I guess I should start this...

I've been a year-round bike commuter for eight years or so, and I've been sort of involved with pro-bike activism (in a really half-assed sort of way) for maybe four years. I'm not anti-car, I just wish we were not so damn dependant on them.

In addition to commuting, I do 40 mile weekend rides that take me to the souteast side of Chicago and northwest Indiana, mainly in order to look for abandoned industrial sites. Bikes are well suited for UE, in my opinion.

That's it.

-N

Awsome thread! now we need some content.

I've been riding since i was quite young. I started getting into racing when i was 14, both road and off-road.

my biggest accomplishment was the Minnesota double cross, it was two double centuries back to back. We started in wisconsin, road to south dakota, then turned around and road back the next morning. Saturday was 226 miles and Sunday was 238. I did that ride two years in a row.

My bikes consist of:

Rock hopper Pro, with Disc.
A Custom Klein Quantum
and a Diamond Back Ascent, that i use for winter.

I had a really old trek 220 that was my first bike i raced with,
but i taco'd it in a pile up during a state race (cat 3)

Ah, finally, someone else posts! Now, only if the other folks on this forum would do the same...

For the record, the bikes currently in my stable are:

Rivendell Atlantis (heavy duty touring/commuting)
Rivendell Redwood (road touring)

Both bikes have fenders and saddlebags, which is both utilitarian and dorky looking by American standards. The dork look deters bike theives.

-N

_{(edited because my grammer sucks...)}

I started biking when I was 6, which is pretty late to Dutch standards, I was one of the last of my class to learn it.

I've driven to my primary school which was 1.5 km away for 5 years.
I've driven to my secundary school which was 7 km away for 4 years.
I've driven to my secundary school (other building) which was 9 km away for 1 year.
I've driven to my other secundary school which was 6 km away for 2 years.
I've driven to my other work which was 17 km away for 6 months.
I've driven to my university which is 5 km away for 2 years now.

That all 2 times a day, 200 days per year, totals
400*((5*1.5)+(4*7)+9+(2*6)+(.5*17)+(2*5)) = 400*75 = 30000 km AT LEAST now. So just a couple of years more and I've been around the world once

I atm have only one bike which I have for about 4 years now and it's about to fall apart (wheels squaky, some parts about to fall off, front light doesn't work) so I have to repair* it soon, before winter comes.
I do have saddlebags, enclosed chain and only 3 gears.

Tijmen

*AAAAAAAARGHHHHHH I've become infected with the american disease! I wrote "repare"

Edit: Here's an image of the beast, mine is in front.

click to view

There are 7 bikes in this pic, and 3 more in the other garage, and that's during the day. I might recount at night, when everyone's home. (we live with 12 ppl in the house)

I ride my mike when ever I can. I ride it to school, will sort of. I put my bike on the frount of the bus on the rack, to go up the big hills. I love to ride crazy down the hills.
I have a Specialized Rock Hopper, mountian bike. It works for my urban rides.

Thanks NV for this topic. cool

Posted by Seattle_Explorer Thanks NV for this topic. cool

No problem.

Now, if we can only get some content going on this forum, then we'd really have something!

Just kidding, sort of.

-N

Your saddlebags are no match for the dorkyness of my blue crate. It holds my excessively heavy backpack while I ride to school. It’s ugly as sin, and the fact that the frame is maroon doesn’t help at all.

I have a piece of shit Trek, but I'm lusting after a Cannondale feminine.

Posted by Shard Your saddlebags are no match for the dorkyness of my blue crate...

Ah yes, I used to have a red mikcrate on my old Trek mountain bike (with duct-tape hand grips!) Ugly, dorky, and 100% utilitarian. Anything that makes the bike snobs riding $3000 Lightspeeds and wearing day-glo tights turn up their noses is okay by me.

Welcome Shard and nightbird.

-N

Now all you need is one of those big fluffy seat covers!

Rock on.

The funny thing is, I live with 4 Dutch and 7 Germans in this house.

I am the only person with saddlebags, and there are 5 Germans who have a basket on their bike.

In Holland only old-aged people have a basket, so we had a laugh when we saw the German baskets.
In Germany only old-aged people have saddlebags, so they had a laugh when they saw our bags.

Tijmen

Woo, just subscribed to this board. Being a poor and unemployed, I am all about the wonderful piece of machinery that is the bicycle. I can't remember when I started riding (probably 4-6 years old). When I was about 13, I became really involved in BMX. I specialized in street and dirt. For the next few years, that's all I did. I'd come home from school, get on my bike, and come back when I needed to sleep. I had a few friends who were similarly interested in BMX. Then, when I was about 16, I had to move to a new state, leaving my old friends behind. I tried to keep up with my crazy BMX skills, but I found nobody to ride with. After a couple of years of riding alone, I slowly started to give up BMX biking. A year or two ago I bought a cheap Schwinn mountain bike from a Walmart for purely transportational reasons. I rediscovered the fun of just riding. I don't worry about doing "tricks" like I used to with BMX, or improving my skill. I just ride.

Posted by DeepCyde Now all you need is one of those big fluffy seat covers!

...and tassles for the handlebar ends.

-N

Hey all; good to see that there are people interested in the commuter aspect.
As for me, since '86 I've trained and raced in Crits, roadraces, centuries, you name it. And I love equipment. Like a good camera, I also get excited over a high quality bike.
I used to train about 5000 miles a year.
In '98 I bought a Gary Fisher mountain bike, and begain racing that ;I liked the mountain bike scene ; It was like nordic ski racing; All individual effort.
And it was easy compared to road racing.
MB racing; go out and give it your all.
Road: Get dropped on a climb and you are screwed; you could be the strongest athlete in the race, but you will not touch the group again unless you kill yourself.

Posted by 'Dukes Hey all; good to see that there are people interested in the commuter aspect. As for me, since '86 I've trained and raced in Crits, roadraces, centuries, you name it. And I love equipment. Like a good camera, I also get excited over a high quality bike. I used to train about 5000 miles a year. In '98 I bought a Gary Fisher mountain bike, and begain racing that ;I liked the mountain bike scene ; It was like nordic ski racing; All individual effort. And it was easy compared to road racing. MB racing; go out and give it your all. Road: Get dropped on a climb and you are screwed; you could be the strongest athlete in the race, but you will not touch the group again unless you kill yourself.

Awsome, i had a Fisher Joshua, full suspension, i loved that bike.

Nordic skiing rules, i raced for 7 years in high school, i wish i would have stuck with it after i graduated. I've been thinking about getting into Biathlon, but, eh, money...wife...work....(not in that order..)

I have a cheapass bike that I bought at Sears. I don't remember the brand right now, but its some kind of racing bike. Which is funny because I don't race I just ride it because I like it and because it's good for me. I've always liked riding. When I was a kid, I would ride for miles and miles. Before I was old enough to drive, I would bike anywhere I wanted to go, and I do mean anywhere.

I don't ride very much these days, because I live in a part of town where there are no real bike trails, and people seem to regard riding a bike on the street as an excuse to run you over if you get in their way. And let's face it, you're always in their way.

I've never been that interested in commuting by bike too much, although I would probably do it if my work was closer to my house.

Posted by DeepCyde Awsome, i had a Fisher Joshua, full suspension, i loved that bike. Nordic skiing rules, i raced for 7 years in high school, i wish i would have stuck with it after i graduated. I've been thinking about getting into Biathlon, but, eh, money...wife...work....(not in that order..)

I bought a Fisher Big Sur, decent deal in '98 at 800 bucks.

Biathalon is cool; around here we have a spot in Saratoga county where races are held, and up in Lake Placid, where the '80 Olympics were held.
I skiied in the HS championships there, and there is nothing like the feeling of skiing an olympic course.
(sorry for the ski reply bike moderator, hehe)

great idea on the board.

i ride a renegade...crap forget the model name. its a dual suspension, upgrade, fox vanilla in the back, and i can't remeber the type of front fork. i also threw some K2 stuff on too, seat/seatpost/grips/pedals. it needs a set of tires though. and i also have a carbon fiber look spiked fender in the front (motocross looking, similar to THE but not THE.) its a pretty tough bike, scored it from a friend that was moving outta town for cheap. ill post pix sooner-or-later.

HEy all,
I custom built my bike.

My normal Commuting bike
-Reycles frame (sont know the make) pretty light and is my size
-mavic 221 rims
-Shimano deore LX hubs
-Shimano Alivio Derailler
-recycled seat and alloy seatpost
-v brakes and alloy handles
-Shimano deore cassette

My Lowrider

Custom built with springer fork, banana seat, ape hagner handlebars and sparkling blue paintjob

I have a third hand tool and all the bike tools available in my basement.i have like 3 bike waiting to be built and have plenty of spare parts. I started really young but i dint lose my training wheels until like 9 years old. Since then i have been Bmx'ing, racing and custom modifying bikes.

I have built every single things on each bike i have...From spoking wheels to manually inserting each bearing in my hubs. You name it, i did it.

-tap

I've been involved in cycling since I was 3 when I got my first BMX bike. I do own a car but try to avoid using it as much as possible, simply because I really do love to ride bikes. Also there are lots of advantages for riding bikes in UE, in my opinion they generally better than cars for UE.

I have 3 bikes a Trek 1000, Kona Cinder Cone, and a no name old single speed full fendered bike with a rear rack and a milk crate bolted on to serve as a trunk.

I've been using the Trek for weekend rides, charity rides, and to commute to work.

I used to race the Kona during college. For a year I was very active in the racing circle. Schedule got too busy etc then I focused on trials riding.

The no name single speed is the bike I use for UE. I think it's the perfect UE ride because it's so junky in appearance no one would steal it or vandalize it, unless they were really desperate.