Nice bike! What kind of saddle bag is that?

I can't respond to your pm since my post count is under 50, so here are my thoughts on the IGH on my Graduate.

It's a Sturmey Archer 5 speed IGH with 70mm drums. I believe it's the RX-RD5, I'll double check when I leave work today. Here's a link.

RX-RD5 ? Sturmey Archer

I don't really have any complaints with this hub, it's been trouble free so far. It did take some work to figure out the proper tension on the shift cable, but that was just my lack of knowledge. It's dead flat where I ride so I typically don't use the lower gears, 3-5 is where I tend to stay. I find that the gear ratio is adequate for my riding, I don't find myself needing a lower gear or wanting anything higher as of yet. The brakes aren't as powerful as rim brakes or discs obviously, but the wet weather performance is consistent as you would expect. Being able to shift gears when stopped at a light is extremely convenient, I would imagine even more so in your hilly environment.

All this being said, it's the only IGH I've ridden so I don't have a great frame of reference to compare it to other IGH's on the market.

do you deliver packages for a living?

Nothing fancy, but it works...

Here's my latest, a Raleigh Super Course frame from 1973 with modern components. Drum brakes eliminate rim brakes, I really like them. Topeak rack and Pasalas are on both my commuters:


Gotta have a dyno/LED light set-up with a drum brake on my commuters:


Triple crank, 9 speed cassette and M324 pedals put the power down:


Drum brake with freehub in the rear:


Woodchipper bars, Shimano indexed bar cons and Cane Creek brake levers keep everything under control:

That's pretty hot, [MENTION=161860]Mr IGH[/MENTION], but I'm scared to ask what it weighs. Probably less than my Cross Check did. I equipped it with drum brake hubs, too but not a dynamo front. The bike was too heavy for me. I sold the frameset.

Thanks for the kind words, NG. The bike weighs 32.6lbs, is that too heavy for most commuters? I lost over 20lbs since last summer so the bike is 12lbs net

My road bike weighs 25lbs, I don't think bike weight has much effect on speed but most riders like to spend thousands of $$ on their bikes.

Upgraded from my 1902 Napoleon...





to a brand new Specialized Awol Comp. Loving it!

If Thinking about how much that other bike weighs scared you - this one should give you nightmares

As I recall, my 60cm crosscheck weighs about 27lb unloaded (and no rack). I agree, weight is not as important as most people think. And I think what people enjoy about light weight is the feeling of lightness from side-to-side motion when hammering out of the saddle -- or the ability of light rims/tires to accelerate -- but I don't think an extra couple pounds makes a significant difference in terms of actual overall speed.

My Volpe is about 34 pounds, which is heavy to me, but it's comfy enough and has a wide range of gears that I can handle anything. That weight is with bottle cages and rack but not with the bottle or tool bag. As you might be able to see, it has a dynamo hub and headlight and tail light.






[MENTION=390381]fordmike65[/MENTION], the Specialized is terribly nice, but the Neopolitan is just so classy. I imagine it's more of a looker than a rider.

I actually ride all my bikes, ranging from '02-'41. The Napoleon is the most capable for long distance riding due to it being a 24" frame, made of light thinwall tubing & equipped with a teens 2 speed rear hub. I've ridden it to work a few times without issue. I just don't want to prematurely wear out some of it's rare vintage parts, so I purchased a new rider that I can take pretty much anywhere without worry

Not the daily commuter, but I did ride in on it today just for fun: Novara Verita













































The daily commuter: Windsor The Hour plus

Here is my GT Timberline, I've owned it since new. There are still a few original parts (seat post QR, front derailleur, and rear derailleur), other than that its all been replaced. I took my boys for a ride yesterday and snapped some pics of it in the sun.

Finally did all the changes and addition on my Marin Larkspur 1996. Just still have to get some large platform pedals.



Happy new year from France ! (where is no "NoGo Zone", despite what FoxNews would like to teach to America)

First day commuting without a backpack. The bike balances way different when I'm parking it etc., but I love not having anything on my back anymore. This will really be nice when the weather warms up. No more sweat covered back.

is that a carbon or aluminum post on the Ridley?

Taking delivery of my 6th bike this Friday which will become my primary commuter, a 48 lb Gazelle t8, I don't own a bike under 40 lbs and I live in the foothills of the Cascade range.
Yes, they are more work going up, but they are really fun going down, and will coast forever on momentum.

This is my dropbar conversion on a early 90's Cannondale H400 (hybrid). Picked up the frame for $20 from a local shop and built it from the frame up. The paint was pretty chipped up. I'm normally a vintage road bike guy and love Italian race bikes with chromed chain and seat stays and matching chrome fork. So I decided to strip the rear part of the frame and picked up a Kinesis aluminum fork to match the thicker tubing on frame from the normal lugged steel fork that came on Cannondales of this vintage. Laced up the wheels to Sun CR18 rims and converted the 126 spacing Campagnolo Record rear hub to 135 to work with the frame. This allow for almost no dish in wheel and for a stronger rear wheel. I'm not too keen on racks so it's equipped with a Jandd handlebar bag and Banjo Brothers saddle pack.




It's being converted to triple setup and just waiting on the parts to arrive. In the photo which is a just a few weeks old I'm running a 1st gen Campagnolo Chorus crankset(53/42) and 13-24 6spd freewheel. So it'll be going to a 50/39/30 Truvativ Elita crankset and a 14-32 6spd freewheel to make thing more enjoyable and versatile.

Aluminum.

And we have another convert.

Finally commuterized my commuter. Took it out on my day off today.





The payoff

[MENTION=359043]AlTheKiller[/MENTION], is that an apple orchard? Where are you?

Those are Vineyards here in scenic (and year round comfortable weather) Napa, California.

sweeeet