Commuting - Ultimate Commuter Bike

I have a an early 80's Steel Motobecane Nomade road frame that I'm going to attempt to convert into my ultimate commuter bike very soon. My commute is about 2-3 miles I have my choice of a somewhat heavily trafficked street, or a slightly longer route through neighborhoods. My goal is to ride everyday. This is in N.Colorado, where it snows a foot one day and the next day it will literally be 70 and the snow will be melting everywhere.

So the bike has to be rain/snow/ice/dry ready for most of my commuting (the school year, although I'll commute in the summer to places too - but on my fixed gear). Fenders, etc

The bike also needs to be reliable, as I have school work to get done and messing with stuff is wasting precious time.

The bike needs to be comfortable. This is not the bike built for speed. I have a racing rig for that.

The bike needs to be able to carry cargo. I hope to put some kind of rack and cargo cages on the back, maybe even a rack on the front. It will also have a hitch permanently attached for when I pull the trailer I will be getting. All of this weight also affects my gearing choices.

Finally, it needs to be on the inexpensive side. I have a few sources though for very cheap or free parts - so that will help.


So this is my plan:

Some kind of setback/rise handlebar. The Nitto North ones I think they are called. You see them on a lot of upright position bikes, they were the standard for English 3 Speed bikes.

A comfy seat.

Some kind of brake lever that will be comfy, cheap and work with the bars. Hopefully matching.

New Shimano Super SLR Long Reach brakes. Front and Rear

Mavic MA3 front rim. 36h, laced to a 36H hub of some kind. Something on the cheap side.

Mavic MA3 rear rim. 36h, laced to a Sturmey-Archer AW Wide range 3 sp hub.

A sprocket on the exterior of the hub, I dunno what size I'll run.

Some kind of full-coverage fender. If I can't find some good ones used for a 700c/27" wheel I'll get some Planet Bike ones.

Standard 3 speed shifter, mounted on the right side of the bars.

Ritchey SpeedMax CX Tires 30mm (or equivalent). http://www.ritcheylogic.com/images/tirespecsmax32.jpg

Standard issue platform pedals.

See if I can find some way to rig a chain guard on that frame.

Permanently mounted Bell reflector/blinky light in the rear.

CatEye quick removal light in the front for night use.


Thats about it. Any thoughts or ideas about this (specifically on the drivetrain selection?). I plan on taking an old 700c tire, some really small screws and studding it. I'll mount it on an old rim for really crappy days (on the front).

Since you only need to travel a short distance why not try the
bike the way it is(if it's in riding shape)??? Throw a set of
club roost 27' CX tires on it and see if it does the job.

Also since this bike will get wet at times I'd suggest that
you use oil for the chain to keep water out of the drive
train. I do that with my winter bike and it works ok. It
does get nasty looking but everything works fine till spring
wash down.

Well, yeah its a short distance. The way the bike is though is in need of a lot of repairs. The drivetrain is probably a goner. I also ride to campus as back twice a day (sometimes more, sometimes less). Not to mention basically anywhere else I go in town is on bike. My roommate and I went to go get some lumber yesterday (ok, well... peg board - but a BIG piece) by bicycle yesterday. That was about an 8 mile round trip, and the store's saw was broken so they wouldn't cut the HUGE piece for us... Basically I'm only using my VW GTI if I'm going out of town.

Well, OK It's your bike & money. Just remember that if ya make it
TO nice it'll get stolen as fast as you can park it. :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

That's why I like older (read less attractive) bikes as they are not
drool material for thieves.

Well, OK It's your bike & money. Just remember that if ya make it
TO nice it'll get stolen as fast as you can park it. :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

That's why I like older (read less attractive) bikes as they are not
drool material for thieves.

Some people have pretty secure parking spots for thier bikes. I keep mine in my apartment or in my office. It's not typically locked up anywhere for more than half an hour t a time, and it's usually in a busy well-trafficked place (in front of the store that I'm in, or something similar).

My advice would be to forget about the AW as long as you're spending that much money (the number and kind of changes you're talking about really aren't that cheap). The AW is a reasonable hub, and of course you can get one for pretty much nothing, but after a couple weeks of riding on one... well, the low gear isn't really low enough, IMO, for hill climbing with a load on the bike. I've managed by standing and hammering up every hill I climb, but that's a lot of work. It'll certainly be adequate, but you can do better with a new 5, 7 or 8 speed hub.

Also, something to think about: the Motobecane is French, which could cause you some headaches when fitting parts. It might be better to start with a different frame if you're going to do so much work.

I have a an early 80's Steel Motobecane Nomade road frame that I'm going to attempt to convert into my ultimate commuter bike very soon...

Thats about it. Any thoughts or ideas about this (specifically on the drivetrain selection?). I plan on taking an old 700c tire, some really small screws and studding it. I'll mount it on an old rim for really crappy days (on the front).
Your plan sounds like taking the partrs from an English 3 speed and reassembling them on your Motobecane road frame for all of a 3 mile commute.

My suggestion is to get the English 3 speed, keep the parts right where they are and use the English 3 speed. It should meet all your requirements, with a lot less work; won't be thief bait either. I would recommend one with a coaster rear brake for all weather dependibility.

I guess the issue is, when i start talking about getting a whole english 3 speed the price i would have to pay goes way, way up.

I also like how people are almost mocking my "3mi commute". Heh. I'm sorry that I live close to where i need to go. Next time I'll try to find an apartment farther away so i can have more credibility here. *shakes head*. We're talking about commuting here, right? Wanna talk total weekly miles, training miles, average speed, etc? Come on now. This isn't the "my e-penis is bigger than yours" Road Forum.

I guess the issue is, when i start talking about getting a whole english 3 speed the price i would have to pay goes way, way up.

I also like how people are almost mocking my "3mi commute". Heh. I'm sorry that I live close to where i need to go. Next time I'll try to find an apartment farther away so i can have more credibility here. *shakes head*. We're talking about commuting here, right? Wanna talk total weekly miles, training miles, average speed, etc? Come on now. This isn't the "my e-penis is bigger than yours" Road Forum.

Easy, mate. Just ignore those folk's that don't see the practicality of riding a simple bike. For some
here unless it's got the latest gee whiz stuff on it it ain't worth looking at or talking about.

Like I said, If the bike you have is rideable then throw some new tires and tubes on it and ride. If ya
wanta build a bike your way ........then go for it........I do!! :beer: :beer: :beer:

I like your plans. Sounds like a great commuter bike. If you can get the parts cheap enough so that a complete used english three speed is more expensive then go for it. I went with a similar winter bike only fixed. It is easier to find old road bikes in my size than 3 speeds.
Craig

tightwad said:


Also since this bike will get wet at times I'd suggest that
you use oil for the chain to keep water out of the drive
train

when you say oil, are saying something other than Pro-LInk, Road Rage type chain lubes??

I'm not a big 3 speed hub fan-- go for a 7 or 8 speed model for a wider range of gears.

Another option is a single speed with a flip flop rear hub.

Another option is a MTB rear cassette/derailer/shifter. Something used?

Another option is a 2 speed using 2 front chainrings and a chain tentioning device in the back.

I wouldn't lay out a lot of cash on this-- The bike is going to be a piece of crap no matter what you do. Not that that's a bad thing-- I love crappy home brew bikes! But I've seen franken bikes made for nothing and franken bikes made for hunderds and the difference isn't all that great.

Start shopping for other parts/bikes and take it from there. Take an organic approach to this and let the parts you dig up become the bike.

Well. Its easy to find 3sp hubs used for pretty cheap. the ones with more speeds are $$$. Friday I'll be looking at a bunch of old 3sp hubs tto see if any will fit and work well. Probably get one for literally a couple bucks.

wow, that is cheap. I rarely find people selling parts that I need, used. But as for used bikes, they're all over the place. So my tendency is to buy a bike when I need a several of its parts, rather than your strategy. $5 for some cable housing and cables, $8+ for 2 tubes, $lots for some wheels... or I could just buy a whole bike (got one for $31 recently) and swipe all its useful parts.

Yeah. The Fort Collins Bike Co-Op is amazing.

bikeagainst.blogspot.com

tightwad said:



when you say oil, are saying something other than Pro-LInk, Road Rage type chain lubes??

Yep, I mean good ol' petrol based lube oil such as 3 in 1 or 10w lube oil. Now many here will call
me a barbarian but it doesn't matter. I just know what worked for.................decades!! :D :D

3 of my commuters have the AW hub (the 4th has the Shimano 333 hub). I use the SRAM 24t cog, SA and Shimano compatible. Top gear with the 27" tire bikes is 68.9, on the 26" wheel bikes is 66.27, 3rd Gear is for level riding, the other 2 are for hill climbing. Most 3-speed bikes come with an 18t cog, not very useful IMHO but changing takes about 10 minutes. Two pieces of advise to anyone who plans on using the 24t cog-first, you will have to lengthen your chain by 2 links to allow for the larger diameter of the 24t cog otherwise the wheel will be too far forward in the dropouts and not be secure and second, you may have to raise the chainguard by about 1/2" so the raised chain does not hit the bottom of the
chainguard. I live at the top of a good sized hill and have been climbing it for over 20 years.

I will warn you about using a used 3 speed hub-- it may be no good and you can't tell until you build it up in a wheel and ride it. Old hubs sometimes slip out of gear for no reason. I have had a couple of old crappy 3 speeds over the years and this is part of owning one.

A new Nexis 3 speed hub and shifter is what? $75 U.S.? Adding in those Mavic MA3 rims (outstanding choice-- but $60 a set) and new spokes ($30-60), doesn't to make sense to start with a fresh new hub?

Does anybody know how to tear down internal gear hubs to see if they are worth using ? I wouldn't build on a freewheel hub without tearing it down, checking for wear and repacking with new grease and bearings. Any pitting and I would toss the hub and get another one.

Not to discourage your D.I.Y. adventure, but you could get Sheldon Brown or other pro wheelbuilder to build you a set of wheels with a 7 speed Nexis hub and even the shifter for around 300 bucks? Outfitting an old steel frame with good bomb proof parts could easily run $500-700-- an amount of money that would buy a new bike. If you break down that cost as *per mile* however, a good homebrew commuter will outlast 2 $500 new bikes because of the quality of the parts.

Good luck and keep us posted on your adventure.

My advice would be to forget about the AW as long as you're spending that much money (the number and kind of changes you're talking about really aren't that cheap). The AW is a reasonable hub, and of course you can get one for pretty much nothing, but after a couple weeks of riding on one... well, the low gear isn't really low enough, IMO, for hill climbing with a load on the bike.

The gear can be as low as you want or need, just a matter of selecting the appropriate chainring/rear sprocket size. We have rear sprockets up to 24 teeth http://harriscyclery.com/sturmey

It's true that the gear range isn't super wide, so if you set it up with a very low gear you will lose top end, but this doesn't matter to all cyclists.

Sheldon "Epicyclic" Brown
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| What is good for you is what is good for you. |
| --Peter Chisholm |
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I will warn you about using a used 3 speed hub-- it may be no good and you can't tell until you build it up in a wheel and ride it. Old hubs sometimes slip out of gear for no reason.

That's not correct. If they slip out of gear it's always for a reason. Usually poor adjustment or cable friction.

It's true that some 3-speeds are unreliable, especailly Sturmey-Archer coaster brake models, and older Shimano 333 hubs, but the immortal AW is probably the most reliable gear shift system ever made for a bicycle.

Nothing can go wrong with an AW that can't be easily repaired.

Sheldon "Planetary" Brown

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| Any smoothly functioning technology |
| will have the appearance of magic. |
| --Arthur C. Clarke |
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