azgreg

Love the BRC Sixty Fiver!

SpotOn

The bike was meant for commuter riding and/or just a get-around-bike. It was bought initially for $15 with front/rear lights on it, as well as a choice of a comfort seat and a regular (the one pictured). Let me put it nicely; I do not like the comfort seat, so I changed to the normal one... However, the rear inner tube did not hold air properly, so bought a new inner tube ($6). Everything seemed to work fine until recently, where at a stop light the rear tube bursted out from the rear tire and exploded, making me have to walk an hour all the way to where I was going. I decided to buy a completely new rear tire as well as a new inner tube ($20 + $6), since the rear tire was very old with many cracks. Taking the tire off the rim was quite a challenge with only 2 plastic tire levers and one person working it (a very tight rim/tire ratio). The super-cheap bicycle ended up totaling right under $50, but the process of fixing it myself made the entire journey enjoyable.

RubeRad

Good work spotty, and I like the color too. And yes, bikes are so much cheaper than cars it's not even funny; especially used bikes, there are so many deals out there!

Medic Zero

Interesting, what frame is that? Is it a folder? Looks good!

BikeCultureGuy

The add-on to the rack is a "cargo cradle." I design and make these myself and sell them on eBay and Etsy. You can see some pics of these cargo cradles on BikeCultureRising.com or do a search for "cargo cradle" on eBay or Etsy.com.

Standalone 

Thanks. It's a Dahon Espresso, one that has been through several upgrades and iterations. It now has nothing original on it except for the frame, fork, and maybe the seatpost clamp. (wow, I just realized that!) Even the headset has been replaced, but all over time and all I suppose as needed.

Dahon's Espresso and Matrix both use this frame, and I think so does the Jack.

I'm 6'4", so the Dahon Curve D3 that I originally rode around was just never big enough. This one isn't quite large enough, either, though!

I think that I have seen Dahon frames like this on sale, bare frame. They make a good platform, are reasonably light, and fold well.

AusTexMurf

+1
The BRC is clean, simple, classic. Spry winter bicycle, too, I am sure.
Nice ride, as are all of your bikes, Sixty Fiver.

djyak

Nice job! Amazing how a little work can make it all worth while. Something as simple as a bike can make a guy so happy.

noglider 

Fantastic blog!

AusTexMurf

https://bikeculturerising.com

Great site.
Thanks for sharing.
Happy AllTheDays.

Sixty Fiver

It was $50.00 well spent... it looked like a garage queen and still had fuzzy tyres which let me know it could run 38's and could probably handle 45's.

The upgrades came from my stash and it is a very spry bicycle that is very pleasing to ride... it has nicely balanced steering and the 700c wheels and tyres are good on warmer slushier days and with the front studded tyre it handles the packed snow and ice really well.

FatPow

Here's mine. All City Nature Boy, fixed 36x16 for the winter and the hills, and I just cruise slowly in the summer. Studded winter tires, 2mmx1.5mmx2mm spokes, Dyad rims.

Medic Zero

Thanks for the info! Someday I'll end up adding a folder to my fleet, and I like the looks of this one. I'd also like to try out a small wheeled folder, but well, you know, N+1!

link0

My everyday commuter bike in LA, rain or dry. 1989 Schwinn Prologue 2x7 speed that originally came with full Shimano 600 (purchased for $150).

I've since upgraded some parts very cheaply (mostly used), including:

A ton of black and grey honda touch up paint
Ultegra 6600 compact crankset and brake calipers
105 5700 rear derailleur
Tektro brake levers (awesome stuff)
Shimano RS30 wheelset
MTB wide range cassette 12-28 (lots of hills in the downtown LA area)
Generic stem and seatpost
M520 double sided spd pedals




The night I bought it:

RubeRad

That is one hot Schwinn! Funny, the toptube decals are worn off, I thought the model was "Cholo" (which you'll probably appreciate since you're in LA). I see you've already gotten some Tektro levers, but if you want to move your shifters up front, you might consider a pair of Retroshift CX2 for $129. Likely the same (rebranded, modified) brake levers, plus shifter bosses.

link0

Hahaha it does look like "Cholo". I would love to get some Retroshift shifters, as I think they look awesome. However, I think they are overpriced if bought new (I've scored perfect condition 105 5700 brifters for under $100 on eBay). I've actually searched for them a few times on eBay in the hopes of scoring some used. No such luck

the sci guy 

schwinn looks great. you helped it out a ton. nice!

RubeRad

Yah I think they are too new to be in the used market much yet. Maybe in another year or two.

Oh hey, I didn't see that before pic before, did you add that later? You certainly did clean it up well! Personally my 250-lb self would have stuck with the 36H mavics (if true). And the Dia Compe on the fork -- was that a decal you scraped off?

link0

Thanks! Yea, I added/edited that 2nd picture later. I did remove the Dia Compe decal after I replaced the Dia Compe calipers with the 6600 calipers. The Mavic Ma2s were true and smooth, but I just don't have a lot of confidence in old wheels, and they were quite heavy.

Jason Abbott

I love biking in fresh snow. Now that my commute takes me down eight miles of roadside bike lanes, I haven't been doing it. But I put together some vignettes from the past when I had no cars to contend with: https://www.trailimage.com/tag/bicycle (about 35 photos). Do it if you can!

John78

This is my all season commuter bike. Cheap and very reliable.

DVC45

That's the best combination.

Big Lebowski

Recently added a Brooks B17 seat, new Michelin City tires after getting a flat on the stock Bontragers, and a White Industries ENO freewheel. I love riding this bike.

WorldPax

The Retroshift are probably a bit spendy for what they are, but they are the only ones doing what they're doing. I plopped down on a set of CX-1's for my drop bar 3-speed and love them. Was worth spending a bit extra to get it just how I wanted it.

mister

I've posted mine before, but I've put on a new seat and a compact crank since, so here's an updated picture of my one and only.