Finally borrowed a camera. Shot these this afternoon. Sorry for the lack of an interesting background. (And apartment dwellers don't get garage doors either.)


2006 Trek Portland

Purchased NOS in September 2007, and the upgrades began almost immediately. Currently equipped with 105 (5600) triple, 12-23 in back, Avid BB-7 brakes, handbuilt wheels (Velocity VXC hoops, Shimano Alfine dynamo hub in front, Velocity Road Disc in back), Continental Grand-Prix 4-Seaasons tires in 28mm, SKS-P-35 Longboards fenders, Thomson seatpost, Selle Italia SLK Gel-Flow saddle, Tubus Cosmo rack, Ortleib Sport Packer Plus panniers, B&M Luxos-U dynamo headlight, B&M Toplight Line Plus Brake dynamo taillight, Dinotte 200L-AA blinky front, Dinotte 300R blinkie back, Topeak Road Morph-G pump, Blackburn Neuro 6.0 cyclometer, Blackburn stainless bottle cages and Nalgene On-The-Go bottle.

In the winter this bike gets the 45mm version of the same fenders and Nokian Hakkpeliitta W106 studded snow tires. (And no, I won't be hoisting the bike on to my living room credenza when it's wearing those tires, thanks for asking.)


2013 Ribble Winter/Audax

Purchased frame, Deda Black Rain carbon fork with fender eyelets and headset (Cane Creek integrated) in January 2013, and initially moved over components from the old frame it replaced. Liked it so much, I've spent the past year upgrading it. Currently equipped with 105 triple (5600 levers and 5700 everything else), 12-23 in back, Shimano BR-R651 long-reach brakes, handbuilt wheels (Velocity A23 and A23 O/C hoops, Shimano Alfine dynamo hub front, Velocity Road rear), Continental Grand-Prix 4-Seaasons tires in 28mm, SKS-P-35 Longboards fenders (with Reacharounds Fender Brackets in back), Thomson seatpost, Selle Italia SLK Gel-Flow saddle, Bontrager Backrack Deluxe L, Ortleib Sport Packer Plus panniers, Schmidt eDelux dynamo headlight, B&M D'toplight XS Plus taillight, Dinotte 200L-AA blinky front, Dinotte 300R blinkie back, Topeak Road Morph-G pump, Blackburn Neuro 6.0 cyclometer, Blackburn stainless bottle cages and Nalgene On-The-Go bottle.


In nice weather, I bracket the workweek with those bikes, then mid-week (weather permitting) I go light, packing only a sandwich, glasses and keys in my jersey pockets. That's when I commute on the roadie.


1996 Litespeed Classic

Purchased as a frameset-only from another member of my club in June 2010. Currently equipped with full Dura-Ace 7800 groupset, standard 53/39 double in front with the 12-23 in back, Velocity A23 PRO wheelset, Continental Grand-Prix 4000S tires in 25mm, near the back brake you'll see the quick-release for the seldom-used beavertail-style rear fender, Thomson seatpost, Selle Italia SLK Gel-Flow saddle, Dinotte 200L-AA blinky front, Dinotte 300R blinkie back, Topeak Road Morph-G pump, Blackburn Neuro 6.0 cyclometer, Blackburn stainless bottle cages and Nalgene On-The-Go bottle.

Goodness, tsl, what class acts!

The Ribble and the Trek are extremely similar. Is that so you can have a spare bike to jump on when one has a problem? I've done that. Do they ride similarly?

Tell me what you like about the GP4 tires. I'm in the market for tires.

Nice! I envy your metal top tube cable guides, I've had to reglue the center plastic one on mine twice now.

Thanks, Tom.

Over the years I've experimented and found stuff that works for me and that I like, so these days I tend to stick with what I like across all my bikes. You'll note that I use the older 5600 and 7800 series levers, for instance, and the Blackburn stainless bottle cages and other accessories.

As you'll recall, I'm car-free, so I rely upon my bikes for basic transportation. It varies a bit, but statistically, between 65% and 75% of my annual cycling (measured by miles, rides, or saddle time) is commuting and errands. So it makes sense that two out of three bikes in the fleet are pretty much ready for anything. I also don't want to be left in a lurch due to a mechanical or something.


While the Portland and the Ribble are equipped similarly, and they both ride well (verging on excellent), they are worlds apart in geometry and thus, handling. The Portland is best described as a cyclocross front end spliced together with a light touring rear end. Its high-trail in front and long chainstays make for stable, if slightly sluggish handling. It excels at descending and carves corners like it has a rudder sunk five feet into the asphalt. It also doesn't mind 60 pounds or more on the back. Almost seems to handle better the more I load it.

As its name suggests, the Ribble Winter/Audax is an audax/brevet/rando bike through and through. The front end is low-trail, intended to compensate for the pendulum effect on steering by a front rack or handlebar bag, neither of which I use. Without the extra weight, it has to be held down in corners. It wants to pop up like a cork to resume straight ahead tracking. It doesn't care for more than 35 or 40 pounds on the back. It's not quite the tail wagging the dog effect I had with the bike it replaced, but it does feel mildly unstable.


What I like best about the 4-Seasons tires is the wet-weather grip. Like the ads for London Fog coats, they let me laugh at the weather, (and at wet pavement markings and manhole covers). I also like that they're lightweight, (especially come spring after pushing around the Nokians) and that they have reasonable puncture resistance. Most of the time.

Around here flat season is March and April before the street sweepers have swept up the little slivers of stone broken off the road surface by the snow plows. (Or before other bikes have collected them in their tires on the MUP.) Those slivers/flakes stick in the rubber and slowly work their way through to the tube, then put tiny pinhole leaks in them. This spring was particularly frustrating. I went several weeks averaging two flats a week. Every time while parked at work. Rode in just fine, flat by closing time. And of course at home, finding those little holes to patch the tubes is a real pain.

More typical stuff--broken glass, nails, staples, bits of wire and metal--don't bother the tires at all. Just those damned little flakes of stone.


What I've found is that the GP 4000S tires on the Litespeed are just as grippy in the wet, but are immune to the little stone slivers. Something about the tread compound makes it harder for them to stick in and stay in the tread. They too seem to be impervious to glass and all the usual road hazards, although I did put a drywall screw through the tread of one and out the sidewall. Booted it and rode it for thousands more miles. The 4000S is notorious for sidewall flats, but in almost 40,000 of total miles, and 8,000 miles on the 4000Ss, I've never had one.

Now that the GP 4000S II comes (or allegedly will come) in 28 mm, I'm thinking of switching when the 4-Seasons wear out. Probably by next spring.

EDIT: Are your wheels 27" or 700C?

Waiting on some Paul Components Mini-motos and a VO bottom bracket. But other than that, it's done for a little bit.

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When I commute through the roads:



When I commute through the trails:

Take the long way to work through the river valley.

Wow. Absolutely loving that shade of purple.

Just out for a ride today, checking out some trains at the BNSF Intermodal Facility near me.

Thank you. I don't think I've really captured the color in any picture I've taken. I'm not a very good photographer.

@tsl, thanks for all that. The wheels on my McLean are 700c. I have 27" wheels on my Super Course, which is now out on longterm loan.

what kind of rack is that?

Pretty bike, Tom. That would sell for a lot here in Viking land. If, that is, you could find a cross between a vintage cyclist and football fanatic.

Sorry about the collision, but great ****ing write up.

I don't get it.

Minnesota Vikings. Purple and gold. You wouldn't believe how many purple cars I see.

Oh, OK. I know very little about spectator sports. You're talking football, right?

oh lol for a second I thought you meant the BNSF crane that picks up the shipping containers!

The rack is a Topeak Super Tourist DX rack with disc mounts, rigged to fit my bike with insulated P-clamps and a Problem Solvers seat post clamp with rack bosses. I got the rack with disc mounts because I hope to build up a dedicated commuter bike in the future, hopefully with disc brakes, and then I would switch this rack over to it.

Agreed. It's a great look.

Here's my new commuter, a 2012 Jamis Aurora. It's my first bike since mine got stolen about 15 years ago when I lived in the city. I just started commuting 26 miles a day (13 each way) in May, a couple days a week (weekend rec rides not included.) Last week I did 3 days and this time tomorrow I'll have done 4! You all know what's coming next!

Anyways... It's nothing special compared with some of the bikes I've seen posted - especially the vintage and custom builds. It's basically stock aside from some painstakingly chosen accessories. That said, I'm quite fond of it and the miles are racking up quickly!



Spur cycle bell:

Weekend/ day trip setup:



and lastly, a feature I just discovered... the U-shaped rack holds a U-lock quite securely. Heck, why say "discovered?" I invented it. : )




*sorry for breaking my post into two. I hit send accidentally and it was much easier to just add a post then to edit and embed all the pics into the original post.

Here is my daily commuter. The first ever frame I built up thanks to the help of you guys. It's my Centurion Comp TA. This picture was taken while I had it out to lunch with me at Sonic. There ain't nothing quite like being able to take your bike right up to your table.

heh I made a Sonic run the other night for milkshakes for me and my wife. Threw them in my bottle cages and took 'em home. I specified no whip cream on mine because I put mine in the sloping downtube cage.

Sounds awesome. I'm trying to figure out a good way to make a psuedo drink carrier for my Peugeot that has a nice wide basket type rack for when I make runs to get food and the such.



Pic related, it's my bicycle's butt. I think I can concoct some sort of wooden or cardboard rig to wedge into one of the sides of the basket. I've got some old tubes laying around that I can use as a rubber grip for the cup holder

That is a pretty sweet commuter...

I went to pick up lunch from a local sandwich/deli place one time, with drinks in one of those cardboard drink carriers, using my son's bike trailer with the fabric seat inside. It was NOT a good experience. There was no flat surface whatsoever, and despite the drink carrier the big cups full of sweet tea spilled everywhere, making the fabric nice and sticky.