dellwilson

I’ve been commuting since August 2009 on a couple of old bikes: an ’83 Peugeot UO-14 and a ’91 Giant Yukon. I’ve probably only spent about one month on the Giant when the Peugeot was down with a rear wheel problem. Both bikes have had numerous mechanical problems during that period so I’ve been researching commuter bikes for quite some time now. Internally geared hub, disc brakes and flat or riser bar were all on my wish list for a new commuter bike. My short list lately consisted of the Giant Seek 0, the Felt X-City ½, the Scott SUB 10, the Swobo Baxter or Dixon, and the Trek Soho. (Not all of those models are equipped with disc brakes so I should say that wasn’t a hard requirement for me.)

I recently caught a used 2009 Giant Seek 1 on ebay being sold by a bike shop. After calling the bike shop directly to reassure myself that it wasn’t a scam, I watched the auction and slipped in at the last minute and snagged it. Since the Seek has disc brakes, I was worried that my current rack wouldn’t fit so I ordered a Topeak Explorer rack for discs from Amazon so it was waiting on the bike. The shop did a great job of packing and shipping the bike to me. It took me about two hours to put the bike together and get the rack on, but here it stands.



In addition to the rack, I also added my Shimano M-324 pedals, Planet Bike Blaze and Superflash lights. And, of course, my commuting routine involves a pair of Ortlieb Backroller Classic panniers. I hope to add fenders to it in the future. I don’t really intend to ride in rain, but I would like fenders to ride on wet streets or drizzling rain. Any advice on fenders would be appreciated.

First of all, I love the way the bike looks. I know that is completely subjective and not everyone will feel the same. The bike looks big; that’s the first thing my family said. My road bike is a 2009 Motobecane Sprint at 54cm and the medium Seek does look much bigger. But it doesn’t feel bigger to me. In fact, the seat is going to have to come up another inch from where it is in the photo because I felt a bit low going to the gym and coffee shop today. The beefy 700x32c tires give it a 29er look in my opinion. I got some really good compliments from guys at work. I can tell that Giant kept the paint scheme muted so that it wouldn’t be a flashy bike attractive to thieves, but this bike does draw attention.

I’ve only ridden it to work once, but I’m very happy with it so far. The Alfine hub and shifters are effortless. The ease and convenience of shifting means that I let the gears smooth out the road more than I did with the Peugeot. (For reference, my Moto has an Ultegra drivetrain and the rear derailleur on that bike shifts effortlessly as well. So, this is comparable.)

This is the first bike I’ve ever owned with disc brakes and I find that I’m totally surprised at how smooth and powerful these Shimano hydraulic disc brakes are. I just love the way that I can apply such subtle slowing pressure to be able to keep my balance for a long, rolling stop at signs and lights. I’m really happy with those brakes.

I feel like this bike is much more casual than either my Moto or Peugeot. I guess it is the slight riser bars and more upright geometry. By more casual, I feel like I can just get on this bike and ride no matter what I’m wearing. On my road bikes, I feel like I need to kit up and chase someone’s wheel. Always! In the spirit of this bike, I just hopped on it wearing jeans and tennis shoes this morning and road to the gym. Fantastic!

Of course, time will tell how well this bike fits my life, but I’m very happy with it right now. More bike porn for your viewing pleasure.

waynesworld

Congrats on the new bike! It looks great.

As far as fenders, I have SKS fenders, I think they are the commuter model. They work well for keeping water and such off of me, but they have the little flap that sticks out rearward on both fenders. That isn't a problem on the back one, but it leads to considerable toe strike on the front. At least for me.

CFXMarauder

Likin it !! Gotta agree with ya, it's a good lookin bike..

Bain19

gah so white, almost looks over exposed.

Nice Bike

vrkelley

Nice ride!

dellwilson

I think the photos are a bit overexposed. I was in shadow on a sunny day so I turned on the fill flash.

destikon

That ride is a beauty. I have sks on my ride and love them. No toe strike (on mine at least) and they look very stylish. I have the p45's and squeezed 38's under 'em.
https://www.sks-germany.com/sks.php?l...t&i=6409800121

waynesworld

Those are the fenders I should have gotten. They don't have the little flap thingy sticking out.

RedWhiteandRed

Nice bike - I have 10,000k on mine. You might consider some Bontrager Race Lite Hardcase tires - the Maxxis that it comes with will puncture frequently.

Also - the IGH will need some oil bath maintenance at some point - about 2,000kms. The symptom is that the gears stop changing. After the oil bath it will work perfectly forever.

Very cool. Nice panniers.

dellwilson

Great. Thanks for the suggestions. I'll look into getting those tires on hand.

RitterJD

I have this same bike. +1 on the Race lite Hardcase tires. I liked the ride of the Maxxis tires but had frequent flat problems. The 700x32 Race Lite Hardcase tires ride as well or better and so far, no flat problems. It was a joyful day last week when I took off the studded tires and put the Race Lites back on.

For fenders, I went with the Planet Bike Freddy Fenders. No problem with fit and the black looks great.

snorkel

Very nice! I picked up a 2009 Seek 2 in January for my commuter bike and I love it. I just put very basic Planet Bike black fenders on it and they look nice and do their job.

mtalinm

oh how i wish i had bought that bike instead of the trek soho...

btw for other shoppers this is the Seek 0 for 2010

snorkel

If you're interested here are some photos of my '09 Seek 2 with rack and fenders. I don't have any good photos of it without the panniers on, so the rear fender is kind of hard to see. The simple black fenders really compliment the simple silver paint job. It is silly but the complete lack of annoying graphics all over the bike is honestly one of my favorite things about it.

KonAaron Snake 

That sounds like a great, dependable, all condition commuter. Very well done!

mtalinm

what a beautiful bike. I was smitten when I first saw it at Harris Cyclery and almost bought it - it's gorgeous. The test ride wasn't all that unbelievable, so I kept looking, and I'd had bad luck with a previous Giant bike, so I wanted to try another brand. another LBS convinced me it wasn't worth the extra $400 to have hydraulic disc brakes, but I sure wish I had done that vs these crummy roller brakes (which have been back to the shop 3x to fix).