Winter/Offroad/backup bike:



Spring through fall bike:




Both seem to have lost their fenders for the summer.

tsl Those are nice looking bicycles. What type of pedals are you using? Thanks in advance.

Bianchi San Jos8

The type bike I use for commuting (and everything else) is a compact/endurance bike. It is just shy of a racers speed but a little bit more comfortable. I have a deserted but well groomed MUP for my 7 mile commute. My Giant Defy II is well suited for brisk sprint back and forth to work. It sports Planet Bike Superflash Blaze light set up for the dark hours on the trail and it runs on Continental Gatorskins for a little extra protection against road debris. I use a backpack on Mondays to resupply so the bike is rack free and ultra lightweight the other days. It doesn't rain in Las Vegas so no fenders. It has 2 bottle cages and a tiny under seat bag for a tube change. Fully loaded with lights, water, tools, GPS and a video camera it weighs 25 pounds. It is fast and really sexy. A very efficient commuter. I love it's fit and agility so much that I promise myself a carbon 3 ring Defy Advanced if I loose this last 10 pounds. LOL.

Shimano A-520, the single-sided road/touring SPD.

I like that they always flop into that position, ready to clip-in. My double-sided pedals drove me nuts because they were in a random rotation.

This.

I just started my 38 mile round trip on my Trek 2.1 road bike in early August. I'm considering adding a rack and fenders to my Trek 7000 for the winter/chance of rain days, and for hauling clothes back and forth. For now I'm biking in twice a week, but thinking of adding a day or two a week when the weather looks good. Saving $7 a day in gas is becoming addicting!

I ride a Giant Revel 1 mountain bike.The Front sus* is great but I'm looking forward to upgrading to a full sus around tax time. For now it works. All season bike will see its first winter this year. Has about 1500 miles on it. I bought it three months ago

I use a diamondback outlook. I changed the rear tire for slicks, and I plan to change the front on Wednesday. Front and rear fenders, lights, a rack and pannier. Not too bad or great.

Oh wow - a grey Non Laudo. That is nice.

Wouldn't it be cool to use a shaft-drive with the shaft inside the main top tube, transferring power to a gear and chain behind the seat?

Oops - - newbie posting error. This post was supposed to go with the recumbent bike on the previous page!

fair weather: 2010 Motobecane LeChampion SL Ti








foul weather: 2011 Scott SUB 10 Men

Mostly on this:


if I have a lot of crap to carry I might ride this:


if it's raining, I might ride this:


if it's snowy and icy, I ride this:

Here comes the wealth envy - I think I need more money!

Nice bikes, all.

What neighborhood do you live in? That set of high-rises look awfully familiar.

Thanks, I've got three more...but don't normally use them for commuting. Funny, of all of them the Big Dummy was the most expensive...cost me about 2k to build it. A decent racing bike costs more than that.

River North. I'm in the west tower of Marina City's corn cobs.

Will echo the sentiment that mid 80's ATB's are an ideal platform for commuting as they are essentially touring bikes on 26 inch wheels and in many cases, much like the modern Surly LHT as far as fittings and capability for running fenders and racks go.

Seems that back in those days the early designers included eyelets for racks and fenders in the event someone wanted to expand on the utility of their ATB and allow for back road touring.

Primary commuter is my 1988 Kuwahara Shasta that has evolved from a fixed gear to a three speed, to going back to an 18 speed derailleur equipped model which is nearly original. This is a better set up for towing and am I the process of building up another 3 speed winter bike which is my preferred weapon for apocalyptic weather.



It is very similar to my 1987 Kuwahara Cascade, frame geo is the same but has trekking bars instead of drops, different tyres, and more easily replaceable components.

It is tour worthy and blows through everything at a very good rate of speed as it offers a better position than most hybrids and is a far tougher bike by virtue of the excellent frame and high quality wheels.

I always tell people that because of these bikes I have no need for a Surly as they are nearly identical and in many respects, much nicer bikes by virtue of having much nicer (handbuilt) frames.

For faster and less laden commutes I use a hand built Moulden XC bike that is nearly as light as my steel road bike but rolls on high performance 26 inch wheels and tyres and is set up with drop bars and a 24 speed drive that will take me up anything and gives me a top end that is very close to my road bike.

It was fitted with higher pressure slicks but the ride suffered and the speed was no better than the 26 by 2.0 XC tyres I am running now... and it too blows through stuff that you would be dodging on a road bike which helps for urban assaults and still allows for off road riding.

This. Im one of those who dotes on this sort of bike.
I'm always on the hunt for large frame ATB bikes, in fact, from the late 80's through mid-90's. Names like Specialized, Trek, etc. are what I look for, mostly because I'm accustomed to them. Out fitted with thinner, high pressure tires and a few upgrades as needed, these bikes make outstanding commuters.
The one problem is that I don't see many of them locally.

I live about 10 miles from Cal Poly SLO and our craigslist is loaded with "commuter" bikes based on old steel MTBs. Problem is people keep asking $200-$300 for them. Apparently the idea has caught on around here.

I use an old Hard Rock for commuting but I'm saving up for a CX for a little more fun.

$200-$300 for a decently built ATB is not a bad price... some of these old steel frames are built to an exceptional standard and in nice shape you tend to get bikes with a very nice parts spec.

I sometimes feel I may be responsible for the popularity of these kinds of bikes in many quarters as I have been evangelizing for many years on how good they can be and our church and congregation has seen explosive growth.

For the past few months I've been using a late 70's mixte. Not ideal, but for 3.3 miles it gets the job done.

In a week or two I pick up my soma double cross. Might be a lot to spend on 'just' a commuter, but I don't ride for any other reason than transportation. I'm trying hard not to feel guilty about this purchase.

1996 Trek 830 mt. track

This


20-Inch Wheel Commuter by sudoshift, on Flickr

or


2008 Dahon Curve SL by sudoshift, on Flickr

this