I can't answer for Timbeau, but I can tell you a few things about dynamo lights. I have read that they were required on all bikes in Germany until 2013. The requirements were stringent and still are except about the source of power. The beam must be shaped like a car headlight's beam with a sharp cutoff at the top to prevent blinding people. The power is limited, and I think this is silly, but the engineers who design the lights have been extremely clever with the lenses and reflectors to get the most light out of a small output. People have told me that my headlight is bright, but it's because it's so well focused.

It really is great not to need to remove and install my lights at every ride. Bike thieves are weird and seem not to be very smart. They carry bolt cutters and other tools but they don't carry wrenches. I have no idea why that is. I once had a thief try to remove my headlight using brute force. He succeeded in bending the bracket but nothing else, and I was able to bend it back into shape. It's also great not to worry about the charge of my lights. I hadn't realized how helpful it is until I no longer had to do it. I've seen bikes locked up on NYC streets with bolted-on (dynamo) lights, and they don't get stolen, proving my theory about thieves not carrying wrenches.

I use a dynamo hub, not a bottle generator. Bottle generators used to add a lot of drag (and noise). The B&M unit claims to be much better, and it probably is, but I'm sure dynamo hubs still have less drag than the B&M bottle generators. They're also silent, though I can feel a vibration above about 15 or 20 mph.

Timbeau, your bike is beautiful in its practicality. I know it's a bit late to point it out, but Sturmey Archer makes a front hub with a drum brake and a dynamo.

Here are some bikes locked up at the college where I'm attending graduate school. I don't know who owns them, but I like these bikes.

Heavy duty cargo e-bike made by Tern. Tern makes very nice bikes. I might have heard that they have switched to only e-bikes, but I'm not sure if that's true.




Old fashioned street fixie with front basket and very wide handlebar. Fixies were popular in the City until a few years ago.





Modern road? gravel? bike with all the things. Nice bike and very practical except maybe for the riding position, depending on your point of view or style.





Small-wheeled cargo bike, not electric. I don't know who made it. It has room for two children. I love seeing kids riding on cargo bikes here. They're having so much fun.

In my suburban area, I'm fortunate that bike theft doesn't seem to be a problem at all. I've given up locking my bike at work (gated facility with 24/7 security; I just leave it in a parking deck stairwell, tucked under an overhang where it's not in anybody's way), and although I do lock it up if I'm doing errands about town, I feel like I could probably get away with just leaving it in bike racks unlocked (but don't want to find out the hard way I'm wrong!)

Anyways, lights. I have a cheap but very effective LED flashlight "permanently" mounted onto my handlebars with interlocking hose clamps. Anybody with an adjustable wrench or flathead screwdriver could get it off in a minute, but I doubt anybody around here has even noticed it's there. I feel like the car-centric SoCal culture has bike blindness.

Yup, I lived where bike theft was not a big problem, and it sure is nice. Once I went shopping in a suburban supermarket where I would use a lock. I had forgotten to bring it, so I tethered my bike to the bike rack using a bungee cord. Silly, and it probably didn't deter theft, but it certainly didn't cause one, either.

I used those generic flashlights. Some of them put out a lot of light, but I don't like the round beams they have because I have to point it down, and when I do, it forms a bright circle on the ground which attracts my eyes. I realized that for me, lights intended for bikes are best.

Hose clamps are a good idea. Right now, I have security skewers to prevent wheel theft, and they are hugely convenient. I should have gotten them sooner. I just toss my U lock over a convenient part of the frame, and I'm done.

I’d live to try the Cambiums someday.

I take the bag with me when the bike is unattended. The decaleur does lock the bag down in its position but is easily removed with a press of a release button.

ongoing drought, been riding this since May, usually don't get it out until July

Shakedown build:



Final build:



- 2024 Lynskey GR300 Ti frame (Black Friday blowout)
- Bearclaw Ti 100 Gravel Fork
- Cane Creek 110 headset
- Cane Creek 165 eewings
- Spinergy MXX Gravel wheelset (Black Friday sale)
​​​- Cane Creek Hellbender 70 bottom bracket (wanted 110s but ran out of $$)
- Panaracer 45mm gravel tires (sale)
- Shimano XT 10-speed
- Tanaka Lift-Loc rack and basket (sale)
- Juin brakes (‘cause I really ran out of $$)

It’s alright. 😉

That's quite special for a commuter bike!

At a point in life where I get to say “I want a quality ride, and I’m not gettin’ any younger.”

lots of change indeed. Looking great!

24 years later, I miss the Twin Towers.
The weather was just as today, sunny, clear day, not a cloud in the sky.

Good to see you posting again; hope you're well!

about 4 weeks scrolling ...

Is your brain full yet, or does it just keep expanding?

noglider hope expanding, once recovered i will spend some time scrolling in the post of pics of vintage road bikes lol

Very good bicycle

If nothing unexpected happens, this bike will have gone 3000km (~1850mi) in 2025, on the way to my work and back, tomorrow. It's a good bike, dependable and comfortable.

Good job with >3000km already in 2025, I bet you make it to 2000mi over the remaining 2 months!

I have a routine where every New Years I go around and record all the odometers (cars and my bike) and tally up the annual mileage. I had a good run in the late 20-teens where I was around 2600mi/yr on the bike (and one year with <1000 miles on "my" car), but then for 5 years my work situation changed and I wasn't able to ride as much, buncha years with only 1000 or so miles on the bike.

Work situation reverted starting this summer though, so I'm hoping for a big year of bike miles!

I picked up a Topeak MTX BeamRack at the LBS the other day and installed it this morning before the commute. In doing so, I've added more weight to an already rear-heavy bike, (the IGH is heavy) but oh well. It doesn't spend much time airborne, so balance isn't as important. It has a built-in rubber cord, so if the MTX bag isn't brought along, the rack can still be used.



It clamps onto the seatpost with a 4 mm Allen bolt and two sets of clamp pads in different thicknesses are provided. I wound up using a thick one for one side and a thin one for the other. This will let me bring my favorite MTX trunk bag along for commuting duty, and if I do a serious gravel ride, I can just unclamp it with the one bolt and clip my rear fender back on.

You can see the snap on mount for the front fender by the front bottle cage, and one can tell by the state of my downtube that I was surprised without it recently.

The zip tie under the saddle was to hold a saddle pack up. It was slipping down so the zipper was inaccessible. I may be able to cram that under the saddle too if needed, so the zip tie stays for now.

The bar bag is the Burrito Bag from ROMP out of Duluth.

The bike is a Priority Apollo 11.

Is the BeamRack stable? Some day I might put smooth(er) tires on my Krampus and make that my urban assault vehicle. Oddly for Surly the OG Krampus is lacking attachment points, so I'd have to do something like the BeamRack to be able to carry stuff.

My T.S. Isaac Stratus fixed gear commuter. Highlights include a Gipiemme Crono Special pista crankset, Dura Ace track hub, Modolo bar and stem, and Brooks Swift saddle. Normally it has a Son dynamo, but it froze up and is being repaired by Peter White at this moment, so I am running a Superbe track hub on the front. Tires are Fairweather Travelers 32mm--no longer available stateside apparently unfortunately as they were the best value in supple tires.

It seems to be!

The only caveat is its 20 lb. weight limit; that's what the conspicuous marking sticker says. Oddly, I got a set of pannier supports for it too. I can't imagine needing panniers and a rack and not needing more than 20 lbs. capacity...
That could mean:

• Panniers only, and bulky but light cargo
• The rack is conservatively rated for the weakest possible seatpost at the longest extension

A nice bar bag might be a good idea for a Krampus. Something a bit bigger than my burrito bag. Maybe a fanny pack too?

Especially since my bar of choice is Jones H Loop, so there's that giant empty space just cryin out for a bag!

I should just suppress my cheapskate nature and spend invest $75 on the bag that Jones made to be perfect for their own bars

I think you should too, if you have faith in their quality.

I just bought my first bespoke bag this year:

• Tern Vektron S10 bike
• Tern Luggage Truss for the head tube
• Tern Go-To bag for the truss

It's a really nice setup; just perfect. That bag was $160 or something, but it feels like it, too. Nice zippers, nice stitching; a nice thoughtful design overall. The truss also felt like "too much", but again, it's perfect for the application, having been designed with it in mind.


All bagged up!