phx1973

Today:

Johnny Mullet

Rear rack installed.................

Redhatter

Nice, I do admire the simplicity of that rack.

Johnny Mullet

It used to be a bicycle............
https://www.bikeforums.net/commuting/...tml?highlight=

phx1973

I have had this bike almost 5 years and have no idea why I waited this long to get a kickstand. So useful!



I also added a brass bell today. Far too many pedestrians have walked in front of me this year.

RubeRad

Doesn't look like 5 years of use, very clean! I like the brownish purple, a little splash of color without going overboard.

iluvmyroom

My Giant Escape 3. Just over 1000 km at the moment. Definitely gonna add a rear rack and another bottle cage.


cheers,
Lin

Bicycle Addict

I ride 700 x 35 Marathons on one commuter and 26 x 1.95 marathons on the other while they are heavy compared to other tyres, I would not go back to 28c as I used to ride . . .like the comfy ride.

shiver

DjFantom

Just Picked up a Giant Escape 3 from my LBS at their recommendation for my budget and needs , i know its the base model of the escape series . but after a couple rides im Happy with it... coming from a Giant boulder mountain bike its way lighter and faster , and handles the cracked up roads quite well . Going to add fenders, a rack (maybe panniers ) and comfort grips soon and maybe change the saddle to something more comfortable and a bike computer , Added already : replaced stock pedals with smoke gray platform pedals , added burgundy water bottle cage i had on my old bike, gives the bike a little color ... im looking for some comfort grips with bar ends that same burgundy color . and maybe add a burgundy chain to complete the theme ...

Amp3rs4nd

Here's mine: Late 1980s Bianchi Strada. Replaced the Biopace, added a new saddle, rack and panniers, pedals, Gatorskins. Well over 4000 miles on her.

ChicagoDan

Here is my commuter.

The panniers allow a quick transition between my bike and the rest of my commute.

PatrickGSR94

I'm afraid you may be hard-pressed to find a chain that color that's not a single-speed/fixie chain.

velofinds

Noob question (I'm no mechanic), but can't chains be combined to form a longer chain, then trimmed to the appropriate length?

SpeshulEd 

It's not really about the length of the chain but the thickness. Usually a fixed gear chain will be much thicker than a geared bike chain.

RubeRad

It's an issue of width.

Single-speeds/fixies use I believe the oldest chainwidth standard, same as the old ten-speeds (5 cogs). As manufacturers squeezed more and more cogs into cassetes, up to 11 now, the spacing got narrower, and the chains had to get narrower. A colored single-speed chain would not fit between cogs to drive your rear wheel. Unless you could find a presumably 6-8sp chain that was colored, but as PGRS noted, colored chains are typically blingy fashion accessories for hipster ss/fix bikes

SpeshulEd 

All depends on how much you'd like to spend.

Fair Wheel Bikes has a wide variety of chains.

11spd red chain, $160
https://fairwheelbikes.com/kmc-x11sl...ede9a39bdd025a

10spd pink chain, $85
https://fairwheelbikes.com/kmc-x10sl...ede9a39bdd025a

Edit: just remember, they all turn black after a little lube and road grime.

noglider 

No, ten-speed bikes (with 5 cogs in rear) use 3/32" chains whereas bikes with single cogs in the rear (one-speeds, three-speeds, etc) use 1/8" chains. The 1/32" difference in width makes a big difference in durability. So does the fact that you don't shift a 1/8" chain, as shifting causes wear.

RubeRad

Fair enough. Either way, (cheap) colored 1/8" chain would never work with the cassette he's working with on that Giant.

PatrickGSR94

Yeah see, $85-$160 for a colored 10/11-sp chain, vs. about $45 for the gold Ti-coated KMC 10-sp chain I run on my road/commuter bike. There are much better and more cost-effective ways to bring color to your bike.

*edit* wow the prices are astronomic on that FWB site. Amazon has this black/red 10-sp chain for $73, still way more than I would pay for a chain, though. https://www.amazon.com/KMC-X10SL-DLC-...ords=kmc+x11sl

noglider 

And it's only a matter of minutes before any chain turns black.

SpeshulEd 

Haha yeah, FWB is a boutique bike shop, they have a lot of really nice high end components, but they don't mark down their prices at all. It's a fun site to look at, but I've never purchased anything from there.

PennyTheDog

This is my main commuter at the beginning of the spring. It's a '13 Surly Crosscheck. I have it set up 1x8, with a Surly stainless steel 38T chainring on the front. The tires are Schwalbe Marathon, 32 mm. The pad on the top tube is fake leather bar tape. I just changed the front brake housing, and didn't have any brown bar tape left, so I put on the green. For now I kind of like the two-tone look!

rmfnla

Useful, but also good for denting tubes and scratching paint, at least that type...

arsprod 

Great idea - would help me remember left from right!