This is the bike I will be using to commute starting tomorrow...

LOOK OUT!! That giant truck is about to crush your "darlin".

Looks like a Carradice Barley bag on there. I have one too, and find it perfect for commuting.

Nice bike, BTW!

Is the Barley bag not hanging at an awkward angle? It seems to me it would be great if Carradice deisgned the bag such that when hanging from the saddle, the bag is actually in the vertical orientation. I suppose that means putting the supporting straps on top of the bag instead of at the top rear fold.

I'm looking at large saddle bags for my Atlantis. Is the Barley big enough to fit all of my stuff for a commute to the office? This would include:

1. Cloths to change into when I get to the office (excluding shoes, which I leave at work)
2. Lunch
3. A towel
4. A couple of spare tubes
5. A meager tool kit
6. Rain jacket
7. Extra stuff (this varies but could include shorts, file folders, books, etc.)

I realize this is a bit ambiguous but I'm just looking for a general idea. I'm also looking at the Rivendell Baggins Adam and Hoss bags.

https://www.peterwhitecycles.com/saddlebag_support.asp

The Barley is one of the smaller Carradice bags. Peter White has a pretty good outline of all of them at https://www.peterwhitecycles.com/carradice.asp

Thanks, I do love that bike. The bag is great, though I also have a small Sun handlebar bag as well. I have found that the straps that come with it are not quite long enough to get around the saddle post if your saddle is set more rearward. Peter White is the only place I have found that sells spare straps in different lengths. Luckily, on this bike, everything fit just fine.

I have my Barley mounted on the Carradice SQR bracket. The strap fits the bracket fine, and it makes it a snap to remove the bag and take it with me. Peter sells the SQR bracket too, and if you have multiple bikes you can get additional seatpost mounts and transfer the bag to whatever bike you want to ride. It also does away with the need for a saddle with saddlebag loops.

You'll never get all that stuff in a Barley. Look at the Nelson or the Camper Longflap if you want to carry a load like that.

'75 Columbia Sport III, I added the rack, an eBay find Got in last week. I'm not commuting yet, but will build up to that soon. I changed the front tire & tube this morning, will do the rear later this afternoon then if no rain a much needed long awaited ride. It looks like the front tire is slightly off as far as being seated in the rim. I'll get a closer look-hopefully the whitewalls are slightly off...

Been busy and need to change my rear mtn bike tire-starting to crack, the front one is fine, haven't got around to it so haven't ridden the last two weeks-getting antsy.

k eliz. o

Here is my fixed gear commuter. Its a 88 or so Specialized Rock Hopper. Geared at 70 gear inches, 26x1.25" tires. Not shown are the 12.5w cygolite for night riding and my two panniers that go on the rack. It is a great solid commuter with a strong frame and wheelset. For winter its getting Freddy fenders and 26x1.9 studded tires, and a 38t ring in the front instead of the 48 that's on there now. Rear wheel is an IRO hub with a Velocity Cliff Hanger wheel, very very stout. 17t and 19t cogs.
More info at my website: https://r2.hostrack.com/ryko/fixedgear.html

EDIT: A major mod besides going fixed was chopping down a flat bar from 22" to 19.5". Makes the bars no wider than I am which makes navigating traffic much much MUCH easier. Its also more ergonomic, since my shoulders are about that far apart. I previously had huge 24" bars on it, which in retrospect (I didn't realize it at the time) were way too wide.

You don't need Fat Tire with a box like that!

Eh? If you're close enough to traffic to worry about an extra inch or two on either side isn 't it WAY too crowded to bike? (I feel pretty cramped on my 23" bars, and I'm still trying to find some 55cm bullhorns.)

I agree. It doesn't seem like much difference does it? But, for me it made a huge difference. I find that the character of the bike, handling and all, is totally different.

My commuter. An old mongoose sycamore sx mountain bike frame that my brother repainted. I used my spare road bike components and wheels that were left over when I upgraded my road bike.

Hey Ryko, are those Biopace chainrings? On a fixie? They look a bit oval in that pic. . . Does it work Ok?

cool bike!
~Steve

Thanks! Yep its a biopace on there. And I love it. The bike came with them when it was new and its never been changed out, and the chain tension isn't an issue, so I saw no reason to change it. Sheldon Brown runs them on fixed gears too

I feel the same way - It's just easier to squeeze myself through tight spaces and not worry about 1" of extra stick-out on the sides that I can catch on cars, or signs.

My trusty 1998 DEAN which I ride when I do the long commute 18 mile one way. Basically a full Ultegra layout except for the Sugino compact crank.

Here's my 1970 something Follis commuter with an eccentric mix of old-school campy and cheap shimano stuff. SKS fenders and reflective tape for the pending winter. Thinking of adding a rear rack but this thing is already a tank!

Pics taken in daughters room .

Dyno D500 with Kenda Kwest and acessories.

thanks i'll give it a shot. new to road biking, but been mountaining it for years. atlanta is not the most bike friendly city, but i still love the rides anyway!

-m.e.

Did today's commute on this:


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It was much more comfortable and I felt like I had more control than when I commute on this one:


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I didn't miss the triple crank much. The lighter weight of the TCR C2 made up for the lack of one.

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and here is my urban warrior