I also recently introduced my girlfriend to the beauty of road cycling/commuting. I gave her my '03 Specialized Allez that was a smidge too small for me when I bought my Jamis, but she soon got hooked on vintage/classy city bikes and fell in love with the Brooks B18 embossed saddle. I suggested she build up an older steel-framed bike for commuting around that saddle. After scouring Craigslist for a few weeks, we came across a mid-80's Ross Eurotour with a 3-spd IGH that was completely stock down to the tires and had very little rust. She's decided to outfit it with the Brooks B18, Brooks slender grips, detailing the lugs, Linus panniers and front and rear racks. She's really interested in the Civia Loring racks, but we're unsure if they'll fit with the caliper brakes. She also wasn't a fan of the coaster brake, so we deleted it and found a matching Shimano Tourney caliper for the rear. Here are the pics so far:


Earliest picture we have. She was so eager to clean it up we didn't even take a picture of it whole.

Her gorgeous saddle


The lug detailing she painted herself, as well as stripping the worn decals and touching up the paint chips. This girl's a keeper...

Hope you guys enjoy!