Any bicycle commuters here? PICS of my new bike added

[bull]

Gettin' some new bars huh?  Might I suggest a set of these.  I hear they're really comfortable. 

Yea, they look very ergonomic.

[Neal_J]

Nice bike.  I'd like to see a pics after the mods are made, particularly the handlebars you choose.  Until I read your post above, I'd never thought to change my mountain bike bars to something more comfortable/upright.  Thanks Bull

Neal

[Orange_Crush]

You done good. 

If I was you, I'd go ahead and pull off the inner and outer chainrings and front derailleur, its just another thing that can screw up and you will find yourself using the middle ring 99.999% of the time for commuting.  You can also get a giard for the chainring to keep your pant leg out of it.

If you go with a rack, use panniers instead of a trunk bag.  That'll keep your weight closer to the ground for a lower center of gravity and easier riding.  Also, pick up a headlight and blinkie light.  You gotta let people see you and reflectors don't do SQUAT!

As far as the bars go, just get a taller stem and a set of riser bars at the local bike shop.

Here is a good commuting forum. http://forums.roadbikereview.com/forumdisplay.php?f=76 You can learn a lot of helpful stuff there.

Good luck and enjoy!

BTW, how long is your commute (time wise) one way?

[Todd Wilson]

NIce looking bike. So the next question is how long will you ride it before you wuss out and get back in the car for the commute to work! HAHA!   

21 miles is a long ways!


Todd

[bull]

NIce looking bike. So the next question is how long will you ride it before you wuss out and get back in the car for the commute to work! HAHA!   

21 miles is a long ways!


Todd

I don't know. We should do a pool. Everyone kick in $50 and send it to me for a chance to win big.

You done good.

If I was you, I'd go ahead and pull off the inner and outer chainrings and front derailleur, its just another thing that can screw up and you will find yourself using the middle ring 99.999% of the time for commuting. You can also get a giard for the chainring to keep your pant leg out of it.

If you go with a rack, use panniers instead of a trunk bag. That'll keep your weight closer to the ground for a lower center of gravity and easier riding. Also, pick up a headlight and blinkie light. You gotta let people see you and reflectors don't do SQUAT!

As far as the bars go, just get a taller stem and a set of riser bars at the local bike shop.

Here is a good commuting forum. http://forums.roadbikereview.com/forumdisplay.php?f=76 You can learn a lot of helpful stuff there.

Good luck and enjoy!

BTW, how long is your commute (time wise) one way?

My commute time-wise one way is anywhere from 40-50 minutes. Today it was only about 30 because I took the bus up the hills for about 3 miles of my 10-mile trip to work. I just about gave myself heat exhaustion (or maybe I did) by riding 20+ miles in 95-degree weather a few days ago (mentioned above) so I'm going to take it easy for a few days.

[Orange_Crush]

That's great!  You can do mixed bus/bike commuting.

40-50 minutes is pretty good.  Many cyclists struggle to get 2 hours of riding in per day, you can do it going to work.  You're going to find yourself in great shape in a month or two.  You may even find that you'll get to the point where you can eat pretty well and still lose weight.

Enjoy it Bull...this is the best thing you can do for yourself.

[bull]

Right now it's aches and pains but if I stick with it I'll be a machine.

[Charger_Fan]

That's a good looking bike, I like the disc brakes & suspension.
I need to find a job closer to home, so I can do that. Right now, it's 39 miles each way...with a couple really long hills in between.