Jeffbeerman2

I just added a new bike to my stable! She wont be used for commuting very often, but she sure is purdy. It may give me an excuse to buy some studded tires and try riding to work in snow/ice conditions . I've wanted a mountain bike for a while now. It's a Fisher Cobia (29er). I tested a lot of bikes but kept thinking about how much fun riding this one was, so I went back and said goodbye to my moolah. It handles like most of the 26ers I tested, but goes over curbs and rocks like they aren't there.

I think I'm gonna call her Stretch. Check the size compared my Crosscheck and 1200.
Oh Ms Stretch, how do you handle so precisely?!

I won't get to ride her off road til this weekend. I learned pretty quickly that the dinotte is great for commuting but doesn't show you much, even on an easy park-hiking-trail. It's too dark to ride after work.

the new ride


my stable

Sirrus Rider

I think for a large part it depends on how cycling friendly one's town/city happens to be. I have a road bike that is shod in 700c X 23 and I just don't feel comfortable riding in traffic where I have to deal with wide storm drains, chuckholes, beer bottles, broken glass, loose sand, etc. Meanwhile my commuter is an adapted Mountain bike on 26X1.50s and the actual contact patch with the road is double that of the road bike. The commuter eats most of these hazards without any stability issues of the Road bike.

Sirrus Rider

It may not be pretty or expensive, but It's better than walking and it gets to from point "A" to point "B"

craigdurkee

2nd class riding is better than 1st class walking mate thats what i always say

DVC45

If it rides well and the brakes work, who cares. Just enjoy it.
A Walmart bike is what got me back into cycling after 22 year hiatus.

BTW, Thank you for your service and God bless!

abmtnbkr

Jeffbeerman...I couldn't help but notice that nice acorn bag and wood fenders. Can you post more pics of that bike?

Private_Pez: I'll echo what DVC45 said. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE! STAY SAFE!!

Sixty Fiver

My winter commuter complete with a thermos full of chai.

Donkey Hodie

+1

StokerPoker

The Marin is at REI waiting until Tuesday to see if my rear wheel will be replaced under warranty. (crappy joint in the rim causing multiple flats) I put a piece of duct tape on it a while back and pretty much forgot about it until I went to swap the tires for the season. This gave me the motivation to put the Trek back together. I went for a test ride and was quite surprised

The old Trek 800 is quick and smooth but I forgot my blinky was loose. it fell off breaking into 4 pieces so I hit the brakes hard going 17mph. something didn't feel right and I realized the back tire was off the ground about 2 inches and I managed to balance on the front tire for about 15 feet until I came to a stop. I guess that steel Wald rack and Wald folding baskets on the Marin weigh a lot more than I realized. On that bike I have to shift my wieght to get the back tire off the ground. I'll post updated pics of the Trek soon.

KLW2

Put the studs on this morning! Up to a foot of white stuff coming today!!!

segfault66

I did my 15 mile r/t commute yesterday. The temperature on the way home was in the mid-20's F.

This is a 2007 Specialized Sirrus Sport. I recently replaced the flat bars with drop bars and Shimano Sora 2x8 brifters. The Sirrus Sport came with Tektro Mini-V's. Braking seems to be fine with the brifters. I also replaced the stock Shimano Nexave front derailleur with a Shimano 2200 double. The granny gear on the triple stays on, but can't be shifted to. The derailleur clamp is between the seat post bottle braze-ons, but I don't carry even one water bottle while commuting, let alone two.

I have a recently purchased Dinotte 200L helmet light and a Cat Eye EL510 handlebar light which are not pictured. I carry my clothes in a Crumpler Barney Rustle Blanket. My workplace has a gym with several showers.

Today's snow in the Chicago area forced me to take these pictures in the garage.





Maybe someday I'll get fenders for wet weather commuting.

jgrant75

new ride

abmtnbkr

Nice ride Segfault66! I commute on a specialized sirrus too. I recommend the fenders as it does save ya from getting wet from gutter water and such. Good choice on the Dinotte 200L. I just picked up a Dinotte 140L tail light and it sure does blaze!!

mrbrown

My Specialized Hardrock mutant commuter




When I am not commuting with my modified Dahon Curve foldie, I am on my Specialized Hardrock Comp Disc 2006 mountain bike. I recently put the Hardrock through some major surgery.

These are the results of the recent surgery: Shimano Deore rear derailleur, Deore front derailleur and Deore Rapidfire Plus shifters. I also changed to an XT Hollowtech II 48T touring crankset and BB, XT Chain, and XT 9-speed Cassette. Also took out the heavy stock Marzocchi MZ-3 shocks and replaced it with an OEM alloy rigid fork.

Also changed the Witch Ditch wheels (with the Schwalbe Marathon Cross 1.75 touring tires I put on it) to Mavic 719 rims, with Shimano M475 hubs and Alpine Triple-butted spokes and Panaracer T-serv Messenger 26x1.25 slicks.

So much lighter now, and the shifting is clean and robust.

Previously, the saddle was changed to Lookin Xsenium, and the disc brakes to Tektro Aquila, and the pedals changed to Shimano XT M770 spds.

I think after this round, the only stock stuff on the bike now is the frame, seatpost, headset, and handle bar. Haha!

Nestoreitor

These are my ride and my commute. The bike is the most equipped version of the cheapest hardtail frame from Orbea. I added 26x2.0 Marathon Supreme slicks and SKS fenders. The commute is idillic, 65ºF this morning, no rain. It's the first bike I buy in some 24 years, and so far so good.

Kudos to rdrk. You have to have some stones to ride in that climate.

jonathan180iq

The Mt. Fury was my first ever commuter bike, too. I logged a little more than 100 miles on that thing before I bought a road bike that was too big for me. Some 1.5" slicks decreased my overall ride time from 1 hour down to 45 minutes, for what it's worth.

l3ica

This will be my (20 mile round trip) commuter until March when a new rack and panniers will make it my home for 10 months on a tour.

2007 Trek 520 53.5cm
Mostly stock except for the Brooks, WTB mountain drop bars, Thomson, and Ultegra crank.
...fenders are in the mail.

Sixty Fiver

That 520 is beautiful.

DXchulo

chiefhoser

DXchulo:
What tires do you have on that (ie. size and brand)? And follow up, how do you find them in the snow?

bigbenaugust 

That San Jose and that 520 are like art. My bike looks like a pile of crap in comparison.

DXchulo

Those are Panaracer Cross Blasters (700 x 31). They are good in pure snow but too narrow for ice. I had to ride them in a pinch and they did fine, but I'd prefer something a little wider. I have some beefier 700 x 35s coming on Friday. I ordered them a while ago but went cheap on the shipping. Looks like that was a mistake.

devianb

Photo of my Mom's old Diamondbike Hybrid that I use to go to work. Its currently stripped down to the frame with broken parts everywhere. Note lack of front shifter, since it broke into pieces and I removed it since I didn't know how to replace it at the time.

HardyWeinberg

xmas card from chiropractor:

reueladhikari

Here is my version of a cross check.