Commuting bike 20miles/day with minimal service?

[NunchuckBradley]

Hello forums!
This will be my first post on this site!

I desperately need a bike but am also looking into the future. Any bike will do, (MTB or Road) but I want to be able to do 20 miles a day without having to do much service. In November I bought a bike for £200 (live in the UK) because my MTB commuter got stolen. With this new bike, I was able to only put 200> miles on it before it decided to brake on me (a few days ago). Can anyone suggest anything under £600? I like going fast if that helps.

I know 20 miles/day isn't that much but for a fat (100kg/220lbs) slob like me that is enough.

Any advice is appreciated!

 

[dabac]

ONE 20-mile ride isn’t much. But as a daily commute, it all adds up for the bike. 100 miles each week will take its toll. And you don’t want to do service. And you’re heavy. And you’ve got a fairly tight budget.
That IS a tall order.
The ”go fast” bit is actually the easiest, as that’s mainly on you.
A strong rider can make almost any bike blisteringly fast compared to us mere mortals.
And really, unless the bike is seriously off your needs, you can’t really buy much speed.
Assuming that ”low maintenance” is your priority requirement, look for a bike with (internal) hub gears. Something like a Shimano 7/8-speed. Get a model that can take roller brakes. Stainless chain, fully enclosed chain case. That’s about the least maintenance setup I can think of If you want gears and brakes.
Brakes will need a shot of grease each year. Hub internals will need a rinse and an oil soak. Chain can probably do with a clean, lube and adjustment for wear too.
A Sturmey-Archer IGH with drum brakes would be a tiny bit ”better”, as drums don’t even need that yearly shot.
Next part is riding style. A guy in the biz on another site referred to riders as either ”ballerinas” or ”gorillas”. Not based on weight or size, but on how they rode. He had light customers who trashed their bikes on a regular basis, and he had heavy customers who didn’t have any problems. It’s about how you come on power, if you know how to ”go light” when you pass a bump or similar.