Grim

Profide actually takes some of the slickness out of the Brooks.

irclean

Wow... those are some great looking bikes! They still look brand new. I have a Raleigh of similar vintage, but it's not nearly in as good a shape as yours. Still a solid commuter, though.

Sixty Fiver

"After years of admiring everyone else, I sprung for a Brooks B17 saddle last week. Right now it is a b---h - I find I keep sliding forward on the smooth leather and driving the wedge into my perineum, so I'm pushing against the handlebar to keep my sits bones on the right spot. I hear that over time the leather will soften and shape to my sits bones - won't be a moment too soon when that finally happens."

Your saddle is tipped too far forward and this is what is causing the slippage... set it level or with the nose up just a little and you will notice an incredible difference in comfort.

AaronJohnTurner

This is mine, less the panniers for commuting since my commute is only 3km each direction. I do however make one or two trips a week into the city 35km away for shopping or fun, then the panniers are welcome for the ride!

canyoneagle

That's a nice, clean ride. I'll second the recommendation to get a rear rack that mounts to the conveniently provided braze-ons rather than the seatpost rack. Then you could get a couple of grocery panniers and load'er up! No backpack needed.

Nice bike, and proofide the bottom and top of the saddle (I found treating the top helped with the slickness) - let it sit overnight and buff the saddle (the leather will pretty much absorb whatever you put on initially).
I tried a trick recommended on these forums, and it has really worked for me (after my initial proofide treatment): Dampen a towel and wring it as dry as possible. fold the towel and drape it over the saddle overnight. Ride. I've only done this once, but the saddle is noticeably more compliant and is beginning to form to my body.

irclean

My trusty Schwinn hybrid is approaching my vision for it; the latest updates include:

New cyclocomputer and freshening of the cockpit,



and a new MEC QR saddlebag.



She's really starting to look and ride like a functional commuter (IMHO)!



All she needs now is a rigid fork and seatpost to be complete. Oh, and a new wheelset. And maybe a Tiagra triple crank & matching dérailleur. And then a Deore LX rear dérailleur & cassette. Of course then I would need the matching Deore brakes and controls...

canyoneagle

Nice cockpit setup, irclean!

irclean

Thanks! (blushing)

governorgeneral

I wanted to get a regular rack and panniers to go along, but my fenders came with this funny hookup that didn't let the rack hook on to the frame braze-ons:



No panniers - I guess I could mount them to the seatpost rack and hope the fender struts keep the bags away from the rear wheel, but I'd still be capped on the max weight. Plus the seatpost rack is relatively high and likely would be unstable with extra weight. I suppose I should just get new fenders.

Unfortunately no. I actually checked the Victoria Police website to see if they had a contact you could ask, but they don't even mention it. I wonder if they still do it.

Yes! Relief. I don't know why I didn't think of that - I guess I just read all the horror stories about the first rides on a new Brooks and just figured that was it. Thanks!

Thanks for the tips! How long was your breaking-in time? Unfortunately the LBS I got the saddle from didn't have the Proofide (the guy recommended mink oil), and none of the local shops stock it. I see various concoctions recommended online and probably should've done at least some treatment before riding... but I just couldn't help myself.

Ergo grips AND the handlebar - nice! Where do you find your hands spend most of the time? That might be my next big upgrade after some new fenders and rear rack.

I know all about that feeling!

Grim

You could use P clips on the legs of the rack. Thats how I did it on my M400 C-Dale.

irclean

Bummer about the sticker, but thanks for checking!

I spend most of my time on the sides - it sort of mimics riding on the hoods with drop bars. It feels very natural and reaching back to use the controls became intuitive after a very short while. As for a big upgrade - the bars, stem, and bar tape cost me about $60 all told. The improvement over my flat bars... priceless!

Sixty Fiver

This is a really good looking bicycle...

trek79fx

here is my trek 7.9 fx with winwood fork, disk brake front, carbon fiber rack, bontrager sattelite handle bars, fsa megaexo light crank, selle smp glider seat and lots of lights.
it uses the night rider newt headlamps and has swiss dt wheels with ultremo marathon plus 700x32 wheels with a basic ultegra rear and front deraileur. And yes I carry both a gun and pepper spray.

canyoneagle

You can install a rack in the same spot - just use longer (stainless) screws and washers. Works like a charm.

irclean

That is a sweet ride. I hope you never have to use the gun or pepper spray protecting it.

I was wondering the same thing. It often seems that the simplest solutions work the best.

Roger M

My first 'commuter' bike. I've been commuting mostly by mountain bike..and lately been switching off to my newly acquired road bike(when the weather permits). My ideal bike would have disc brakes, but my Wife won't let me spend any real money on another bike at this time.

I found this on CL for $60. It is a 93 720 Multitrack. I bought it from the original owner. It looked like it has been sitting in a shed since new(grease and dirt coated with very little wear on anything). I changed out the seat, stem, bars,shifters and brakes because I wanted to run flat bars and get rid of the grip shifters. I found some $15 Michelins(another CL find) to replace the dried out original Trek/Cheng shin tires. All of the other parts I had lying around, so my total monetary investment is $75.

I gave it a quick tune and cleaned it up. The spokes on the wheels were all rusty, so I have more time in the wheels, than on anything else. I found that 2 different grades of steel wool along with some metal polish works the best for this project(I hate cleaning spokes). I still have more spoke cleaning to do(all bikes should come with stainless spokes). All of the drive-train feels as good as new. I don't think this bike has very many miles on it.

I understand that this is just a mediocre frame with a low grade Shimano group(Altus A20), but for what I need and can afford, it will suffice. I've put about 125 miles on it since I picked it up last weekend, and it feels pretty good. It is definitely faster on the road than my MTB. I would like to get a stem that moves the bars forward a little more, but that's a minor issue. It came with a rack, but I took it off to clean up, and haven't decided whether to run with it or not... yet. I will get some fenders for it soon, and mount a light.

I've browsed through the pics on this thread, and there are some very ...very nice bikes. Someday I'll upgrade to more modern technology, but for now, my wife is happy that I didn't break the bank, but still got myself something to trek to work on.

Here are some before and after photos.

irclean

^^^@ Roger M: You're like the poster boy for "How to get started as a bicycle commuter." That is an awesome first commuter; IMHO you did everything right, but personally I would reinstall the rack (function over form). Whenever newbies ask how to get started they should read your post! I sure wish I had... you would've saved me a lot of aggravation. BTW keep at it and you will prove to your better half that you're serious about commuting and maybe she'll soften up when it comes time to buy your dream bike.

canyoneagle

RogerM,
That is a stellar find, and is definitely another case in point for the potential values that can be found (amidst the total junk) in the Craigslist treasure trove.

Nice job!

Roger M

Thanks Irclean and Canyon.

The rack will probably go back on this week, but I have to clean it up first and refurbish the rusty hardware. I've been riding with a backpack for so long, I don't know what or if I'll ever strap anything to the rack.

On a different note, I have found that the 7 speed works OK, but wished for an 8 or 9.

Grim

I had a 720 and it was a decent rider. I really enjoyed it. 4130 tig welded double butted frame as I recall. Pretty light for a hybrid.

Mine was a 91 I think and it had suntour index shifters that were JUNK. Be glad yours has the Altus. The bike is pretty close to a touring Geometry. Those will convert to drop bar without much fuss. The older ones came with touring forks complete with mid fork brazeon.

I'd keep the rack. Damn handy on a commuter. Slap some Freddy fenders on it get a cheap trunk bag and ride the hell out of it!

Sixty Fiver

1999 Trek Multitrack - great bike for 100km commutes that have a bit if everything.

azesty

Sixty Fiver, what is the black thing holding the vertical silver rod?

z

Sixty Fiver

That has been the question of the day... it is a stoker stem (I helped make this) for a friend's tandem and the silver rod is the seat post which is attached to a saddle.

shubonker

I've got a big load too



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Sixty Fiver

Nice... yesterday I was packing my work clothes, rain gear, tools, and a set of tandem cranks for my own bike.

Plan to send a bunch of this stuff out ahead by car on the weekend and then I can lighten up my ride.