I've got a Specialized Hard Rock, though a lot of parts have been replaced. It's my all around bike, from hitting single track trails to commuting to school and training for a century.
What do you ride? Where do you ride it, and what do you do with it? What makes your bike special?
It's the second bike, the blue one. A blue Burgers Speciaal (burger is the Dutch word not just for hamburger, but also for civilian), year unknown. I think I've accidentally based the veenspace colors on the bike's light blue. On occasion I make pictures of where I've parked my bike so I don't forget, which is why this was the only picture of my bike on my phone. I've had it for more than two years now! Quite an achievement. Most students like me bike around on €20 shitty pieces of crap, which falls apart or gets stolen after some months. I've spent some more on this decent bike (€140) and on a good lock (€20) and it's still standing.
I have a five year old Specialized Sirrus. It's a hybrid city/road bike. I used to use it for commuting to work before I got a job working from home. Now I use it to get around town, since I live in a city where parking is at a premium. It's a nice bike, fairly maneuverable. It needs some TLC and I really need to get a new seat, but it gets me by. I need to get my wife a good bike as well so we can ride together. There's a huge difference between a $100 Wal-Mart special and a real good bike.
My husband bought a bike a year ago and it wasn't long before I ended up with one. I have a Giant Liv Alight named Coriander Pedals-- I felt like the price was great for my level of commitment. The two of us have been able to ride together and it's definitely my favorite part of owning a bike.
I have 4 bikes: - an old ('80s) batavus "racing" tandem; speedy and great for short weekend trips - an old ('70s) Raleigh Sports, most comfortable bike but a bit too small for me, so rarely used - *an old ('80s) gazelle champion mondial, which is my main bike - an old ('00s) "stationsfiets", pedal brake single speed commuter to get me from the station to work and back in the town I work
Raleigh Misceo 1.0. Purchased for $350, which was good 'cuz it was stolen three weeks later 20 feet away from one of those goddamn Salvation Army santas ("hey dude! Someone stole your bike!") at the grocery store so I had to buy it again for $350. No suspension which makes it much faster, geared like a road bike which makes it much faster. AND it has a very expressionist map of Seattle on the top tube which cemented the deal. Previous bike was a Marin something-or-other with the magic bouncy Marin seat tube and the magic Marin locking front fork. Bitch popped tubes like it was going out of style. I put two gearsets on that thing and like 4 sets of tires. Then going down a hill the chain sorta flew loose which got it caught in the rearset which caused it to bend all its spokes, destroy the gearset and rub through the back tire so severely that it actually ground down the rim. On the plus side, I rode it out. On the minus side, no more Marin. Which is okay, 'cuz it was like $800 and those rapacious bastards at Bicycle John's sold me an f'n 17" frame and I'm 6'1. I have put more miles on my bicycle in the past 5 years than I have put on my car and I live in LA.
Naaah. See bicycle mishaps involve your mass, ~20lbs of chrome-moly and whatever immovable objects tend to be around, assuming you're clear of traffic. Those can go bad (and they have! Believe me, they have) but the physics are still in the "sports" regime. You get one of these involved and suddenly you're sliding across 4 lanes of the 405 because some fuck in livery figured NOW was a great time to exit the carpool lane, despite the double yellow, and you're hoping that everybody stops 'cuz you're sideways and there's 430lb of Italian exotic lying wounded on the road. Refocuses your perspective on bicycle accidents I tell you what.
My bike's name is Raggedy Anne. I get her new around 1996. She is a red Pinarello cross with a no-name chrome front fork (it is the third one), yellow fenders, and blue and white handlebar tape and a used Brooks saddle. It has only one front chain ring because seven is enough for me even in the hills. I don't do training rides. I use it as transportation.
I have two: - a 1976 Raleigh Sports, which is my commuter (when I commute alone) - a 2010 Surly Long Haul Trucker frameset that I use for longer rides and load bearing The Raleigh is more or else like any other Raleigh of the era. It's in great shape, but otherwise isn't very interesting. My LHT is my baby. A lot of thought when into choosing every component on it. Frost River panniers, silver mudguards, cream paint with Compass's Barlow Pass tires. Suntour Superb derailleurs. Very nice. I've spent the past 5 years forming it into my ideal bike. I wish I had a camera to take a picture of it. It's fucking great when loaded. When I ride, it's usually because I need to be somewhere.
3 year old Titan Carbon 29ER Elite!
I have replaced most of the components, because I broke them ;x I commute with this bike, I read Cross Country, Single Track, Up Mountains, Down Mountains.
I've done a few 100km road races and MTB races and in the time I've had it it's done just over 6000 km.
This bike is special to me because it's my first proper mountain bike and the bike that really intoduced me to the wonderful sport of MTB.
I have only recently gotten into cycling, after my brother-in-law and I swapped bikes. He was after my mountain bike and I was after his road bike. I'm not really sure where it stands in the world of real cyclists, but it's a (red and black) Raleigh AirLite 200. It has sora-shifters which I'd never even heard of until I had to use them. But it's great fun, and I can see this is going to be a new hobbie! I usually go out before work for a 15km cycle along the beach, and I'm trying to organise some longer cycle rides with some friends. I've preemptively signed up for the London to Brighton cycle ride in September, so I should really get training for that. :D
My 1987 Fuji Palisade is my pride and joy. I lovingly restored it last year and ride it all the time now. I moved the downtube shifters up to the bar ends using NOS Suntour barcons which are way better for me. I also redid the brake levers with some nice inexpensive modern levers with nice rubber hoods (compare old metal levers with plenty of gnarly bits from last owner's falls). Finally, I put a lower small chainring on it so I can pedal my butt up big hills without dying. Some grease, lube, and tape, and I have myself a gorgeous road bike for under $300. Beautiful champage silver color.
I ride a red and white 2008 Gary Fischer Piranha when I'm on the mountain! I love the bike! It's a hardtail with hydraulic disc brakes and beefy mud tires. It rips. It roars. And with Gary Fischer out of business and this bike no longer being made I am keeping it forever haha it was my first quality bike and I love it. I just recently got into road biking a year ago and have been zipping around on a Salsa Vaya with slicks for tires. Getting used to slicks was tough! But it has been worth it! My commute to work in the summertime is so much more enjoyable!
A rusty offroad bike I inherited from my nephew. The last time I spent a lot of money on a bike, I couldn't be bothered to keep it in good condition, and it deteriorated rapidly. I currently use it for transporting my son to kindergarten in a bike trailer, and myself to work.
I've got a lime green BMX I picked up from Canadian Tire. I use it to take me pretty much everywhere. On the weekends I usually go with my brother on some MTB trails and other places deep in forests. We like to explore, which has actually payed off because we have found a few nice abandoned buildings and other cool, desolate places.
I have no idea what this is, but I picked it up from A Guy On Craigslist after someone busted the back window of our car out and stole my twelve year old hybrid Kona Dew Double I loved so much. Seriously wish I knew what was going on here, but this was my first drop bar style and it's fantastic. Had no idea what a difference it would make - six months old and just broke 2000 miles on it.
Commuter: Nashbar 29er single-speed. Heavy, rugged, dependable. It goes to work and back as much as my schedule and the weather allow. It's special because I feel nothing if it gets scratched/dented (just so long as it works).
Road: Custom frame 700c. I built it for myself while considering a career making bicycles. It's special because it made the transition from inside my head over into the real world. The geometry was chosen on personal fit and some dynamic modeling I did based on this paper published by the Royal Society. I wrote some code in python to replicate the dynamic model found in the referenced paper. If anyone knows kivy and is interested in making an app of it, let me know.
Ooh, I've got an old 1991 Specialized Hardrock that I've "saved" by turning it into a single speed commuter. It's a completely different beast than the current Hardrock though.
I currently ride a Surly Pacer frame with custom components. I'd say it is a pretty good little bike for riding around the city. I used to have a LHT, man I loved that thing and rode it all over the place but I ended up selling it to my friend who I'd hope would use it to lose weight and ride with me. He didn't', sadly. I tried to buy it back but he refused and I don't talk to him much these days. I've been thinking about getting something like a Surly Troll. Have any of you had any experience with that type of frame/bike? I kind of wanted to do some heavy touring that may involve some "off the beaten path" type riding. I'm not a surly snob or anything (I do love their frames though, haha) so I'm open to any suggestions.
I think I'd heard of the Troll before now, for being a solid bike, but I only just now looked into it. Sounds similar what I've turned my Hardrock into. I've added touring pedals, a road saddle, more water bottle holders (can you really ever have too many?), and grips that would belong more on a hybrid. I'm sure you could do that with just about any bike, but it seems like the Troll is pretty much designed to have that happen, so I'd say go for it. Though depending on where your "un-beaten" paths are, maybe you'd want to look at a Fat Tire?
Yeah, I was throwing around the Fat Tire idea but wanted to get some more info first. Thanks for the reply!
Oh man, I used to have a WONDERFUL flatland BMX. It was a matte grey (I want to say the year was 2003, but I'm probably wrong) Felt GT, with all the bells and whistles (barspin gyro, front and back pegs, etc); I call it a flatland BMX because the damn thing weighed a LOT, and didn't take too kindly to vert tricks as I would like. Unfortunately, I haven't seen this bike in about 8 years now, due to breaking my hip in two places when I was 15. It might still be sitting behind the garage, which is a damn shame considering how much I still enjoy riding when I can, but teenage neglect bears some powerful lessons. :/
I don't have a bike. But if I did, it would be a no-frills utility bike for travel and transportation purposes. I'd love to be able to bike to and from university, the grocery store, and wherever else. Having a car is expensive, unnecessarily so when you live in a relatively condensed town like I do.
Why is it that you don't have a bike, what's stopping you?
Inertia, I suppose. I went to a bike shop in town and was scared away by the prices. I only have $20 or $30 to spend on a bike. I checked Craiglist and didn't see anything usable for sail; haven't really thought about buying a bike since then. I think I'll look back into getting one once I move into my new place in August.