I finally got it all put together.

Anyway, here's a first pic. I've been riding it about a month now, and don't quite have everything dialed in just right.

How do you like the water bottle being behind the saddle?

An agressive commuter indeed.

I like the bottles there. Thought they'd be hard to grab and put back, but it's not much more complicated than managing a bottle from a jersey pocket; I guide the bottle back into the cage by feel. The racks are mounted, by the way, on a Velocity SPT (Seat Post Thing); they're kind of hard to find. It's the only behind-the-saddle bottle rack that I felt was sturdy enough for long-distance cycling.

However, this is not, strictly, a commuter (even though the pic is of it in my cube farm at work). This bike is for long-distance cycling. I've been commuting on it for the past few weeks - and will do so for another month or so - to get the kinks worked out of it.

Which brings me back to the bottle cages mounted behind the saddle. I had four bottle cages - two in the frame, and two where you see them. But I didn't like the style of the two on the frame (Forte Team Cage by performance); removed them last night, and am going to exchange them for standard (black) aluminum cages. The Forte cages were too tight - I'd have to fight to pull the bottle out and struggle to get them back in.

Doubling my bottles cuts my stops down in on long rides. I'm not a fast rider; I somewhat make up for it on LD rides by minimizing my off-bike time.

I did have two caged on the back of my rode bike for a while. Love them to much and I actually think they are safer to use vs the ones on the frame. Issue was that they get in the way of my saddle bag so off they went.

I don't mean to derail your thread, but, do you take a water purifier out with you?

why do you ask this Seattle?

I do notice something interesting below the seat that is glowing. what is it?

Looks like reflective tape around his saddle bag.

I ask about the water purifier because it's been important for me to have one on some of the rides I've done. I don't know where Richard Glover rides, but, in NC, his bike might take him to places where it's good to have one. I can never bring enough to drink when I take my bike into the mountains for long rides, so I bring a purifier and pull the sweet water of life out of streams and rivers. Anyone on a touring rig with four bottle cages, is someone who might benefit from being able to fill those bottles in the middle of nowhere on a long ride.

Love the bar tape! Need to paint the fenders the same color

seattle: good point. which one you use?

Droooooool.

Are those SKS longboard fenders?

Indeed, those are SKS Longboards, in cream. Picked them to match the off-white of the frame.

The glowing between the saddle and the rear cages is indeed piping around my seat bag. Didn't know it was reflective until I snapped this pic.


I don't have a water purifier. I do LD rides, but they fall into three categories: Randonneuring stuff (with controls at places that'll have water), supported charity rides, and personally-plotted routes that I make sure have a convenience store or gas station every 30 miles or so.

If I ever go for a cross-country ride, or get into long-distance MTB stuff, a purifier would be an excellent addition.

Richard - that is one beautiful bike!

I covet another man's bike. However, I know he's armed, so I'll just stand back and admire.

How much clearance do you have from the pedals to the ground? That picture makes it look like there is little to none

Awesome. I want to get the silver ones for my new LHT.

beautiful bike, i love the cream fenders i think its what give it style.

btw how wide are those tires?

Sorry for this tangent about water! By the way, what kind of pedals are those on the bike? And are the stars on the fork the same ones you can put on the ceiling, that glow in the dark?

I've got a Steripen 'Adventurer.' It's small, light ( ~5 oz with batteries ), clips to a belt, and purifies a liter in 90 seconds. The thing couldn't possibly be easier to use, since there's no filtering; just a magic wand that goes in the water, and a single button that makes it drinkable. I've been using this for two years, on lots of hiking and cycling expeditions into the mountains. I like it a lot.

Haven't measured, but some genius could probably calculate it for me. 70 BB drop with 700x32c tires and 180mm crank arms.

With the campus pedals I have on them, I did have one of them scrape when I took a sharp corner while pedaling. I never had that problem with MTB SPD pedals on them - those pedals are narrower and with much less stuff on the bottom.

Those are 32c. Well, advertised 32cs anyway. Might put some 700x35s on it when I need new tires.

Heinlein was right; an armed society is a polite society.

The stars are part of the paint job - fork, near the BB, and on the chainstays. It's a collaboration from Handsome Cycles and Twin Six.

The pedals are Performance-brand 'Forte' Boulevard Pedals. Same concept as Campus Pedals (SPD clips one side, platform on the other), with what is, IMO, a superior platform design.

One thing I like about them is the way they naturally hang (see pic). When riding with cleats, I clip in from the front; when riding with street shoes, I push from the back and flatten the pedal out.

I bought those pedals to put on my commuter. In fact, I had them on there, and moved the SPD-only pedals to this bike. However, I started taking my 23-yr old son on weekend rides (he on my commuter), and he was having some difficulty with the Boulevard pedals (he's not a cyclist, yet). So, I put pure platforms on the commuter, and moved the boulevard pedals over to Speedy here so I could wear regular shoes on the short jaunts with him.


That's pretty cool. And backpackers know a thing or three about lightweight, durable, stuff that works.

I think you just made a sale. Do you carry tablets as backup?

Honestly, I don't. I did at first, but after two years and zero issues, I trust the thing enough not to feel like I need a backup. If I was on a tour in a place where I wouldn't have access to clean drinking water for a long, long time, I'd probably take a filter or tablets with me, but for a 50 mile ride over a mountain pass, or a 10 mile hike, the worst that'll happen is I'll turn back a little early and be thirsty when I arrive.

I'm starting to bring a spare battery, though. Not long after I got mine, they put a newer one out, with a solar charger, whereas mine takes disposable batteries. If I was going to buy one now, I'd probably get the one with the charger. It would be hard to benefit much from that on a bike ride, but you could make it work on a hike or camping trip. And power is really the one weakness in the thing, that I'd want a backup for.

I'm about to finish Stranger in a Strange Land. I like the way Martians call it the "water of life."

Interesting. I've been thinking of getting a filter like this one:

https://cascadedesigns.com/msr/water-...filter/product



Any idea how the purifier compares to an actual filter?