I just finished rebuilding this 1990 Trek 950, 22.5 in frame. True Temper lugged steel. I bought the frame, fork, crank, bb, headset, seat post, brakes and derailers on Ebay for $100. The chainrings, headset, bb and rear derailer were shot, so I had the headset rebuilt at Bike World and replaced the other shot parts. Here is the list of replacement stuff:

Wheels: Rhynolite rims, White Industries hubs from Craigslist (new rims, spokes, rebuilt hubs)
Tires: 2.35 Schwalbe Big Apple from JensonUSA
Stem: Nitto Technomic quill from Rivendell
Bars: NItto Albatross aluminum 54cm from Rivendell
Grips: Rivendell cork from Portugal
Levers: Tektro mt bike brake levers from Rivendell
Tape: Japanese cloth from Rivendell
Shifters: Bar end Silver friction shifters from Rivendell
Chainrings: Sugino 46/34/24 from JensonUSA
Seat: Brooks B-68 off Ebay Flybike
Rear Der: Shimano XT long cage from Bike World
Rear Rack: Bontrager from Bike World

I just ordered the MKS Grip King (Lambda) pedals, a NItto Mini Front Rack, and Wald basket, all from Rivendell.

This bike rides extremely well, and I am having a lot of fun with it. The tires are just wonderful. Check out this website: https://www.schwalbetires.com/balloon_bikes

Finally got around to getting some decent pics of my ride (sorry, no white garage door.) During a rest break on a ride yesterday, I snapped this pic of my 2008 Jamis Aurora. I need to dial in the seat positioning a bit better and get some fenders in order to make her my ONLY commuting rig.
I'm hoping to add a front rack for touring duty, and improve the lighting system. As right now, even with the Pricetontec Eos, I feel my "see" lighting could improve. I have plenty of "be seen" lighting for night commutes, but the roads I ride are in rough enough shape that I would prefer to have more/ better lighting so that I can avoid some of these "inconsistencies" in the path.

My EZ-1 Recumbent:



My rear light set up:


The "dashboard view":
(I move the P7 flashlight up to the Twofish mount for the daytime ride home)

Daily Commute:

Weekend need for speed:

My commuter has had several mods done to it, so it's probably time to put some new pics up. The base bike is a US-built Nishiki Sport XRS. Besides the previous mods of rack, lights, saddle bag, pannier, etc., there were several new mods done to it since I last rode it to work. In December I found out the cranks on the bike were recalled by Shimano. I waited until my LBS could get Shimano certified so they could do the work. I just got it back from them Saturday. Anyway, the new mods are:

. Shimano replacement cranks
. Planet Bike Freddy Fenders
. Origin8 Space Bar
. Instead of grips I have the world's shortest handlebar tape job
. And a Trek bike computer I got for free from a friend

Thanks guys!

Yup, mounts, though the front mount is on the right due to torqueing on the fork or something along those lines, which sometimes gets me weird looks.

So far i'm loving it. Very comfortable, light enough and has mounts for anything i could possibly want. Any specific questions on it?

Also, the RS20's are great, i bombed into a curb (actually, bunny hopped) with a flat and put a big nasty dent in my rear and after some 'convincing' to get dent out the wheel was still near enough completely true.

Good times.

Do tell, The gearing appears to be non standard. Is it a conversion cog on a Sturmey three speed? I built a commuter, in the early eighties, using a Raleigh Record frame set. I had obtained an old Cyclo- Benelux three speed cog that fit on a Sturmey Archer AW hub. It allowed me to shift into a low gear at a complete standstill. It was a really nice commuting bike. It was stolen from me in Philadelphia. I 've been looking for a conversion cog like that ever since.

Moustache Bars + Claymore = win.

Old swobo with top-heavy basket, cheap front light, and smaller crank



New parts on the same Swobo- an additional 2 teeth on the crank, new Specialized Fat Boy 1.25 inch slicks, miNewt USB light, cheap Nashbar panniers that work great

AND, a coffee thermos! Sweet!

Nice hook up Sonoma, I plan to hook up my satin black Hardrock in a similar way. Which back rack did you get? I have a Topeak MTX BeamRack coming but I'm thinking I may go with one that mounts to the frame since it can handle a heavier load.

Also, the coffee container is the bomb, where did you get that?

Mulligan: Thanks!

The rack is a Bontrager rack I bought at a local Trek store. $40 I think. I bought it to be compatible with Trek's over-priced rack bags (Interchange I think).

If you watch Nashbar, you can get a rack that works just as well for about $10. On my other backup commuter I use the same Nashbar pannier with a cheap rack I got off Nashbar.

As for the Coffee Thermos: I'm generally pleased with it. It's been durable, has had no leaks, and has been dropped and banged around many times. The only issue is the release cap is a bit finicky, but the important thing is that it seals my hot coffee in there. $30 on Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/Ibera-Co-Ltd-S...7309939&sr=8-1

If you've already got a Topeak MTX bag for the beam rack, you can also get Topeak MTX frame-mounted racks that work with the same bag. I've got one of these on my dedicated commuter, and a beam rack that I can switch among my other three bikes when needed.

Here`s mine. The frame was my first mtb- it sat abandoned behind the shed for a few years until I had an uncontrollable urge to try out an IG hub/dyno combination and resurected it to mount the new wheels under. It`s been a fun and ongoing experiment, evolving for about three years now.

The wheels are Redband 8 and 3N71 with Mavic 317s (my first wheel build and still doing fine). I started out with a round Lumotec and a battery tail light, then added a battery homebrew with 10W MR 16 floodlight, changed out the Lumotec for a way more expensive and marginally better Inoled 10+, ditched the battery light (worked fine but a PITA), finally added the dyno tail light that I was supposed to have since I went with the overpriced Inoled. I built both racks myself, then later modified them to suit other changes. I have a camera bag that mounts up to the front platform with a custom made "QR" block and works good for lunch, cable lock, and maybe half a layer of clothes. For any more than that I need to tie a gym bag into the back rack. I think my favorite special feature is the theft resistant pump bracket- it`s mounted to the water bottle bosses and clamps onto the pump body and needs a special key (3mm Allen wrench) to open. It could probably also be pried off with a big screwdriver without damaging the pump, but it`s plenty of security for my area. Some of the other homebrew stuff I have includes the stem, the pant cuff guard (thin bash ring), and the switch mount for the 12V light made to match the Nexus shifter on the other side of the bars.

I`m not a weight weenie, especially for a commuter, but this thing is really a beast at a tad over 40#. The weight, in combination with relatively limited gear range, hilly area, and a good amount of wind mean that I rarely ride it for any kind of distances. My commute is only a little over three miles one way and there are two supermarkets and a few convenience stores within seven miles of home, but a trip into town means at least a 25 mile round trip with over 1000 ft of climbing- I very rarely tackle that trip on this bike. I`m thinking about building up a new commuter in the 30 to 35 lb range with mtb triple gearing in order to bike more for my daily needs. I don`t want to put lights on my tourer and subject it to the abuses of commuting (it`s still pretty). For the next bike, I`m thinking about a smaller front rack that will work with my current bag mounts, rear rack that mounts to BOB skewer with some kind of quick release pin on the top end of things, either drop bars or some kind of more swept mtb bars, and a Fly IQ or Cyo.

this is really a full out touring bike, but it makes a great commuter as well. It's a 80's Lotus Eclair. Tange tubing, old deore deraileurs , a newer ultegra touring triple, on- One dirt drops, bar ends, 32c panaracers, ortlieb office bag, and some other stuff. Oh and it's giant, 65cm. I normally ride a 63 and I can just make this frame work. I like a larger frame for touring anyway.

Rodar,
Great job on the build, I'm slowly building my mountain bike up along very similar lines. Next stop for me, the internal gear hub. Thanks for the inspiration!

rodar - That is some nice work you have done there.

I was pretty excited about my commuter but I will admit it's fairly non-descript, especially with the bikes that followed.

Personally, I like the thought of cheap panniers. You don't have to worry if they get caught in the spokes once in a while or whatever. I think I paid less than $50 for the pair I have (SunLite LBS house brand cheapies). An extremely handsome looking build, Sonoma.

I love the "evolving" part. I tend to buy my bikes on the cheap (my hybrid upstream was only $100), but that leaves a lot of room to play with different configurations and such.

I just love that you built the wheels and the rack yourself. I'm trying to work up the cojones to try a wheel build. Maybe this year.... And the pump bracket is cool. I have an old English 3-speed roadster with the original frame pump and I'm always paranoid when I leave the bike that it will be gone when I get back.

That is a little heavy, but the English 3-speed I mentioned comes in at a beefy 52 pounds so you could be doing worse. The hybrid a little higher up on this page weighs 38 pounds with all its gear (minus my expendables like clothes and lunch). Between the gearing and the fact that it's so much lighter than the other bike, it feels light as a feather when I'm riding it.

A gorgeous, gorgeous bike. Being 6'-2", I love a big frame bike, and that one comes in just under the "freakishly big" line. I would love to own a bike like that. Very nice!

I'm very impressed with the racks and the fact you built them. I was going to immediately ask about the racks and bags, then found the answer in your writeup. Well done!

My commuter is so similar: same bars, shifters, front rack, etc., except mine's a Trek.

Yesterday I commuted on my touring bike. Today I commuted on my..crit bike? ..with a messenger bag. Both of them can get the job done.

A new craze in the City of Malabon, Metro Manila, Philippines. Restoration of Japanese commuter bicycles. They call them Mamachari or simply Jitensha. Below is an example of a "Mamachari". Made by Bridgestone known as Raku-Raku. This bicycle has a lowered frame and adjustable seat height for easy handling. Baby carrier can also be use as a regular utility basket. Nexus 3-Speed, Front Tentamushi hub, and stainless steel rims & carrier.

Bridgestone Raku-Raku

OGK Baby Carrier.

Seat Height Control

Thanks to all forthe nice comments.
Holiday, your Lotus is killer!
Sancycles, thanks for posting that- I`ve never seen anything like it. Being a fan of Japanese bikes already (though a particularly rabid fan), it gives me a new line to research.

I really like your bike! I have been looking on Craigslist for a similar frame/bike that I wanted to build very similar to what you have done. Now I just have to find one and go for it!

Ask your local police department if they hold auctions. In this part of the country, they hold them once a year. There are a lot of impounded and abandoned bicycles. The original owners rarely come to claim them. Most auction bikes are junk. Of those that are not junk, half of them are in terrible shape. If you have a keen eye, you can get a nice bike worth fixing. If you are very lucky, you'll get a bike that doesn't need much or any work to get it working.

The prices you can get are amazing. I think the most I've paid for a bike at an auction is $50. And I've gotten some bikes that retailed for several hundred dollars.

At the last auction, last summer, they moved it from a Saturday morning to a Wednesday morning. There was no one there to bid against me. The officer told me to show him what I wanted and make an offer. I picked out SIX bikes and gave him $100. I think retail value of the collection was $1000 or $2000. I love the fact that cops don't know anything about bikes!