Nokton

I decided to give bike commuting a try and also that I didn't want to park any of my vintage bikes on the university campus. Even thought some of my vintage bikes aren't all that valuable, I'd be heart broken if one of them was stolen.

With that in mind, and for a price less than powder coating a frame costs in my area, I picked up a Reid City 1. It's a surprisingly good bike that's only going to need a few additions. I'm going to get a water bottle cage that can be adjusted to hold a small thermos so I can get coffee on my bike, I'm going to add lights and a mount for a Topeak handlebar-mounted camera bag (I always carry a camera). It rides pretty nice and should be fine. As components wear out or break I'll replace them with new, better parts. It seems like a really good buy for well under $400. I won't say how much under because I get smoking deals from a bike shop owned by a long time friend.

I'll be riding it to work, about six miles each way, four days a week.

illdrag0n

get some commuter tyres on that bad boy. Reid's have always been good value

mcours2006

Love the matching fenders. Nice looking bike.

BobbyG

Nice! Great deal, too. I would need drop bars (personal pref) but small bar ends would work. If it rains a lot you may want a longer front fender. I also would put smooth tires on for street riding, they make a big difference.

All things considered, you got a great deal on a nice bike.

Enjoy!

Nokton

The tires that came on the bike have an almost continuous section around the center of the tire and seem to have a pretty low rolling resistance. I'm going to ride on the stock tires for a while and see how it goes. I'll also compare it with some of my true road bikes and see how much different the ride is.

Darth Lefty 

acidfast7

Proper commuting bike ... that's what you get from the British founders!

Also, none of those components will wear out from 12miles/day or 250miles/mo.

You should be getting thousands of miles almost maintenance-free (a few years before you'll need any parts replacement) except for tyres.

acidfast7

Also, just get some cheap Schwalbe Marathon (original) tyres and you'll be bulletproof and cheap out the door. I'm not so happy with the wear on them but they provide good puncture resistance, are cheap and last an OK amount of time on the British roads.

BobbyG

That is what I did when I bought my latest bike. It doesn't hurt to try new things...well, not usually.

Just as with seats, tires are a rather personal choice.

As I've already shared my preference for "smoothies" for non-snow street riding, I will elaborate and say I prefer "smoothies" with supple sidewalls. I had tried some puncture resistant Continentals with firm sidewalls, and while I was pleasantly surprised by how "grippy", I ultimately found them to be "joyless".

I'll also share my experience with "hybrid" tires that have a smooth center section and tread off-center. They seem to roll just fine straight ahead, but suffer a slight loss of grip while cornering. I once had a pair of 26x2.25 hybrid tires with a smooth center section and knobby "shoulders"...those were outright dangerous on turns as the loss of grip was pronounced and immediate.

I will now defy current social media conventions and acknowledge that people may have different goals and values than I do, and that they can arrive at different conclusions than I do, and also I will thoughtfully and politely consider their opinions and life experiences.

Again, nice bike, congrats on a great deal, have fun and let us know how the bike (and tires) are working for you down the road.

Darth Lefty 

BobbyG

52telecaster

i concur on the joyless aspect of some tires. Continental ride tours last forever but suck the joy out of riding. Great for low maintenance but no fun for long rides.

52telecaster

excellent.

alan s