I'm still commuting on the hard tail MTB I bought used 7 years ago. I made a lot of the modifications others here have done like switching to slicks, adding lights and a rack, and haven't bought the second bike yet because this one still does most of what I need most of the time.

Yeah - its suprising how well some things can work with a few modifications and a couple interesting accessories can make a dramatic difference in any ride. Personally I'd take some really decent lights over another bike - but that just me. Currently I'm looking into Thule's Freeload racks. At $200 a rack - it better be a long term purchase!

Just noticed that my mtb actually has eyelets for a rear rack. Been using a post mount but its not good for heavy loads. While I like the look of a clean bike and I have other bikes for commuting those mounting points cry out for a nice touring rack. Fuji really went to town on the Outland pro frame when it comes to convience for just about anything.

Now you march right into your shed and get rid of 4 of those bikes. Then you can take a time out and think about using bad words.

Well, my commuter is a 23 year old Specialized Hard Rock that's been converted to a utility bike with fenders, street slicks, lights, a rack, panniers and a trailer hitch.

My last commute was about 10 miles, with a number of hills, one topping out at a 20% grade.

The mountain bike was a good choice, easily available parts, the gearing got me up any hill, and the 26" tires were thick enough to stand up to road debris, potholes etc.

The key to avoiding heel strike is making sure your rack is big enough. Mine is a Jannd. It was the only one that the LBS had that day. But I've discovered that they make longer Jannd racks, so in hind sight I'd get a longer one.

That's what the beater bike is all about. You have your nice bike for everyday use, then you have the beater for bad weather, or those times when you come out to find that your bike has a flat, or you need to repair it, but you need to get work now. Usually, a beater is a used bike or one of lower quality that you can afford to get dirty.

I'm not spending thousands of dollars on a vehicle that can be stolen in 20 seconds with a portable angle grinder.

Life is too short to ride a beater. Why not ride a nice bike all the time? Or was it not bought to be ridden? However, 7 bikes is kinda strange, is it not?

While I understand your argument, an angle grinder, at least where I live, would inspire several calls to the police. Also, why not just insure it, it should be included in your home owners/renters policy (< 80€/year)?

You may find it strange but your opinion only counts for yourself. Dwayne, who's bike you really liked in post #25 has 6 bikes listed. Why don't you go bust his chops for having too many bikes? Or is 6 the right number but 7 is excessive?

I have an old 26" mtb and use it once in a while for commuting. Last Fall I had it set up as a pit bike for cross racing so it still has aggressive tires and egg beater pedals.

That old mtb is less than ideal for my commute (22 miles each way), but I still use it occasionally if i want the workout and have some extra time. There's also some good training to be had when I commute on that mtb, like sprinting between stop lights in town, and a little offroad action on a dirt path next to the paved MUP. A little variety in the commute breaks it up and may even help me next cross season improve my performance.

Every time you post, I think it must be nice to live in a place that's not out of its goldurned mind.

Renter's will cover it. I would rather it didn't happen.

Plus, not even my car is worth $5k.

If I had that much cash to blow, I'd spend it on tools and something nice for my wife.

The definition of a beater bike is a little fuzzy. Many people around here, including me, have an older bike that is not that attractive to thieves. However, my beater has about $200-300 worth of improvements, just so it is a comfortable, reliable ride to work.

Life is too short to have a bottom bracket crisis on a regular basis.

7 bikes is not that unusual if you have a large garage, no car and bikes aren't too expensive. However, I kind of agree with you. I have 4 bikes and keeping them all ride-worthy is too much work for me. Typically I use two bikes.

thread should have ended there.

1 bike, 7 bikes, who cares? how about we talk about mtbs as commuters

MTBs make excellent commuters.

I actually rather enjoyed commuting on this:


It was a basic Hardrock Sport that I put 26x1.5 Armadillos on. It changed it from being a rather bit of a beast to being a bit of a rocket ship. I basically kept it in the big ring constantly after I put those tires on and certainly wasn't slow. It was slow when the Nokians were on it, terminally slow actually.

It's problem was that shortly after I got this, and well, it's brilliant:


Ironically that bike looks almost nothing like that now. Add a rack, Nitto Noodles, a Deore crankset, clipless pedals, Marathon Duremes in spring summer or Marathon Winters now and you get an idea. My problem was that before I got the LHT I had no idea that the Hardrock was small for me. I tried a lot to get it to fit better, but in the end I sold it because it was clear it was too small.

I still regret it a bit because as "hop on and bomb" bike it was awesome. I've had my LHT as my only bike for almost five years now and I'm considering a Ogre as a second bike. I miss the whole "hop on it and bomb around"-ness of the Hardrock. Granted when I put a 700x45 Innova studded tire on the front of the LHT recently that started to happen again.

See? Different people have different approaches. That approach probably works for you. On the other hand I spent extra money to install corrosion resistant chains, bottom brackets with better seals, self healing tubes and lights that are completely waterproof just so I don't have to worry about driving in bad weather or getting things dirty. Something that's expensive and needs to be treated with kid gloves is on the wrong side of the practical scale for my tastes. YMMV

Now THAT'S yummy!

Originally Posted by xtrajack
As a rule a MTB with slicks and a solid fork, make a good choice for a commuter.

Maybe now??

among my many bicycles, my two main commuters are both converted mt bikes with solid forks, one with 1.5 slicks, 1 with Nokian studs, both fully fendered and racked. Love the riding position, the wide gear range for when I'm carrying a load, and the general versatility.

Theres room for garage queens and beaters in my stable. Still, they all get ridden in the rain/snow.

As does your opinion(s). And yes, 6 is number of bicycles at which the standard of reason is not exceeded. This threshold is benchmark in cyclopsychology for clinical unreasonableness and possible cyclohoarding. It's kind of like neural cell action potential - once threshold is reached, there's no turning back. Dwayne may be riding a fine line, but I cannot say the same for those who exceed threshold.

Sweet, you took a cue from dirtbike/dualsport wheel setup.

Close, but slicks and a solid fork make very little difference to many of us, so this next post answers the OP's questions even more succinctly:


However, the OP hasn't posted since post #2 so the rest of this thread has just been free-range entertainment for the already converted....