bluecat

Hello, my new commuter bike arrives on Friday (hurrah)



And some vague specs...

Colour - Anthracite
Frame - Heat treated Aluminium, gussett reinforced, disc mount
Fork - Cro Mo blades disc mount
Headset - Sealed Intellaset w/alloy spacer
Shifters - Shimano Nexus TapFire
Rear Derailleur - N/A
Front Derailleur - N/A
Chainset - Shimano NX80 46T
Bottom Bracket - Cartridge Cro Mo
Chain - NX10
Freewheel - Shimano 21t
Hubs - Shimano Inter-8
Rims - Alex TD-16 36h disc black
Spokes - Stainless steel black
Tyres - Continental Contact Sport 26 x 1.6
Brakes - Shimano IM75
Brake Levers - Shimano
Handlebar - Oversize Aluminium Straight
Stem - Alloy Ahead quick change
Grips - Dual Density
Saddle - Ozone SL
Seat Post - 2014 SL Aluminium 27.2mm
Pedals - Alloy BMX


So... Any suggestions for what modifications I could/should make to this bike? I'm not looking for replies like lights, lock etc, but more...are there any parts do you think should be upgraded? What would you change/improve... perhaps nothing! I'm just curious really. I am considering changing the pedals, but I'm not sure if I want to yet.

Roody

You mean like a set of fuzzy dice? A little Jesus whose head bobs up and down?

MMACH 5

Fenders and a mud flap with something like this:

04sctj

Similar to the Jesus head-bobbing thing, for a couple years I had a little plastic t-rex dinosaur zip-tied to the back of my rear rack...his mouth wide open, grizzly teeth...It was pretty funny. He was about 4-5 inches tall. I always enjoyed that little guy back there *protecting* me ...I haven't thought about him in years...I may have to get another now

Little Darwin

Lights front and rear.

Sounding device (bell if most of your riding is multi-purpose trail, horn if mostly road). I have a bell, and I am seriously considering rigging up a motorcycle horn with a rechargeable 12 volt battery.

RT

If you're thinking clipless pedals, Crank Bros. Candy-C's are always on sale somewhere. Swear by 'em.

slvoid

RonH

Front and rear fenders.
Egg Beater pedals.

jeff-o

Neon FX lights.

notfred

Well, almost every part on it is generic, so you could probably upgrade everything if you wanted.

jeff-o

Wait a second, why did you get a bike with no gears?? I don't think I could even commute with only one gear.

Oh, and get clipless pedals, I guess... The kind with a clip on one side and a platform on the other.

DiegoFrogs

46/21 is maybe geared a little low for a road commute. especially with the 26" wheels. I would probably go up a few teeth on the chainwheel or down a few teeth on the freewheel.

edit: I just saw that it's some variant of internally geared hub. I'm not sure how that effects what I've just said. What percentages of direct drive does it allow?

roadfix

It's geared....

jyossarian

A chain guard, rack and a small godzilla mounted on the handlebars. For bling, I suggest a a blender mounted on the rack and driven by a dynamo type thingie on the rear wheel to make smoothies and pina coladas. Also, handlebar mounted speakers, CD player or Ipod for tunes and a GPS on the handlebars.

bluecat

Thanks for all the suggestions! Just a note on the gears, all 8 of them... (see orange line)



So far, I'm going to be getting a rack, panniers, fenders, lights, computer, locks. Possibly some bar-ends.

Am considering clipless pedals - but I've never ridden with them before, so I'm a bit scared. Forgive my lack of knowledge, but, are there any pedals that are clipless, but have enough platform just to ride with other shoes on occasion? Or one side just a flat standard pedal? If I was going out to the shops for 5 minutes, I might not want to wear my cycling shoes...

DeafLamb

Nashbar makes the "rodeo" pedal. It's cheap, you get what you pay for, about twenty bucks when I bought mine. If you use them with recessed cleats you'll have to grind off the tabs on the front of cage on the clipless side. Shimano makes a similar pedal, it's much more expensive around $80 I believe, but I imagine it is enginered much better. I have shimano clipless pedals on my other bike and the clip in mechanism is nicer than the rodeos.

Hope this helps

Ray

New2Cycling

Is this available as as actual sticker or patch? I would love to have one!!!

MMACH 5

Not to my knowledge. I just sort of threw it together in Photoshop. If they were available, I think they might sell.

Nightshade

How about.........

Naked lady mud flaps

Small windshield

Black scooter mirrors

Speakers and cassette /radio for tunes.

Custom handgrips.

full rear panniers /trunk

front handle bar bag

wide platform pedals

bright, bright lights

Strobe on pole to be seen

slow vehicle triangle

anything else that makes you bike unique

bennyk

is it too late to nominate this for the BF jersey design?

bk

2old2befast

Pair of Monster T's sir for the chopper look?

jeff-o

AH, internal gear hub... OK, that's acceptable I guess.

And yes, you can get clipless pedals with the clip on one side, and a flat pedal on the other (like I said before). I'd certainly recommend them for any commuting environment, when it's often convenient not to clip in, simply becuase you'll have to unclip in only a few seconds...

Erick L

I want one!!!

The only ones I can find are for cars. Too wide, too thick.

Edit: I could do without the "Cager" though. Or put a reflector over it.

Erick L

https://www.electrabike.com/

biodiesel

First... xtracycle.
Xtracycle.com

then... motorized mirror ball, strobe light, disco ball, three chaseing taillights, a duct tape cowboy hat and 4 battery operated bubble machines wired to pair of switches mounted on the handlebars.

check out the pic...

seriously though, the xtra has some good macking ability. Plus you can ride a couple hotties on the back.

Barring that, get a couple skater freinds with tow ropes...