What kind of bike is it? Great pic. Great looking bike.

My birthday present to myself, a shiny new Giant Live Rove Lite, is my everything bike. This was taken shortly before I replaced the flimsy stock tires with Specialized Hemisphere Armadillos; no more flats for me!

Thanks, Its a 2016 Fuji Touring


Thank you

Finally stopped to take a picture the other day.

And you fit the entire state of Rhode Island in the picture!

Hey everyone, just finished a 1992 Cannondale SM800 "Beast of the East" commuter. I don't drive and ride year round so I dumped a good chunk of cash into this one but it's probably my favorite bike these days. Velocity Nobs rims, Deore XT hubs, crankset, front and rear derailleur(Merlin Cycles 2015 close outs), older XT cantilever brakes off ebay, PDW rack, and a Selle Anotomica seat(blemished yearly Christmas sale). The bike was bought new in 1992 and ridden until the components turned to dust. The frame sat in the garage for a decade before it's resurrection and rebirth. I'd sooner lose an arm then give it up. Silly fun to ride!

Absolutely loved browsing this thread and seeing what everyone has built up.

My new bike on it's 1st day at work.

Beautiful bike, man! How are you liking that Gates Carbon Drive?

Thanks! So far so good, but I only have 40 miles on it... It is my 1st belt drive, and my 1st 8spd IGH. Any extra drag from the belt/hub seems to be negligible on the road (at least in my opinion), and the gear range of the Nexus feels adequate for commuting where I live (NJ). If the longevity claims of those components hold true, I should be happy with it.

Very cool! I was looking at a few bikes with the Gates drive before I ended up rebuilding my old Cannondale. It's definitely an intriguing prospect especially for Wisconsin winters and those seeking out reduced maintenance. I like it, man!

Not my normal commuter, but weather was good, and if I didn't ride it to work I'd never ride it at all.

My Uptown 8 has a trekking bar and it's very close to the end of the "free tuneup within 1 year of purchase" deal that I have with the LBS that sold it to me.

I've enjoyed riding with the trekking bar but my one complaint is that it's a bit thin for comfort, especially when I have to keep my hands close to the brake levers, which are set up in nearly the identical positions as yours. My trekking bar is set up in the same orientation as well.

This is the oldest post I've dredged up in a while but I found it while pondering how I could improve the comfort on the trekking bar, in the near-side grip position. The side and far-side grip positions are comfortable despite the bar being thin because I tend to "palm" the bar in those positions. I like the idea of installing bar gel and wrapping it in thick bar tape to increase the width of the grips by the levers.

I've seen folks install grips in the near position (anything from Ourys to Ergons, whatever your preference is) and then wrap the rest in tape. The downside to that is that the widest part of the bar (the close corners) are harder to use. After a year or so of using the trekking bar, I did realize that I preferred the sides the most--I ended up switching to a flipped North Road-style bar (Soma Oxford) which puts the brake levers in the most comfortable position for me. With the trekking bars it was a pain in the butt to grip the fronts or corners and then have to switch positions to brake.

Where in NJ? Some of it is pretty flat. Some of it is very hilly. I've lived in Edison (flat) and Maplewood (fairly hilly).

Fair point! Reminded me of the below... Collingswood, NJ (flat)



It is an easy ride...

[TABLE="width: 100%"]
[TR="class: hide_unless_distance"]
[TD="class: metric-label"]Distance:[/TD]
[TD="class: data"]5.8 mi[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: hide_unless_ele eleRow"]
[TD="class: metric-label"]Elevation:[/TD]
[TD="class: data changesOnZoom"]+ 313 / - 330 ft[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: hide_unless_ele gradeRow"]
[TD="class: metric-label"]Max Grade[/TD]
[TD="class: data"]3.4 %
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: hide_unless_ele gradeRow"]
[TD="class: metric-label"]Avg. Grade[/TD]
[TD="class: data"]0.0 %
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: separator hide_unless_ele"]
[TD="bgcolor: #CCCCCC, colspan: 2"][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: first hide_unless_ele vamRow eleRow"]
[TD="class: metric-label"]VAM[/TD]
[TD="class: data changesOnZoom txtVam"]462 Vm/h[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: hide_unless_ele eleRow ascentRow"]
[TD="class: metric-label"]Ascent time[/TD]
[TD="class: data changesOnZoom txtAscentTime"]00:12:23[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: hide_unless_ele eleRow descentRow"]
[TD="class: metric-label"]Descent time[/TD]
[TD="class: data changesOnZoom txtDescentTime"]00:12:11[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: separator"]
[TD="bgcolor: #CCCCCC, colspan: 2"][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: first"]
[TD="class: metric-label"]Total Duration:[/TD]
[TD="class: data"]00:25:19[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: hide_unless_distance"]
[TD="class: metric-label"]Moving Time:[/TD]
[TD="class: data"]00:24:34[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: hide_unless_distance"]
[TD="class: metric-label"]Stopped Time:[/TD]
[TD="class: data changesOnZoom"]00:00:45[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: separator"]
[TD="bgcolor: #CCCCCC, colspan: 2"][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: separator hide_unless_distance"]
[TD="bgcolor: #CCCCCC, colspan: 2"][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: first hide_unless_distance"]
[TD="class: metric-label"]Max Speed:[/TD]
[TD="class: data changesOnZoom hoverSupport"]22.2 mph[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: hide_unless_distance"]
[TD="class: metric-label"]Avg. Speed:[/TD]
[TD="class: data changesOnZoom"]14.2 mph[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: separator"]
[TD="bgcolor: #CCCCCC, colspan: 2"][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: first"]
[TD="class: metric-label"]Pace:[/TD]
[TD="class: data changesOnZoom"]00:04:22[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: first"]
[TD="class: metric-label"]Moving Pace:[/TD]
[TD="class: data changesOnZoom"]00:04:14[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

I'm guessing....4th grade teacher?

Interesting update.

I ordered the Fizik bar gel and Fizik Tacky bar tape just before I saw your post . I'll have the LBS install them while they have the bike in the shop for its free tuneup. I'll keep riding with the trekking bar for at least another year, as I still like it. The side position is also my favorite grip position. Based on what I read on a separate thread on trekking bars, I developed a technique for pivoting my hands on the palm heels from the side position to near position to quickly access the brake levers. It doesn't work so well though when wearing my fingerless cycling gloves as the rubber on the palms gets a bit too stuck on the bar. OTOH the bar tape gets too slick on a rainy day to grip bare-handed - so I'm hoping the Tacky will allow a better enough grip in the wet so I won't have to use the gloves.

I tend to use the far position when I have a headwind but I too don't feel as safe gripping that position if I think I'll be needing the brakes soon.

[MENTION=118036]fixed4life@gmai[/MENTION], [h=2]You know you're hardcore Jersey when you get these...[/h]

Funny! :-D As I looked at the pic I thought, hm, someone's going to comment on where I work.

But you're close. Third grade.

Oh man - I typed 3rd, then looked at the size of the textbook on your desk and opted for 4th.

I taught 5th for 6 years before leaving teaching. i miss it a lot. i also rode to school - stored my bike, and changed my clothes in my big classroom closet lol

[MENTION=152773]noglider[/MENTION] - Ha!!! Having grown up in South Jersey (Exit 4, in the 80's), we referred to Philadelphia as "The City"... Now-a-days my wife and I consider Philly as "Going into Town" and NYC as "Going to the City"... I suppose as you age your world view broadens...

Thanks for a great link!

My wife grew up in upstate NY and always meant NYC when she said "The City"... until she moved to the Bay Area where SF is "The City".

And the back side of NJ is gorgeous indeed-- we have family there too. Beautiful country.

1997 Scwinn Searcher Express. SKS longboards, MKS Grip King Pedals, Jandd rear rack and trunk.

i agree beautiful picture. [MENTION=117478]ALLSTOTT[/MENTION]

that is good looking commuter. you should write a post to review it.

I suppose I should... I was pretty apprehensive about buying one because it was a relatively unknown entity, so it makes good sense. Let me get a few more weeks of commuting on it and I will do so.