Very nice. Will have to keep my eyes out for you on the trails this summer, once the slush goes away. My "street" route is clear enough that I am tempted to ditch the 2.3 inch wide studded Nokians and go with regular knobby mtb tires. Once I get my rear wheel respoked.

Was travelling light today.

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikep...nebc%20(4).JPG

Pardon my ignorance. But what is that thing attached to the spokes of your front wheel?

Like the matching bikes, too.

As promised, I took some new photos of my commuter after I gave it a thorough cleaning and tune-up. It's a 1983 Fuji Touring Series IV, purchased new, while I was between high school and college.

This go-round, I replaced the saddle with a Brooks B17. I replaced all of the cables and brake cable housings with new Jagwire pieces. And I replaced the original, dried out, gum rubber brake hoods with new, black Cane Creek ones.

http://i1297.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9c3339ea.jpg

This decal lies. I converted the bike to 3x7 years ago.

http://i1297.photobucket.com/albums/...psa901aa73.jpg

I added the NOS Suntour bar ends a few years ago, and love them. I'm looking for something more elegant than cable ties to secure the shifter cable housings, but haven't found anything. I still use foam Grab-on grips, just like when new. This is probably my tenth set. The Cane Creek hoods look pretty good with all the black, I think.

http://i1297.photobucket.com/albums/...psa7a90014.jpg

When I attempted to remove the stem, I found it frozen to the steerer tube. As I had to get it back on the road, I left it, rather than risking damage. I was still able to service the headset in-situ. And, of course, I had no need to adjust the height. When I get an opportunity, I'll soak the stem/steerer joint and free it up. For now, I was able to polish up the stem and get it looking nice.

http://i1297.photobucket.com/albums/...psd43d4839.jpg

Non-drive side. Extra spokes require unconventional mounting of cadence/speed sensor. But it works.

http://i1297.photobucket.com/albums/...ps73310c74.jpg

Sticker from bike shop where I bought it. They're still in business, and have a shop in the town where I now live. They get a kick out of seeing my bike on occasion.

http://i1297.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7f13a675.jpg

I have no idea how many miles I have on this bike. But it's still in pretty good shape for being 30 years old, I think. I still haven't taken that cross-country tour. But some day...

I don't always like the frame shapes of bikes of this era but this one is beautiful (the spit and polish doesn't hurt either). Very nicely done!!!

GriddleCakes, your Straggler looks great! Those gold rims actually look good somehow. First Straggler I've seen except for promo photos. I'm surprised the brake cable is run under the top tube -- I guess it's not really a "disc-check"

Once you figure out whether your bike (new frame, used parts) is new or not, you can get to work on that Ship of Theseus question, I hear they haven't figured that one out yet either.

LOL -- you youngsters and your obsession with more and more gears!


Very good shape indeed! I know you said you love your bar-ends (and just bought new hoods), but I would ditch the levers and move the bar-ends up to Retroshifts -- the brake cables would then be aero, and the shifter cables would be not quite that high.

Yeah. I actually did the seven-speed upgrade to extend the gear range (23.6gi - 103.8gi; up from 31.5gi - 96.4gi), more than anything. That, and better chainring spacing, have vastly improved the utility of the bike for the way I ride. If I wanted any more range, I'd have to swap rear derailleurs.

LOL -- you youngsters and your obsession with aero.

Between the fenders, light, computer, trunk, rack and big-ole me, I don't think aero is a factor at all. This is my commuter bike, after all.

That Fuji is a looker.

Touche! I'm not thinking of aero really, but reducing cable clutter for a cleaner appearance. But I guess part of the signature look of a hardcore tourer is giant loops of housing all over the place!

Personally, I wish there was a solution where cables could be routed inside the handlebars, and then into the stem, and somehow into the frame, popping out by the derailleurs and brakes. I guess whatever would need to be done to make that happen would be a maintenance nightmare, but it sure would look good!

Nice. I have the same trunk bag, and the same rack if that's a Topeak Explorer.

The rack is an original Jim Blackburn from '83. I bought it with the bike.

After a few days of riding, I whole heartedly concur. This feels like a completely different bike.

65er, you should just start a thread that features nothing but your own bikes. Not only are they all aesthetically appealing, they are wonderfully functional to boot, and there is no more perfect marriage of purpose to form than that. I love the stealth black look, and the red headlight just pops.

A question to you: you mount bar end shifters on a number of your bikes, most of which seem to be drop bar bikes. I've used the same, and have found them to be great on moustache bars and cruiser/north road bars, but on drop bars I kept hitting my leg on the shifter when I tried pedaling out of the saddle, specifically when starting from a dead stop. Do you think that this is correctable behavior, like avoiding toe strike on a fendered road bike, or do bar end shifters require a certain geometry to avoid knee strike?

That is a damn sexy bike, regardless of how old it is. Given it's fantastic condition, it's age only increases the allure.

Yeah, not gonna touch the Ship of Theseus question, although I thank you for the link; it was an interesting read. After riding the bike for a few days, I agree with PatrickGSR94: the frame is where the soul is. The bike rides totally different from the Nashbar build, despite identical compontentry. I don't know if this will increase or decrease my bike's status in your eyes, but those rims are lemon yellow, not gold.

2013 Surly Disc Trucker
 

Just got this bike on Sunday. Changed seat and tires. Added rack today. I LOVE this bike for my short urban commute and errands.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-i...o/DSC_7126.jpg
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-V...o/DSC_7127.jpg

My bikes are in my signature... slow browsers may stall a little. :)

My Bikes

I was using the red PB light as I had removed my usual lighting (which are also stealth black) to recharge those batteries.

That Moulden sees a lot of use for everything from commuting, hitting the trails, and it has gone on many a road ride as it is really versatile and not much heavier than my steel road racing bicycles with the extra weight being found in the tyres (Schwalbe Hurricanes). If there is going to be a midnight ride you know what bike I will be taking too.

Age means nothing to me when it comes to bikes when the design, geometry and materials all come together this well.

I ride drop bars because my back does not like an upright position and I prefer the greater range of hand positions, the bar ends rarely cause me any issues and maybe that just comes from experience although some folks don't like them for that reason.

Is that the new Brooks rubber saddle? How is it? Should I save up for one of those rather than a Selle Anatomica Titanico?

Consider Retroshifts...

Yup. Cambium in Slate. For years, the Titanico (which I rode on a LeMond Sarthe, until a thief ended the relationship) was my favorite saddle. My latest long-distance saddle is a Selle SMP Glider (on my Gunnar Roadie). For this new commuter, the Cambium was my first choice: I like it better than the B17 I had on my Civia Bryant. I am considering buying a second Cambium just because I think it it brilliant, one of those "perfect things" in modern manufacturing and design. - JP

Glad to hear another positive review of the titanico. Cambium sure does look great, I just wish rubber were cheaper than leather...

And looking at pics of the very distinctive-looking glider, I think that's the seat that a friend of mine swears by. Found it almost by accident, he broke a rail during a long organized ride (century?), stopped into the nearest LBS, bought this seat and immediately fell in love. (It still has something like "store tester, not for resale" or the like printed on it)

The selle smp seats do look wierd but I love my trk

Should I
 

You have to make up your own mind .. Note : in addition to colors are also 2 Selle anatomica leather top types .

X heavier and lighter rider options and center hole or not .. so for the indecisive ,


with the C17 all you have to choose is whether you want slate or tan canvas top surface..



leather will absorb some sweat , rubber of course wont ... remains to be seen how the C17 rubber Ages..

FWIW, rubber brake pads get harder with age..

On the rubber saddles, I figured the top layer would peel off in time.

M.

What brand/model is that? I'm in the market for one.

Agreed.

I'd say you got your money's worth from that purchase.

The trunk bag is one of these from Nashbar, is that what you wanted to know?