Dan,

Thanks for the info. Bear with me - I'm not a bike gearhead, so this is all pretty new to me. My daily commute is only 7.2 miles round trip with one major climb to get up the bluff unless I take an alternate route home, which bumps it up to about 10 miles round trip with 2 killer hills.

I'm riding a Giant XTC, sized for mountain biking rather than road use, since that's what I bought it for in 2001. Until I started commuting, I used it for short recreational rides on and off pavement and occasional all-day rides off pavement / off road.

For commuting, I put Michelin XC Hard Terrain tires on it which so far have worked quite well for me. Added a Jandd Expedition rear rack and a trunk on it - I was going to put the new Blackburn rack on it, but I needed the extra length on the Jandd to move things far enough back to clear my heels. I have a pair of Jandd grocery bag panniers (and they work rather well for that!), but as it turns out, I rarely need them for commuting.

Already had a Blackburn seat pack for the normal collection of tools, patches, spare tube, etc. I've added a CO2 inflator (used twice to re-inflate after patching punctures - neither of which happened on a commute ride), 5 12g CO2 cylinders, chain lube, etc etc. One thing I don't have (yet) is a chain tool - on my list. I also have 2 pr nitrile gloves in there and use them if I have to do any repairs on the trail.

Ummm - an LED headlight that has mostly "be seen" value - I can over run it easily on pavement - an LED tail light, and a basic computer. I intend to replace the headlight with a better model, add a pump and maybe a front rack of my own design. I have a front fenders but took it off - poor QC; I will make my own instead or maybe just stick a pair of Freddy Fenders on it.

I didn't note "clothes" on your list - I carry my work clothes in the trunk, along with my EDC

Whoops - I need to get going - I'll add to this later.

Tom