Looks pretty beautiful to me, especially for China. My buddy spent a year in Beijing teaching English (and wrote a fantastic book about it!), and he was paranoid about bike theft. He wrapped his entire frame in duct tape to disguise it, and I think it was just a Mongoose, not a tricked-out commuter with fenders and a leather saddle!

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=348756 Here's my commuter bike http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=348757 here it is in Saturday form http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=348758

Love the DIY trunk. Probably what, $5 from home despot? Did you just cut holes and ziptie it to the rack? Is it waterproof enough that way?

RubeRad: Thanks! neon single speeds are all the rage now. Plus, I live and work somewhat near the airport - hence the lack of skyscrapers in this picture - and keep my bike locked in my apartment or office.

When I was living in busier areas, I had a Forever that nobody would've wanted anyway.

Thought it was supposed to be the sheep that were nervous.
I like the bike.

I have the same basic trunk on my foul weather/beater bike so my cargo won't get wet. Mine is solid black though, $6 at Wal Mart, I put Adel clamps around the rack frame then drilled through the bottom of the tub and used machine screws with fender washers to attach it through the clamps then put a layer of high density foam in the bottom. Mine has a carrying handle in the middle of the lid that rattled, I wrapped it with electrical tape until the tape was thick enough to wedge it against the side of the recess it sits in, no more rattle. I could have removed the handle but it makes a nice additional attaching loop for light items that are to big to go inside.

Cool! I also considered using screws and large washers, but went with heavy duty zip ties instead (simple yet effective). I've been using the same tub and same zip ties for about a year now ~ 3-4 thousand miles of carrying full loads on pretty rough terrain and its still in great condition. I actually got mine from wal-mart as well $6 + a little change. I am actually surprised that I don't see this more often, in fact I have never seen anyone else do the same thing, your the first. It's so freaking cheap and works really well. It is a bit ugly but IMHO looks better than a milk crate, which I have seen a lot of. Good idea on the foam, I have thought about putting something soft on the bottom but haven't bothered yet. One draw back to mine is noise if hard objects get loose inside, but I try not to let that happen.

To answer RubeRad's question above, yes it is waterproof, I've been through some crazy rain storms with that thing. A month or so back when Colorado was flooding everywhere, I was carrying my textbooks and other valuables in that thing without any problems. I guess a few drops of water got in from the small zip tie holes underneath but it was extremely minimal and that could be easily rectified with a bit of silicone caulking (hasn't been enough of an issue for me to bother with it yet). I did just install the rear light so a bit of water might be able to get in where it is attached, so I think I will give it the silicone treatment soon. The tub also works as a fender .

Yeah, same here, I figured it was probably pretty common so I never bothered to post and never gave it any more thought. When I saw yours tonight it hit me that it is the only other one I've seen so far. I prefer to think of it as "utilitarian" rather than ugly however. ;)

I was originally going to use J-bolts to make it so I could remove it fairly quickly but then realized I really had no need for that feature. I also had no J-bolts but I did have a bin full of Adel clamps just the right size I'd probably never use, I had bought an assortment for an automotive project 15-20 years ago and these were the leftovers. Zip ties would have worked just as well though and had I not had the clamps would have been my next choice. Glad to hear it's as weatherproof as I had hoped, I haven't had to test mine yet.

I finally carried a camera on a ride.

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...5060f49f20.jpg

Details and a few more pics here.

Welp, I did it...I went through this entire thread, starting from page 1. Took me about a month and a half, but I have thoroughly enjoyed seeing all of your lovely/new/old/beautiful/unique/hardworking commuter rigs. I haven't taken many proper pics of my fleet, but I'll drop a quick snap from this morning, taken after the ride into work:

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=349334

Rode the Tank today...not pictured: Topeak MTX Beamrack (E-type) and MTX trunk bag (the one without side panniers). The roads here are a mix of loose gravel, cracked magma field-like asphalt, and smooth sailing fresh paving...with a surprising number of hills, so the Tank's gearing and big, balloon-y Fat Frank's were perfect for an easy cruise this morning.

Bonus pic: The sunrise this morning over Columbia Metro Airport:
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=349335

That is quite an achievement! Looking forward to more pics from your stable...

A month and a half continuously, or did you pause to eat, sleep, and ride? :D

:lol:

Thanks! I look forward to seeing more awesome rides on this thread!

To quote the wise prophet, [MENTION=313910]gregjones[/MENTION]: :lol:

That brought to mind so many images of internet binges gone bad. :)

Oops, this was a while back...

Basically, it was just the right deal on a used folder which works out perfect for my new commute. Happenstance more than anything else.

I've liked the Birdy design forever but never really had a good excuse to need a folding bike. I posted a WTB: folder in the folder subforum here on BF and this turned up. Price was right and it matches my needs, so it is now mine. There's not many times when reality exceeds expectations, but the Birdy is one of them.

...and, one of our cats died this past May. Cat's name was "Birdy." So in a way, this is a tribute: one Birdy gone, another stops by for a while...

Volagi Viaje in daily rider mode:

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3801/1...eda8c604fc.jpg

Oooh, pretty. Volagi Viaje is my N+1! (Probably not for 5+ years though).

I wandered through your flickr stream, and I see you're running a lot of Microshift. How's that workin out? Did you put that on the Viaje, or just on your Dillinger?

Also I saw your tire stack and recognized Vee Rubber V12, among other Vees. I was disappointed as my V12 29x1.75 basically 50% wore out after about 500 miles, mostly asphalt. I took them off to reserve them for trails only.

The Viaje came equipped with 105 and a 9-speed XT rear mech. The latter was needed for compatibility with the 11-36t (10s) cassette. Since it's a demo/loaner, I've pretty much left it stock.

My Black Mountain sports a microSHIFT Centos/R10 mix, and I really like it. I'll get burned at the stake for saying this, but I prefer the microSHIFT interface over the Campy levers I was previously using.

Beautiful bike; beautiful scenery...it would be hard not to ride with such conditions present!

Here are some shots of my newest commuter bike, a Gunnar Crosshairs. I just had it built and have not ridden it to work yet, but it's ready to go. Added the rear rack and the reflective tires for commuting, and I have some SKS Raceblade fenders that I can strap on when the weather is iffy.

The Crosshairs is replacing my Gunnar Sport, which was a nice bike but I prefer the versatility of a cross frame. I've got the Sport for sale in the market place forum here.

I've also been commuting some on my Ritchey Breakaway Cross that I picked up used earlier this summer. I don't want to put fenders on this bike since I also use it off-road, so I only ride it on days when rain is unlikely.

Is that a Blackburn rack on the Gunnar? And what make/model of saddle rack is that?

These bikes have me drooling. I think I like the Ritchey the best...something about those orange bikes, especially when they bridge that look between classic and modern. :)

The rack on the Gunnar is a Planet Bike Koko. It only cost about $35 at my LBS and is very adjustable. Quite the bargain for a rack and load capacity is 55 lbs.

http://ecom1.planetbike.com/4005.html

Regarding the Ritchey, I had been looking for a Swiss Cross for years but never found one in my size that I could afford. Saw the Breakaway Cross for sale on eBay and bought it for a bargain price. It really suits my needs better than a Swiss Cross because it has mounts for fenders and racks, plus I really like the orange color as well.

Oh wow! I have the Koko on my Amazon wish list, but never actually saw one "in the wild". Looks great! I may end up adding it to my already-ridiculous collection. Good catch on the Breakaway! :)

Shimmy?
 

Zach,
I commute on a very similar bike this size (Nishiki). The frame seems to be very flexible and could benefit from a second top tube. Do you have any issues with shimmy? I once attached a seat-post mounted rack with 10 lbs on it. This caused a shimmy so horrible that I never even try to put anything in the back anymore...

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=349505

An update of my daily three season commuter.

FSA Metropolis bars, Paul Thumbies with Dura Ace bar ends, porteur rack with Wald basket, Salsa Delgado rims on LX hubs and dynamo up front, Edulux front light, Dutch frame lock and kickstand.
http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/k...ps163d4ff3.jpg

http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/k...ps0a35600b.jpg

[QUOTE=fun29er;16224994]Zach,
I commute on a very similar bike this size (Nishiki). The frame seems to be very flexible and could benefit from a second top tube. Do you have any issues with shimmy? I once attached a seat-post mounted rack with 10 lbs on it. This caused a shimmy so horrible that I never even try to put anything in the back anymore...

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=349505
Never had that problem? But I also never really get rolling on it. But even the one time it has crested, say 25mph, descending a gravel pass in Nelson County it felt pretty rock solid even with 15lbs (of beer) in the seat bag. I use a bag man to support the bag from the saddle, not the post, and the flex of ths steel rack gives the bag abit of suspension.

More imporantly, what is/where did you get that frame bag and can it take a laptop? been looking for one just like that!

I just looked on amazon and bought one - that's a NICE rack for great price! Thanks guys!!

[QUOTE=Zach_Stone;16226783]I'm thinking my issue had to do with the weird weight distribution created by the post-mounted rack. It's good to know that a seat bag should work fine.

The beauty of riding a 27" frame is being able to just hang an actual laptop bag from the top tube! I think this old bag is from the late 90's. It has a metal lining at the top as part of the original design. I removed the handle and riveted (!) the four Velcros to it. Any reasonably thin laptop bag can be attached this way, as long as the top is held up by more than just fabric. If I were using a modern laptop bag without the metal lining, I would probably use a strip of metal from a can of pop and rivet/bolt it to the Velcros from the inside.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=349652

This has become my new favorite commuter/utility do everything bike.

[IMG]http://i39.tinypic.com/352m1oh.jpg[/IMG]