I have a set of trekking bars, but I have never found anything I wanted to put them on or a setup I liked. The reality is I haven't had enough riding to need the hand positions. I am sure one of these days it will be hanging on the wall for the right project. I think I'll start with some drop bars if I get a hybrid, but maybe my backup plan will be the trekking bars.

I have a Trek mountain bike with the aluminum frame (Its like a 2002 or something Police issue) and I think it rides pretty nice too. Its tough to complain about for a "beater" commuter bike thats for sure.

I used to rock drop bars on my Trek and it was one of the first things I changed when I bought it... because I use the bike for a lot of multi terrain riding the trekking bars work a little better.

Trek 520
I replaced the partial fenders with full fenders, and added a cycling computer and lights. The Axiom Rainrunner Trekk fenders are supposed to support up to a 700x45 tire, but the included stays are too short. With them extended to the maximum I barely have enough room for the 700x32 tires that came with the bike.

I've been using a Canondale Harvester for carrying clothes, and bike tools to school. I leave that bag in a locker with my cycling shoes, shorts, etc.

I use a Racktime City bag for books, ipod etc and keep it with me throughout the day.

My wife would probably kill to see my bike area look that organized and clean. =)

Just finished building up my 2010 Winter Beater. The fenders are quite large for the skinny tires I put on it, but they'll sure fill in with the studded tires.

i have made some changes to my bike, some improvisions and i'm liking how its coming together here is how it was looking before:







her are the changes i made to the bike now!



i got some new aero levers and put some new grips on it to make it comfortable



and i got some fenders so that i dont get a lot of splashin in the face, also got a new bottle holder

Gorgeous Bianchi!

Sweet Bike! That is a very creative and clean setup!

What the heck, I'll join in on the fun. Bonus points if you can guess what slightly embarrassing model is the core of everything....

58767_429907373281_558408281_5090798_1360117_n..jpg

GMC Denali

Close - its actually the Walmart Schwinn Varsity. Honestly, its not a bad bike. The worst part about it is the lack of brazeons on the frame. About 1500 miles on her so far, and no major failures.

Here's my recently built up 62cm Cross Check. I like it, but the bike is much smaller than I thought before I built it. Seems more like a 60cm. I like to ride in a traditional posture--bars parallel to the saddle. As i have it set up, it has bit too much of a drop for my taste. I'm hoping to avoid a steep rising stem. I'm thinking of ordering a LHT fork, which is 1 inch longer than the CC. That might give me what I need, or at least get me closer. Otherwise the bike's as advertised--solid, smooth, light enough.

That bike looks beautiful... and aren't you glad you didn't paint it another colour ?

for commuting, awaiting fenders. 44xsurly20



Highlights included:
Axiom Streamliner Road DLX Rack
FSA Omega Short Reach Compact Bar
Tektro Short Reach Levers
Crank Bros Candy
Dealsextreme lighting setup

That Bianchi is looking good.

Very clean. Though, isn't that mirror in a crappy position to actually see what's behind you?

How many bonus points do I get for buying one of these after seeing the pic? =)

I bought one of these tonight on Craiglist. Well its a Schwinn Prelude, but it looks the same just from Target instead of Walmart. The guy said he road it once and it looks that way. It still has all the stickers even the clearance pricetag. LOL He put one of those Nashbar Air seats on it. In my ride around the neighborhood it seems really comfy so that might be a minor upgrade. I post some pictures tomorrow, but I think I will commute on it for a while and see what I think of having a road bike as commuter. Overall for what I paid its pretty good. I just had to adjust things so it fit, wipe the dust off from it being in a garage and its ready to go.

Just finished my winter bike build. Its built up from a Redline R530 frame which were intended to be comfort/upright bikes, but I wanted a more aggressive look. I picked up the frame frame for ridiculously cheap, so I thought it would be fun to see what kind of winter beast I could build. Its built with up with a 3speed Shimano Nexus Coaster brake hub, Surly 1x1 fork, and the rest of the components are lowerish end and uninteresting so I won't bother rattling off a list unless someone wants to know. Already have the studded tires (Nokian Mount & Ground), and will be adding fenders of course. I'll probably also be replacing the seat.

Did I mention glow in the dark grips?

here is a before and after of my commuter/recreational bike...
from an older GT outpost (can anyone take a stab at the year???)\
from craigslist for $100 ....
net tires, paint, handlebars, cables, rack, seat, grips.
I really love this thing.
total investment = < $200

before (but with new tires)


after...

Did you paint it yourself? Looks great!

A grey(gray?) bike for a grey day.



This is the first bike I've ever built up, and the process humbled me. I've been riding it to school since I finished it. It's a 54cm Pake C'muter frame with components from a late-ish '90s stumpjumper. It's now a 1x9. Alex dm18 wheels, cheapo bars, planet bike fenders and whatnot. Big thanks to EBC Bikeworks for the seat tube and downtube-shifter-cable-stop-doodad; you guys are swell (and for the cable housing and ferrules... and for taking a look at my brakes... and headset... and..)

I have a rack I'll put on later tonight. Like I said, it's my first bike 'build' so criticisms are encouraged.

i like it!!!
how is that c'mute frame?

Thats quite a transformation. Nice work.

Thanks. Aside from the fact that I think the paint will chip off if you look at it the wrong way, most of my concerns revolve around my part selection. For instance, my brake arms have quite a bit of play compared to the old frame... I don't know if the bosses are just a different size than usual, or if my old avid brakes are a weird size. The rear dropout spacing allows for MTB hubs to fit pretty easily, but I needed to track down some axle adjustment screws, otherwise (with the 9-spd cassette) my chain would rub on the seat stay - again, I just didn't know ahead of time. There are other minor little things I have to find solutions too, but otherwise it seems like a good frame. I've never ridden a light steel frame, but this one doesn't seem too heavy. In the end I think I'm happy with it, especially because it was way cheaper than other new frames out there.

If I had to do it over again, and I had a good used frame resource, I would have repainted an older cheap/free frame. Since I didn't know of any good resources in my old city, and I was afraid of buying (and probably overpaying for) some old frame off craigslist, I just went with the Pake. I've gotten a few compliments on the frame, especially about the colour. I've also gotten a few looks while riding it at school, too, but I think they were bad looks, and I think they were directed at me.

I like it...



Built a new toy myself... should be good for those commutes that tale me off the beaten and paved path and am sure we'll play in the snow a little too.

Switched the SS drive for an 8 speed this evening...