polymorphself 

Kinda depends on the material for me. The good news is it's about the cheapest thing on the bike and very easy to replace yourself whenever you want.

Jasongrace313

I really like the look of the blue and brown

Jasongrace313

The Golden Boy 

That's kind of what I had going on with mine- but it's all getting redone- hope to have it back by next week.

1985 Trek 620 by Dave The Golden Boy, on Flickr

1985 Trek 620 by Dave The Golden Boy, on Flickr

1985 Trek 620 by Dave The Golden Boy, on Flickr

1985 Trek 620 by Dave The Golden Boy, on Flickr

Jasongrace313

Yeah, I love the brown.

The Golden Boy 

I've got those on the 720- and they're going on the 620 as well.

Command Shifter + RRL Lever by Dave The Golden Boy, on Flickr

Jasongrace313

Man, those are nice! I need them.

Jasongrace313

If I can find them in brown that's what I'm going to do with grey tape.

ShannonM

+A_lot on the RRL-SR levers. I disliked the look of the lever bodies at first, they're weirdly tall, like a modern hydro lever but less so. The dogs-hind-leg bend in the blades looks techno-bike-stuff-weird, but I didn't find that off-putting like the bodies were.

Then I rode them... 4 miles round trip to the liquor store. And by the time I got back to the house, they became pretty much the only brake lever I'd ever pay money for. They fit my hand like the grips on a single-action sixgun, the funky lever blades always put the right amount of metal under my fingers, they have a great, smooth, linear pull, and they'll squeeze the snot out of a brake caliper when you need it. The only departure from perfection in function is that you can't clack 'em to warn peds on the MUT.

As to form, well, they're still kinda weird looking, but I've gotten used to them. They'll never be pretty, but they look good on the bike. I find the black hoods with black plastic inserts hides the weirdo shape better than the contrasty tan / grey. Tan hoods with black inserts would be bueno, but they don't come that way, so you have to buy the black levers and separate hoods. (Which I should probably do anyway, so I'll have them in 20 years when I need a spare and there aren't any. Which is almost certain to happen, because I like them so of course they're going to stop making them next Thursday.)

--Shannon

Jasongrace313

I’m looking at rear racks, I like the Tubus Cosmo and Nitto Big Back Rack. While I’m not planning on keeping it loaded all the time I would like to be able to load it with camping gear and not have to worry about it. Do you guys have any experience with these?

polymorphself 

Don't rule out large, expandable saddle bags as well. I would go with something like a carradice long flap or the wizard works shazam which rolls out to double capacity but both are compact under your saddle when not loaded. If the bag is large enough to get close to the fender you can use a bagman support or a minimal rack such as this: https://velo-orange.com/collections/...teur-rear-rack

Between that, front low rider panniers and a rando bag up front you've got more than enough storage space for trips.

Jasongrace313

The Carradice bags are super nice

Mr. 66

I have a Tubus rear rack, it is the best rack I've ever had. I don't know the model

Jasongrace313

I’m loving the look of the cockpit, feels good.

Ran into issues running the shifter cables up and out, shifts better with them out the front.

The saddle is a bit less forgiving than my other Brooks, I’m going to treat it like it is new and just needs breaking in. Ride, ride, ride your bike..

ShannonM

Sweetness!

--Shannon

Jasongrace313

I found some! A Jim Blackburn lowrider and rear rack, on the cheap and some vintage "Pursuit" panniers that match the bike and should be here soon.

Jasongrace313

I’m wondering if I should bend the stays in or out, in looks like the least amount of bending needed but a lot of the ones I was able to find on Google have them on the outside. Any input would be appreciated.

Rooney 

I would look for one of the Blackburn racks with thin metal strips, meant to be bent rather than wrestling with that one. From what I've read, that style rack you have was more size-specific, so using it on the wrong sized frame results in what your photos show.

Jasongrace313

I have a vintage rack with the single aluminum strip that bends to meet the bridge, and is adjustable to varying angles. Strength wise it would seem that this one would be more robust with solid aluminum tubing vs a thin strap, but I’m open to both. I’m going to try to fit this one first, because I like the matching set. It may take a little MacGyvering but I’d to give it my best.

Jasongrace313

As I’m getting these cleaned and mounted I was messaged about a Velo Orange Porteur rack that I had enquired about prior to buying these. I’m thinking the big platter rack on the front may be overkill with these. Could I run both?

Jasongrace313

I used some hardware

It’s not perfect, I’m going to replace the hardware this was just as a mock up.

Jasongrace313

I’d like to use this for larger items, but I’m thinking that would eliminate the need for the low rider racks. What would you choose and why? Maybe I should just try both and see

Jasongrace313

Getting exciting

Jasongrace313

I took the Blackburn’s off and slapped this old one on, the large panniers seem more suited for the rear. I’m going to keep my eyes out for some more bags but these will work for now.

Jasongrace313

I took it out yesterday for a 20 mile ride and while nothing stood out as needing attention and nothing hurt I’m buying a 22-1/2 620 Cirrus frame and gonna base the build off of that frame. I don’t love the stem but it does make the small frame useable. It looks goofy in my opinion, which is only magnified by the high sitting bar bag. I would like to get the fenders figured out. I’m weighing the options of leaving them as is, paint, powder coating, or another option could be using 3M vinyl wrap that has reflective quality’s which could also have multiple colors or patterns like paint and also could be redone where paint would be a bit more work. I bought some samples and while the color is close it doesn’t match to my liking.

Close but the flakes are smaller and reflective qualities are much different. It looks darker in the dark and lighter in the light, matching perfectly or even close may not be an option but I could use the silver that the bike is accented with. Maybe I’ll give it a shot anyway. It’s not terribly off.