Originally Posted by mrblue (Post 17150911)

All of my bikes are commuters, but this one is the most recent addition...

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=407719

Originally Posted by geohero513 (Post 17135475)

Thule Commuter Pannier set

Some have asked what I think of my new Thule panniers. Let me just say that I am thoroughly in love with these bags! Prior to these, I had the Axiom Lasalles, which I also like, but the Thule bags seem to be of better quality and look so much better to me. Their functionality both on and off the bike is unmatched. The Thule bags are too narrow for distance touring, but are perfect for my daily commute. I can fit several books, a laptop, and a change of clothes, and my lunch. Depending on your bike and type of rack, some may have an issue with foot clearance. My rack is far enough back that this is not an issue for me. All in all, I would highly recommend them at twice the price I paid at bikebagshop.com.

Good Luck!

Originally Posted by JZackery_I.D. (Post 17151396)

http://i62.tinypic.com/14jop7a.jpg


I don't post much on BikeForums, but I know everyone appreciates bike photos :).. here's my custom built surly cross check commuter mode with a Brooks Cambium

Originally Posted by RubeRad (Post 17151901)

Yes, looks cool, I like the red accents; I could try that with my dark dirty blue. And curious how you like the Cambium.

Originally Posted by the sci guy (Post 17151523)

nice! What kind of fork did you put on? And wheels/tires?

Originally Posted by JZackery_I.D. (Post 17152221)

Thanks!!

To answer questions: Nashbar cx fork, vuelta corsa hd wheels (great value, very sturdy I hear) and panaracer pasela tires to start with. I actually decided with a brooks Cambium based on the look of the gumwall tires (didn't match as well as I'd hoped with saddle) .. or maybe that was the other way around? lol. Anyway, so far its great! Very comfortable. I actually have the one with the cutout but its not seen in the picture.

Originally Posted by mrblue (Post 17150911)

All of my bikes are commuters, but this one is the most recent addition...

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=407719

Originally Posted by eastbay71 (Post 17154777)

I love this! What year is it?

Originally Posted by mrblue (Post 17150911)

All of my bikes are commuters, but this one is the most recent addition...

Originally Posted by FBinNY (Post 17154937)

WARNING the frame is too small for you. It wouldn't matter that much, but you've extended the fork well above the headset top nut, and the stem is ending above the headset bearing. The steerer isn't strong enough to be cantilevered like that, and more importantly you have the stem ending in the threaded area where the wall thickness is halved, with 24 stress risers per inch. With any extended use and stress you can expect the fork to snap at the bottom of the stem.

I don't post gloom and doom warnings on stuff that might happen, but this is a SERIOUS SAFETY RISK with a high likelihood of failure.

Originally Posted by FBinNY (Post 17154937)

WARNING the frame is too small for you. It wouldn't matter that much, but you've extended the fork well above the headset top nut, and the stem is ending above the headset bearing. The steerer isn't strong enough to be cantilevered like that, and more importantly you have the stem ending in the threaded area where the wall thickness is halved, with 24 stress risers per inch. With any extended use and stress you can expect the fork to snap at the bottom of the stem.

I don't post gloom and doom warnings on stuff that might happen, but this is a SERIOUS SAFETY RISK with a high likelihood of failure.

Originally Posted by FBinNY (Post 17154937)

WARNING the frame is too small for you. It wouldn't matter that much, but you've extended the fork well above the headset top nut, and the stem is ending above the headset bearing. The steerer isn't strong enough to be cantilevered like that, and more importantly you have the stem ending in the threaded area where the wall thickness is halved, with 24 stress risers per inch. With any extended use and stress you can expect the fork to snap at the bottom of the stem.

I don't post gloom and doom warnings on stuff that might happen, but this is a SERIOUS SAFETY RISK with a high likelihood of failure.

Originally Posted by PennyTheDog (Post 17155080)

I've been fiddling around with finite elements software for estimating material stresses recently-- I'm going to see if I can model this today, because I'm curious about about how much the stress is increased here. However, that's a steel fork with a steel steer tube, right? Steel deforms plastically so much before it fails, I think the fork would be noticeably deformed for quite a while before it failed. I wouldn't think you'd have to worry about it snapping without warning. Am I wrong about that?

Originally Posted by PennyTheDog (Post 17155080)

I've been fiddling around with finite elements software for estimating material stresses recently-- I'm going to see if I can model this today, because I'm curious about about how much the stress is increased here. However, that's a steel fork with a steel steer tube, right? Steel deforms plastically so much before it fails, I think the fork would be noticeably deformed for quite a while before it failed. I wouldn't think you'd have to worry about it snapping without warning. Am I wrong about that?

Originally Posted by mrblue (Post 17155151)

Thanks again for looking out! I really appreciate it.

However, I just took the stem out to see how far down it goes. It is one reeeeaaaallly long stem! The stem actually extends, in addition to what is visible, 3/4 of the length of the head tube, which is as far as it will go. With the current set up, the stem is at its lowest possible point. I think it'll be ok since it pretty much fills the entire length of the head tube area, in the fork steer tube.

Originally Posted by FBinNY (Post 17155243)

OK, as long as you have an extra long stem which extends below the headset and past the last thread, then you're fine. I wouldn't have posted at all, but eyeballing the photo and knowing standard quill stem length I thought the stem was ending above the headset. I see these combinations and the results too often to let it go.

Originally Posted by FBinNY (Post 17155214)

When you model, be sure to factor the thread depth and the fact that the stem ends at a thread. If you're curious you might run two models, one with threads and one without. And yes, steel steerers are moderately ductile, and would tend to bend slightly before breaking, but unfortunately there's no time gap and both will happen within a microsecond as a single event. There's no way the rider could ever see a warning sign of impending failure.

I might add that forks have been breaking below the headset for a long time if threaded beyond the stem depth. That's why it's been SOP for a for forks to be threaded less than 2" or so, while stems are inserted at least that far, ensuring that the stem ends below the last thread.

Originally Posted by himespau (Post 17155376)

I wonder about this because I ride larger bikes with tall headtubes. That means that when I bought a replacement fork for one, there is more like 3-4" of thread (if memory serves threading runs from 150-240 mm and I have a 200 mm headtube - something like that). That means I either need a super long stem like a Nitto Technomic that only has the exposed length of a much shorter stem, or I have a stem that ends up with the end over threads even though it's still in the middle of the head tube.