Finally completing my recent bike purchase/project with an Ortleib Office pannier - northern European equip for New England paths/streets, I'm curious to see what this winter holds in store.....

I think I forgot to 'publish' the video. Try is again and let me know if it works.

This thread just keeps on going! I think this is the 3rd photo I've put on here, but since I retired the DaHon when the trains got "bike areas" and retired the GT when I wanted a more commuter friendly bike . . . here is the current commuter, built up from a discarded "Performance" brand cro-mo frame.

I built it up with parts I had laying about (which is why the wheels don't match!) and the shifters (8 Speed Grip-Shift) don't match the freewheel (not a cassette! 7-Speed) but still, they work okay together. Single chain-ring and the front derailluer is only there to keep the chain on the chain-ring when I hit bumps.

Since the "Performance" decals have been removed, it's known a simply "The Black Bike."
Rick / OCRR

Wow that green and black make for a SHARP looking bike! Love it!

From where to where do you commute in KC, I am thinking about a Mission, KS to Grandview, MO commute, but haven't fully committed yet.

I commute from the west side of Liberty to 31st & Broadway. It's a little under 20-miles each way.

That's gotta get cold on a Kansas winter day. I live near the coast and it's rarely as cold (though colder than Iceland in the winter), and don't know if I'd have the patience or tolerance for your daily commute.

Consider this a hat's off salute. (we need a "tip o' the hat" emoticon, not that I'd use it anyway)

In one of the threads about winter cycling, some Canadians said that the type of climate we get in NYC can be more unpleasant than their climates because our weather dithers above and below freezing so much. Cold wet wind is bad. Windy rainy weather is very bad.

Ok that's pretty impressive, mostly because I am trying to think of the city street route you would take. At an old job I would commute from Mission to North KC, go right through downtown and then across the Heart of America Bridge (wide shoulder). Loved crossing the Missouri River and riding through the heart of town.

My route would be 14.5 miles through residential but there is a couple no shoulder parts I wouldn't be able to avoid. Seems doable.

How long is your trip one way then?

The temperatures around freezing are the worst. The rain and dampness just seep into everything and make one feel much colder.

I have been in Vancouver for a decade and I hate the winter. Here it hovers around forty and it is wet all winter. I grew up in upstate NY just off lake Ontario and winters below freezing were much more pleasant. Those winters are my happy place.

But biking is easy. But if it snows the city is a disaster since it happens once a year and I try to avoid going out for fear of unprepared idiots hitting me in the car or on the bike

I can usually make the trip in just under 1hr 15min depending on the wind. With a strong tail-wind I've made the trip a couple of times in 1hr 6min. With a strong head-wind it's taken me nearly 1.5-hours. With my computer and a change of clothes, the total bike weight is around 45 lbs.

I come across the Heart of America bridge as well. The barricaded bike lane is nice, but because the lane is an afterthought and not part of the original bridge design... all the water/debris washes across the bike lane to the drains (which are also in the bike lane). I've had several flats coming across the bridge because of all the glass/debris. However, it is a safe way to cross the river and I do enjoy the view.

A majority of my ride from Liberty to the Heart of America bridge is on residential streets. I do jump on Vivian Road as I ride through Claycomo, but the traffic is fairly light.

I agree to an extent. I ride all winter and prefer colder dryer weather. But we really don't get that much winter rain, so 30-35 and not raining is better than colder temps. In face we have many days with daytime balmy temps on either side of 40.

OTOH- here in NYC we can ride on just about any winter day without going to great lengths to protect ourselves. I'll take a few damp chilly rides, even rainy ones over super cold any time.

I know this was not intended for me, but me and my green 9th District go from 133rd and Quivera in Overland Park to 31st and Main. However, it gets most of the afternoons off, since it gets a ride on the front of TheJo (county bus service) back to Overland Park and then a short 4 mile ride home.

Sorry to threadjack the pics thread with comments from KC commuters, but there aren't a lot of us, so it's nice to hear from others.

Recently got the winter bike finished and am glad! Almost didn't put the studded snow tires on as I thought this so called storm was gonna flop. So far we've gotten more snow that we've gotten during some entire winters.

BikLites:

Do they change with speed, or it is just random?

I think that it would be awesomer if they changed colors according to speed. Red for when slowing and changing through the visible spectrum to blue as you go faster.

My mistake, they're called SpokeLits not BikeLites.

So you buy a single color light or the disco/changing color light and you wet it to flash or glow mode. In my video I have a blue one flashing and a disco one glowing. Disco changes color in a regular sequence.

My first post, might as well be a question.

Nice Backwoods! I have a '94 that I tried to fit Planet Bike ATB fenders on last weekend. The front went on fine, but I couldn't get the back seated properly because the center mount on the seat stay is too far above the tire, and when I try to pull the fender plastic clip up to the mount, the brake cables hit the fender.

Can I ask how you mounted yours? Kinda new at all this. Thanks!

Here my latest build, for damp weather commuting (key feature being fenders). If you want to see more pics and read about the acquisition & build, stay tuned for a new thread I will put on C&V shortly.

That's a link to a private picture.

I had a piece of metal about 3/4" inch that I drilled holes in both ends and just used an extra nut/bolt/washer. Probably gave me a little less than an extra 1/2". The cables still rub the fender a little but it doesn't seem to affect braking, not that I use the back brake a lot anyway.

Edit - it was even more ghetto than that. I think I used the metal piece on a different bike. I actually just zip tied it on, lol. No problems so far.

I fixed my '86 Gazelle and rode it to work Friday. It now qualifies as a commuter bike.

Saw this parked down the sidewalk from "the rim" in philly last night....



I would love something like (actually this one) this for summer jaunts.

- Andy

Lol, I may go with zip ties too, but the extender sounds like it'll work, so I might try that. Thanks.

My bike shop just finished building my new commuter-touring bike, a Soma Saga. I swapped parts from other bikes for the build, and it's got a 9-speed drive train with Sugino triple crank, Shimano derailleurs and Velocity Dyad 36-spoke wheels. Rode 55 miles yesterday on its first journey, and it fit me perfectly. I'll be able to run larger tires with fenders than my Bob Jackson touring bike, which will make it more capable for riding on unpaved trails like the C&O Canal. It's also better suited for loaded touring than the BJ, with stouter tubing, longer chain stays and other features. The BJ will become my primary commuting bike, which is what I originally got it for, so it's come full circle.