Awesome bike. Is that the Bandersnatch?
I'd love to hear your impressions on how it rides.

It's a Fisticuff I got it when they did the black friday deal.

I have not had too much time on it maybe two rides and one was in my drive way. I am going for a city commute on Monday so I will have more impressions then. So far so good for what I have done the bike is kind of heavy at 26lbs and probably around 30lbs once I get the rest of the bags on there. Plus I think the bike will ride better once I get ride of the crap Shimano M525 hub for a set of Hopes.

The bike was designed more around mountain drops (flared bars) so it definately handles more like a mountain bike vs a true road bike. When he set me up on this he set me to easily go 30 to 40 miles on the hoods with no fatigue but still use the drops on singletrack. The tire clearance is something to me reckoned with the tires on there are 47c but I have put a set of RK 29x2.2(2.0). I can even get fenders on there with a 47c.

It's downfall is the headtube which is rather short, I would have like more of a Singular Peregrine setup (frame was out of price range).

26lbs is considered heavy these days, crap what does that mean for the 40lb kuwie?

built this up last week to use as my primary commuter once the weather turns.

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k7...e/P3090163.jpg

1994 giant cadex ALR1. 105sc 7-speed. deda murex stem, cheapo bars. ti post and suede vetta. 25c conti ultrasports. time atac.

since this pic was taken i've modified some sks fenders to fit the bike and i'll be putting a saddle bag and handlebar bag.

i said before i was gonna build a drop bar MTB but plans change. theres an old thin blue line MTB frame and fork sitting in my basement and after seeing this im feeling motivated.

Customized Trek Utopia
 

I just bought this one a couple weeks ago.

http://img683.imageshack.us/img683/4013/dscn0617m.jpg

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

^^^ Very nice, love it. Do any geocaching with it? aka Velocaching?

Doohickie:
(Night Riders) I'm thinking of riding tonight, not sure yet. Fun ride.

Panic66:
Yeah, Jeremy did a great job, and I agree Colonels and Trinity are two shops I am thankful to have in this city. The others don't even hold a candle.

Gyeswho:
Where did you see that green Cross Check? If it is the same one I think it is, I decided to do mine disc after seeing that bike. It's Aubrey's bike from Colonels, and he built the entire bike around the brown hubs. It's SS/Fixed only as he even cut off the hanger. Very smooth bike, even better in person. If you want to PM me, I'd be happy to give you cost and contact information for the retrofit.

This is my 3rd "commuter" bike. I keep telling my wife I need several in case something happens to one of them. . . .

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5297/...7777132f_b.jpg
Whole Bike by individual image, on Flickr

Yeah 3 is where they stop buying that line LOL.

When my Lemond is sold then my lightest bike will be my Diamondback Vertex WCF at 25 lbs. I find that somewhat amusing. I suppose that partly because I don't have any commuter type gear on it and don't intend to.

Thats a nice bike. Maybe that was the inspiration for the Bikes Direct Mirage. =)

Yeah my trek MTB I just built is my lightest I think it weights around 24lbs with pedals

Hello All... been a haunter of the boards for a while now and after having my last two stolen (one sold to a friend then stolen shortly after). I felt compelled to jump into the fray this time, with the acquisition of my new wheels.

2009 Bianchi San Jose Pro. Couple of after market additions, nothing special: Cane Creek headset, Metropolis bars, MKS Sylvan Pedals (changing out shortly).

Haven't experienced its personality on the streets as of yet. Hopefully once the Chicago chill has broken and my hands won't freeze while riding, I can let it out of the gate and see what it has to say. ;-)

Hope these pics are up to the usual bikeforum quality. ;-)

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=193558http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=193557http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=193556http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=193559http://www.bikeforums.net/images/misc/pencil.png

I finally had a sunny day outside to take a picture of my commuter that wasn't from my crappy cell phone.

Kona Dew

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5011/...62c82b9d2c.jpg

Love this bike no matter how much it hurts to ride :lol

I commute 12mi a day and this thing flies!

o cmon, they dont hurt. if the roads are rough they can jackhammer a bit but thats it. dont feed the people who never owned one and talk about how horrible they were on here.

i commuted almost exclusively on my 90 crit for the past 3 years on the worst roads in toronto. 38.5mi round trip daily.

yes they do fly. explosive acceleration.

im singlespeeding mine, just because. picture is from last year as a 1x7.

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k7...e/P1050046.jpg

I noticed that today when I brought home a 70's Schwinn Varsity. She said that 3 was enough and 4 is too many.

its just the stock crank/ring minus the smaller ring

nope i was the other guy.

That's a nice-looking commuter!

Yeah ur right they dont. It is my first road bike so i quickly got used to it. I was just poking fun at the stereotype ha! What kind of tires are you using? I need to get some new ones, im using some Vredestein Fortezza that are pretty wore out and want something that is more commuter friendly but doesnt give up on performance.


Thanks! Ive only had it since last June and love it!

pictured are some cheapo 25c conti ultrasports. i have used 23c/25c conti gatorskins, speciallized armadillos, michelin litheons,etc etc. my route has lots of crap on it[broken bottles and discarded vcrs are common obstacales] so i carry two spare tubes and a spare foldable tire.

I had one and it transmited every imperfection directly to the spine at the base of my neck. You would be surprised what a $160 at Performance for a carbon fork and headset would do for the ride.

I just built up a 98 CAAD3 and went with the carbon fork trying to avoid what I didnt like about my old 89 R600 and it rides amazing.
And yes if I dont need to carry much with me I do commute on it so here it is. Its a R300 CAAD3 Frame with the donor for the rest of the part including the Campy Proton wheels coming from a 2001 R1000si. Came up at 21.6lb. Not too bad for a 63cm bike I only have $350 in. :D
http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment...9&d=1298211866

a bit off topic

@grim - i ride in a relatively aggressive position on my cdale and have no issues. just curious how much you weigh? im 177lbs and 6'2"[my bike is a 60cm]. im wondering if due to my low weight for my height the effects of oversized popcan downtube goes unnoticed? or possibly because i balance my weight more evenly while, judging from your bike pictured, you rest most of your weight on the saddle in a more upright position?

BTW amaze build for $350

Can I still play? I no longer have a job to commute to, but this was my daily commuter (only bike ;)) -

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5100/...7be7945e_z.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5298/...997dfec8_z.jpg

6'1" 220. I tried everything to make it work for me. I just couldn't take the ride and it was a little small for me. I can ride my t700 a metric and be in less pain then that R600 had me in 20 miles. The CAAD3 with the carbon fork is quickly becoming one of my favorite rides. Did 20 on it Sunday and was bummed I didnt have the time to ride another 20.

Got REAL lucky picking up the R1000 for the right price and being able to sell the frame to get my build cost down. Only issue is the Right brifter (ultegra) is wonky. Part of the reason I got the bike at the price I did. Have to wrap your first two fingers around the brake lever and hold it to get the small paddle to work (exactly the same problem as the 105 I had on another bike). It would be a issue if I raced, livable since I ride for pleasure.

Updated my handy dandy "B"urly to be a 1x9 with a larger rack (i traded with someone). Waiting for some Falcon thumb shifters (friction) to make it complete. I love this bike :)
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5055/...56d28056_b.jpg

Nice photos. The bike has a good look to it, like it wants to go fast.

it looks fast standign still...

Crazy good build for $350. I would love it in my size (49cm) LOL.

Here's my new Motobecane (BikesDirect Motobecane) Mirage:

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...e/IMG_0381.jpg

Just got it "finished" (if a bike is EVER finished) on Saturday. Haven't commuted on it yet, as my job site still requires about 1/2 mile or so of negotiating dirt road and mixing it up with road graders, elevating scrapers, and dump trucks to get from the street to the work site.

This bike is what I think of as my "disposable" commuter, as when this project in California is completed I go back home to Kentucky, and I'll decide then if I want to strip the bike down and sell it or give it away, or ship it home. I kind of like it, though, so I'm leaning towards shipping it home.

Anybody know how much it will cost to ship a bike from California to Kentucky? (I kept the box that BD shipped it in.)