An Urban Commuting Bicycle
 

Being a school teacher my year begins in August.

Last year's project was a Schwinn Voyageur touring bicycle, redone bit by bit over the school year in preparation for that 2,000 mile cross country trip I did this past summer. The bike in that case having originally been a gift 25 years ago but been hanging in the garage most of the time since.

Well, here's this year's project, at the start (and sorry for the fuzzy pics, my old cheap digital camera appears to be crapping out).

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We bought this bike seventeen years ago for my then thirteen year-old stepson as a promised reward for completing a fifty mile loop on Lance Armstrong's big charity ride up in Austin.

To give you an idea of how small this bike is those are 26" wheels. Fits me though, I guess I must be short. Anyway, for the next few years him and his buddies proceeded to beat the crap out of it like it was a BMX bike. It came through unscathed though. Seventeen years ago this was considered a pretty hot set-up (other than the bags I mean).

He outgrew it, since then it was used on and off, mostly off, and then when it was used mostly for short commuting chores/errands by me. Lately I've been making a point of commuting on it 100 miles/week, likely to continue.

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Tires: Cant stress enough how important they are around here where I have holed EVERYTHING, including the 26x2.0 Schwalbe Marathon Plus Tour on the back in these pics. It is however IMHO the ultimate urban tire, $60 per and seemingly as heavy as a motorcycle tire out of the box. I just took delivery of a second one for the front, to replace that Serfas Drifter which flatted too often. Doesn't hurt eiter that the Schwalbes are also about the quietiest, easiest-rolling tire of this genre I've found. Tires $120.

Wheels: The original 36 spoke rims are still good, but the hubs have suffered from being ridden without regard to being lubed ever over 17 years. Quality rim brake 26" rims are getting hard to find. I'm gonna have a 36 spoke set built by Universal Cycles on Alex 124 rims and Deore hubs. Wheels $260.

Forks: I prefer a suspended fork here in the land of broken asphalt, crazily shifted sidewalks, frequent dirt and roadside debris. That first generation Marzocchi Bomber Z1 fork, the hot set-up in its day, has held up like a champ, only needed rebuilding once. No lock-out but just a good simple sprung, air-damped fork. If it has less that 4" of travel that's still enough for my sedate riding style.

Fenders: Just put 'em on, attaching the rear fender to the rear rack. These are high-clearance mountain bike style, which offer limited coverage at best in the rain. But close-fitting fenders wouldn't work in mud. Fenders $60.

Headset: Ragged out, needs replacing. Chris King headsets rock. Headset $150.

Drivetrain: Ragged out, needs replacing. 11-36 8 speed cassette, 8 speed Schram chain, Nashbar sealed bottom bracket, Nashbar 44/32/22 175mm crankset, Nashbar sealed bearing platform pedals. Drivetrain total $200.

Rack: Those are the Ortleib front panniers I used on my bike trip. The large size rear panniers I used on that trip also fit, but the cheap no-name rear rack doesn't provide enough support to keep those from hitting the spokes jumping off of curbs when they are stuffed with assorted heavy groceries. Gonna have to go with a Tubus; w/ an 88lb capacity the king of rear racks. Rack $120.

So, about a $900 investment needed to bring this bike up to speed, $180 of which in the form of tires and fenders has already been put in. $700 plus in parts left to go.

Sure I coulda got a whole new bike for that but then that new bike wouldn't have a history either.

Gonna do it a piece at a time over the coming months. I'll keep folks posted.

Mike

Nice! I, too ride a MTB-based commuter of similar vintage and have customized it over the years to fit my needs and riding style. What Moochems said: any new bike would have to be modified. My one unsolicited suggestion is to add bar-ends of any sort to give you a variety of hand positions. (And an Airzound Air Horn)(Okay, that's TWO unsolicited suggestions).

Sharpskin, that bike is a thing of beauty!

I like most of that, but I'd change the saddle if it's the gel padded Specialized saddle I think it is. I still have one of those, and replacing it with a B17 made a huge difference to me.

I plumb forgot about the bar. I already switched to Sram grip shifters on account of an old thumb injury (ancient bike wreck from a past life) makes thumb shifters painful. I do like the fact too that grip shifters are less particular about staying in adjustment (what ats I'm going to replace the grips with Ergons or a knockoff thereof, and a pair of bar end buckhorns (??), as much as anything to have a place to hang mirrors off of in a place other than bar ends.

Mike

Forgot about the saddle too. I have a cheapo Zefal from Walmart to replace this one that worked for me very well on another bike. I have a B17 on my touring bike that fits me well. Ultimately I'm thinking on this one that a Brooks Imperial (??the sprung saddle they make).

My weapon of choice for urban riding is a MTB frame with a rigid fork and a SS or FG drivetrain.

Even with the rack,I'd still mount a full fender on the rear. I've tried MTB fenders in the past,and they don't come close to the coverage from proper full fenders. Up front,you could use P clamps to put a full fender on,or at the very least add a long mudflap.

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I'd go with cheaper tires and kevlar tire liners; you'll save some serious dough over time. I'm not fan of a suspension fork for commuting but it obviously works well for you. I think mtbs rock as commuters.

I disagree with this. I've been running Schwalbe Marathons on my commuters and I usually get 7-8000 miles out of them. I seem to be able to find them for a good price too. Many cheaper tire won't get much beyond 3,000 especially the rear.

I just think that $60 is kinda high for a commuting tire. I get a heck of a lot more than 3,000 miles out of continental town and country tires at half the price. I don't tend to get flats with them but if I was worried I'd get a kevlar tire liner. I've used them in the past and they work very well.

Agree. Schwalbe Marathons cost 4 to 5 times Rubena tyres for city riding, and about 2 times some nice Continental city tyres. At least in shops where I can find those. If I had any problems with loads of thorns or broken glass on the roads I ride, I'd get Marathons, but that is not the case.

I see Marathons selling in the $35 range. Marathon Plus and extra 5 to 10. The big issue with these tires isn't the price... it's their weight. That's the real price you pay.

I'm thinking it's that extra weight which helped you beat me up the hills in the ride today, ;). There must be something good in all that extra revolving weight. You're buying the beer after next week's ride, right?

LOL For sure!!

The Marathon Supremes on my commuter were expensive,until I was coming down a steep hill in the rain and got cut off by a clueless driver. Braked hard enough to get air under the rear tire,but the front bit in and I stopped without issue. I've also picked numerous bits of FOD out of the rear tire without a flat. I think the price is completely fair,I got what I paid for.

Looks good man!

I loved my serfas drifters, but id have to get tire liners if i ever wanted to use them again. I think they were about 65 for the pair at local shop.

- Andy