New commuter bike I can leave outside.

the octane one kode on wiggle?

or one of their vitus mach bikes?

Buy whatever you fancy and a decent motorbike cover? Five of our bikes live in the garden under a couple of motorcycle covers with no problems or undue maintenance needs(29er hardtail, two Cx bikes a Brompton and a steel colnago - this is one of my commuters)

Budget would be “same as a new genesis day one alfine or less” which is about £600.

I hate to break it to you but the Genesis Day One is £900 now:
https://www.genesisbikes.co.uk/genesis-day-one-vargn21230

(although I imagine it must be on sale somewhere!)

Do you have access to the Cycle to Work scheme?
And are you after drop bar or flat?

A belt drive is probably the only realistic improvement you could make over your DayOne. But they tend to bump up the price by a couple of hundred quid over the equivalent chain drive bike.

A belt drive is probably the only realistic improvement you could make over your DayOne.

Except with longer term outdoor storage, how well does the rubber in the belt fair? lots more UV and high/low temperatures than it would typically see even if kept in a drafty shed.

For Ultimate longevity/neglect - It's got to be fixed but then does that suit the commute?

If the old Day one Alfine was good enough, why does it actually need replacing rather than a refresh/rebuild? when you say it's "died a death" what exactly died?

I'd have thought fresh brakes, contact points, BB, tyres, maybe a rebuild of the wheels? Give the Alfine a service and it should be good for another decade surely? Or is it more terminal than that?

Except with longer term outdoor storage, how well does the rubber in the belt fair? lots more UV and high/low temperatures than it would typically see even if kept in a drafty shed.

They're not rubber, they're polymer and carbon. I'd rather have a belt drive left outside than a chain which will rust.

when you say it’s “died a death” what exactly died?

The terminal event was buckling the front wheel in a minor bump up a kerb (low energy impact so there was some sort of weakness there). But it also has lots of other bits and bobs (chain, cables, bar tape, at least one possibly two tyres, one set of brake pads) that need replacing and there's a fair bit of cosmetic damage (scraped, some rust) to the frame, fork and stem. I think a new bike would probably be about twice the price of replacing all the broken bits but I would have a new bike.

(although I imagine it must be on sale somewhere!)

It's on sale various places for a lot less! No cycle to work unfortunately.

I wouldn't necessarily go belt drive but most dutch bikes have sealed drivetrains and roller brakes that need a lot less maintenance than something with an exposed chain (also no risk of it catching on your trousers etc!)

https://www.gazellebikes.com/en-gb/bikes/city-bikes/

They’re not rubber, they’re polymer and carbon. I’d rather have a belt drive left outside than a chain which will rust.

A flexible polymer?
There's another commonly used term for that...

A new SS chain is a tenner, but if it's rusty and visually offensive why not drown it in oil?

I stored a fixed commuter outside for the best part of five years, the chain certainly outlasted the tyres (made of them there polymers see).
And I didn't have to pay extra for a strategically weakened seat stay.

I just don't buy the hype for belt drives, they're expensive, but are they actually longer lasting/lower maintenance/more efficient than chain drive?

I tend to think of Belt drives a bit like Ti frames, they appeal to people that equate durability directly with cost as a way of justifying extra spend, the reality doesn't necessarily need to match...

The terminal event was buckling the front wheel in a minor bump up a kerb (low energy impact so there was some sort of weakness there). But it also has lots of other bits and bobs (chain, cables, bar tape, at least one possibly two tyres, one set of brake pads) that need replacing and there’s a fair bit of cosmetic damage (scraped, some rust) to the frame, fork and stem. I think a new bike would probably be about twice the price of replacing all the broken bits but I would have a new bike.

I'd struggle to bin a perfectly functional frame, if that and the alfine hub are working most other things are easily addressed for less than the potential spend on a newer version of the same thing.
Bikes aren't really like cars, there normally is an economic repair option.
But perhaps what you really just want is a shiny new bike.
In which case pop it on eBay/Classifieds and buy another Day one...

I just don’t buy the hype for belt drives, they’re expensive, but are they actually longer lasting/lower maintenance/more efficient than chain drive?

You are @midlandtrailquestsgraham and I claim my £5.

(Wasn’t there someone on here recently with a smart-looking Boardman with belt drive/hub gears?)

Well this is my smart looking belt drive bike. 😎

TBF, even I'm not entirely convinced that with a moderate amount of chain care a belt would last that much longer on an Alfine because they're always straight running and are built stronger.
Which is pretty much a contradiction of what I said above.

Edit - although this one probably has 5000 miles on it and isn't showing any signs of wear.

Boardman URB 8.9.

Comes in over budget @ £875, but has 8sp Nexus hub and Gates belt drive. 

Available from Halfords and Tredz, so should be C2W friendly if you want to go that route

https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/p/vitus-mach-1-vrx-utility-bike.  

For the bargain option. 

I’d just treat your bike to a proper full service and perhaps some lighter rims. If the Alfine is dead there is a case to be had. And I have an 8spd doing nothing from an IO, but you already have a good bike.

And add a chain guard.

I bought the Boardman Urb8.9 as my low maintenance commuter. It was on offer at Tredz and they still did nhs discount on top, so it was cheap! Early days, but I’m loving it.

What is your commute like? This defines the type of bike you need. The Dutch don't over think this, they have hundreds of thousands of bikes parked outside, very few of them are flash. Comfy riders, chain guards and not a derailleur in sight. Better suited to flat city streets though  

Belt isn’t better running than a well oiled chain, but for me low maintenance means not oiling the chain. A belt that has been left outside for a month runs miles better than a chain that has been left outside for a month with no maintenance! And there is no risk of oily trousers.

An enclosed chain would likely mitigate this.

Be aware that Gates belt drives come in two guises, the lower end one will wear much quicker, so the higher end one is what your after but costs a lot more so tends to be specced on more expensive bikes.

Sounds like normal wear and tear, especially as you've said you don't maintain it.  I commute on a 30 year old rigid MTB !

This popped up on Twitter from Jack Thurston (the writer / cyclist behind the Lost Lanes series of cycle touring guidebooks).

https://orb.bike/product/orb-zeppo/

He'd seen them at a hire bike centre in Scotland which had really rated their reliability, lack of maintenance and relative cheapness.

I've got something Dutch-style, my Ofo.

Depends on your commute though. Occasionally I'll ride my MTB in with 1.2kg 29er tyres and all that jazz, and realize quite how slow and hard work it (the Ofo) is even compared against that! Dynamos, drum brakes, puncture proof tyres, upright position, nexus hub, thye're all great for just being able to jump on and ride from A to B. But it's quite painful if A and B are more than about 15 minutes appart.

My other commuter is more like the Day One (fixed, robust but not too bad 32c tyres, guards etc).