The old one is hanging in the garage. I stripped the parts off to build up the newer one. I’ll probably move the frame on sooner or later. Here’s what it looked like.

Another week and 125 more miles logged on my 700.

Even after swapping to a road stem, I’m starting to have my doubts about the flat bars. It always feels pretty good until after about 30 minutes into the ride I find myself wishing I could move my hands and shift my weight around. I have sufficient doubts that I have ordered a set of old Suntour ratcheting barends off eBay and am working on the math for the right stem to buy to get a pair of drop bars somewhere around saddle height at the reach I want, somewhere around a cm or two less than what I had been using on my roadies. I think it’ll end up being a 100-120cm with a 20-30deg rise. The stock stem is a 105/45deg rise, ends up being about a 50mm reach, pretty short. I did mock it up with the stock stem just to get a ballpark idea and the reach to the hoods was quite too short I think to be comfortable over longer distances, shorter even than the reach with the flat bars and road stem. Just having the hoods at saddle height was a big difference from 2 1/2” below as on the drop bar bikes.

I also have fenders on the way, after two full weeks of deliberation I finally decided on the matte black SKS 45mm Bluemels. I already like the SKS system from working with it on my wife’s bike (though some say it’s a pain, I don’t mind taking my time to get it right) and the comparable Planet Bike models were generally $10 more. The Bluemels are offered in a bunch of different styles and colors all for around the same price. I like the matte black ones because they have the long mud flaps from the Longboards only they’re a little shorter (I had concerns about picking up debris with the Longboard front flap which hangs so low it looks like a scoop), and the $10 savings over the ‘boards is helpful. I’ll have to update after they’ve arrived and I’ve got them on.

The weather today was nice and I had a couple free hours this afternoon so I went for a jaunt up the greenway and back. The greenway on our end of town begins at a city park 3 miles from home. On my way home I decided to do a lap around the park instead of just riding through and out, and decided also to see what the trails were like. I’d never ridden any trails of any sort before on any bike, so it was kind of a cool experience. I was very impressed with how easy it was to maneuver around roots and rocks and stuff with the wider tires, and they’re tready and grippy enough that with some careful pedaling I was able to climb a narrow sort of zig-zaggy hill covered in slimy wet leaves without spinning out. I figured out what granny gear is for. The park was empty so I took my time and rode up and down some of the different single track type trails I could find, I spent probably a half hour in the woods. It was pretty great. It’s not hard to understand why trail riding is popular, I’d simply never tried it. It’s really cool to be able to take the same bike to work, to the store, and the park over roads, paths, and trail. I wonder about how the handling and off-road-ability will be affected by adding drop bars, but I’m not afraid to go try and find out. I think it’ll be fine. Cyclocross seems to agree.

My shoulders, wrists, and back are suggesting I spend a little too much time on the bike to use the flat bar.

I went to adjust the front brakes and discovered that the front left caliper is busted, missing the plastic bushing that houses the spring. It works OK without it, but I’m not crazy about leaving it that way. Cantis seem to be cheap to replace, and it’s not hard to find a pair that uses the threaded post type pads (that I prefer, easier to adjust) as opposed to the stock smooth post ones. I don’t care if front and rear don’t match. I prefer the cantis so far over any of the sidepulls and centerpulls I’ve had on my road bikes.

All in all, so far I think this is a great bike. Whether I keep it flat bar or change to drops, it’s a big improvement over the drop bar bikes I was commuting on. The wider tires (38 vs 25-32) do a lot to dampen some of the harsher road imperfections and inspire a little more confidence when turning for instance when surfaces are slick. The triple crank and 11-28 cassette give me sufficient options for varying road, wind, and “engine” conditions - for me, meaning no matter how windy, how steep, or how tired I am feeling, I always have a gear I can spin if I just want to spin (the tall gearing and 2x crank of the road bikes meant that I was getting a workout whether I wanted one or not!). It may be a little “too” easy, in reality. The jump from the 32t to 38t chainring is pretty gentle. I might like to have a 40 or 42 sticking with the same cassette, which I really like while using the two smaller chainrings. I’m not sure about whether these chainrings are replaceable or riveted together but I think I’ve seen new comparable Shimano cranksets for less than $40 which is a pretty reasonable cost compared to a new road crank, brand name or no.

Also, regardless of personalized cockpit differences, I’d say these are great commuter bikes in general. Cheap, comfortable, easy to repair/upgrade, sturdy, room for wide tires AND fenders, strong brakes, not ULTRA heavy, etc. I’m enjoying it so much I haven’t used either of my road bikes since I got this one. I definitely feel like I’ve gotten my $25 worth.