I hesitate to call myself a bicycle commuter as I only do it once a week (Dodgy weather and work schedule make it hard to do more than that) I've ridden in 8 times so far this year, a total of 10 times in the past ~5-6.

Here's a picture of my rig taken in my office (I keep my bike there during the day)

2003 Fuji Marseille (Reynolds 853 Cro-Moly ) with full Ultegra and full carbon fork, clip on aero bars and a seat post rack and trunk. Mity8 and Garmin ForeRunner 305 for data. 250 lumen SSC P4 flashlight from DealExtreme as a headlight and a Cateye LD1000 as a tail light in addition to a hi-vis yellow jersey. Also, if you look closely, you can see a bell on the back of one of the aero bars!

I wish my tires matched but I got a defective one from Performance and am waiting for the replacement. I use a 700Cx20 in the front (for now) and a 700x23 in the back. My route is mapped out so that I get smoooooth pavement for at least 90% of the time.

Well, as I stated a few times before, I have a MTB.
But, this weekend I'm getting my very first road bike!
I just don't know which one to choose, so I thought I'd post up the two pics and you guys could help me decide.
The first one costs $150 & the set of two pictures, that bike costs $80, but is missing a rear brake.
Which one should I get?

Looks like the blue one is a sigle gear and the one on the left has multiple gears, i would weight the use of the bike to make a decision based on that info? Then again im not too sure it looks like you have more gears back there just no derailer?

Yess, the blue one was a 12-speed and was converted into a single speed.
Well, I will basically be using my new bike to commute to work and whatnot. Before, due to construction I had to go through a ton of gravel and such, but my new route is strictly pavement.
When I ride with my friends (who all have road bikes), I can't keep up. They barely pedal and I have to pedal at my fastest to keep up with them.
So, I'll be using it to travel around town as well.
Also, as part of my fitness routine, I will also be going to Marina del Rey, which is about a two hour trip, going and coming.
I'm not sure either, I don't think they have sprockets.

Enjoi, even if they fit you, they both need some work. The light blue "singlespeed" is the laziest "conversion" I've seen, and the rear derailleur on the black one is either poorly installed or needs some major adjustment (and maybe a new chain, too).

Either find another bike that doesn't need so much help, or use one of these as a learning experience in building a nicely functional bike.

If it fits your body, that is.

Amazing build

I have bought better for $10. Keep looking.

I just sold a beautiful Trek 500 that only needed a better seat for $170. It was in outstanding condition made of Reynolds 501. Just a joy to ride but a little small for me.

Finally managed to get a pic of her in full on commuter mode. This bike took me years of dreaming and saving to finally build and now that I have I have no regrets about doing it right the first time.

This is my do everything but full on mountain bike. It is my commuter, my cross racer, my road bike, my tourer, I've even done some mountain biking on it. Also I tend to ride a bike after I build it for a looonnngg time which is how I justified spending so much on it, also this bike is ridden nearly every day so that helps as well.

Sorry about the crappy cell phone pic, the frame is actually a deep red, it just shows up as black cause my camera phone is terrible.

specs to those that are currious:

Frame/fork: Gunnar Crosshairs
Whels: Chris King/ Mavic open pro 36h rims
Brakes: Paul Neo-Retro front and Touring Canti on the rear
Groupo: full sram force with 11-28 cassette and shimano ultegra sl compact crank
Tires are either conti grand prix 4 seasons in 28mm or schwalbe marathon cx's in 38 and on race day I throw on maxxis locust's.
Pedals are usually shimano spd's, right now my ankle is in very rough shape and unclipping doesnt work for me.

Thanks for looking

Not bad for a $5 garage sale bike (Royce Union). I'm thinking about doing some long tours after I get cranks and wheels.

Stopped halfway to work to take a snap of my 12 year old Rockhopper.

The mudguards are the latest addition and I'm amazed at the difference it makes. From where I am standing I am about ankle deep in a perma-puddle full of Highland cow sh*t. I do two miles on this farm track then five on the road.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/headland213/

A ringing endorsement of Scotland.

So rather than calling them mudguards, you could call them dungguards.

I kinda like "s**tblockers".

That's awesome! I'd love to see better pictures, with closeups.

I commute with this (2000?) Bike Friday New World Tourist. In addition to my regular job, I also work a the director for a bike advocacy group in Lane County, Oregon. "BikeLane" work means commuting to various meetings and promotional events. Thus I have adapted the bike to allow me to take my office on the road.

Two principles guide my design: Low and sleek. To accomplish this, I modified a Delta rack by cutting the struts so it rides low over the rear tire. Then I built a suspension rail to which I attaced a custom made perforated aluminum "pannier" to hold a laptop. This aluminum pannier is lined with two types of compression foam and the laptop is in a foam sleeve. The power block is under the seat in the seatbag. For winter I substitute a Basil laptop pannier. Nearly two years use and no laptop problems.

On the other side I mount my lock using a plastic pipe fitting (painted silver) so it also rides low. If I need to add more capacity, I have a bag that hangs over the lock and I can add another bag on top of the rack.

Forward lighting is provided by two Fenix flashlights that produce 360 lumens total in turbo mode. Moving air from riding allows them to stay cool so they can run beyond the manufacture's limit of ten minutes. Hoods were added to add side emission of light and to shoot the beam downward, as oncoming riders complained of the intense blinding light. The lights last about 40 minutes on rechargeable batteries that I can charge in 15 minutes.

Drivetrain is Shimano 105 with SRAM 9 X 3 dual drive. The bike is heavy but rides really well.

Sometimes on the way home the water bottle cage neatly holds a bottle of wine.

Man, I like your DIY style. Make it!

That gunnar looks nice...wow. Not too flashy.

So we finally picked up my husbands bike on Saturday and now to convince him that he can safely commute to work on the days he doesn't have a van. Its approximately a 7.5km commute but through some heavy traffic roads. We may bike it this weekend to see if we can find some alternate way.

Here is a picture of his bike and mine



And a picture of the demo saddle that MEC lent me to try before I buy. Yep I put in on by myself too..whoot whoot



My bike, Serenity, is the blue one and his is affectionately called The Gray Wolf

Very nice bikes and congratulations on your seat feat!

Been a while since I posted a pic of my tank. It's getting more and more French Constructeur inspired.
Added new cages and a bell yesterday. Sewed the leather on them myself after I saw the same thing on the VO Blog. I love this bike. It's my car, and almost my best friend.
More pics if you click the link in my signature.
-Gene-

I will be looking for you out there...

+100

My Coho in summer commuter form... For winter I run fenders and a generator hub lighting system.

me likey

I will second that, the coho looks purty