It's B or Bruce, by the way, or tsl, but never T.

They're not identical, merely similarly equipped. Over the years I've figured out what I like and what works for me. So I use the same stuff on both. No point in having stuff I don't like or that doesn't work for me.

I'm car-free, so I don't have the "Oh the bike's broke I'll use the car today" excuse. So if the bike's broke, I need to have another that can fill in.

As for the differences, the Trek Portland (orange frame) is basically a cyclocross front end grafted to a touring bike rear end. It fits my studded snow tires and wider fenders for the winter. I bought disc brakes after my first winter commuting wore out a set of rims from braking. My winter route has 47 stop signs or stoplights in the 9-mile round trip, or roughly five per mile.

The Ribble Winter/Audax (blue frame), true to its name, is a audax/brevet/randonneuring bike. Everything that makes it a good rando bike also makes it a good commuter. Although the biggest tires it fits with fenders are 28mm. Most rando bikes will fit 32s.

Handling is the biggest difference between the two. I'll talk about "trail" here, so if you don't know the handling characteristics trail imparts, read this piece by custom framebuilder Tom Kellogg: Trail and Its Effects.

The Portland is borderline high trail with its 28mm three-seasons tires. The tire size difference between those and the studded snow tires is enough to put it firmly into high trail territory. With its longer chainstays, it also gives me more heel clearance when I use the grocery panniers. Between the two, up to about 70 pounds, the more load I carry in back the happier and more stable the bike feels.

In contrast, the Ribble is decidedly low trail. With its shorter chainstays, I have to be careful starting from a stop or I'll hit my heel on the grocery panniers before I get clipped-in. Nothing dangerous, merely a nuisance and it makes me look amateurish. The Ribble becomes unhappy with more than 45 or 50 pounds in the panniers. The front end tends to wander and the tail wags the dog a bit.

Choosing between them in the three-seasons is a coin toss, unless it's raining, then the Portland gets the nod. In winter, the Portland wears its studded snow tires. If there's a chance of ice on the roads, I ride the Portland. On those rare above-freezing days, it's the Ribble.

For the sake of completeness, I try to haul stuff only on Mondays and Thursdays. (I currently have a four-day workweek.) On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, if I don't need fenders, I ride my Litespeed, shown here with its commuting gear--headlights, DiNotte 300R taillight, and slightly larger scrotum bag.