As a school teacher, this is my off season for commuting to work. I have taken advantage of the off time by making some changes to my commuter bike. The bike is a Windsor Oxford 3 Speed, purchased from Bikes Direct. I've put a little over 1,300 miles on the bike since I bought it in February. I liked the bike as it was, but found that some changes were needed to make it a better fit for my frequently windy commute.

Here is a shot of the bike from last February:


Here is a new shot, which reflects my changes:






The two biggest changes include the Nitto Noodle drop handlebar and the new rear wheel with a Sram Automatix 2 speed hub. I also changed the crankset so I could get the gearing where I wanted it. I would've kept the Nexus 3, but there are no Nexus 3 shifters available for drop bars. The bike came with dual pivot caliper brakes, so road bike brake levers were a simple addition. I installed a basic Specialized Riva road saddle, as I like firm saddles.

I really like the fit of the bike now, and the gearing is great for my needs. The two gears of the new hub are between the three gears of my old Nexus 3 hub. This is actually better for me, as I frequently wished for my cruising gear to be between gears 2 and 3 on my old Nexus 3.

The bike looks even better in person, and I've already had compliments on the bike's appearance. It's pretty sweet how it shifts up while I'm sprinting through an intersection. I end up at 18mph pretty quickly.