Russ

I know there's a sticky for this, but it's really long and difficult to navigate (can't tell which bike the comments are directed at), so I'm going out on a limb and posting a thread just for me.

Front
Rear
Rack
Bars

Background on bike: When I was in college (University of Idaho) in the mid 90's, I was managing an apartment complex. One of the tenants abandoned the frame in a storage closet (no logos or badges, but a mid 80's mountain bike frame as best I can tell). I needed a bike to get around campus, so I painted the frame (crappy paint job, as you can see) and with the help of a LBS and their used parts bin, was able to make it rideable. Over time, I replaced some of the parts with better stuff, but it's still basically a franken-bike.

After I finished college, it hung from the ceiling in my garage until the gas price hike last fall, which prompted me to pull it down and put on some new tires (Specialized Nimbus Armadillos), a rack (Jannd Expedition), and a light system (ala Starlight 78). Recently, I added the Nashbar Trekking Bar and a new stem, and some cheap Wellgo clipless pedals.

I commute an average of 4 times per week, approximately 18 miles round trip. Luckily, I've got a great route (wide shoulders, scenic, along the Puget Sound), there are showers at work (I carry clothes and such in an Ortlieb Pannier), and I'm able to park the bike in the mechanical room of the building where I work.

From reading this forum, I know that old mountain bikes are well regarded as commuter bikes, and I would have to agree. I've had a few roadie friends encourage me to buy a road bike so I could get to work faster, but with the light system, pannier full of clothes and lunch, and my "personal baggage" I don't think it's worth the money to save 5 or 10 lbs on a bike. Besides, my commute time (40 minutes) is less than many of my co-workers who drive.

Anyway, now I'm out of the closet (so to speak).

Russ

fordfasterr

awesome !!!!!!

Congrats and great setup with the lights =)

CliftonGK1

Holy Headlights, Batman!

Those rival the spotter lamps that I have on the front of my Jeep. What are you running them off of, and do you have a picture of what they (and their beam spread) look like in the dark?

Russ

They run off of a 5 AH Lead Acid battery (you can see the battery on the rack photo). The lights are from Home Depot (landscaping section, 12 watts each, about 15 bucks or so in a twin pack). They're attached to a small piece of plywood which is grafted onto the mounting bracket for an old handlebar bag that I had lying around. The wiring is salvaged zip cord. Rear xenon strobe and charger from AllElectronics. A few small electrical parts, trailer plug from NAPA, some solder and heat shrink, and that's about it. Maybe $50 total. The design was inspired by the Starlight 78 website (link in my original post).

I'll add a pic of the beam at night. My morning commute is generally in the dark (unless I sleep late), and I haven't had any trouble seeing the road. I run the lights in the daytime also (might as well, if I'm going to carry the weight) and I get a few funny looks from joggers and wrong-way bikers.

Russ

unkchunk

Shouldn't be to hard to find out the make. Not too many bikes have the rear brakes on the bottom like that.

I've got one of those Jandd racks too. I knew they were big, but I didn't think they could fit both an SLA battery and panniers. You still got room for a trunk bag if you wanted. In all that's a nice set up. The only thing missing is a big old mud flap on the front fender.

Any chance of a photo of the wiring from the left side, where the front and back lights connect the battery? I did a home brew based on the Vector battery supply for front lights last fall. Haven't thought about lights since last spring, since I hadn't needed them. But that's going to be changing soon.

betes

Wow that thing is hideous, but functionality has a certain beauty to it.

Russ

My LBS thinks it's a Giant, based on the U-Brake. He wasn't really sure, though.

There really isn't anything else to show about the wiring. The pos and neg coming from the stobe is spliced into the wires from the headlamps (under the rack), which then connect to the two-wire trailer plug. The other side of the trailer plug attaches to the battery. (You can clearly see the plugs in the "rack" photo).

There are no switches in the system - when I arrive at home or work, I unplug the trailer connection and plug the battery into the charger (I have one charger at each location), which is wired with the same type of plug. I left out the customary fuses - risk level too low to bother, in my opinion.

Hideous.....I think I've finally found a name for my trusty steed

TheDL

gotdam that thing is ugly!

Good work my friend.

trickdog

I have your bikes' twin here in my basement! Same base colour of paint, same bottom bracket U-Brake. See my original post regarding the bike here

I'll have to drag the bike out one day and take a pic or two of it...she is a beaut. Rides nice, very light considering the year and the bottom bracket brake still works like a champ in our very wet winter and spring weather.

My grand ambition one day is to restore the bike to her former glory!

PS: I have never figured out 100% the brand of bike although the general consensus at a few LBS that it is a Nishiki.

robtown

I've got a pair of those lights only 12v / 25w versions. I'll send them to anyone for the cost of shipping. They are leftover from my DIY setup; I went with MR16 instead.

Russ

I've got a pair of 25w units also. They were initially on the bike (50w total), but I could only get about 1 hour of run time with my 5ah battery. On the occasional times that I forgot to plug into the charger at work or home, 1 hour couldn't cover my 1.5 hour round trip commute.

So I swapped them for the 13w units. (I thought about just having one light, but I think the twin units look cool - kind of like certain motorcycle brands). I don't know how long they run, but they're still going strong after 1.5 hours.

Russ (owner of henious the horrible)

Russ

Here's a photo - not that it's much to look at. Camera doesn't do a good job taking photos in the dark.

Lights