Later this year I expect to move back to the midwest for work and family reasons, and I’ll be needing a bike that can take a little more abuse…Foul weather, 4 seasons, potholes, gravel paths and a general lack of proper cycling infrastructure! I decided to build up an all-road, all-weather commuter out of an old Cannondale mountain bike I’ve had since college. The intent was to find the optimum balance of speed, durability and utility without breaking the bank.

So here are the particulars: Tiagra/Sora rear derailleur only, single speed front chainring and 26×1.5 slicks to take the hits. I ditched the old suspension fork and replaced it with a Winwood rigid carbon fork. After trying out several handlebar types (including the Moustache) I landed on the Origin 8 Gary bar, which is by far the most comfortable I’ve experienced. I’ve got it mounted on an adjustable stem for optimum comfort and power. The Gary is an MTB specific bar with a fairly wide splay, which puts almost zero bend on my wrists on the hoods. I could ride all day on this!

Because the frame has always been on the small side for me, the drops also put me at a more optimum reach. I also like the low stepover on the heavily sloped top tube. I had the frame powdercoated matte grey and designed the graphics. The name “Billy” comes from the unique goat-like stance of the bike, kind of hunched over on its front wheel and ready to climb some hills!

I intend to add a rack and fenders as needed, but right now I like to keep it clean and simple. With the removal of the front shock (totally unnecessary on any road-going bike!) and front derailleur, along with thin-walled slick tires I was able to trim quite a bit of weight off. The bike rides like a cloud and takes the hits, and there’s very little difference in speed from my full-on road bike.

There are so many old MTBs out there that would make great allroad commuter conversions, and with the growing availability of MTB-specific drop bars and improvements in tire technology it’s possible to build some very affordable and interesting road machines!

We’re auctioning nine “One of a Kind” PUBLIC bikes. These nine bikes are one of a kind because they are the only PUBLIC bikes in the world with these colors.

We’re donating 10% of the proceeds from this auction to support three causes we care about: San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, Sunday Streets, and Streetsblog SF. We highly encourage you to donate to these incredible organizations or become a member.

Our auction is live now and ends at 9 pm PST on Thursday, March 31, 2011.

This years theme, Acting on a Simple Solution, could hardly be more timely. Bicycling is economical, efficient, clean, and sustainable. The level of investment needed to get more people riding is small and offers big returns. Riding a bike frees people from car, gas, and insurance payments; it frees the nation from costly oil imports from volatile corners of the world. Bicycling is the ultimate expression of freedom and independence and the simple pleasure of riding a bike harkens back to simpler times. It’s fun, and its good for you. What’s not to like about that?

Yet here we are; close to 800 people in our nation’s capital having to “pitch” our elected representatives on why they should support continued Federal investment in bicycling. While it may seem obvious to us why that’s a simple case to make, there are almost 100 new members of Congress and a fresh slate of key committee members and staff who probably haven’t thought much about our issue. There are very few members of the House or Senate who were in office 20 years ago when the Transportation Enhancements program was created. In the next few days, we have the opportunity — no, the responsibility — to make sure every Member of Congress understands why this investment makes sense and just how it benefits individuals, business, communities, and the nation. No one else is going to do it for us.