My first road bike was a Schwinn World Sport; I can't believe that my dad thought that a 21" men's bike was a good fit for me as a 10yo! That's a tad larger than what I ride now. After that was stolen in college, I got a Novara Alight mountain bike that worked well for Santa Cruz, since I lived in the mountains above campus and could ride in on a short single trail + fire road, but overall I didn't enjoy riding it and it didn't see much use after I moved.

My 2005 Bianchi Castro Valley commuter was my do-it-all bike until recently; I wanted more gears (it is a 1x9, and from a thread here it I got the advice it would be better to get a new bike rather than spend the money to upgrade). So a 1998 Bianchi Eros followed me home in July, and I love her to pieces. Lugged celeste steel with the pretty 1997/1998 curvy rear stays, and tricked out with yellow accents, yum. She gets a lot of positive attention on the road, even from the serious carbon fiber set.

I just got a great deal on an REI Novara Carema at their scratch-and-dent sale a month ago -- the entire bike for about the retail price of the brifters alone. It was returned because the person did not like the ride (not surprising once you read below about the wonky geometry). This bike's name is "the donor bike" because I bought it for the parts. So I'm finally going to make my Bianchi Castro Valley commuter a 3x9, and the Carema will be a 1x9 or a fixed gear. The geometry is really odd on the Carema -- it is listed as a 42 cm; the seattube angle is very steep and thus the rear triangle is very compressed, but to keep 700c wheels on it, the headtube is *very* slack, and from the bottom bracket to the front wheel hub is actually a tad longer than my 52/53 cm Bianchis! So effectively it is best for someone with a short inseam and long torso, even though it is a "women's" bike. The seatpost is *really* long so that I can ride the bike, though the cranks are shorter and setback is less than I'd like. I think it will actually do a good job for the SO if I can coax him on a bike -- he is the same height as me, but has an appreciably shorter inseam.

I also just got a 1990s lugged steel celeste cyclocross Bianchi off eBay that I shipped to my SO so I have something to ride there -- I am dying to meet him but won't get out there for another month. It has the same geometry as my Castro Valley, but is a lot lighter, so I think it will make a great long distance bike.

And there is the Raleigh Super Course mixte frame that needs a serious overhaul... she's definitely going to be a fixie.