I ride in street clothes (khakis, button-down shirts) and have a bike I purchased used for $75. I've used that bike to ride 60-100 mi/wk for the past four years, and have never had any problems with it. (Of course, I make sure I maintain it.) You don't need to spend a lot of money to have a usable bike, as long as you don't care about image too much If you do care about image a lot, well, you're doomed anyway; you might as well just go ahead and buy a BMW and hire a personal trainer.

That is my vision of a commuter. I commuted for years on a Raleigh 3 speed. It was my only form of transportation for about 4 years. I even dragged the thing back and forth between a couple of cities on Greyhound (those were the days) Unfortunately in many places it is an uphill battle to be able to just ride a bike. So much of our retail and other facilities have been moved to the outskirts of town and are accessible only by high speed arterials. IMHO it would only take a tiny bit of extra effort to include cycle/pedestrian access in the planning and execution, but the cycling advocacy is so fragmented and full of misinformation that it seldom happens much past the planning stage if it happens at all.

Aaron

that rig deserves full aerobars and a set of zipp wheels... oh sorry- i just got back from the roadie forum.

I would need a trailer and a Jesus fish,,,,,

Car-lite bike commuter here: After five plus years of year round commuting, I have averaged 1.5 crashes a year, while the average damage per year is less than 20 dollars, the total maintence due to things rusting up is also about 20 dollars a year. I'm sure that a couple of my accidents would have pwned a fancier bike than my steel beast of an old Mountain bike.

I'm not saying a more responsible, attentive, and skilled rider than I wouldn't be able to ride an expensive bike year round without problems. I'm certain it is just an expensive waste for myself.

On the other hand once a week I'm late (what can I say I'm a dumba&&) and having a lighter faster option might be nice. Of course these are also the days when I'm likely to have a crash, and invariably carrying the most work related extra stuff.

I envision one thing after seeing that bike:

All 265lbs. of me launching off that bike at 30mph if I have to break on my downhill commute. Not a good idea. I don't have a red cape and boots with blue tights to help me fly.

I commute half the time on a $$$ Seven Axiom. It's an absolute blast to ride and I make no aplogies, I could afford it, I wanted it, I bought it. No racks/fenders/panniers. I clip on a Mi-Newt if I need lighting, carry a few things in a messenger bag. My "commuter" is an Ultegra equipped Lemond, so also a pretty nice bike. I don't need them, but damn they're fun. And paid for with the money I didn't spend on a car, supporting US based companies including a hand built frame company in Massachusetts.

I don't generally mess with all the "commuter" gear like racks/panniers/etc... because I don't need to, I live in a city where I can *gasp* walk 2 blocks to the grocery store, hardware store, etc...

Translation: My trusty hybrid city bike that I rode on rainy days got stolen and I have bike envy of those with hardy commuter bikes I've been trying to find a replacement on craig's list for months

Not all of us have that luxury. I could walk to those places, but it would be a long walk and bike is much quicker. I have a Trek with racks and panniers, a Fuji enhanced with an Xtracycle, and a Montegue folder with racks and a hitch for a Carryfreedom city trailer.

It's been said, I'm sure... But add some lights, fenders, and racks to that baby (not to mention pedals...) and she's good to go.

Seriously, though I do everything on a FREE nearly 30 year old steel 10 speed with the above things added to it. My brother scares the crap out of me by doing the same without any of that gear on a $15 mountain bike he isn't even sure is technically sound. (I think it's the death wish that comes with being married with children)

It is true that commuting by bicycle does have a bit of an image problem - but I'm not convinced it's the bicycles themselves that make it.

I have a coworker who also bicycle commutes occasionally on a Trek road bike. This thing has more streamlining, bling and carbon fibre than my steel tank could dream of. He carries his laptop (same model as mine) on his back for longer than I do for the ride - I put mine on a rack in the back if I can help it.

He goes fast, I go Fred. It's not the bike or the accessories that's the issue for others.

It all comes down to society in general. In North America, people are raised to know cars. They accept cars. Cars are part of the social fabric, status symbols, and the general infrastructure of urban living. Bicycles are for us nuts, children, and poor people - and that's where the perception problem comes in. It doesn't help that most people see bicycles in the toy section of Walmart.

The bike the OP posted is, for better or worse, a specialized racing bike - the average person will never see one, and if they do - they'll be as flabbergasted by it as they are by a loaded commuter bike. They just don't understand why the rider isn't in a car.

I ride fast and I am the king of Freds.



I don't need carbon fibre and titanium bits to do that.