Thanks! It was really fun getting them ready in the months before they moved. They ended up moving to near Minnehaha Parkway, which connects to Minneapolis' great system of bike paths. So it's really nice to see them using the bikes!

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Sweet looking commuter!!!
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I've always liked the classic all-black color scheme. Yours, in particular, looks all business! I'm sure it's a fun ride though. Something to look forward to on the way home from the day.
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Do you find your Surly to ride better with a load up front (referencing your bag in the basket and not in a pannier on the back)?

Since my j-o-b changed and i work at home, i've nowhere to commute TO.... that kinda lowers the immediacy of the impulse to get mine powder-coated like i was planning...

Here we go again. :rolleyes: Why is "no helmet" the FIRST thing other cyclists say when they see someone on a bike without a helmet? Your head might asplode if you visited the Netherlands.

Relax dude.

Thinking back it does ride a little better with a front load as long as its under 10lbs. Over that it can be a mess but not shaky at high speed. On the rear, with a lot of weight it becomes a problem. I use a pannier when I commute to my office and use that bag around town most of the time. I have run all my stuff up front before and can appreciate the lighter load, but if an emergency comes up where I need to pick something up on the way home I'd be screwed without my pannier.

Yep - gotcha. I was wondering about the geometry of your forks/frame for lugging the load up front.

I've found my Schwinn High Plains does very well with hefty loads on the front rack (i use a steel front rack - Minoura MT-4000SF - and it absolutely rocks). I used panniers up front for work clothes/shoes (and have a Wald handle bar basket if i needed).

Enjoy the ride!!!

man this stuff looks fun!!! I need to get on my bike more!

You don't need a helmet to ride a bike. I prefer to ride without one quite often.

https://image.ibb.co/jNkVxF/20170807_231400a.jpg


https://image.ibb.co/f9fKra/20170808_143301a.jpg


https://image.ibb.co/eJSr4v/20170807_190835a.jpg


https://image.ibb.co/mfgQWa/20170808_142609a.jpg

Looks very near perfect for commuting. Thanks

/K

I put a set of albatross-style bars on my Miyata One-Thousand over the weekend. Loving them so far! It's nice having a more upright riding position on the way to work. Bar end shifters are Shimano pods with 105 levers, and they work marvelously.

http://i.imgur.com/9VR4CBll.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/ltxA0Syl.jpg

Very pretty. I assume that's a debranded GT? Anybody else make frames like their 'triple-triangle'?

Very clean, although I really would put a brake on the front as well. You never know when you'll need to really stop hard and fast, and that rear brake by itself will lock up and skid like nobody's business.

Yeah, it's a 1994-95 GT mtb frame. I'll probably put a front brake on eventually. Sure do like the clean look without though....

My 1984 Dawes Imperial. It was a skip find by my grandfather, who later died and it ended up in my hands.

Changes since I got it:

• SKS Mudguards
• DIY Reflective Mudflaps
• Shimano M540 clipless spd pedals
• Personally built wheels:
  • Mavic Open Elite Rims
  • Shimano Tiagra freewheel hub rear
  • SP-PV8 dynamo hub front
  • Michelin Pro 4 Endurance tyres
• Cateye Velo 9 Bike Computer
• Selle Italia saddle + cheapo seatpost
• B+M Lumotec IQ front dynamo lamp + AXA Blueline tail light
• Tektro R359 Brake Calipers
• Tektro RL340 Front Levers
• Shimano 600 downtube shifters

School's out for the summer so it's time for big maintenance work. I'm hoping to have the bike finished for its two year anniversary in September. Here's what's slated:

• Brooks B17 leather saddle
• BBB BHP-15 Cartridge Bearing Headset
• Shimano BB-UN55 Bottom Bracket
• second hand Shimano 600 52-42 crankset to match (replacing the original ISO stronglight crankset)
• New Handlebars - Whatever I can get my hands on that I like, since I'll be setting up the cockpit all over again.
• New Stem, the old one is seized and will be getting a sawzall through it, the fork going to my LBS to get drilled out
• New mudflap for the front
• SwissStop BXP Cartridge pads to replace my worn out ultegras
• New cables all 'round

click the image for a bigger image:
https://i.imgur.com/6RDvAPO.jpg

This is my Trek Lane. It's a cyclocross commuter sporting a Shimano Alfine 11 IGH with Di2 shifting.


http://u.cubeupload.com/CSpidel/IMG20170730140034.jpg

@TwinOaks, what advantage does di2 offer?

Well, from what I've read the most common problem with the Shimano hubs is cable tension. As the indexing happens at the shifter, if and when the cable stretches or otherwise goes out of adjustment you wind up with missed or partial shifts and after a while a dead hub if not addressed. And that's with the 8 speed. I could only imagine the problem would be worse or more common with the 11. The Di2 places a motor at the hub in place of the spring loaded cassette joint so indexing happens at the hub. Rohloff hubs index at the hubs and have 2 cables to pull the cassette joint in either direction, so cable tension and adjustment doesn't effect the indexing. That's probably a factor in why they last so long for so many people that have them.
So far shifts with the Di2 are accurate all of the time. Shifting is lightning quick, and I only have to hesitate on the pedals for a fraction of a second between gears. Di2 is also the only option for a hub gear if you want to run integrated road shifters. I've been riding this set up for a month and so far it's pretty great.
This is my first experience with internal gear hubs, so I can't tell you how much better this is than a cable system. So take my answer with that in mind.

@TwinOaks, that makes a lot of sense. Thanks!

I've ridden some bike share bikes with the NuVinci hub which has a continuously variable ratio. I like it more than I thought it would. Slick and fun.

Oh my goodness, what a bike.

Mine, it's a '95 Trek 820 I just started modifying.

I'll admit, when you said that, I teared up a little. My grandfather left it to me grandmother wanted it gone after he died and it's one of the few things of him I have left. I ride it almost every day and it reminds me of him.

Pity it's currently in pieces on the patio in the dark and rain, I'm having the old stem drilled out of the fork. :(

How do you do the overlays like that, is it strava?

Strava and Instagram. I record all my rides with Strava, and then post them to instagram. I have no idea why, I do this this but I do. The likes on my ride stats do help me feel a little bit better about being a broke A-Hole that has to ride a bicycle to work. Although even with a car, I would still do it, because I really do enjoy it.

There's a ton of options for running IGH via brifters.

Here's just one example ...

brifters for IGH

Thanks!

I'm a broke A-hole with no license, but then I remember I can just blame it on trying to help the environment.:D (Which IS also a good thing.)