frpax

I'll start with this crazy hybrid (of sorts)







This was a Stump Jumper frameset that I got for free, then had a friend powder coat for me for free. I decided to add the drop bar.

All of the components were spares that I had on hand: Deore XT crank & rear derailleur that I ran as a 1x9 set up with a Suntour Barcon.

The only thing I bought were the tires. Maxxis Hookworms.

It was an oddball bike, for sure. I'd pump the tires up as much as I possibly could to get as little rolling resistance as possible.

I did add some black cork bar tape to it, and a rack and used it as a commuter for about 6~8 months.

The drop bar on the mountain bike frame was a little wierd... riding no-handed was downright scary!

I ultimately sold this thing, but I will always have fond memories of having the oddest bike my LBS has ever seen!

Steely Dan

my old MTB-turned-commuter wasn't quite as unusual as yours, but it was a heavily modified and fairly unique ride.

i absolutely adored this bike, but it was killed by a bus last spring (but still, better the bike than me)




the frame was a '96 cro-mo raleigh M-80. i switched out the suspension fork for rigid, switched out the flat bar for bullhorns, added reverse pull levers, upsized the drivetrain, and added the vuelta wheelset. it's shown above with winter studs on, but i also rolled it with slicks in the fairer seasons.

Chris_in_Miami

I love that Stumpjumper, very cool! The Hookworms are really heavy, I had similar tires on my High Sierra for a while, but traded them out with Big Apples. My commuter is set up very similar to your oddball, but with front & rear racks (and my saddle & bars are level.) I'll get some updated photos of it soon.

My Moulton surely qualifies as odd in this area, but I haven't commuted on it yet...

frpax

You know, those Hookworms were on the heavy side, but once you got them rolling, it was sort of like a fly wheel effect... they jsut kept on rolling!

Andy_K 

Maybe I've been piving in the Portland area too long. That Stumpjumper just doesn't seem weird to me at all. It reminds me of my old Muirwoods 29er.



I guess my oddest bike, still not terribly odd, is my '89 Rockhopper in its current configuration.





I built new wheels for it with Tiagra hubs and Mavic XM317 rims. I ditched the original Biopace chainrings and currently have it set up 2x9 with a 50-38 double in front and an 11-32 cassette in back, though it's functionally 1x9 because I haven't gotten around to getting a bottom pull MTB front derailleur and the ancient original doesn't quite move enough without a lot of effort to get it in place with the newer MTB shifters I have on it. The shifters (M570 Deore LX), brakes (Avid Arch Rival) and rear derailleur (M750 Deore XT) are off of my '99 Kona Muni Mula, which I upgraded to M770 XT stuff (seen above on the Muriwoods).

I recently added Soma Sparrow bars. I wanted to use them in the dropped orientation, but the geometry of the bike just wasn't making a comfortable fit possible without around 6 inches of stem, so I gave in to the bike's apparent desire to be a quasi-Dutch crusier.

26x1.25 Panaracer T-Servs and SKS P50 fenders round out the build.

I'm toying with the idea of getting this powder coated.

locolobo13 

In college in the 70s I usually rode a 10spd Schwinn Varsity. Occasionally, when it had problems I would borrow my younger brothers bike. It was a children's bike converted to a "stingray" by adding hi rise handlebars and a banana seat. The commute was 6 mi. I hated it. Sorry can't find any pix.

mechBgon

When I was a kid, I bought a car steering wheel from a scrap place, and grafted it onto a Sears single-speed cruiser. That actually was dangerous; if the bike was steered too sharply, it would whip around past 90° and crash the bike.

Chris_in_Miami

True, and they're actually pretty fun off-road also. Here's my current commuter, shot on the way home today:

cyccommute 

Always liked the black chrome of the Schwinn High Sierra. My commuter bike may only be silver but it's got style.

frpax

Wow, there's some good stuff here so far! Keep it up!

CFXMarauder

Aint easy being green ...

CFXMarauder

Something bout that I like !!!

frpax

Yeah, it did have a certain "something" about it! The tires were so big, that the diameter was the same as my 700C wheels!

nashcommguy

Had a bike very similar to this except it was a '94 Fuji Discovery w/Acera comps. Made it a 1x7 by using a Sugino 103 bb. Had 'chaindrop' issues, though and ended up using an old front der to eliminate the problem. It was a great urban commuter.

Sirrus Rider

This is as weird as it gets..

cyccommute 

Nay. A coworker rescued a Schwinn trike from the trash. We couldn't fix a broken transaxle so we just made a fixed gear out of it by connecting the crank directly to the differential. You could track stand forever on it

SurlyLaika

Most bizarre, for sure. Was it geared?

DX-MAN

No pic, so I have to describe it:

2000 Next (Pacific) Revolution, the only other-than-medium frame Walfart sold in the last decade; it was a 6061 HT frame, crapola components, but the frame was good enough to upgrade, as a bud and I did a few times!

The last time, it ran 3x8, Deore derailleurs, Acera triggers, and a Black Sport fork. Hayes HMX on the front, generic V's on the rear. . . and Stingray ape-hanger bars! They were just about shoulder-high, and I DID sit upright with that rig! It lasted about half a season, tore it back down because the bars were SOOOOOOO flexy!!!!!

mconlonx

For about a year and a half I commuted on a Gary Fisher Cronus... not the new carbon wunderbike, but the older urban fat-tire 1x9, converted to 2x9/drop bar. Looked about like the other mtn bike drop bar conversions here. Originally was running Bontrager Hank 2.2 slicks, which were way heavy; switched to Panaracer T-Serv 1.25s and loved it. Converted back into a mtn bike and traded to a friend for website work when I built my own ubercommuter frame and bike.

However, I've done my 38mi r/t commute a couple times on this:



Raleigh R20 about as old as I am. Wheels handbluilt by me, S/A 2sp kickback hub with coaster brake rear hub, X-FD front hub laced to Velocity Aeroheat 408 rims, Schwalbe Marathon tires. Bottom bracket shaved down to 73mm and re-threaded, a bit taken off the headtube at the top to fit a threadless upper headset with clamp ring. Steerer is an upside down seatpost. None of these mods are original; shamelessly stolen from others on the BF Folding Bike subforum and R20 list. More of a separable bike than a true folder in this configuration. Fits in a suitcase, too, so this would be my travel bike if I were going anywhere...

Total blast to ride--actually much better than expected. Not pictured on it are a different saddle, Topeak handlebar bag, couple lights, and PDW cup holder. Ubercommuter is still my go-to bike, but every now and then I'll ride this just because of the absolute grin factor involved.

Chris_in_Miami

I have a set of CST Cyclops (26 x 2.4") that are taller than 700c tires. They're every bit as heavy as the Hookworms, but I'm keeping them anyway. This is what they look like on the Sierra, no room for fenders with the roller cam brakes!



That reminds me of another oddball commuter I used, an unstoppable 1990 Rockhopper. I dropped the chain a couple of times before I learned to land it properly without throwing the chain. This one also got the drop bar treatment for a while, but now it's a bare frame & fork hanging in my garage.

Chris_in_Miami

I've seen that photo before, that's a very unique ride! Probably weighs 10lbs less than my Schwinn too...

clawhammer72

This is my back up commuter.

Sirrus Rider

It's a SA src3 on the rear with the standard rear cog (13t?) it's geared pretty high and I ride it in 1 or low.

wphamilton

People seem to think mine is odd (see my avatar picture).

frpax

Avatar pic is too small to really get any oddness out of it. Post larger size, please!