i dont own a 'proper' commuter type bike[no racks, no panniers, no fenders] so i generally think bikes with these things are 'for grandpa' even tho i am more than aware of their function.

that said, after looking at this picture i am going to be finding some white fenders and p-cliping them to my vicini[^up there somewheres].

looks great.

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_D58s8sD8chc/S3...0/P2192678.JPG

This is a Novara Randonee I picked up on CL for $175. The front derailer is giving me some problems, but otherwise it's good to go. Got some cheap-o Double M Wave panniers ($16 at Meijer's) that work great for carrying my uniform and bike stuff.

On the to do list is to fix the front derailer issue, get some fenders, and an AirZound.

My new bike! Specialized Sirrus. Transferred front and rear lights over from my K2 Crush, added on a seat bag, an $11 Schwinn computer, and had the LBS swap out the pedals for some aluminum one and a frame pump.

looking back through this thread...

found this tough looking machine. love it.

I like it! :)
Love the chainstay length.:thumb:
Anyone catch when this bike was made?

That's a mid-80s Huffeigh (from the time that Raleigh withdrew from the U.S. but Huffy sourced bikes in Japan and Taiwan and put the Raleigh name on them).

Nice day to test the new wheels... will have to mount the rack tomorrow.

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikep...sports35f2.JPG

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=138531http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=138532http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=138533

My current commuter has quite a history as to how it came into being. It started out as a 20+ year old single speed ladies frame bike and some parts that we acquired when I was just a wee lad. From there, parts were added until a serious break in the frame necessitated me to switch to a recently acquired from (several minutes prior to discovering the break). Then, parts were transferred over, and more parts were added. Then, I broke down and bought a new set of wheels to accommodate newer tires (this was necessitated by winter roads... turns out 3 Speed 26 x 1 3/8 wheels don't have much of anything useful for studs). This is the result (there... that is condensed from my massive novel and history that probably nobody wants to read through at the moment).

So, in a way, this is a bike that has been years in the making.

Edit: As an aside, until I took these photos, I had no idea that those white patches were so reflective.

Interesting Signature. You go to church much?

The Portage touring / expedition bike was first made in '85 for the US market and they sport 650B wheels which was very unusual for that era as the 650B was all but obsolete on this side of the pond.

http://velospace.org/files/columbiatourist2.jpg

Rack, bell, block generator. 20T cog on the rear (48T in front) so the normal gear is a little low, but low gear is now low enough for going up hills. Next upgrade will be the biggest thing which is to fit some alloy wheels.

Yup. Or I try to anyway.


THAT is a beautiful bike! I assume those are the old 3 speed 26 x 1 3/8 wheels? If so, are you going to be going for a similar size when getting alloy wheels? And I am curious as to approximately what year that bike dates back to.

They're 27" oddly enough for a 3 speed. And I'm looking for a decent older set of 27 inchers to replace the stock steel rims. The year is 1972.

I like the white tires with that green paint. The paint looks to be in very nice shape.

+1 - I love those Columbia Tourists, very cool bike and looks great in the green/white scheme!

That is a really sharp looking bike... just switched to a 48:20 on my old 3 speed to give me a better all round gearing as upping the wheel size to 700:35 increased the gearing to where 3rd was only good for descending.

Our gearing is almost identical, yours is approx 49/65/87.

It is always a bit of a compromise with 3 speeds but these old bikes tended to be geared rather high and designed for lower cadence pedaling... if you can spin along at 90 rpm that bike will cruise along at a nice 23 mph.

CR18 rims are probably the best choice out there for vintage rebuilds... they are better than most rims that cost twice as much and look like they belong.

Here's mine, which are both Schwinn road bikes. The red and white one has studded snow tires and is only used when there's snow on the roads or in the forcast. I use the silver one for everything else when the roads are clear.

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n...2/IMG_3946.jpg

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n...2/IMG_3943.jpg

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n...2/IMG_3960.jpg

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n...2/IMG_3957.jpg

1989 Bianchi Brava in 'road mode'. I usually have 700x28c tires and only one bottle cage with the pump mount on the seat tube. I also usually have platform pedals and the stem raised about 2 inches. I've also got Celeste Bianchi seat. that matches the bar tape.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...7/IMG_0024.jpg

And my girlfriend's commuter. I put some Tektro economy brakes which were only $40, but work great!

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...7/IMG_0025.jpg

Here is my daily commuter. Single speed early '80s Takara Tribute. Mediocre parts that get the job done.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2787/...49046a32_b.jpg

I think I've seen that bike on campus, unless someone else at ISU is riding an old Takara that looks exactly the same.

http://i787.photobucket.com/albums/y...idley/bike.jpg
The two ugliest things that I love: my city, and my bike.

Well, seeing as how we're roommates who are in many of the same classes, that seems reasonable.

oh YEA, ...LOL !1!!






(Thanks to Razor from KC for the forum posting style tips)

58cm Specialized Allez Sport, Magicshine MJ-808 on the front, Dinotte 140 on the back with Axiom rack, seat bag and panniers..Shimano M520 pedals and Shimano MT41 shoes to help channel my awsome commuting power..lol.. !! The racks, bag, panniers, shoes and pedals arrvied today..Only Got about 20 minutes of practice with the clipless setup because I was so much in a hurry to try them out I went out in 40F rain with nothing but shorts and a tshirt..Look for the "I fell in front of a cr while trying to unclip" post tomarrow....lol..In just the little time ive played with these clipless ive fallen in love with them..Dual sided so you just step down and go !! No more fiddling with toeclips..:thumb:
[IMG]http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/f...s/DSCF4003.jpg[/IMG]

GriddleCakes, that's a gorgeous picture. I gotta get up to Anchorage one of these days. I've never been to Alaska. My cousin lives there and I have an open invitation.

The "Great Snowstorm of '10" in MS
 

I know I'm a little late posting these, because I've seen all the other pictures from the 'storm'. We don't get much snow around here, so I had to take some pictures of my commuter after the trip to work. I had to dissolve the ice/snow off the bike with some alcohol before I could ride home (Cranks froze to BB, next time I'll know to get the snow off as soon as I get where I'm going!)

Anyway, here's the pics (and yes... I really need some fenders for the winter)

Attachment 138959 Attachment 138960 Attachment 138961

I'm sure this is all old-hat for the guys up in the north east, but here in the deep south, we don't get much of this kind of weather. This bike is 'fixed' 53/17, and that was handy as the front brake quit working about 1 mile from the house due to all the snow and ice in it.

You really can't see how funny the rear spokes look in the picture though. They are 'spokesickles' about 1/4 inch in diameter! Oh, and all that mess on the rear rim is the chain lube that the slush on the road washed out... it is supposed to be gloss-white!

It's unique, there's no doubt about it, and easily worth coming up at least once in a lifetime just to see it. I wish that I'd caught the alpenglow on the Chugach, the range behind downtown in that picture. When the sun sets on a clear day, those mountains light up like they're on fire. Yesterday was so nice that I ended up riding about 20 miles out of my way going home, out along the Coastal Trail and back. I was so mesmerized by the views that I didn't think to grab the camera until after the sun had set.

Here's what I'm starting on. Specialized Rockhopper rigid cromoly bought off craiglist, not sure what year. Bought new tires for it out of necessity (I pumped the ones that came with it up and I thought they were going to explode), new cheapie grips, and put some bmx platform pedals on it (really like these although they are heavy) Not really anything else planned but getting some miles on it.

http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/7393/rockhopper.jpg