I heard it was a blender:)

Mebbe I should be the president of the club... I only have two but I have built a lot of drop bar mtb's and the trekking bar conversion has been a popular one here.

groovestew's bike came out of my shop and my friend's Kuwahara got trekking bars when he passed it on to this better half who just loves them.

I'll vote you in as president

Oh carp... I have three.

I never think of my Kuwahras as mountain bikes even though that was how they were marketed... many of those early to mid eighties mtbs were really touring bikes that were re-designed to handle fatter 26 inch wheels and tyres.

My Kuwahara Cascade is an expedition touring bike... it too lived as a fixed gear / drop bar bike for a number of years but this spring it got restored to it's former geared glory.

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikep...010touring.JPG

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_TIeBxBH6dXI/TK...s800/rh_13.jpg

badass

I got my new stem in the mail today. 150mm stem! Thats right 150mm! I measured the offset from the new handlebar I got (cheapo origin 8 space bar) to be around 5.5cm arched back so I got a 6cm longer stem (is that ghetto logic?). Either way its really comfortable now (natural wrist/hand position on the bar) with the normal distance compared to my old riser. I also ended up cutting off 5cm from each side of the bar (now its 51cm) to be able to squeeze through the NYC traffic easier!

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4033/...67ee1d8e_z.jpg

Today was my first day in the rain with the new bike. Finally got to feel/see/hear the difference with disc brakes. Silent direct stopping.

I haven't posted any pics of my commuter lately. I have done some things since I last posted so here it goes. I really like riding this bike alot.

New grips
Cheap, but I like them alot

1 folding rear basket
I can actually haul alot of stuff now.

Good used chain.
What a difference!

Nashbar AIR seat
Really comfy on my butt, although the nose is too padded.

Bell DING DING!!!
I found this in a box of my bike stuff while looking for something else. I love this thing. Its so cheery and people seem to hear it better than me yelling somehow. It also takes less effort. LOL

Headlight Bell brand
I got this off another bike I bought just in time for the darker evenings. Its awesome to be able to see at night. I know its just a Target light or whatever, but its by far the best light I have ever had.

Red Tireflys
They add a bit of light at night.

Total cost of upgrades. Less than $10


http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_2024.jpg

http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_2025.jpg

http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_2026.jpg

I am another step closer to being in the club. I was working on the Schwinn drop bar project and wasn't finding what I needed so I started on another project. I basically finished it tonight and was riding it around when the chain broke. It wasn't a big deal because I need to put a different one on anyway. It saved me time breaking it apart. =) Here it is in its ghetto single speed glory although chainless.

http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_2028.jpg

I see why people say these old U-brakes suck. They totally do. I'll put some cantis on the rear instead. The front cantis are awesome. This bike doesn't fit the greatest because I need a longer stem or maybe I will just ride in the drops most of the time. It was nice I had a whole stem, bars and brake lever with bar tape that I could just put on the bike. I like the funky stickers on it that just screams ghetto or maybe character. I also need to put a rear rack on it, but that will be easy because it has all the mounting points and has screws already waiting for me. I am surprised how quickly it came together and now I have everything I need for the Schwinn too.

Those chainstay brakes have massive stopping power when they are set up right but need a little more TLC to keep them working well... make sure they stay well greased and that you keep an eye on the pads as when they wear it allows the brake arms to arc in further and the brake my hit the tyre.

So what do I need ot do to make them work right? I spent a decent amount of time messing around with them, but I did get frustrated. Any advice would be awesome or maybe a link. I did just read Sheldon Brown's article is there anything to add to that? At least from reading that article I avoided trying to put regular canti's on there since it wouldn't work. =P

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/canti-u.html

Thanks, your Kuwahara certainly pushed me in this direction! I really like this Rockhopper, it worked great with a swept-back flat bar, and better than I expected with the drops...

Set the straddle as close to the brake as possible... and one might also find that different brake pads have much different results as these seem to prefer a harder pad like a Shimano M80 than something softer like a Kool Stop.

I stopped by the LBS today and put the U.A.V. on the scale... it rolls out pretty nicely for a 34 pound bike.

That Dynahub weighs a ton as it was a pretty light ride when it was a fixed gear and I have not changed much except the rear wheel and added new fenders.

Count me in.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2771/...0f4019d7_z.jpg

Me too!
http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/a...5/IMG_0928.jpg

I hope you have a better lock my friend ! It would be a shame to lose that bike =/

I just sold it. Its just too small for me.
Now I'm on the hunt for another MTB to convert to drops. :)

Agree Ive never had a MTB with em but tons of bmx's you just take the time to set em up properly, i always used to run nicer cables with em too that seemed to help

Got home from work and took this pic just because the evening sun at my back makes for a great photo op:

http://imgur.com/PY7mYl.jpg

First one looked so good I had to pull my pride and joy out of the garage and take another pic before taking her for a spin:

http://imgur.com/1QBBLl.jpg

Six months and a lot of money later and I think I've finally got this set up to my liking:

http://thermalexhaustport.com/images/bike1.jpg

http://thermalexhaustport.com/images/bike2.jpg

Good experiences with these? I've looked at them numerous times but can never bring myself to pull the trigger.

I am not sure what your expectations are with these. I don't know what they look like when I ride the bike. I read some reviews the other day and some people were not happy with them because they didn't come on easily. Mine come on if you barely move the wheel which I thought before reading the review was a bit annoying, but mine come on easily so they work just how they are supposed to. I don't know how much light they really give off or how visible they really are. I didn't buy these they were something I took off a bike I flipped in the last week or so after I took a bunch of stuff of of it. I figured I would put these on and hey at least I have valve caps on that bike. LOL I would say they are more toys than legit lights. I don't think I would pay money for them and I don't know how long the batteries will last either. I assume there are better options of other products that attach to your spokes or light them up for the same amount of cash IDK. For say $5 get them if you want, but $10 I would shop around for something more exciting that will be more flashy pun intended. =) I have a set of blue ones that I forgot I even had that came on my Diamondback Vertex. They sat around too long and I don't think they work anymore. They are fun though I know a guy that was excited to put his on his road bike once I finished fixing it up for him.

Look on ebay for spoke lights for something to compare them too. I might have to order one of the cheap ones just to try them out one of these days.

I suppose I was wondering how durable they are more than anything. It's never been a serious inquiry just because I know I can live without 'em. But if someone were to make a reliable light up product that was small and could easily mount to the wheel, I might actually buy it. :D

I would say they look plenty durable. They are cheap and easy to mount which is a benefit them and they have been making them for quite a while. I just stuck my bike upsidedown in a the dark house and spun the wheel. For the $6 or so bucks on ebay they are probably worth it. Get a bunch of batteries and you would be set. I wish there was a way to turn them off, but oh well. I do feel more comfortable at night with something else flashing especially to make me visible from the side. I usually take the bike paths at night except in my neighborhood that I am very familiar with and its only a few blocks and bikers are very common.