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

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

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..
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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.

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)

CIMG0150.jpg CIMG0147.jpg CIMG0145.jpg

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.

Nice bike. Now try leveling the rear rack.

leveling the rear rack could be difficult. i have the same kind of rack and the stays that connect to the frame below the seat are really stiff. best if you do what you can without actually breaking something. all in all, if it works, dont fix it.

I have a similar problem. In my case, I think it's due to the size of my frame (61cm). The seatstays are fairly steep, and I think that the result is a shorter horizontal distance from hub to rack bosses (if that description makes sense; I'm not adept in speaking about matters of frame geometry). I had a devil of a time attaching the rack stays!

You might try pclamps instead of screwing to those braze ons. Not perfect, but a workable solution.

I might level the rack if if at some point there is a reason to other than aesthetics. Right now I don't have a trunk bag or anything to attach to it. If I decide I like the frame enough to tear it down and make it pretty again then I would.

Part of the reason I did buy used was to get a feel for it I would like commuting and also to have something inexpensive to take a part, rebuild, and basically learn how to maintain on my own. I actually never changed a tire untill I took off the sunrotted knobbies that came with this and put on the performance brand cheapies.

I'm thinking about buying a used Park stand if I can find one to make it a little easier to work on.

I don't have a commuter anymore.

My Raleigh Marathon has just been sold.
And believe it or not.... Right after that the derailleur hanger of my Giant OCR snaps off and leaves me without a commuter.

Just showing off my build I finished tonight!

My latest cheap ass beater commuter. Built pretty much from spare bits lying around the garage.

This years commuter

Ouch. Tough break!

Wow! Nice rig, did you post a build thread or do you have a parts list?

Timber - That bike looks like it is ready to do a world tour now... nice work.

Is that a cyclocross frame with a road fork? How does it handle..?

I believe it's an '88 or '89 based on the paint scheme, great find! I just picked up a '90 Comp and I'm loving it...

Edit: now that I think about it, the 88 would have had a chainstay mounted U-brake, so it's an 89...