AusTexMurf

Parts too worn out for your local bicycle coop ?


Use them to build your own tall bike.........


or you can also use old frames/forks/headsets/wheels? to create bicycle fences and gates......

AusTexMurf

Or start your very own local bike zoo......

tjspiel

Yes. They are done, done, done.

tsl

Dip once in the recycling bin, and place at the curb.

kingsqueak

Just a suggestion, at the attachment points, see if metal conduit EMT could work as a slip fit in place of the PVC sections just where you have the bolts punched. If it's close, two part epoxy would set it. I like Home Depot ingenuity but those attachment points make me nervous for you. PVC is not great in the cold and UV will make it brittle in time.

bugly64

I added a Blackburn click head light.

stockholm

I tinkered with my Brooks. A millimeter or so, just there. Can't get it perfect and it's driving me crazy.

wisaunders

Last week I got some new shoes ((Shimano XC30) and cleats. I got back from a quick vacation last night and finally installed my new tires (WTB Nano 29er Comp) and bar ends (Ergo Control II Bar Ends). Always a fun ride in with new gear!

cooker

Last June I moved to a new office 11 km (7 miles) from my house, and a direct line between them traverses the fringe of the downtown core, some pre-1900 downtown residential areas, and some older "inner suburbs" of 1920s-1950s vintage My plan is to commute on every part of every street, within the oblong area defined by my house at the northeast corner and my office at the southwest corner.

Today I had to visit a downtown site in the morning before going to the office, so I marked off the eastern and southern boundaries of my commute map by riding due south to the street my office is on, and then due west.

jrickards

Charged the battery for my light but tonight, I'm going to have to fix my rear rack, some of the nuts appear to be a bit loose (not a concern for getting home though).

ThermionicScott 

That's a cool way to shake up your commute. IIRC, The Octopus once made a century out of riding on every single street in his childhood town.

ill.clyde

If my new eggbeaters are in I'll put them on and give it a good washing, along with my roadie

If not, it'll wait til tomorrow

awfulwaffle 

Not today but 2 days ago. I de-commutered it and got it all dusty :

THEN:




NOW:




I think my road bike is becoming my new warm weather commuter anyways. That one just got a set of beefier wheels and my first ever set of SPD pedals/shoes.

tjspiel

I did nothing to my commuter really other than ride it. I did notice that if you have a kickstand on a fixie you never have to put it up.

DoctorTattoo

I'm interested on how much better the B&M one is compared to the Schmidt. I ordered the Schmidt today alond with the new SONdelux dynamo. Apparently everyone is pretty much sold out on the Luxos U. I really wanted that one but ordered the Schmidt since everyone is out of stock. Even bike24.de is out of stock.

To answer the OP's question of what I did to my commuter, I actually sold my Specialized Source Eleven last week. My new commuter is a Surly Troll. I'm waiting on the SON Dynamo and Rohloff wheel set to be built. Should be completed Friday! Too bad I'll be out of town till Tuesday. Tuesday night will consist of a long ride!

Shawn

cooker

Thanks, but oops - I realize now this is a thread about the bike, not the commute.

Er...um - I temporarily patched my decaying bar tape with black electrical tape.

tsl

It's not "better", just "different". It's still just after twilight when I come home, so consider this only an initial comment. I reserve the right to change my mind after a few darker commutes. I think I like my Schmidt Edelux better than the Luxos U.

For reference, I've been testing the lights on a 13-mile cut of my long loop home. It includes a "traffic-calmed" arterial in da 'hood, several miles of unlighted MUP, several miles of unlighted suburban two-lane with varying shoulders and a 50 MPH speed limit, slowing to 40 after a mile or two, and finally, a brightly lighted city four-lane with granite curbs, no shoulders and many curb cuts to commercial businesses.

Given where it's designed for--Europe, where cycling is an alternative to walking, and there's both better infrastructure and better driver awareness, I think the Luxos U is probably the better light. It puts out no more light than the Schmidt, and what light it does put out, it spreads around so that any given spot is dimmer.

Here in the northeast US, where cycling is an alternative to driving, the infrastructure is crappy and the drivers clueless, I think the Luxos U is too wimpy. It tries to be polite, like a bike bell, when what you need is a air horn.

When Herr Cyclist is on his cycle path at 10-15 km/h, the Luxos U is probably a dynamite light. Broad, flat smooth illumination with no discernible hotspots, and plenty enough light for the speed. That's at the base 70 lux. On hi-beam (90 lux, which you have to get charged up first and then lasts only 15 minutes) it's more of the same, just barely getting into usable light at speed IMHO.

When Mr. Cyclist is mixing it up with city traffic at 15-20 MPH, it's just plain not enough. It doesn't illuminate my path sufficiently (You need more light in the city, not less) and at night, the DRLs fade into the background lights. I think I'll have to supplement with both "see" and "be seen" lights.

My Edelux throws the same 90 lux as the Luxos U, but it's mainly focused in a boxed hotspot (the same width as my local MUP) which I can aim out far enough that I can see what's coming up at 20 MPH and take action to avoid. It does this while maintaining a sharp cut-off that no pedestrian on the MUP has ever complained about in the four years I've had it. (Although it did bother a guy on a Catrike.) But, because its light is focused so much on the ground, there's very little spill for traffic to see. I have to supplement with "be seen" lights.

Given the current state-of-the-art, both lights are a compromise. B&M's engineers acknowledge this, and try to explain their decisions in the instruction sheet. The question is, which way do you want to compromise?

I've completely ignored the daytime so far.

The Edelux is next to useless as a DRL because of the lack of "spill" for drivers to see. The jury is still out on the Luxos U, but it has two little LEDs specifically there for use as DRLs. I can sometimes see them in tailgates when I'm stopped. My usual DRL is a DiNotte 200L-AA. That I can see clearly in the back of anything I'm following.

Remember, this is only an initial opinion, and keep in mind I also suffer from night-blindness. So not only YMMV, but your eyes may vary.

droy45

Built a fair weather commuter out of a vintage fugi, 27 in wheeled cycle I found at the scrap yard and did a complete restore. Took it out for its maiden voyage today and it rides really well. Its lighter and quicker than my regular all season commuter and it gives me a choice in the morning. Also getting used to my very first Brooks saddle on this bike and its going fairly well.

fietsbob

Shimano dynamo wheel, and wired LED head and taillight setup for my Brompton are enroute ..

zacster

My Magnic light arrived at my house, but unfortunately nobody was here to accept it, so back to the post office it went. Once it is here, I will mount it to my commuter. For those that don't know, most of you I think, the Magnic light works by capturing the eddy currents created by the rotating rim. There are no wires, no added magnets to the wheel, no dynamo, no batteries. The light just rides close to the rim and picks up the current. The technical details I'm not sure about. I bought a rear light and it should be plenty bright. It also works as a brake light, since it attaches to the brake arm it gets closer to the rim when you apply the brakes, and hence more current gets picked up.

Since I don't have it yet, I'll see how well it all works.

daihard 

Put some air into the tyres...

the_tool_man

My Garmin Edge 500 finally arrived today. I've been using a CatEye Strada for the past ten months. But I got tired of the corroding contacts and loose-fitting mount that made it read incorrectly. And I got tired of using my Android phone GPS to map my rides, only to have the Strava app crash, or the phone battery die.

It was fun mounting the cadence sensor, as my Fuji has spare spokes on the top of the chainstay. But I managed to get it working by flipping it to the bottom. The wheel magnet is clamped to a spoke nipple, and the cadence sensor is at the end of the crank arm. But, it works. I love losing the wires, too. Fiddled with settings for 45 minutes. I think I'm gonna like this thing. I hope it is more reliable than the CatEye.

wisaunders

Sounds cool. Do you have to take it off and sync it with a computer, then upload the file somewhere?

the_tool_man

Yes. You have to connect to a computer with a cable, and upload using the free Garmin Connect plugin. It's fast and easy, though. If you use Strava, it interfaces directly with the plugin, so it's a one-step process. I bet MapMyRide and others do, too. You have to plug in to recharge the battery anyway, so no big deal. I think the 510, 800, etc. can sync with a smartphone to upload wirelessly, if that's important to you. They cost more, though.

Null66

Been recently obsessed with lighting lately.

Thinking about getting one of those magicshine 2000 lumen. I would be able to run it at 500 for my whole commute with some safety margin. But way over budget this year (and last) on bike stuff. Besides going to need cold weather gear soon!

So "borrowed" my SO's/riding partners cateye to supplement my current one. Hers is brighter but more focused. Mines a wider angle. Worked wonders together!

So this will do for now!