Heres my new Cross Check commuter. Built for rain and hills.

52cm Misty Mountain Gray Crosscheck
Velo orange fenders
Nitto stem and bars
Thomson post
35C Vittoria Randonneur Pro's
Ultegra 9 speed cranks
Deore rear derailleur
Sora front derailleur
Dura ace downtube shifters
Ultegra hubs laced to Open Pro's
SRAM 12-34 cassette

I really need a good lighting system, thinking generator hub right now. Also might put a front rack on there. The 35c tires are perfect for commuting, nice and plush, really tough but surprisingly fast.

Ben, that bike is a work of art! Beautiful color, downtube shifters, chrome fenders, just my size

May I ask where you lock it up at?

MyBikeGotStolen - You reminded me! I got an email reply from Nashbar:
" NA-FRR is currently out of stock, but we are still taking backorders for it. Next delivery of stock on these is expected for 11/30/07. "

ben_san - that check is pretty.

So many practical work-a-day bicycles posted! Such diversity and creativity.
I love it. Here is my mutation:

Although I have found three road bicycles for very little money (main criteria), they are all too big (2-64cm, 1-62cm) for me. I am too cheap to pay any real money, have instead relied on keen eye and luck. Not enough luck.

To appease my hankering to roll on tall skinny wheels I crammed 27 inchers on a mountain bike frame. Some ghetto engineering yielded front brakes. A couple new but mostly junk parts. Rack and basket are latest additions and now I am terribly fond of this thing.



Brakes and tire clearance. That is about as close as can be without rubbing.

wow, that is crammed in there!. Do you have a close up of that "quick release" crate?

Here is how I did it on my folder bike. I didnt think it looked to sturdy at first, but I have had no problems with a 20lbs. backpack full of school books. Of course I am not bombing of curbs and what not on the folder either. I will get a pick of the rope attachment on my MTB's crate next time I have it on there.

Very pretty bike, and good call on the sora front deraileur. Nice place to save on money.

What made you decide on downtube shifters over bar end?

Updated pics of my Volpe, including some of the lighting setup.





Lights are:
Cateye TL500 on rack
PB Superflash on back of helmet
NiteRider MiNewt X2 Dual on bars
Costco Rayovac LED headlamp on helmet

I keep a Cateye HL410 in my messenger bag as an emergency light.

The Tubus rack was added since the last pics. I really love it, even though most days I use a messenger bag instead of panniers. I can't believe how solid it is compared to a normal rack. I took off the kickstand today because the plastic that keeps the clamp from damaging the paint was falling apart. I'm gonna see how it goes for a while without one now that I've got a place to put my bike at work that doesn't require that I have one.

here's my little girl. just bought her yesterday for 75 bucks, cleaned her up, took her for a spin tonight. she won't be a daily commuter- i have a surly lht for the heavy lifting, but these three-speeds sure are fun!

That is an awesome picture !

My commuter. Front headlight is temporary.

here's my snow/ice/offroad commuter parked at work

My commuter for this year. No snow, so fall/winter is the prime commuting season.

Dont you just lover the south rr?

My winter commuting gear includes a sweatshirt and jeans.

<3 What frame is that? A Trek? (from your velospace link?)

Yeah. It's a really nice frame.

heres my commuter 84 Schwinn LeTour,has since been upgraded with Cateye products & Sunlite panniers also added SKS chrmoplastic fenders,Brooks B-17 seat,

Fantastic! I just wish the crosscheck had disc tabs. Anyway, that bike is gorgeous.

Early 90's Trek 800 Antelope. Given to us in poor shape. Lots of parts replaced. Ride it 15-20 miles round trip every day. Love it. Ride it long on weekends, too. It's the current favorite. Planning to eventually get a front rack and full panniers for some touring.

Here is my current set up.
Burley Django,
Trail Rat light up front mounted near the front tire
Two small LED white blinkies mounted on the handle bars
Two Plant Bike Super blinkies on the back
One panier
Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires for fall/winter/spring
Studded tires for snow

Here's mine. 80's Fuji Touring Series IV frame off of ebay, everything else is new. Typical current-day build-out, switched to 700c's, threw some racks and lights on it.

The Fuji frame is sweet, sweet, sweet. It's like riding a feather.



Thanks!!

Singingbone, that is so pretty.

donnamb -

Thanks!

It is a really beautiful bike, even with the big ugly Jandd racks and a couple of miles of cable, lighting wires, and reflective tape all over it. It's just a pretty, pretty frame, you can't make it ugly.

Harris Cyclery in Newton MA did the build out, those guys are brilliant. Wheels are from Peter White, I got a deal on them because he had built them out in the wrong size for some other guy's bike. Phil Hubs, they're bullet proof.

The old-school panniers are from Ostrich in Japan, I got them from Chris at Velo Orange. I want to get the handlebar and saddle bags as well, for some reason I'm always carrying a ton of stuff around with me.

The Fuji is by far the nicest bike I've ever owned, and probably one of the nicest *things* of any kind that I've ever owned. It's a pure blast to ride.

Thanks again!!

This thing takes me 8 miles each way everyday. I picked up the Schwinn Highplains for next to nothing at a pawn shop, and have slowly found stuff around the garage to put on it. Rear hub is a White Industries eccentric running 38-15. I had that wheel in my garage--I wouldn't have purchased it for this project specifically.

Panniers are homemade from two diaper bags I bought for $1 each at a thrift store, some pvc pipe I had at the house, and lots of wire and zip ties. Total cost of panniers (not counting rack) was less than $10. I laugh whenever I open the lids because they advertise infant formula.

The front fender is an old license plate, hacksawed down the middle. I saw a picture on the internet of something similar, and I liked the idea.

KTK

New winter commuter.

Since I keep having bikes stolen I'm hoping this is the last commuter I post as a replacement. I found an old KHS lugged frame and built it into a fixie. It's running a new 700c fork up front and 40x16 gearing.
I've added some Planet Bike Speed EZ fenders to it and a flat bar for winter. It's been a fun ride so far.





My new office lets me bring the bike upstairs so I'm hoping this one will stick around. I really like it.
cheers!

That KHS looks nice. I've only seen one other lugged KHS frame, and it looked just like that. Hopefully you will plug the bars, though. Chunks taken out of your thigh in a crash sounds like a real bummer.

Ah... let's post it again.

My new old commuter.