I feel the same way.

Fenderless is so...naked! I'd be embarrassed to be seen fenderless in public.

I think its a natural progression for a commuter.
I once ran over a dog poo on my commute....that was a horrible 3 mile ride back to the house. Fenders are cool.

So I posted my bike on here once before, but now have a bunch more commuter accessories. So here it is.
I couldn't find a spare water bottle for the pick, so i put the next best thing.

http://files.getdropbox.com/u/1399495/surly/side.jpg

Just built it up this week. Cross Check frame with components from my road bike. Different routes with a mix of gravel and pavement. Gonna be a great bike!

Nice

As per Luddite's request... some slightly better pics of the U.A.V. (Kuwahara Shasta).

I salvaged and installed some almost new and much better fenders (Zefal) at the bike co-op this evening and earlier today I swapped out the 48 tooth ring for a 40 (makes for better clearance) and adjusted the cogs in the rear so I could still have a decent road gearing.

Everything in this bike (save for the bar tape was salvaged / recycled.

The bars are ITC track bars that have a shallow drop and nice flats, the brake levers are Shimano 105.

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikepics/uav5.jpg

The drive is fixed with a 40:16 that yields 65 geare inches which I can spin in any weather with any kind of load...this is my winter bike.

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikepics/uav2.jpg

The frame is hand built with EX triple butted tubes... it's like a touring bike on steroids.

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikepics/uav3.jpg

One has to have a thermometer and a bear bell...the saddle is an ancient and battered Lycette that is really comfortable.

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikepics/uav4.jpg

The money shot... :D

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikepics/uav1.jpg

So many nice bikes! Like sixtyniner :) said, there's just too many to comment on all of them (or something like that).

From CL grocery getter to full time commuter
 

I picked up this '87 Miyata One Twelve for $50 off of Craiglist a couple of months ago and planned to make it my grocery getter and lock-up-all-day-outside-at-the-metro bike. After riding it around for just a few days though, I realized how amazingly comfortable it was, and started thinking of using it as my commuter at least some of the time. With some new bar tape, aero brake levers, fenders and a smaller chain ring to help on the climbs, it is now my full time commuter and really just makes the 2+ hours I spend in the saddle (I moved the Brooks over from my old commuter) a complete joy. Why would anybody drive to work when they could be biking?

Nice ride!

That is friggin' SWEET! Nice job!
I'd be inclined to use heavier duty wheels, but that's just me - I'm 200 lbs plus whaterver gear I load on the rack.

Enjoy the new ride!

Those old Kuwahara frames are very nice. Incredible bike considering it was built with salvaged mats!!!!

Aside from consumable stuff like cables and housings most of my bikes have been built from my collection of spare parts or used parts I have purchased at our local bike co-op. I did buy the rear hub and cog so I could build up the wheel.

I figure my cost to build up this bike was < $200.00 and even my tyres were used... those Schwalbes have gone at least 10,000 km with nary a problem (on several bikes) and it's hard to tell them from new ones as they just aren't showing any wear.

We can often build up really nice bikes at the co-op for much less than this too.

Thanks! Heavier wheels are in the works. Trying to decide whether or not to sell the road frame to fund the wheels. Tough decision! :)

Sixty Fiver, are Kuwaharas common in your area? I've hardly ever seen any. I grew up in NYC and have lived in this area all my life except for three years in Boston. In Boston (really Cambridge), I sold Somas, which I believe Kuwahara made, but they weren't terribly common there, either.

I can't turn around here without running into an old Kuwahara or Kuwahara / Apollo ... like every other kind of mass produced bike you will find more middle level models than their top of the line versions.

They really hit their peak in the late eighties and believe '88 was the last year for hand built lugged frames... the Shasta waa a second tier model for a long time but my '88 is every bit as nice as my '87 Cascade.

Their paint finishes tend to be among the best I have ever seen and the only frame issues I know of are <85 models having issues with the welds at the rear dropout... they are nice enough frames that they warrant repairing.

Their parts spec tends to be high... they used Tange bottom brackets and headsets and many came with Sansin cartridge hubs (think Suntour Superbe quality), very nice wheels, and quality running gear.

They built some beautiful touring and racing bikes too.

Their quality level seems to have declined in the 90's and Kuwahara has now been re-named Asama... why they would do this is beyond me unless there are plans to re-launch a line of higher quality Kuwahara branded bikes.

They have a pretty strong following here but do not seem to have been widlley distributed in the U.S. - they also manufactured bicycles for other companies like Schwinn so perhaps there was a territorial arrangement.

I am presently converting my Cascade to run a half step with a dingle cog (for better touring range) and hope that will be ready soon... if I can't get the cog here I will have to order it.

In carrying on with my recycled mandate I had a 48 (from the Shasta) and a 52 tooth chain ring (from my sister's Kuwahara) and combined those with a Deore crank to build my half step.

It should be sweet.

Thanks for the background, Sixty Fiver. Do you know if they're common across all of Canada or just your area?

Were Panasonic bikes common there in the 70's or 80's? How about Fujis?

I always had an affinity for SunTour stuff in the 70's and 80's. Excellent stuff for the money, at all of their price levels.

What's a dingle cog?

A dingle cog is a two speed 17/21 fixed cog that is made by Surly although it is far from being an original idea. It is designed to work with a half step of 4 to maintain chain line / length and actually allows for three different fixed gearings.

I have several vintage double cogs in both threaded ans splined versions.

Fuji and Panasonic bikes are pretty uncommon here.

Suntour Cyclone and Superbe / Superbe Pro were some of my faves, more so than the Shimano offerings of the day.

On the Fuji Topic, one of my favorite bikes from the early 80's (never owned one, but lusted after it) was the Fuji Professional Super Record. Definitely a gorgeous example of Fuji's prominence.

She's finally done!
SS 44x16 Ready for the commute, grocery getting, etc.
Going to leave the fenders off while the weather is nice. Still haven't decided on a rack option yet. My Bagman Support + Nelson Longflap doesn't play with the saddle very well. They look better on my '83 Univega now anyway.

http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/2850/img5163y.jpg
http://img522.imageshack.us/img522/4294/img5164.jpg
http://img33.imageshack.us/img33/1628/img5165p.jpg

That's really interesting TheDL! It has track (rear facing) dropouts and cantilever brakes. What class frame is it?

The chainwheel is stainless steel. Unusual. And what's the thought behind that?

And the chain is in single links. I've never seen that before. What's the idea behind that, too?

From noglider:

That's really interesting TheDL! It has track (rear facing) dropouts and cantilever brakes. What class frame is it?

The frame is a Motobecane Fantom Cross Uno, 4130 Double Butted CroMo, meant to be a singlespeed cyclocross frame

The chainwheel is stainless steel. Unusual. And what's the thought behind that?

The chainring is from Surly. I went w/ steel for durability. Rainy road grime can make short work of wearing down alloy rings. The drivetrain is 3/32"

And the chain is in single links. I've never seen that before. What's the idea behind that, too?

It's a Gusset Slink chain. I chose the chain 1/3 for asthetics, 1/3 because of price, and 1/3 because according to the info on my LBS's website it's supposed to be rather strong (again, durability) "SCM steel with carburized nitrogen heat treatment provides breaking strength of 1300Kgf (Standard chain is approximately 850 Kgf)"

I hadn't heard about single speed cyclocross. But it makes sense.

Don't confuse durability with strength. They're not exactly the same in many cases. But I looked it up, and you're right, it's not inexpensive, and yeah, it's cool. Very versatile, too, since it's made of half-links.

I'm looking to get this exact bike and throw on fenders too. What's your estimated weight of this bike?

Thanks.

Am I the only one who burst out laughing at this? Thank you DVC45 for sharing your humorous tale of misfortune.

Here's mine, a Diamondback Wildwood.

Trunk Bags
 

How do you like your trunk bag?
I have traditional panniers and I'm concerned that they have too much wind drag. I put my lunch in one of them and my change of clothes in the other one. Would I have enough room in a trunk bag? Does a trunk bag have less wind drag?

Thanks!

I have a trunk bag and love it - it's on a seat post rack with quick release. I used it on a recent century. I can't compare it to panniers but have to think that the wind drag is negligible since it's completely "shadowed" by my big behind - even when I'm on the aero bars.

Can't speak to whether you'd have enough room though there are some very large trunk bags out there. Mine is 684 Cubic inches and holds my lunch and lots of clothes. I could easily imagine it holding khakis and a polo shirt in addition to a lunch. Shoes would be tricky though the bag I have has a bungee top and could easily hold a jacket or shoes. (The Nashbar is the only one I've seen with a bungee top though I have to think someone else makes one too) Looks like they have one with 905 CI capacity.

Here are my reviews at Amazon on the trunk bag and seatpost rack. I managed to score both on sale for about $30 earlier this year.

http://www.amazon.com/review/RULQ3BE...cm_cr_rdp_perm
http://www.amazon.com/review/R34HCX2...cm_cr_rdp_perm

Please click the button (at Amazon) if you find the reviews helpful...

Updated Photo: Added Blackburn EX-1 Rack and Zefal Paragon fenders. Had to put on the fenders to make the rack fit around the seat stays. Also has to make the front fender in to a "race blade" style via rotary tool to allow for toe clearance when turning.

http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/6780/img5166nxw.jpg

I would imagine that the panniers are largely in the "draft" behind your legs, and probably add negligible drag. Quite frankly, I would think any bike with a rack probably has fenders, etc, and wind drag is usually not a large concern, based on the intended use (commuting and other utilitarian purposes). If you are riding a racing bike and want the most streamlined profile possible, then perhaps the trunk bag MIGHT offer somewhat less resistance.

I've used both (trunk bag and panniers), and feel much better with the lower weight balance that the panniers provide.