G76

Hey, all...
I'm about to dig out my bike from a long snowy winter and make it my priority for a while...I've been searching the threads here for advice on commuter gear for a few weeks now, and have found it so helpful that it seems ridiculous that I haven't joined up until today! I've been in Chicago for almost 2 years now, and commuted pretty religiously for the better part of the first year until I blew out a tire and it started snowing... I've been riding the bus and walking since October, but NO MORE!!
I'm going to try to make it 365 days this time.
I'm sure I'll be calling on you all for advice quite often, and I thank you in advance.
Almost forgot to mention my bike: it's a 1989 Stumpjumper with all of the neon decals removed, so it is grey and white with touring bars and slicks...I plan to turn it into my ultimate commuter, change out the handlebars again (maybe), new pedals, fenders, hell, maybe I'll hand paint it sometime.
Wish me luck!

-George (G76)

East Hill

Yay for George! Have you checked out the Winter Cycling forum as well?

What are you commuting on?

Welcome to BF, and feel free to PM me with any questions !

East Hill

G76

Hey there!
I just edited my first post, as I hadn't mentioned my bike (wow, that was a quick response!)
It's an '89 Stumpjumper, and I love it. I bought it for $150 from a friend of a friend back in Albany NY in 2005.
It's a solid machine (but for the cheap aluminum bars...wish I'd kept the titanium, but the straight bars were torture on my wrists), and I hope to use it for years to come.
I will definitely check out the winter cycling forum, and I'll be sure to attend one our local bike winter-izing workshops this time around.
For now, I'll just enjoy the much needed spring warm-up!

East Hill

Let's see some photos!

I'm the Official Greeter--I like people to know that they are really welcome here .

East Hill

ilmooz

Welcome to the forums. Being May 1st already there can't be much more lousy weather to deal with. Hope you get some good riding in soon.

G76

Howdy!...well here it is: 1989 Specialized Team Stumpjumper... bought it from the original owner back in Albany NY in 2005 (I think his name was Douglas)... I didn't use it much until I got to Chicago in '06, and the only changes I've made were to remove the horrifying neon decals, clean it up (it was a mess when I got it, and switch out the bars and change the tires. Still very bare-bones, but I love this bike a lot.
Next week brings SKS fenders, a shorter stem (courtesy of LBS hook-up... yay! free stuff!), new grips (ODI Yeti 2 ply), and MKS touring pedals.
Later comes the rack and the homemade mudflaps, and hopefully a new paint-job.
Wish me luck!

East Hill

Classic! Nice old school bike there. I have a 1987 Fuji Thrill that has no suspension, and I love it .

East Hill