stanridgespeed 

Yeah, Yeah I know its flashy. Give me a bit of credit I brazed the custom made rack right to the frame. Yes, Im a frame builder. What do you guys think of the rack? What do you look for in a capable pannier bag? Bike will be ridden in Brooklyn NYC.


City Bike by stanridgespeed bicycles, on Flickr

Comments welcome!

HandsomeRyan

Looks really nice.

You'll likely have to re-wrap the bars after you add the lever for the front brake though.

phillyskyline

Gorgeous bike! What kind of hub? For city commuting/utility cycling, I look for something waterproof, easy on/off for errands, maybe something with a carrying strap so it can be taken into stores, and enough capacity for a small- to medium-sized grocery run. It would look sweet with some waxed canvas panniers on it.

nashcommguy

Waterproof Ortleibs in blue. W/a sweet Brooks toolkit/saddlebag to match your seat and hb tape. Real classy job on the bike, btw.

NormanF

What are the wheels? 635 mm or 700C?

grinningfool

Georgous bike, and a nicely composed photo, too.

stanridgespeed 

Well I used a 3speed hub with coster so hopefully the bars won't need to be unwrapped. We really struggled between threadless and quill stem. The wheels are 700c with 40mm tires. We wanted a faster wheel than a 26..40mm tire kills the rolling resistence..owner really wanted the tires. It does make the bike..can't picture the bike with black tires.I routed the hub cable internally to keep the bike clean. Thanks for the photo props. A neighbor painted her door blue and hung blue decorations.. It was meant to be!

AdamDZ

That's a very beautiful bike but it's for someone with a sense of style. I would not belong on such a bike There is forum member who made beautiful panniers that would match the looks of your bike perfectly. I can't find that right now but they were made of tan/beige fabric with brown leather straps and leather accents. Looked really classy.

I've been toying with idea of integrated rack(s) with multiple attachment points for my next touring bike. I had problems with a Kona Sutra rack mounts and even though they were fix and reinforced by a framebuilder in Brooklyn I lost trust for racks; the whole weight rests on two tiny attachments points. I want either a Big Dummy or a bike with integrated racks.

squirtdad

very nice....elegant even

Standalone 

as far as the rack design, I like the fact that it's set up to keep weight forward of the rear hub. A rider would barely notice those books or, say, a 6 pack back there.

To me, however, utility bikes are set up to carry much larger loads. Looks to me as though the trail on that fork might really take a sizable front rack very well.

If I had frame building skill, I'd design it to be even with the rear rack, and attach to a spacer on the steerer and at points even with where the rear rack is welded to the seat stays.

Perhaps a separate twin fork that is constructed this way so that the bike may be run in either its current sweet form or in the more heavy duty arrangement that I suggest.

Wow. Typing that truly makes me wish that I could build frames. I certainly have a fine workspace in which to do so.

stanridgespeed 

I just had a 6 pack on it during a show! It fit perfectly. Thanks for all the input for future racks. I've always been a semi commuter, road cyclist..never hauled much weight. The little weight i did carry on my back made me a believer in the rack i put on a winter beater one year.

stanridgespeed 

@adamDZ did you come up with the source of the bags? Sounds like a perfect fit for the bike!

AdamDZ

No, I search the forum but I didn't find those. That was a while ago. But if I come across something I'll post.

Obeast

where did you buy those handlebar styles? are they 26.0 to the stem?

chaadster

Absolutely gorgeous cycle! Wow!

To the questions, the brazed-on rack looks great; hopefully there's enough setback to run a pannier without heel-strike being an issue. Because of the placement, I'd be tempted to run a large, Carradice classic seat bag on there, using the rack for support.

Panniers are tough to call, because so much depends on how one will use them and where. For the BK city life, where home storage is probably at a premium, and having a bunch of different bags probably is unwanted, I'd also consider the Knog "Dutch Dog" pannier. It's simply styled, and convertible to a backpack, so for those times when the subway is the mode, you're not clumsily toting a bag that looks and feels like it belongs on a bike rack. The Carridice "Bike Bureau" fills a similar role, though not as stylishly.

Here's the Knog:

LeeG

chainguard matching the fenders, dyno hub and headlight. Ortlieb are easy on/off.

stanridgespeed 

@leeG yeah, that would take it to the next level! any specific chain guards come to mind? @chad i put a huge mock bag on the side and it ran out okay...thanks for the compliments..the rack really got me upside down in the frame. @Obeast the bars are made by nitto. I think they were 26.0? I flipped them upside down..

SlimAgainSoon

Wow. That's purdy.

Digging the integrated rack.

More bikes need to come with racks part of the frame, or with racks built to fit the frame without adjusters, which just weaken the rack tremendously.

Well done!

Sammyboy

It's lovely, and I would love to have such a bike, BUT, and they're big buts (I like big buts, and I cannot lie)

a) It's underbraked. A rear brake alone is never enough. In my view, one brake is never enough, but if you only have one, it should be the front, because it might have some hope of stopping you. I would not ride a bike with a coaster brake only at anything over about 10 mph; someone is going to step out on you, or a car will do something unexpected, and if you're lucky, you might lock up the rear wheel and skid into them, but more likely, you'll back pedal, and be able to discern faint deceleration before you careen into the car or ped.

b) If you're going to make such a beautiful rack, why not make it big enough to carry stuff?

At the moment, it's form over function. Make the rack a third longer, and put proper brakes on, and it would be a real object of desire for me.

Geo Cruise

That bike has class!

stanridgespeed 

@sammy Thanks for the opinions. What dimensions do you like to see in a rear rack? how long/how wide? You are correct about the brake. The client wanted the front to be clean. I agree it is form over function with regard to front brake.
@geo Thanks!!

rench123

pretty leather saddle and grips beg for a canvas/leather panniers. The cheap route would be to make diy bags from army canvas bags

stanridgespeed 

@rench

You read my mind Bud! I have access to a lot of US MilSpec Pup Tent's. Shoot me a PM. I'd like to ask you a few construction details. btw.. you made a sweet bag!

I have way too much canvas. If you want some canvas with nice grommets and buttons to work into the flap system maybe we can work something out!

Peace.

chaadster

SRS,

As you're exploring the canvas pannier thing, you may want to check out Out Your Backdoor's repurposed mil-surplus canvas pannier.



It's only big enough for an iPad and some sushi, but something tells me that might fit your clients needs! And I say that in the kindest way, because that's often what I carry around, and I dig your velo's aesthetic!

The man behind OYB, Jeff Potter, is here on BF, too. Here's the link to the pannier on the OYB site: https://outyourbackdoor.com/article.php?id=443

Sixty Fiver

stan...

I work with Arvon Cycles here and we have a thing for nice racks... we often joke that we include a custom bike with every custom rack order.

As long as the rack allows for the desired panniers and no heel strike you are golden and with shorter stays this can be a problem... as the boss has size ten feet we can always test fit bags to racks before the final brazing to ensure they have sufficient clearance and with a custom rack you also should know how big people's feet are.

I too would be concerned about the lack of a front brake... a front drum brake would keep things clean and greatly add to the stopping power without messing with the style and feel of the ride.