I live a mile from work so my commuter really doesn't have to be anything comfortable for the long-haul. I just like riding fast!
I do wear a helmet whenever I ride and hi-vis jacket on cloudy days.
My Trek 2300 Composite. Shimano 600 Ultegra group with vintage 3TTT cockpit
http://i.imgur.com/HlrUmEH.jpg

This whole thread smells. Why am I ostracized for not wanting a sweaty back, wanting to be easily seen at a distance, and not wanting to be in an aero tuck during my commute? I definitely don't pedal at a relaxed pace on my 7 mile commute, despite my riding a 40lb city bike. Average heart rate of 150bpm.

Do you drive a Ferrari to the supermarket? No, you take the hatchback.

I have since installed racks on both of these bikes, as that's my preference, but I did enjoy both in bare bones mode.

The curb crushing, nimble MTB on cruiser balloon tires. Equally great for taking the road less traveled, or just keeping up with traffic. Insanely fun bike:
http://i.imgur.com/cHk0EOt.jpg

The CX on slightly fat slicks. Same idea as the previous, can handle a bit of it all, but more suited to the pavement:
http://i.imgur.com/dm631i0.jpg

And there's also nothing that inherently separates those two. You can have a lightweight, fast* bike set up with fenders and the ability to carry gear, and go out and get a screaming workout on it and make it to work in the same time as a bare bones road bike. Whatever your preference, works, but people who only understand bare bones drop bar bikes usually just seem ignorant of what adding fenders and a rack actually does to the bike (Hint: if you were fast and nimble on it before, you'll still be fast and nimble on it, minus the overly sweaty back)

Persecution complex much? Commute however you want to -- there are plenty of other threads for discussing commuting on 40 lb city bikes. :lol:

People who only understand bare bones drop bar bikes and think using one for commuting makes them something oh-so-special and posting about this status usually just seem ignorant, smug or both.

True, but getting there a minute faster is not usually the rationale.

The real reason I'm responding here is that everyone seems to assume that the only choices are between something on your back, or on a rack. I use three different ways of carrying my commute bag on the bare bones road bike, when I'm not using my tail-box rain bike. The same bag with no extra modification or fasteners. Tied on the drop bars, rolled and strapped as a saddle bag, and suspended in the front triangle. Depending on whim and how stuffed the bag is, all three work better for me than a backpack and no rack required.

No one forced you to post here. Why am I ostracized for NOT wanting fenders, racks, panniers, and not wearing hi viz? This absolute must idea of what a commuter bike should be is absolutely ridiculous. Keep your 40lb city bike. I will continue to ride my 16lb track bike.

Lovely Bikes !

Well, as you said, you enjoyed them in bare bones mode but prefer them with racks. That is totally OK. But your comments are exactly why this thread exists. We aren't "ignorant".

What makes you think that those of us who like the bare bones bikes haven't ever had fenders or racks on them? My road bike feels quite a bit more nimble with the weight on me instead of the bike. I don't mind a sweaty back because the rest of me is going to be sweaty anyway.

I have a shelf full of fenders. I put them on my bikes as needed. I leave the rear fender on my winter bike year round but otherwise I take the fenders off my bikes in late spring and they won't go back on until October or November when all day rains become more common than warm weather/short duration storms. Believe me I understand the value of fenders, and I'm under no illusion that taking them off makes me measurably faster. But I prefer going fenderless.

I could outline why I'd rather not have fenders and I have many times before. Those folks that really like fenders would consider my reasons inconsequential and again, that is totally fine, but these are my bikes and I can decide what I like on them and what I don't. :)

Oh, and the same thing with a rack. I have a rack on my winter bike and a set of good panniers but I carry a backpack 90% of time even on that bike. Just more convenient for me. For a couple of months a few years ago, I had a rack on my road bike and carried my stuff in panniers. Just wasn't as fun to ride that way. Went back to using the backpack and eventually took the rack off because I never used it. I gave it to somebody on the forum who was looking for one.

I don't think the intent of the thread is to ostracize anyone. In fact just the opposite. We are just celebrating the "alternative" commuter bikes that some of us ride.

If I owned a Ferrari, I'd still ride my road bike and my oversized backpack to the supermarket. Maybe I'd pull a trailer behind it. But I would choose the Ferrari over the hatchback for virtually any car trip I could get away with taking it. I know I wouldn't get to where I'm going to any faster in it, but it still would be more fun (for me).

By choosing a road bike to commute on, I am in no way denigrating or passing judgement on those who don't. It's just like cars. Given the choice I'd commute to work in a small, nimble, and fast car. I can see getting an EV some day when the range gets better (and they get cheaper or I get richer). Other people like luxury vehicles, minivans, trucks, or SUVs and we seem to get that people have different preferences when it comes to vehicles. Why get worked up over what other people choose to ride?

I don't think this thread is necessary. Most of us who frequent the commuting forum accept all bikes that commute. The photos in this thread would be equally acceptable in the regular photo thread. That said, I don't have any particular objections to this thread, but I do wonder if people feel unwelcome here. This is not the roadie forum, we welcome all .. or so I think anyway.

No threads are necessary. Most people posting here seem to enjoy it. Other chronically negative people enjoy complaining about virtually every thread. Can't please everyone :)

There have been lots of threads in the commuting forum about particular types of bikes. Many of those threads encourage people to post pictures. This one isn't any different. I doubt anyone would bet bothered by a thread encouraging people to post pictures of their cruiser or hybrid even though they each have their own forums.

I have noticed that performance oriented bikes for whatever reason are more controversial when it comes to commuting and they really shouldn't be. Nobody is going to make anyone use one if they don't want to.

do you frequently ride a bicycle, for either all or part of the journey, to get to work, school or other place of daily commitment? if yes, then congratulations, you're a bike commuter!!!

that's all it takes. any old kind of working bicycle can accomplish the task, from a $59 wally world BSO, to a $15,000 carbon fiber race bike, and everything else in between.

no one here in the commuting sub-forum should feel ostracized for the type of bike(s) they choose to commute on.

there are many different kinds of bike commutes.

there are many different kinds of bike commuters.

ride however and whatever puts a smile on your face.

life tends to get a whole lot easier when you don't overthink it.

I don't get this thread. I'm a roadie and commuter, and transportation cyclist. When it's dry I don't run fenders. When it's wet I put the fenders on. I ride a road bike to work, although I have rigged a rack and trunk bag with fold-out panniers since my commute is 31 miles round trip and I wanted to save my back. I wear shoes that look like normal shoes, but have SPD cleats. I run front AND rear lights 24/7. I usually wear high-vis kit (not vest) on the road bike, but on the utility bike it's usually just regular clothes or clothes that are a bit more fitness oriented but not full on bike kit.

I do not ride the utility hauler bike to work because it's just too slow and the commute is so far.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...psuounixbj.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...psdzz67ddo.jpg

I tried to buy a 2300 composite once but I had to give up due to a bidding war.

Nonsense. This subforum is chock full of retro-grouch steel-is-real snobbery. I'm very glad this thread was started because there are quite a few people who prioritize the weight savings and modest speed boost of a decent road/track-style bike. Some of us even prefer the tensile strength and fatigue resistance of carbon fiber. For example, I started commuting on carbon fiber frames because metal ones kept on failing. I actually prefer alloy for some components but I will likely never commute on anything other than a carbon frame again.

Why do you even bother to ride? It appears you could just use the Transporter!!

That's the commuting vehicle for "the rest of us." Of course that is not to imply that anyone who is not "one of us" is less worthy. :)

Nobody runs fenders so they stay dry in rain, that's just silly. Fenders keep the crap off of you when the roads are wet, salty, grimy, etc. When you see a fender'd commuter riding through a downpour, he/she is not expecting those fenders to keep him/her dry, it is because once the fenders are on, they stay on for the season.

You aren't being ostracized at all. It's a thread full of people talking about how they like to or must commute on bikes that are not standard commuter or city bikes with full fenders, heavy upright frames, etc. I've been on BF for a while now, and in that time the commuting forum has really morphed from being a place where roadies talked about how they rode to work to have more of a focus on utility-oriented bikes and riding. That's definitely a GOOD thing but I do think it crosses over into irrationality at times, with the derision that questions about speed or light weight can sometimes receive around here. It's helpful for everyone to remember, whatever the heck they are wearing or riding to commute, that we're all trying to do the same thing, which is get to work, and it's easy to be dismissive of someone else's garb or equipment when you don't actually have full knowledge of someone else's experience, needs, interests or activities. I see this thread as just a place where the more sportfully-minded commuters are talking about what they do. I suppose it could have been better titled, although mostly because it provided too easy an opportunity for Defender Of The People ILTB to fly in here and go through his usual routine of accusing anyone who doesn't ride like he does of being Smug Serious Cyclists. Not that a better title would have stopped him but whatever.

It's also worth remembering that a road bike is not to a commuter bike as a Ferrari is to a Fit. You can ride whatever you like however you like wearing whatever you like. I don't think anyone was intending to suggest that you or anyone like you is doing anything wrong. It's really just commuting to work, it's not that complicated, and it can be accomplished in an endless variety of ways.

My point was more that people make such a big deal about fenders, and how miserable those without them must be, that you would think that they have magical water-repelling qualities. With any luck I will one day have a more dedicated commuter bike (still a road bike, though), and that bike will certainly have full fenders. In the meantime, I do without or preferably with clip-on fenders, and it's really not so bad. That's in good measure because, yeah, I'm wearing spandex for my commute right now. But when my commute was short, I was wearing a rain jacket and rain pants when it rained. So even though I had fenders, not having them wouldn't have been terrible. The thing that annoys me most with clip-on fenders vs. full fenders is the water in the face.

lol my boss actually calls it that jokingly on almost every building tour he gives, and he's given a bunch of tours in the 7+ years we've been here. :D

I wish my utility hauler bike had fenders. I was out in the rain on Saturday afternoon, riding into the wind, downhill, going fast enough that the water spraying straight up off the front tire in front of the head tube blew right back into my face. I like riding in a nice summer shower but that part kind of sucked.

ughh I'm tired of all the "us vs. them" and "one of us" or "one of them" amongst cyclists. We all ride bikes, we should be happy to see others riding bikes. I know I am, unless they're riding blatantly dangerously.

Appropriate for this thread: http://offthebackistan.tumblr.com/post/107367922007/there-seems-to-be-this-idea-among-some-bike

I'd recommend turning them off when you're not riding. Better for battery longevity, light pollution, etc. :P

har-de-har :D My Cygolite Expilion front light actually says to turn it off when stationary for more than like 10 minutes or so due to heat build-up.

Nice bike, schittey coffee.