yankeefan

I've noticed that people routinely come asking for suggestions for a commuter bike and my first instinct is usually to say "look at the commuter bike pics thread" but then I realize that the thread is full of eye candy but little usable information. I have a couple of suggestions that could make the thread more utilitarian instead of simply lusting at each other's bike. I'd like to know what you guys and gals think of these suggestions.

As suggested by @TenSpeedV2, posts in the proposed new commuter bike pics thread will follow this template (tentative):

Name/Model of Bike: Self-explanatory, I hope.

Pictures: Include as many as you wish. At least one must be outdoors (or a well-lit environment) with the drive side showing. Ideally you should take this pic immediately before/after your commute. If you regularly commute with panniers, saddle bags or top tube bags please have them attached to the bike when taking the picture.

Price: Price of the bike + any other modifications you made to it (racks, fenders, lights, non-stock tires and/or saddle, bar-ends, DT upgrades, etc.). Itemized prices are optional but helpful.

Weight: Give your best approximation. Its helpful because some of us have a cyclocross commute or have to carry our bikes up/down stairs at home or work.

Distance & Terrain: How many miles round-trip and the terrain you ride on (lots of hills, off-road trails, MUPs, etc.)

Purchase Info: Say what city/town the bike was purchased in. Optional for those concerned about their privacy. If the bike was purchased from an online dealer (e.g. Bikesdirect) please say which one and comment on the ease of assembly. If you had it professionally assembled state the city/town and cost of assembly.

Other: Share anything else that you think may be relevant to someone reading the thread and contemplating purchasing your bike.

Your Thoughts?

Also, if you do decide to adopt these suggestions would you prefer to just edit your posts in the current commuter bike threads or start a new thread entirely?

alan s 

Well, since the OP edited the post, I'll have to edit my response. I used to look at the thread in question on occasion, but not any longer. Don't see how additional information listed would be particularly useful. However, it could be entertaining, so go ahead and start it. No need to get anyone's approval. If it takes off, it takes off. Maybe it will become a sticky.

Sullalto

I say new thread(or adopt this one).

TenSpeedV2

New thread. Some suggestions - take a good picture of your bike, something clear, where the bike is visible. Don't just lay it down on the ground and say here. I love looking at pictures of bikes that every day people take. You don't have to be a good photographer, just get a decent picture of it. Also post as much information as you can, size, upgrades, etc. Don't say, here is my bike. That's it. Give people information, price if you want, shop you bought it from, assembled it yourself, etc.

yankeefan

Very good suggestion. I've seen people post pics of their bikes that don't do them justice, especially non-drive side pics. I'll add it to the list of suggestions

TenSpeedV2

Posting non drive side picture should be a week long ban.

AlmostTrick

I like it. Start a "New and Improved" Commuter Bike Pic thread, with refined guidelines listed based on the OP's thoughts. The first post should have a bike with all the goodies listed, as an example for following posters.

TenSpeedV2

^ that is a good idea, and maybe create a template that people can copy and paste into their post which might help with getting the information out there. If you look at people's bikes on Pedal Room, they have something like that.

yankeefan

I think a template would be a good idea. I'd like some more feedback before finalizing anything

noglider 

I think the commuter bike pics thread is a lot more than eye candy. Maybe it's because I have a trained eye, but those pictures have a lot of information for me.

yankeefan

Key word being trained eye. I can look on a bike and guess the price range based on the design, components and welds, but for a relative newcomer it really is just eye candy. To be fair, a lot of people do comment on their pics and share information but it is not in a "ready to read" format for someone who wants to buy/build a new commuter, already has a budget but not entirely sure where to start. If you think the current commuter bike pics thread is good as-is, then that's a completely valid position. If the consensus is that my suggestions aren't needed then I won't try to push them any further.

grolby

People aren't going to stop taking bad pictures because you ask them to.

And yeah, there's nothing wrong with the thread as it is. If someone wants to provide detailed information, great. If they just want to post a photo, that's cool, too.

TenSpeedV2

I like the idea of your thread and will gladly post pictures of all of my commuter bikes in it with information.

noglider 

I don't mean to say yours is a bad idea. I like it. I was just defending the current thread as more than eye candy.

cobrabyte

Why fix something that ain't broke? I like the commute bike pics page as is, and feel like all the additional text would take away from it. Like @noglider I can figure out what I'm looking at most of the time, and there's a bit of fun in doing so.

I would like to see a thread just like @yankeefan suggested, but would rather see it as a separate thread, not a replacement for the current one.

mcours2006

The fact that we've had 14, make that 15, replies and not a single picture says something. Maybe I'll go home a take a few pics of my salt/grime covered commuter and post them later.

yankeefan

This isn't the actual thread. Its a precursor to develop and refine a bunch of suggestions and to assess the receptiveness of the idea. You're free to post your pics whenever the actual thread is started; for now I just want to get a few suggestions of what people want to see or whether they think it would be useful. I want to make sure that if the proposed thread is started it won't sink to the bottom of the page and fade away from existence.

yankeefan

Thanks, I'm still waiting for some more responses but it seems that many people would prefer to leave the current thread as-is and do this in a separate thread. I'm also still open to any other suggestions to improve the template; I'm hoping the template will provide a quick and easy to read source of info for someone looking for a commuter bike but not quite sure what to get or even how much it would cost.

tarwheel 

Personally, I think a summary of key components (gearing, brakes, etc.) would be more useful than prices and weights. Anyone can find the prices of bikes and parts, and the total cost depends on so many variables -- whether bought new or used, as a complete bike or assembled from frame and components, bought at a shop or on-line or built by oneself, etc. Regarding weight, I don't know what my bikes weigh and don't care. And do you weigh bikes stripped down or with pedals, bottles, racks, bags, computers, etc.? Weight weenies have a habit of quoting weights that don't include many parts that almost everyone rides with.

Another issue is that some of us commute on multiple bikes. I have four different bikes that I ride to work, depending on my mood, the weather and other factors.

All that aside, it would be nice if commuters would include more information about their bikes, the components, and their route when posting pictures.

bmthom.gis

I like the idea, though I think price wise I would be cheating! All of my bikes except for my road and mountain bike are used and either CL specials, given to me, or acquired cheaply by other means. But I would be happy to post that info anyway lol. I think listing out your gear and stuff might be useful as well (I am sure that was mentioned earlier).

the sci guy 

The point is to share a pic of your bike. It's a picture thread. If people have questions they ask. No need to make it some rule-ridden technical thread. If someone wants to share specifics of their bike, they can. People just like to share pics of their bike. Why make it more complicated?
I mean I'll tell you right now I'll just post a pic because I want to share it, I'm not going to write out tons of stuff. Would I have to write it every time I posted a picture? Or is it a one post only thing that becomes a database sticky at the top?
I like the present format. Casual conversation.

acidfast7

Name/Model of Bike: 2013 Mango Bikes SS

Pictures:

Price: £299

Weight: "All of our fixed gear bikes are fitted with aluminium double wall deep-v aero rims and Chasewood sealed wheel bearings offering great strength to weight ratio when hopping up curbs or hitting pot holes."

Distance & Terrain: 11.8km RT (British roads, so same as US gravel)

Purchase Info: Online from website.

Other: Great bike. Would buy again, when this one wears out in about 10 years.

67Vert

If the intention is to provide "usable information", the post should include the reasoning behind the chosen parts. And maybe it could even include the owners opinion on those choices.

I think it's a good idea. It'd be an informative thread with pics.

Andy_K 

And for the love of all that is holy make sure you're using the right gear combination and that your cranks are properly aligned.

Oh, wait, I think I'm in the wrong sub-forum....

acidfast7

I still think my post is optimal for the new /thrad