I read this forum everyday and you guys got me to thinking about "building" a commuter bike. So....

I have a 99 Gary Fisher Big Sur MTB (it's a hard tail) that I'm converting to a commuter bike. I don't ride a lot of off road anymore so I figured I'd make it daily ride. I put a lot of aftermarket parts on it over the past few years and it was killing me to see it sitting there not being used. I have everything done except for replacing the front shock and fenders. I've been working on it at night for the past few weeks and its coming along pretty good. Here is what I've done so far:

1. Changed the Crossmax rims to tube type (removed the UST Presta valve) and put on 100 PSI Kevlar slicks.

2. Changed to a Easton riser Monkey Lite bar. These are so much nicer than the straight bars that were on it.

3. Put a Profile Design stem on (It has more rise than the Bontrager that came on it).

4. Replaced some cables that "suddenly became to short" with the new bar and stem.

5. Added a Topeak QR Beam Rack and a QT Super Trunk Bag.

6. Replaced the old LX shifters with some XTR shifters. They were getting sloppy.

7. Added some bar ends to give me more hand hold options.

8. Made a "custom cassette" out of some old ones I had laying around. The MTB cassette was great off road, but I don't need a lot of granny gears.... Yet!

All I need now is a Chris King crown race to go on a GT Chromo front fork I have. I don't want to try and pull the one off of my shocks... Fear of messing it up
And some fenders.

Thanks for the motovation!!!
I hope to have it on the road by weeks end.

Sounds really good so far. Pics?

Does the bike have threaded eyelets for a frame-mounted rear luggage rack: these are far more secure than post-mounted ones.
Mount your fenders as close as possible to the tyre. I would suggest full length chromoplastic ones from SKS. The narrowest ones possible, mounted closely will reduce air resistance and spray.
You will need some lighting system.

I'll have pics up as soon as I get the crown race put on the GT forks. It has threaded eyelets on both sides of the dropouts. The frame has threaded eyelets about 1 inch above the rear dropouts.

I haven't looked into lighting systems much yet. I'ver seen a few that were nice but I want to see a few "up close and in action" before I buy. I'm going to my LBS today to see about the crown race. I hope they have it in stock.

Here is a pic from a few weeks ago.
It still has my Mavic Crossroc rims on it. I changed those to Crossmax. It has the MTB tires still. It does have the new stem and bars (you can see how tight the front brake cable is and the shifter cables needed adjustment as well). It has the MTB cassette and the LX shifters.

I'm working from home today, so at lunch time I'm off to the LBS!!!

While I was looking through my pics I found one of my roadie too. I've changed a few things since this picture was taken as well. I love this bike. After I bought it, I pretty much stopped going off road and found out I really like road riding.

Later and see you on the road

I did the same process a number of years ago.

I found that when I loaded up the bike with full panniers or my Burley trailer, the brakes chattered a bit and a pair of boosters solved the problem. This may be a concern depending on your weight/use.

I'd recommend a drop out mounted rack.

A few years ago I was commuting 34 miles round trip and found that areo bars were nice for long straight stretches of road.

You bring up a good point on the boosters. I have not done a loaded ride yet. I have a Salsa booster from another bike if I need it.
I want to get the Topeak pannier attachment for my current setup. From the Topeak website it looks like it attaches to the QR at the front and rear and also to the rear eyelets. I think my LBS carries them. I added bar ends to my risers and did a metric century and it was comfy for me. I don't want to buy another bar setup until I absolutely have to

It took me some time to get the current config setup all sweet!

I use a seatpost pannier rack and have not had any problems. Of course on my commute I don't get out of the saddle much so there is not a lot of side to side motion. I have a very flat commute. My load ranges around 15 pounds usually. That quick release system you are planning on has been tempting me lately. Perhaps that is the way to go. My seatpost rack bolts on and is difficult to take off and put back on every saturday.

When I ride in the saddle I don't notice it at all. I don't do much stand-up riding either.
My LBS has the Chris King crown race in stock

So I'm off to get it. I'll have the new forks on today. The star nut in the GT forks was about 3 inches deep, so I need a new one of those as well. I punched it out but I want a new one just in case.

I'm gettin' all geeked up!!! I get to try out my commuter later today
See you on the road!

I got the new fork on and did a 10 mile ride to check it out. The ride is pretty nice and no more bounce. I still have my homemade cassette on my trainer rear tire, but I'll move it over in a few weeks. There were no good fenders at my LBS so the search goes on. I took a pic when I was done with my ride tonight. It was dusk so the pic "ain't that good". I think I'm going to paint the new fork soon. Everythink else is looking good!!!

What kind of "new" front fork is that? And what did you do with the old one
Doug

The "new fork" is just new to the bike. I've had it for a few years. It came stock on my GT Backwoods MTB.
I still have the shock. I bought a CK crown race for the GT fork so I can swap the 2 out on the bike.

You may want to ask your LBS about handlebar reinforcements for the bar ends on your Monkey Lite. There has been some problems with crushing carbon fiber. I just don't want you hurt.

Nice bike. Good riding.