New Commuter
 

Hello, this is my first post in these forums. I just purchased a used bike as a commuter to get to and from work on the cheap. Its nothing special, but the wheels turn, and the engine gets upgraded it seems every ride!

The only thing which concerns me are the brakes, I think they are too old and need to be replaced, but I can't afford it right now and I don't really know what is involved, so the bike will have to perform as is for now. It is an old Raleigh Record with I'm pretty sure almost all original parts. I added the rack and of course the hideously inefficient U-Lock myself.

You can get similar seats in North America. I have only heard good things from the people around here who use them.

no problem at all.

the rack was designed and built by Mike Flanigan of ANT. I was originally just going to have the lights mounted to the bike fork, but he thought it would be wiser to create some kind of mounting bracket to protect them in case of falls or tipovers.


Unfortunately, if you're considering getting one, he only builds the racks as specific custom accessories for the bikes that he builds.

Re: brakes...see this thread: http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=277203s

It might be helpful to you.

Not unfortunately, I will just have to tell the wife that a bike comes free with the price of the light rack. I'm sure that will go over well...thanks for the info and once again, nice bike!!

Thanks!

It looks like you need a new chain... Looks kind of rusted.

yeah, someone might "liberate" those poor Biopace chainrings from that nasty chain. I'm horrible about chains most of the time, but I'd never let the chain on my Biopace equipped bikes get like that.

I <3 Biopace

I just bought the bike about 3 weeks ago and at the time knew nothing about bikes (still dont actually). I agree that I do need a new chain, maybe something I can do this weekend if I have the time. Last weekend it was $40 for a BB :( . So between a new BB and a new chain, that will double the price I paid for the bike......

Yikes. That's not a very smooth bike path! :)

I'm just giving you a hard time. oddly enough the only bike I've had that needed a BB replaced was my Trek 800 with the Biopace rings....wonder if there's a reason...
But don't feel too bad. I paid $2 for that bike (it's posted somewhere far back in this thread) and had to replace the BB bearings and buy a seat post. I spent many times my initial investment getting mine on the road. :D

My all-weather, everyday commuter:
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y20...n/PDR_0067.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y20...n/PDR_0056.jpg

Here is my upgraded Gary Fisher Nirvana

http://inlinethumb27.webshots.com/47...500x500Q85.jpg

Don

Those are not commuting wheels of course. :) Just the only picture I had of it, so I used it.

I lowered the stem cause it was so windy.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...d/Image011.jpg

My latest upgrade, thanks to Donnamb!!! :D

:D Woo-hoo! A message that metro Detroiters really need to see...

and now they finally will. My bike is going to end up in some odd places for a while so hopefully it will get more exposure. I commuted all winter, and made a few trips to the grocery store, but getting sick took a lot out of me. The longest ride I've taken this year is 8 miles. I need to ride more and get my fiancee back on her bike soon. June 10th will be here before I know it....

My commuter
 

I bought a hybrid a while back when first getting into cycling. I wish I had the money to buy a real touring bike, but in the mean time I've modified my Giant Cypress 2003 to allow for my commute.

My Trek 7.6 commuter.

http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment...1&d=1176175612

updated pic as i cleaned it recently.

dumped the moustache bars for these cheap steel risers. found a matching pair of xc pro cantis but on these the rear is pederson. cheap tortec ally rack, which has the same load capacity as most of the steel ones twice its price. i wanna get a front rack too, i'm thinking the blackburn mtf-1.

That's cool. What fork is that? My dad has a Fisher hybrid that we're looking to upgrade. What ll did you change?

And dooley, wow. Fatties sure fit fine...

I got a basket finally!
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...t/Image001.jpg

Put a couple gallons of milk in there and I bet you'll do wheelies better than the BMX kids at the skate park!! :D

and by the way, it's about time!!! ;)

This my commuter bike I picked up used a couple weeks ago. It has been working well.

http://comradesoffunk.org/wiki/images/9/96/JonBike.jpg

The fork on my Gary Fisher Nirvana is a Bontrager carbon fork my local bike shop got for me and installed. I also recently had them replace the drive system which was starting to show the miles. I up-graded the crank assembly with a Deore set with slightly longer arms, and slightly lower gearing up front, with a new front Deore LX derailure. I also replaced the chain and cassette in the rear. I also replaced the tires with a set of Bontrager 700 X 32 tires. What a difference the tires made!


http://inlinethumb22.webshots.com/52...500x500Q85.jpg


http://inlinethumb61.webshots.com/55...500x500Q85.jpg


http://inlinethumb37.webshots.com/41...500x500Q85.jpg

I'm probably going to replace my wheels on the Nirvana with the Bontrager Select wheels that are on my Trek Pilot 2.1,(that's getting a set of Bontrager Race Lite wheels).

Don

http://www.brianpanhuyzen.com/outpos...nowraleigh.jpg

This is my old commuter, photographed 1 March 2007 in Toronto. I did walk it home that day. It wasn't snowing when I left the house, honest!

It's a 22" 2001 Raleigh Escaladeur hybrid, Mavic rear wheel with Shimano Deore hub (which I bought after I bent two standard hubs), and a Sunrim front wheel. Derailleurs, shifters, brake levers, calipers, cables, handlebars, grips, suspension fork, all original stock. About 25,000 km on it. Entire drive train needs replacement, so I figured it was time for a new bike. Got a 2006 Giant FCR3 two days ago, which I have yet to photograph.

Wow...your head must get pretty cold when you put that helmet on. :D

Thanks CaptDon. Looks like you've turned it into a great commuter.

My turn
 

Howdy

After reading all the posts and oogling the commuter bikes, I figured I would post.


New commuter from northern California here.
I picked up this new Trek 4300 hardtail 2 months ago to do some weekend mountain biking, and decided to try commuting with it as well since the front fork has a pre-load adjustment

Well, I'm hooked. I've already lost 6 lbs from the commutes and am slowly getting my bicycling legs back (I used to bike everywhere back in college, and did several triathlons, and I hit the gym 3x/week so I'm in decent shape)
I added the rack and panniers since I didn't like the backpack putting extra weight on my back.
I've also tried doing my grocery shopping & errands using the bike too, and find it to be a fun challenge.

My commute is about 16 mile RT and I try to do it 2x/week, and I end up driving the other days.

Great board!