizing up to around 165cm.
I had previously owned a mountain bike when I was younger, but I had recently purchased a second hand road bike for £60, which I have found an absolute joy to ride! My stamina/endurance isn't at the greatest yet, so I plan to stick with my road bike to practice and build up stamina, but I really want to find what might be the best bike for me in the long run. I do know that touring bikes would be great, especially since it can handle extra loads, which would be brilliant for shopping. But I am worried that the extra weight due to being a steel frame would highly impact my speed in the long run.
My current milestone goal is to be able to start cycling to work, though considering it's winter right now, I am aiming for this at around spring/summer. The reason I think the weight might come to play is because I will be traveling around 13 miles one way. Thus, if someone could enlighten me if the weight of a touring would heavily hamper my journey, I'd really appreciate it!
I digressed quite a bit but, in short if anyone could give me some advice on what would be a good choice of bike for commuting for me with drop handlebars (I've fallen in love with this form) I would really appreciate any of the expertise you can provide me!
If I haven't provided enough information, please just give me a shout and I'll get back as quick as I can.