To travel by bicycle is a humble, nonagressive way to get close to people. It is a way of saying we are passing through with no thought of invasion or conquest, only the simple will to share a part of the war. — Claude Herve
I thought I’d share some updated photos of my commuter bike (“before” photos here).
In addition to being my commuter bike, it’s also my experiment bike. It’s been through 4 handlebars, and three front/rack configurations I can’t believe I am saying this, but I think this bike is finally “DONE” ;-). Commuting wise, my favorite changes are the additions of the:
Carradice Nelson Lowflap – It’s a Bike trunk. Store lots of stuff and comes in handy picking up groceries.
B&M Ixon IQ light – Great light with good runtimes. The focused beam makes this light very bright
Platform pedals with VO Half clips – Switched to these so I could wear winter boots during our colder than normal Washington, DC weather.
Brooks B17 – Need I say more…just one thing. Short rails don’t allow for enough backward adjustment so I added the VO seatpost w/ extra setback and shim to fit post.
The handlebars are Humbert Contest trekking bars. The control area provides a nice swept back area (or is it swept forward in this bar’s case) and combined with the Ergon grips, provide a comfortable position for my wrists. The handlebar is also double-wrapped with gel tape and cork tape.
In addition, I love the Paul’s thumbies. Something about thumb shifters that I really love.
This bike is a comfortable, all-day bike. I just need to work on adding things so I can hold more water….I guess I am not finished modding this bike ;). I think a couple of Two-fish bottle cages with solve the problem.
Karen sent me these photos of her new Rivendell Betty Foy with a custom cream and red paint job. What a beaut’! Thanks for sharing and enjoy your new bike, Karen!
This is my 1980 Bob Jackson touring bike that I commute with. Living in the Pocono Mtns. of NE Pennsylvania, the ride into town is a delight with 8.5 miles of the 10 mile ride being downhill. The ride home is another issue.
The bike is equipped with mostly original components dating back to 1980. Mostly Sun Tour Superb with Mountech front derailleur. Honjo fenders are a recent addition and I ride on 700×32 vittoria touring tires which smooth out the first 1 mile of gravel road quite well.
I fantasize about a new bike with an internal hub and belt drive, but this old machine keeps running. (By the way, I’m a potter by trade and that is one of my pots in the backround.)
This has always been my commuter ever since I got the bare frameset and built it as a touring bike, with Nitto randonneur bars, Brooks Champion Flyer saddle and front and rear Jandd Expedition racks. Now I have turned it into a city bike with the Nitto Albatross bars, new Nitto and Velo Orange racks, an old Sugino AT crankset and a Brooks B-72 saddle. I have enjoyed it tremendously in both configurations. The frame is very comfortable and stable with its long wheelbase; very easy to ride no-hands. I hope it will continue to take me to work and back for many years. —bongobike
This bike is my main source of transportation. I have put over a thousand miles on it since finishing it a few months ago. Rides smooth, clean and quiet. I now have fenders, racks and plenty of commuting filth on it. Afline rear hub, Gates Belt Drive, Jtek bar-end shifter, Shimano R600 long reach calipers, Halo front hub, DT spokes/nipples, Velocity aerohead rims – I made the frame and fork in Eugene, OR out of chromoly tubes and lugs. Stainless S&S coupler on drive sides seatstay for belt removal/installation. —Morgan
Editor’s Note: Morgan built this bike while working at Co-Motion in Eugene, OR. It was the second frame he built for his personal use. He’s looking to join a frame building company or open his own shop in the Portland area.
I had lunch with a friend today and I thought I’d share this photo of his über-cool city bike, a custom Rivendell Quickbeam. Specs include a B&M bottle dyno and headlight/tail light, Brooks B67, Albatross bar, hardwood grips, Plestcher double kickstand, Nitto Big Rack, and ABUS wheel lock. Click the “zoom” button to view the details.
As promised, here are some photos of the pre-production 2010 Raleigh Alley Way. A review will be forthcoming once we’ve spent some time getting to know the bike.
Here are a few pictures of my 2009 Surly Cross Check. I use this bike for my short 3 mile work commute, errand running, taking the dog out for runs, looking for treasures on recycling night, and for cruisin’ around Allentown, Pennsylvania. Some notable details include: Acorn bags, Brooks B17, XT derailleurs (low normal/reverse rear der.), MKS touring pedals, Nitto rando bars… and so on. —Brandon
I commute to work most days on this 1953 Schwinn World Three-Speed. 10 mile round trip. I make runs to the store with it — for quick trips I use the folding steel basket on the back, for big trips I hook up my Burley Flatbed. It’ll soon have a front-hub-generator fed lighting system. —Doug
I recently picked up a slightly used Bike Friday Crusoe. This is a fine one with modern up to date lightweight parts and now fitted with drop bars, bar ends, straight riser and threadless stem… and dialed in perfectly with its B17 ti saddle. I believe the same light tubes used on the Pocket Rocket Pro, but with Vbrakes and 406 wheels. What a ball to ride and even if I never fold it… so easy to store in my little house.
Mish mash of nice parts. Avid SL vbrakes, DA triple front, XTR rear, Nitto 44 Noodles, 105 triple front crank, XTR front hub, Ritchey Pro stem, Tektro drop bar vbrake levers, Sram 991 hollow pin chain, Brooks B17 titanium saddle… about 21 lbs. 406 Greenspeed Scorcher tires, Sun M14A rims with butted spokes, CK 1.25 headset, Capres 9-26 9 speed cassette makes for great all around Bay Area gearing… with some potential to spin out at high speeds, but the small ring acts like a good granny for old tired fart bale out gears.
Kevin from Terracycle sent me these photos of his Free Radical conversion. The bike is a Mongoose Tyax Comp that he uses for commuting and everyday utility use. For winter riding he has a backup wheel set with studded tires. You can see photos of the bike before the conversion here. A few component details include Paul Sykes fenders and Terracycle accessory mounts for the bank of 4 headlights. Of particular note is the new TerraCycle Xtracycle idler kit (recently debuted at Interbike) using the Sport Idlers and mounts from Terracycle (last two photos).
Mike Flanigan at A.N.T. is one of my favorite custom builders. He just continues to churn out exceptionally functional, yet stunningly attractive bikes designed to be used for daily transportation. This one was his entry in the Shimano Alfine Design Challenge. Go ahead, it’s OK, drool away.
I took delivery of a Rivendell Sam Hillborne yesterday. I immediately assembled the bike and took it out for a spin last night. There are a lot of bikes out there trying to look retro for style’s sake, but the Sam is the real deal — it has the ride-quality and detailing of a well-made bike from the 70’s or 80’s. It instantly reminded me of some of my favorite lugged-steel bikes from that era that I miss so much these days. Very, very cool. More to come…
I would like to show some pics of my brand new “Pastoor-Kruisframe” made by Henry WorkCycles in the Netherlands. It’s the “Lux” version 8-speed. Here is some information about the setup: WorkCycles Kruisframe.
This Jeffson was built by a local bike builder Jeff Anderson, the owner of Kiwibikes. I commute to my teaching job four days a week at around 25km round trip a day. At an elevation of around 400 meters it’s quite a climb to get in and out of town. The 29″ wheels make the climb nice and easy and she is a smooth and comfortable trip.Â
This year I converted my old Ortlieb motorcycle panniers to fit on my rear carrier to enable a reasonable hauling capacity. The lights I’ve fitted are Nite Flux 6V/ 15amp halogen which throw out a nice splash of lux to enable me to ride home at night. I’m planning to fit an electric assist hub to the front to enable a quicker ride up the hills and reduce my commuting time. Thanks to the reasonable rake angle of the front fork she is a smooth and comfortable ride. —Harm, Rotorua, NZ
Our Independent Fabrication Club Racer project bike is essentially complete. Specs are as follows:
Frame: Independent Fabrication Steel Club Racer
Handlebar: Nitto Noodle 177
Stem: Ricthey Pro 26.0Â 100mm 107 degree
Brake Levers: Cane Creek SCR5 Ergo
Brakes: Shimano BR650 Long Reach
Headset: Chris King 1-1/18″ No-Thread
Crankset: Shimano R600 Compact
Shifters: 9spd Dura-Ace Bar-Ends
Front Derailleur: Shimano FDR770 flat-bar designed long throw (best for bar ends)
Rear Derailleur: Shimano Ultegra RD6600-GS SL med long cage
Cassette: Shimano Ultegra 9spd 12-27
Chain: SRAM PC991 Hollow Pin
Gear Housing: Shimano Dura-Ace
Brake Housing: Jagwire braided compressionless
Front Wheel: Shimano Alfine Dyno 32h hub, Mavic A719 Touring rim, DB 2.0/1.8 DT Competition Black spokes
Rear Wheel: Shimano Ultegra 6600 36h 10spd/9spd hub, Mavic A719 Touring rim, DB 2.0/1.8 DT Competition Black spokes
Tires: Panaracer Pasela TG 700×28c
Fenders: Honjo Fluted
Seat Post: Nitto Lugged
Saddle: Selle An-Atomica Titanico
Many thanks to Rick at Gold Country Cyclery for all of his work on this project. If you want to work on a build like this with one of the most knowledgeable mechanics around, give Rick a call.
